Grand Old Partisan: Hiram Price – Iowa Republican civil rights hero

January 10, 2023

Hiram Price – Iowa Republican civil rights hero

Grand Old Partisan salutes Hiram Price, born December 10th 1814. He started as a bookkeeper in Pittsburgh before moving, at age thirty, to frontier Iowa. There, he held several county-level government positions and served on the Davenport city council. Financial acumen made him a successful merchant and, in 1859, president of the State Bank of Iowa.

Outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, this anti-slavery activist left the Democratic Party and helped establish the Iowa GOP.

Outbreak of civil war caught the state’s Republican administration without an immediate source of funds. Hiram Price stepped up, lending his own money to recruit and equip 5,000 volunteer troops. The governor appointed him paymaster.

In 1862, Price won the first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He aligned himself with the Radical wing of the Republican Party: "We who are styled ‘radicals’ seek to make all men equal before the law, to give all men in every State equal rights and equal protection."

Receiving his vote were the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments as well as the Freedmen's Bureau, to assist emancipated slaves. On the downside, he voted against the purchase of Alaska. At the 1865 state GOP convention, Price proved himself an effective advocate for civil rights:

"The Republican Party is strong enough to dare to do right and cannot afford to shirk a duty. The colored men North and South were loyal to the Government in the days of its greatest peril. There was not a rebel or a traitor to be found among them. They ask the privilege of citizenship now that slavery has been forever banished from our country. Why should the great freedom-loving State of Iowa longer deny them this right? No one reason can be given that has not been used to bolster up slavery for the last hundred years. The war that has just closed has swept that relic of barbarism from our land; let the Republican party have the courage to do justice.

Declining another nomination, Price returned to the private sector. He headed another bank and also a railroad. In 1876, he won the first of two more terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. President James Garfield appointed him Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0Eto5UHi8sc

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.

Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states.

He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

See www.youtube.com/q?v=IzxKCiXc5Qc for a brief video of a Texas Republican praising Back to Basics for the Republican Party.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Your book is a national treasure. I'm always recommending it."

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"

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Back to Basics for the Republican Party

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"Every precinct committeeman, every candidate and every teacher with a Republican affiliation should read this book and pass it on to another."
"Michael Zak takes a novel approach to the culture wars by boldly boasting the historical record of the Republican Party. Rather then sheepishly bow to the Democrat's ongoing myths (and frequently, outright lies) about the GOP, he brings the history and heroes of the Republican Party into the fray."
“Why is it that we Republicans are so easily outmaneuvered by Democrats?
Why do Republicans so readily fight among themselves?
Why is it so difficult for Republicans to advance their policy agenda?
Here's why."
Back to Basics for the Republican Party
“The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite.”
Abraham Lincoln
“The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.”
Ronald Reagan

Speech Raves

"Your words at the Lincoln Day dinner were truly inspiring. Thank you so much for your dedicated work and contributions to our Party."
"Your book is outstanding, and it's nice to have the information come alive during your presentation. You are at once informative and motivating. We've got to get back to basics -- as you say."
"Thank you for speaking at the luncheon. I've already received many favorable comments. You're absolutely right that the Republican leadership should know our party's history."
"Thanks for all that you do for the Republican Party and our Nation."
“Your speech was great and just what some of us depressed Republicans needed. The GOP has taken its eye off of the major issue: freedom v. socialism. You spoke to the core of that issue.”
“Thank you so much for speaking at the state convention. We received wonderful feedback from everyone in attendance. Everyone was impressed with the depth and breadth of your knowledge, as well as your clear speaking style and sense of humor. You made an outstanding presentation, and we are deeply grateful to you for your efforts.”
“You have a great vision and hope for the Party, and I think you are embarking on important work.”
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Click here for more audience feedback.

Book Reviews

"Your book is a national treasure.
I'm always recommending it to people."
"Thank you, Michael!!! Every person who calls himself a Republican, and every person who just wants to know the truth. should know your book!!!"
"If you're a Republican and love history, this book by my friend Michael Zak is a must read. And if you happen to be looking for a Lincoln/Reagan Day dinner speaker, I highly recommend him."
great information on our rich heritage
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"I recommend Back to Basics for the Republican Party to everyone who wants to be educated on the true history of the GOP and America!!!!
Phenomenal history
Anyone who liked the Lincoln movie will love this book. This book is perhaps the best kept secret in all political and history books in America. It is something every politico should read. It puts things into historical perspective like few other books I've read. It challenges conventional through thorough documented history. This is a must read for any student of American history and political science. One regret is that I read the book more than a decade after it was published. It truly is something you feel you missed out on. It is also a book that leaves you wanting to learn more about certain individuals such as Thaddeus Stevens. It's an incredible body of work."
"Thank you for writing your book. I am two chapters into it, and find it fascinating and motivating. This may be a very significant contribution to the rise of the GOP in the coming years."
"I am a believer in pro-free market and pro-constitutional rights who recently purchased your book Back to Basics for the Republican Party and have not been able to put it down. It is simply amazing you composed a book in 2003 that hits home on the most serious of topics we face today. I completely agree that we must educate and focus on the original plan as laid out by the founders of our party if we are ever to move forward in a positive direction."
Praise from Alaska
"I purchased your book at our Juneau, Alaska Republican Women's Luncheon last month principally because the title intrigued me. I just finished it, reading the last chapter three times. I wanted to burn the wisdom presented into my brain. Thank you again for all your hard work to research and write your book. Thank you for all you are doing to educate Americans on the incredible truth of the founding of our great country.""Thank you for doing all the research to write this book. As a History/American Studies major, I THOUGHT I knew the difference between Republicans and Democrats, the roles of Lincoln and Stevens and Sumner and Reagan, and the history of our country from the revolutionary war through the civil war. Boy, was I soooo wrong."
Read it and MEMORIZE it!
"My copy is dog-eared with notes and underlined parts. “Back to Basics for the Republican Party has been tremendously helpful setting mis-educated Democrats straight on history!"
It's a fantatic buy!
“Back to Basics for the Republican Party is very informative and gives you an insight into the history of the party from the early days to the modern day presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. What the author has done is provide a balanced view, giving the reader a fascinating 150-year journey of the Republicans. This book is a REAL political page turner which will open minds to a wealth of knowledge and history which most are not even aware of.
“Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan.”
“This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!”
“Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before.”
"one of the best books I ever read"
“Your book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, is most timely during this 2010 pre-election period. It is a message that needs to be emphasized to all grassroots activists. From the precinct, county, district and national levels your respected views need to be heard and read on how to take back our country.”
from the first page: “Democrats control most of the media, but they also write most of the history books, thereby controlling what even Republican activists think they know about our Party's glorious heritage.”
Click here for more book reviews.

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