On this day in 1870, African-American law professor John Langston delivered an influential speech praising the civil rights policies of Republican President Ulysses Grant. Langston (R-VA) would later serve as a diplomat in the Grant administration and then be elected to a term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

This and more history of the GOP that you won’t find in history books in government schools can be found at Michael Zak’s Grand Old Partisan blog. He also wrote the book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, on the history of the GOP.