Sentence:  Ezra Stiles Gannett , an honorable representative of the sanhedrin , addressed himself frankly to the issue in 1845 , <WSD>insisting</WSD> that Parker should not be persecuted or calumniated and that in this republic no power to restrain him by force could exist . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge