author
George Frisbie Hoar
1826–1904
A leading Massachusetts statesman of the late 19th century, he spent decades in Congress and became known for independence, reform-minded politics, and a strong sense of public duty. His long career linked the worlds of antislavery politics, Reconstruction, and debates over America’s growing power abroad.
1 Audiobook
Autobiography of Seventy Years, Vol. 1-2
by George Frisbie Hoar
About the author
Born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1826, George Frisbie Hoar studied at Harvard College and Harvard Law School before building a legal career in Worcester. He came from a family deeply involved in public life, including ties to Revolutionary-era statesman Roger Sherman, and he entered politics as one of the early organizers of the Republican Party.
Hoar served in the Massachusetts legislature, then in the U.S. House of Representatives, and from 1877 until his death in 1904 represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate. He earned a reputation as a forceful speaker and a persistent advocate of civil service reform and cleaner government, and he was widely identified with the moral seriousness of New England reform politics.
He is also remembered for moments when he broke with his own party. Although a loyal Republican in many respects, he opposed some uses of American power overseas, especially during the debate over the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. That independent streak, together with his long service and reform ideals, made him one of the most recognizable senators of his era.