Henry W. Blair

Henry William Blair (December 6, 1834 – March 14, 1920) was an American politician and a United States Representative and Senator from New Hampshire.

"Senator Blair" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Blair (disambiguation).

Henry William Blair
United States Senator from New Hampshire
In office June 18, 1879 – March 4, 1891
Preceded by	Charles H. Bell
Succeeded by	Jacob H. Gallinger
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire
In office March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1879
Preceded by	Hosea Washington Parker
Succeeded by	Evarts Worcester Farr
Constituency	3rd district
In office March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1895
Preceded by	Luther F. McKinney
Succeeded by	Cyrus A. Sulloway
Constituency	1st district
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office 1866
Member of the New Hampshire Senate
In office 1867–1868
Personal details
Born	(1834-12-06)December 6, 1834 Campton, New Hampshire
Died	March 14, 1920(1920-03-14) (aged 85) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Eliza Nelson Blair
Children	Henry P. Blair
Parents	William Henry Blair Lois (Baker) Blair
Occupation	Lawyer Politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	Union Army
Rank	lieutenant colonel
Unit	Fifteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry
Battles/wars	Civil War

Early life

Born in Campton, Blair lost his father at two and his mother at twelve. Raised by neighbors on a farm, he attended school when breaks from farm work permitted. Though he never went to college, in 1856, he began reading law with William Leverett at Plymouth, and was admitted to the bar in 1859 and became Leverett's partner.

Career

Blair was appointed prosecuting attorney for Grafton County in 1860.

During the Civil War Blair was rejected by the fifth and twelfth regiments as physically unfit. In 1862, when the fifteenth regiment was formed, he raised a company, enlisted as a Private and was elected Captain. He was appointed Major by the Governor and his Council. After about a year at the front, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. During his first battle service, the Siege of Port Hudson, he was wounded twice. After the discharge of his regiment in 1863, he was appointed deputy provost marshal and spent most of the remainder of the war at home as an invalid due to wounds and diseases contracted during the war.[1]

Blair was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1866 and a member of the New Hampshire Senate from 1867 to 1868.

Elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses, Blair served as United States Representative for the state of New Hampshire from (March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1879). In 1876, he introduced the first prohibition amendment to be offered in Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878 but was elected by the New Hampshire legislature to the U.S. Senate on June 17, 1879, for the vacancy in the term ending March 4, 1885, and served from June 20, 1879, to March 3, 1885. The State legislature not being in session, he was re-appointed on March 5, 1885, and elected on June 17, 1885, to fill the vacancy in the term beginning March 4, 1885, and served from March 10, 1885, to March 4, 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1891. While in the Senate.

He was chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor during the Forty-seventh through the Fifty-first Congresses. He proposed legislation to move control of education from the local level to the federal level during the 1880s. His proposed "Blair Education Bill" advocated federal aid for education and passed the Senate on three occasions, was endorsed by presidents, but never passed the House.[2][3]

Blair declined an appointment by President Benjamin Harrison as judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire in 1891, but accepted an appointment as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China on March 6, 1891. The Chinese Government objected to Blair because of his role in passing the Chinese Exclusion Act and declared him persona non grata.[4] He subsequently tendered his resignation from the diplomatic post, which was accepted October 6, 1891.

Again elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1892, Blair served from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1895, and was not a candidate for reelection in 1894. He engaged in the practice of law in Washington, D.C., until his death.

Death

Blair died in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 1920 (age 85 years, 99 days). He is interred at Campton Cemetery, Campton, New Hampshire.

Family life

Son of William Henry Blair and Lois (Baker) Blair, he married Eliza Nelson on December 20, 1859 and they had one son, Henry P. Blair.

Sources

• Gordon B. McKinney. Henry W. Blair's Campaign to Reform America: From the Civil War to the U.S. Senate (University Press of Kentucky; 2013) 246 pages

References

1. Willey, George Franklyn. Willey's Semi-centennial Book of Manchester, 1846-1896, and Manchester Ed. of the Book of Nutfield: Historic Sketches of that Part of New Hampshire Comprised Within the Limits of the Old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, from the Earliest Settlements to the Present Time. G. F. Willey, 1896 - Manchester (N.H.). p. 132 133. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
2. Jenkins, Jeffery A.; Peck, Justin (2020). "The Blair Education Bill: A Lost Opportunity in American Public Education". Studies in American Political Development: 1–25. doi:10.1017/S0898588X20000085. ISSN 0898-588X.
3. Miller Center Archived 2013-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
4. Harper's Weekly

External links

• United States Congress. "Henry W. Blair (id: B000524)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-14

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Hosea Washington Parker	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 3rd congressional district March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	Succeeded by Evarts Worcester Farr
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Charles H. Bell	U.S. senator (Class 3) from New Hampshire June 20, 1879 – March 3, 1885 March 5, 1885 – March 3, 1891 Served alongside: Edward H. Rollins, Austin F. Pike, Person C. Cheney, William E. Chandler, Gilman Marston, William E. Chandler	Succeeded by Jacob H. Gallinger
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Luther F. McKinney	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st congressional district March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895	Succeeded by Cyrus A. Sulloway