William P. Frye

William Pierce Frye
Frye c. 1880
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
February 7, 1896 – April 27, 1911
Preceded byIsham G. Harris
Succeeded byRotating pro terms
United States Senator
from Maine
In office
March 18, 1881 – August 8, 1911
Preceded byJames G. Blaine
Succeeded byObadiah Gardner
Chairman of the House Republican Conference
In office
March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881
SpeakerSamuel J. Randall
Preceded byEugene Hale
Succeeded byGeorge M. Robeson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1871 – March 17, 1881
Preceded bySamuel P. Morrill
Succeeded byNelson Dingley, Jr.
Maine Attorney General
In office
1867–1871
GovernorJoshua Chamberlain
Preceded byJohn A. Peters
Succeeded byThomas Brackett Reed
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1861–1862, 1867
Personal details
BornSeptember 2, 1830
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 1911(1911-08-08) (aged 80)
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Resting placeRiverside Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
RelationsWallace H. White Jr. (grandson)
Alma materBowdoin College
Bates College (LL.D.)
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • politician
Signature

William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and then U.S. House of Representatives, before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for 30 years before dying in office. Frye was a member of the Frye political family, and was the grandfather of Wallace H. White Jr., and the son of John March Frye. He was also a prominent member of the Peucinian Society tradition.

Fry was a leader of the "Old Guard" faction of conservative Republicans, exerting his weight on such important committees as Rules, Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Commerce. He was best known for supporting the shipping industry, but repeatedly failed to obtain government subsidies. He also supported high tariffs, expansion that sought additional territory and the canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific. He favored the annexation of Hawaii and the acquisition of the Philippine Islands in 1898. President William McKinley appointed him to the peace commission that negotiated the end of the Spanish-American war.[1][2]

  1. ^ Lewis L. Gould, "Frye, William Pierce" American National Biography (1999)
  2. ^ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. November 9, 1903. p. 43. Retrieved July 2, 2023.

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