Robert Goodloe Harper
United States Senator fromMaryland
In office January 29, 1816 – December 6, 1816
Preceded by	Samuel Smith
Succeeded by	Alexander C. Hanson
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's5th district
In office February 9, 1795 – March 3, 1801
Preceded by	Alexander Gillon
Succeeded by	William Butler
Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives
In office 1790–1795
Personal details
Born	January 1765 (1765-01) Fredericksburg,Virginia Colony,British America
Died	January 14, 1825(1825-01-14) (aged 59–60) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Federalist
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	Major General
Battles/wars	War of 1812

Robert Goodloe Harper (January 1765 – January 14, 1825) was an American soldier and politician who was a member of theUnited States Senate fromMaryland from January 1816 until his resignation in December of the same year. He also served in theSouth Carolina House of Representatives (1790–1795), theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina (1795–1801), and in theMaryland State Senate. He is best remembered for the phrase, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute"^[1] in connection with theXYZ Affair. The town ofHarper, Liberia, is named after him.

Harper was born nearFredericksburg in theColony of Virginia in January 1765. He was the fifth child and first son of Jesse Harper (b. 1733) and Emily Diana Goodloe (1734–1788) and moved with his parents toGranville, North Carolina around 1769. He received his early education at home and later attended grammar school.

At the age of fifteen, Harper joined a volunteer corps of Cavalry and served in theAmerican Revolutionary Army. He made a surveying tour throughKentucky andTennessee in 1783, and graduated from the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) in 1785. He studied law inCharleston, South Carolina, teaching school at the same time, and was admitted to the bar in 1786.^[2]

He commenced practice in theNinety-Six District of South Carolina, moving back to Charleston in 1789. From 1790 to 1795, Harper was a member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives, at which time he was elected from South Carolina to theThird Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofAlexander Gillon. He was reelected to the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Congresses but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1800 to the Seventh Congress, serving as a U.S. Representative from February 9, 1795, to March 1801. While in Congress, he was the chairman of theCommittee on Ways and Means in the Fifth and Sixth Congresses. Harper was one of theimpeachment managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1798 to conduct theimpeachment proceedings againstWilliam Blount.

Harper moved toBaltimore, Maryland, and engaged in the practice of law. He consorted with the men of the mob riots of Baltimore against the British in June 1812.^[3] He served in theWar of 1812, attaining the rank of major general. He assisted in organizing the Baltimore Exchange Co. in 1815 and was a member of the first board of directors. He then became a member of theMaryland State Senate, and was later elected from Maryland to theUnited States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1815, serving from January 1816 until December 1816, when he resigned.^[why?] He was an unsuccessfulFederalist candidate forVice President in the1816 election. He also received one electoral vote for vice president in the1820 election.^[4]

In 1815, Harper was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society.^[5] and traveled extensively in Europe in 1819 and 1820. He took a prominent part in the ceremonies on the occasion ofLafayette's visit to Baltimore in 1824.

On May 7, 1800, Harper married Catherine Carroll (1778–1861) inAnne Arundel County, Maryland. Catherine was the daughter ofCharles Carroll and Mary (née Darnall) Carroll. Her elder sister, Mary, marriedRichard Caton.^[a] Together, they were the parents of at least four children who survived to adulthood, including:

• Charles Carroll Harper (1802–1837), who married Charlotte Hutchinson Cheffelle (1807–1867) in 1827.
• Mary Diana Harper (1803–1818), who died young.
• Richard Caton Harper (1806–1815), who died young.
• Elizabeth Hyde Harper (1809–1823), who died unmarried.
• Emily Louisa Harper (1812–1892), who never married.
• Robert Goodloe Harper Jr. (1814–1854)

He died in Baltimore on January 14, 1825, and was initially interred in the family burial ground on his estate, Oakland in Roland Park, and later reburied inGreen Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.^[7]

Through his eldest son Charles, he was a grandfather of Emily Louisa Harper (1835–1908), who married William Clapham Pennington (1829–1913). Their son,Robert Goodloe Harper Pennington (1854–1920) was a prominent artist.^[8]

Notes

Sources

• Works by Robert Goodloe Harper atOpen Library
• Robert Goodloe Harper atFind a Grave

• 1765 births
• 1825 deaths
• United States Army personnel of the War of 1812
• Maryland state senators
• Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
• Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia
• United States Army generals
• United States senators from Maryland
• 1816 United States vice-presidential candidates
• 1820 United States vice-presidential candidates
• Maryland Federalists
• Federalist Party United States senators
• Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina
• Carroll family
• 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly
• 19th-century United States senators
• 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 18th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly

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