William Pierce Frye | |
|---|---|
 Fryec. 1880 | |
| 22ndDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office March 3, 1911 – April 27, 1911 | |
| Preceded by | Eugene Hale |
| Succeeded by | Shelby Moore Cullom |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office February 7, 1896 – April 27, 1911 | |
| Preceded by | Isham G. Harris |
| Succeeded by | Rotating pro terms |
| United States Senator fromMaine | |
| In office March 18, 1881 – August 8, 1911 | |
| Preceded by | James G. Blaine |
| Succeeded by | Obadiah Gardner |
| Chairman of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 | |
| Speaker | Samuel J. Randall |
| Preceded by | Eugene Hale |
| Succeeded by | George M. Robeson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaine's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1871 – March 17, 1881 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel P. Morrill |
| Succeeded by | Nelson Dingley, Jr. |
| 18thAttorney General of Maine | |
| In office 1867–1871 | |
| Governor | Joshua Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | John A. Peters |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Brackett Reed |
| Member of theMaine House of Representatives | |
| In office 1867 | |
| In office 1861–1862 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 2, 1830 Lewiston, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | August 8, 1911(1911-08-08) (aged 80) Lewiston, Maine, U.S. |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Relations | Wallace H. White Jr. (grandson) |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College Bates College (LL.D.) |
| Occupation |
|
| Signature | _from_Genealogical_and_Family_History_of_the_State_of_Maine.png) |
William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was anAmerican politician fromMaine. A member of theRepublican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in theMaine House of Representatives and thenU.S. House of Representatives, before being elected to theU.S. Senate, where he served for 30 years before dying in office. Frye was a member of the Fryepolitical family, and was the grandfather ofWallace 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 ofconservative 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]
Frye was born inLewiston, Maine, inAndroscoggin County. He attended public schools there and graduated fromBowdoin College inBrunswick in 1850. Frye studied law and was later admitted to the bar. He began practicing inRockland, Maine in 1853 but later returned to Lewiston, and practiced law there. While living in Rockland, he married Caroline Spear (1832 - 1900) in February 1853. Frye played a role in foundingBates College in Lewiston and served as a longtime trustee of the college. Frye received aLL.D. fromBates in 1881.
Frye was apresidential elector in1864.[3]
Frye served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1861 to 1862 and again in 1867. He was later elected as the mayor of Lewiston, holding that position from 1866 to 1867, when he became the state attorney general. Frye left the attorney general post in 1869. He was elected as a Republican in 1870 to the U.S. House of Representatives. Frye served in the42nd Congress and the five succeeding Congresses from March 4, 1871, to March 17, 1881, when he resigned after being elected Senator to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJames G. Blaine, who was appointed by PresidentGarfield to beSecretary of State. He served over 30 years in the Senate (March 18, 1881 – August 8, 1911), and was reelected in 1883, 1889, 1895, 1901, and 1907.[2]
During his tenure in the Senate, Frye served as itsPresident pro tempore from the54th–62nd Congress. TheVice Presidency was vacant twice during that time: November 21, 1899 – March 4, 1901, following the death ofGarret Hobart, and September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1905, afterTheodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency. Frye resigned as president pro tempore due to ill health a couple of months before his death. Electing his successor proved difficult for the Senate, as the Republicans, then in the majority, were split betweenprogressive andconservative factions, each promoting its own candidate. It took several months for a consensus way forward to emerge. At the time of his resignation he had served longer in that position then anyone else, 15 years, 2 months, 21 days.
Frye was also the chairman of theRules Committee (47th–49th Congress). Frye also was a member of theCommerce Committee (50th–62nd Congress) and a member of the commission which met in Paris in September 1898 to adjust theTreaty of Paris between theUnited States andSpain, ending theSpanish–American War.
Senator Frye was a charter member of the District of Columbia Society of theSons of the American Revolution when it was founded in 1890.
Frye died in Lewiston in 1911. He is interred in the Riverside Cemetery. TheSen. William P. Frye House nearBates College in Lewiston is on the National Historic Register.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Maine Attorney General 1867–1869 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMaine's 2nd congressional district March 4, 1871 – March 17, 1881 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Maine March 18, 1881 – August 8, 1911 Served alongside:Eugene Hale andCharles F. Johnson | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate February 7, 1896 – April 27, 1911 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Eugene Hale | Dean of the United States Senate March 4, 1911 – August 8, 1911 | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | ||
| Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Commerce (1825–1947) | ||
| Interstate Commerce (1887–1947) | ||
| Interstate and Foreign Commerce/Commerce (1947–1977) | ||
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation (1977–present) | ||
| Rules (1870–1947) | | |
|---|---|---|
| Rules and Administration (1947–present) | ||
|  | |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
