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Garret Hobart

Garret Augustus Hobart (June 3, 1844 – November 21, 1899) was the 24th vice president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his death in 1899, under President William McKinley. A member of the Republican Party, Hobart was an influential New Jersey businessman, politician, and political operative prior to his vice presidency.

Garret Hobart
Hobart, c. 1897
24th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1897 – November 21, 1899
PresidentWilliam McKinley
Preceded byAdlai Stevenson
Succeeded byTheodore Roosevelt
President of the New Jersey Senate
In office
January 11, 1881 – January 9, 1883
Preceded byWilliam Joyce Sewell
Succeeded byJohn J. Gardner
Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
January 13, 1874 – January 12, 1875
Preceded byIsaac L. Fisher
Succeeded byGeorge O. Vanderbilt
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from Passaic County
In office
January 9, 1877 – January 9, 1883
Preceded byJohn Hopper
Succeeded byJohn W. Griggs
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from Passaic's 3rd district
In office
January 14, 1873 – January 12, 1875
Preceded byRobert M. Torbet
Succeeded byRobert M. Torbet
Personal details
Born
Garret Augustus Hobart

(1844-06-03)June 3, 1844
Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedNovember 21, 1899(1899-11-21) (aged 55)
Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting placeCedar Lawn Cemetery, Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1869)
Children4
RelativesGeorge S. Hobart (nephew)
EducationRutgers College (BA)
Profession
Signature

Hobart was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, and grew up in nearby Marlboro. He attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick, and read law under Paterson-based attorney Socrates Tuttle. He both studied with Tuttle and married his daughter, Jennie. Although he rarely set foot in a courtroom, Hobart became wealthy as a corporate lawyer. Hobart served in local governmental positions, and then successfully ran for office as a Republican, serving in both the New Jersey General Assembly, where he was elected Speaker in 1874, and the New Jersey Senate, where he became its president in 1881.

He was a longtime party official; during the 1896 Republican National Convention, New Jersey delegates to the convention were determined to nominate him for vice president. Hobart's political views were similar to those of William McKinley, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate. With New Jersey a key state in the upcoming election, McKinley and his close adviser, future U.S. Senator Mark Hanna, decided to have the convention select Hobart. The vice presidential candidate emulated his running mate with a front porch campaign, and also spent considerable time at the campaign's New York City headquarters. On November 3, 1896, McKinley and Hobart were elected.

As vice president, Hobart proved a popular figure in Washington and was a close adviser to McKinley. Hobart's tact and good humor were valuable to the President, as in mid-1899 when Secretary of War Russell Alger failed to understand that McKinley wanted him to leave office. Hobart invited Alger to his New Jersey summer home and broke the news to the secretary, who submitted his resignation to McKinley on his return to Washington. Hobart died on November 21, 1899, of heart disease at age 55; his place on the Republican ticket in 1900 was taken by Theodore Roosevelt.

Early life and education edit

 
Hobart as a young boy, c. 1858

Garret Augustus Hobart was born on June 3, 1844, in Long Branch, New Jersey, to Addison Willard Hobart and the former Sophia Vanderveer.[1] Addison Hobart descended from the early colonial-era settlers of New England; many Hobarts served as pastors.[2] Addison Hobart came to New Jersey, where he taught school in Bradevelt, a small hamlet in Marlboro Township, New Jersey.[1] His mother was descended from 17th-century Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam in present-day New York City, who later moved to Long Island and then ultimately to New Jersey.[3] When Addison and Sophia Hobart married in 1841, they moved to Long Branch, where Addison founded an elementary school.[1][4] The couple had three children who survived infancy; Garret was the second of three boys.[5]

Hobart initially attended his father's school in Long Branch.[6] The family moved to Marlboro in the early 1850s, where he attended the village school.[7] Childhood tales of the future vice president describe him as an excellent student in both day and Sunday School, and a leader in boyhood sports.[8] Recognizing his abilities, his father sent him to a well-regarded school in Freehold. After a disagreement with the teacher, however, he refused to return.[9] He then attended Middletown Point Academy, later known as the Glenwood Institute, a boarding school in Matawan, New Jersey.[10] Hobart graduated at age 15. His parents felt he was too young to attend college, so he remained at home for a year, where he studied and worked part-time at the Bradevelt School, the same institution that employed his father.[11][12]

In 1860, Hobart enrolled at Rutgers College.[13] In 1863, he graduated third in his class.[13] Throughout his adult life, Hobart was a generous donor to Rutgers, and was awarded an honorary degree after becoming vice president, and was elected a Rutgers trustee shortly before his death.[11]

Career edit

Law practice edit

 
Paterson-based lawyer Socrates Tuttle taught Hobart the law and helped advance his political career; in 1869, Hobart married Tuttle's daughter Jennie

After graduating from Rutgers, Hobart worked briefly as a teacher to repay loans.[14] Although Hobart was young and in good health, he did not serve in the Union Army.[15] Addison Hobart's childhood friend, lawyer Socrates Tuttle, offered to take Hobart into his office to study law. Tuttle was a prominent Passaic County lawyer who had served in the New Jersey state legislature. Hobart supported himself by working as a bank clerk in Paterson; he later became director of the same bank. Hobart was admitted to the bar in 1866; he became a counsellor-at-law in 1871 and a master in chancery in 1872.[16]

In addition to learning law from Tuttle, Hobart fell in love with his daughter, Jennie Tuttle Hobart, who later recalled, "When this attractive young law student appeared in our home I, then a young girl in my teens, unexpectedly played a rôle of importance by losing my heart to him".[17] They were married on July 21, 1869. The Hobarts had long been Democrats; Garret Hobart's marriage into the Republican Tuttle family converted him.[18] The Hobarts had four children, two of whom survived infancy. One daughter, Fannie, died in 1895; Hobart's son, Garret Jr. survived him.[19][20][21]

Socrates Tuttle was influential in Paterson, which worked to Hobart's advantage. According to 2010 article about Hobart, the future vice president "benefited greatly from Tuttle's beneficence".[22] In 1866, the year he became a lawyer, Hobart was appointed grand jury clerk for Passaic County, New Jersey. When Tuttle became mayor of Paterson in 1871, he appointed Hobart as city counsel. A year later, Hobart became counsel for the county Board of Chosen Freeholders.[22][23]

Political career edit

 
Hobart at his desk, date unknown

In 1872, Hobart ran as a Republican for the New Jersey General Assembly from Passaic County's third legislative district. He was easily elected, winning nearly two-thirds of the vote. At the time, members of the General Assembly were elected annually, and Hobart was successful in winning re-election the following year, although his margin of victory was cut in half.[24]

In 1874, still only age 30, he was voted Speaker of the Assembly.[22] In 1876, he was nominated for the New Jersey Senate seat for Passaic County. He was elected to a three-year term and he was re-elected in 1879. In 1881 and 1882, he served as President of the state Senate, becoming the first man to lead both houses of the legislature.[25] In 1883, he was the Republican nominee in the election for United States Senate—until 1913, senators were elected by state legislatures. As the Democrats were in the majority, the nomination was a way of honoring Hobart for his political service. When he was asked his feelings about the nomination, he responded, "I do not worry about things that do not come my way." The complimentary nomination would prove to be Hobart's only electoral defeat.[22][26]

Hobart said of his involvement in public affairs, "I make politics my recreation."[22] He devoted most of his time to a law practice which according to Hobart's legislative biography was highly profitable.[24] He was rarely seen in a courtroom; his official biography for the 1896 campaign acknowledged that "he has actually appeared in court a smaller number of times than, perhaps, any lawyer in Passaic County".[27] Hobart's real work was in advising corporations how to accomplish their aims, yet remain within the law.[27] He also had a lucrative business acting as court-appointed receiver of bankrupt railroads, reorganizing them and restoring them to fiscal health. He often invested heavily in them; Hobart's success made him wealthy. In addition to the railroads for which he served as a receiver, he served as president of the Paterson Railway Company, which ran the city's streetcars, and as a board member for other railroads.[27]

One reason for Hobart's success in both the private and public sectors was his genial personality. He worked well with others and was noted for tact and charm. Senator Mark Hatfield, in his book on American vice presidents, suggests that these qualities would have made Hobart successful in Washington, D.C. had he run for Congress. Hatfield states that the reason why Hobart chose not to move from state to national politics prior to 1896 was a reluctance to leave a comfortable life and successful law practice in Paterson.[28] Instead, Hobart continued to involve himself in party politics; he was widely regarded as Northern New Jersey's most influential Republican.

Beginning in 1876, he was a delegate to every Republican National Convention in his lifetime. He was chairman of the New Jersey Republican Committee from 1880 to 1891, resigning the position as he became more deeply involved in Republican National Committee affairs.[29][30] He was New Jersey's representative on the national committee after 1884, and rose to become vice chairman.[31][32]

Election of 1896 edit

Selection as candidate edit

 
Hobart's wife Jennie
 
A McKinley-Hobart campaign poster during the 1896 campaign

Jennie Tuttle Hobart, in her memoirs, traced her suspicions that her husband might be a vice presidential contender to a lunch she had with him at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City, in March 1895. During the meal, industrialist and future U.S. Senator Mark Hanna interrupted them to ask what Garret Hobart thought of the possible presidential candidacy of Ohio governor William McKinley. Hanna was one of McKinley's principal backers. Garret Hobart evaded the question, but Jennie Hobart believed the conversation to have been the first of a chain of events which elevated her husband to national office.[33]

In November 1895, Republican John Griggs was elected governor of New Jersey; his campaign was managed by Hobart. The election of New Jersey's first Republican governor since the 1860s led to speculation in the newspapers that Hobart would be a candidate for vice president. New Jersey Republicans were anxious to nominate Hobart, both to see one of their own possibly elevated to national office, and in the hope that having Hobart on the national ticket would boost the Republican vote in New Jersey. Hobart was an attractive candidate as he was from a swing state, and the Griggs victory showed that Republicans could hope to win New Jersey's electoral votes, which they had not done since 1872. Another reason for a Hobart selection was his wealth; he could be expected to spend abundantly on his own campaign.[34]

According to Hanna biographer Herbert Croly, Hobart, an early supporter of McKinley, helped ensure New Jersey's support for him at the Republican convention.[35] Historian Stanley Jones, in his study of the 1896 election, stated that Hobart stopped off in Canton, Ohio, McKinley's hometown, en route to the convention in St. Louis. Jones wrote that the future vice president was selected several days in advance, after Speaker of the House Thomas Reed of Maine turned down the nomination.[36] Croly asserted that McKinley and Hanna desired an easterner on the ticket to balance it and boost support in the Mid-Atlantic region. The conventional means of assuring this was to nominate a politician from New York, then the largest state in population. As many New York delegates supported their favorite son candidate, Governor (and former vice president) Levi P. Morton, instead of McKinley, giving the state the vice-presidential nomination would be an unmerited reward. According to Croly,

On the other hand, the adjoining state of New Jersey submitted an eligible candidate in Mr. Garret A. Hobart, who had done much to strengthen the Republican party in his own neighborhood. Mr. Hobart was well known to Mr. Hanna, and in all probability, his nomination had been scheduled for some time. It was practically announced early in June. He was a lawyer and a businessman with an exclusively local reputation; and if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it.[37]

Not for himself, but for our state; not for his ambition, but to give to the Nation the highest type of public official do we come to this convention, by the command of our state and in the name of the Republican Party of New Jersey—unconquered and unconquerable, undivided and indivisible—with our united voices speaking for all that counts for good citizenship in our state, and nominate to you for the office of Vice-President of the Republic, Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey.

John Franklin Fort of New Jersey, June 18, 1896[38]

McKinley was nominated for president on the first ballot. Hobart described his subsequent first-ballot nomination for vice president as a tribute from his friends, but Hatfield noted, "it came equally as a tribute from [Hanna, who] wanted a ticket to satisfy the business interests of America, and Hobart, a corporate lawyer, fit that requirement perfectly".[28] Although a Hobart nomination had been talked about at least since Griggs' victory the previous November, Hobart expressed reluctance in a letter to his wife from the convention: "It looks to me I will be nominated for Vice-President whether I want it or not, and as I get nearer to the point where I may, I am dismayed at the thought  ... If I want a nomination, everything is going my way. But when I realize all that it means in work, worry, and loss of home and bliss, I am overcome, so overcome I am simply miserable."[28] Despite Hobart's expressed hesitation, he was welcomed home by a crowd of 15,000 at the Paterson Armory. City officials, feeling they had insufficient fireworks to properly honor Hobart, obtained more from New York City.[39]

According to historian R. Hal Williams, the Republicans left St. Louis in June with "a popular, experienced [presidential] candidate, a respected vice-presidential nominee, and an attractive platform".[40] Many Republicans were convinced the election would be fought over the issue of tariffs, and they anticipated an easy victory.[41]

On June 30, 1896, Hobart journeyed by train to Canton, where he was met at the station by his running mate. McKinley drove Hobart to the Ohioan's home, where Hobart followed McKinley in speaking to a delegation which had arrived to greet the presidential candidate. Hobart only remained in Canton a few hours before returning east.[42] According to Magie, Hobart made the trip "to pay his respects to the head of the ticket and to consult with him upon important matters".[43] McKinley biographer Margaret Leech recorded that the two men were friends almost as soon as they met.[44]

Campaign edit

 
"Pioneer Cleveland", a Puck magazine cartoon showing Republicans following the path of the gold standard, which President Grover Cleveland (right) has blazed. Hobart (in a black coat just left of center) is wearing a campaign ribbon with his name on it, and walks between McKinley and former president Benjamin Harrison (with gray hat).

The Panic of 1893 had led to hard times in the United States, and the effects were still felt in 1896. One proposal to cure the economic malaise was "Free Silver"; that the government would accept silver bullion and return it to the depositor, struck into silver dollars. At the time, the silver in a dollar coin was worth $.53. Implementation of the proposals would increase the money supply and cause difficulties in international trade with nations that remained on the gold standard. Proponents argued that the increased money supply would stimulate the economy. President Grover Cleveland was firmly for the gold standard, a stance which bitterly divided the Democratic Party. Most Republicans were for the gold standard, though some, mostly from the West, were "Silver Republicans".[45] The Democrats in early July nominated for president an eloquent silver supporter, former Nebraska congressman William Jennings Bryan, whose Cross of Gold speech at the convention catapulted him to the nomination.[46] The selection of Bryan prompted a wave of popular support for the Democrats.[47]

Hobart was a strong supporter of the gold standard; and insisted on it remaining a major part of the Republican campaign even in the face of Bryan's surge. In his speech responding to the formal notification of his convention victory, Hobart stated, "An honest dollar, worth 100 cents everywhere, cannot be coined out of 53 cents worth of silver plus a legislative fiat. Such a debasement of our currency would inevitably produce incalculable loss, appalling disaster, and National dishonor."[39] McKinley was not as strong a supporter of the gold standard as Hobart and considered modifying some of Hobart's expressed views on the gold standard before the acceptance was printed for public distribution. Hobart insisted on it being printed without change, writing, "I think I know the sentiment of Eastern men better than you can, and with this knowledge and my convictions I must retain the statements as I have written them."[48] According to Connolly, "Though a protectionist, Hobart believed the money issue, not tariffs, led to a November Republican victory, and, in denouncing silver, his rhetoric far outstripped [that of] William McKinley."[39]

Together with Pennsylvania Senator Matthew Quay, Hobart ran the McKinley campaign's New York City office, often making the short journey from Paterson for strategy meetings. The vice-presidential candidate emulated McKinley in giving speeches from his front porch; unlike McKinley he also addressed rallies. In October, he made a short tour of New Jersey to campaign, expressing relief to his wife when it came to a close. On November 3, 1896, the voters cast their ballots in most states; a nervous Hobart spent the day at his office. Special telegraph wires had been attached to his home; at 8:30 in the evening, they conveyed the news to him that McKinley and Hobart had won. The Republican ticket won New Jersey, together with the entire Northeast. The following week, Vice President-elect Hobart attended Rutgers' 130th-anniversary celebrations as guest of honor. The member of the Class of 1863 was now Rutgers' most prominent graduate.[39]

Vice presidency (1897–1899) edit

Film of the 1897 inauguration with later audio commentary; Hobart appears, and commented on briefly, beginning at 0:38 mark.

Hobart spent much of the four months between election and inauguration reading about the vice presidency, preparing for the move, and winding down some business affairs. He did not, however, resign from the boards of corporations which would not have business before the federal government. "It would be highly ridiculous for me to resign from the different companies in which I am officer and a stockholder whose interests are not in the least affected, or likely to be, by my position as Vice President."[49] On March 2, 1897, Hobart and his family left Paterson to travel to Washington by special train.[50] On March 4, he was inaugurated as vice president in the Senate Chamber.[51] The Chicago Daily News predicted, "Garret A. Hobart will not be seen or heard until, after four years, he emerges from the impenetrable vacuum of the Vice Presidency."[52]

Presidential advisor edit

 
McKinley (left) and Hobart, photographed in Long Branch, New Jersey, during the summer of 1899

After moving to Washington, D.C., the Hobarts established themselves at the Arlington Hotel, which was the Washington, D.C. home to many political men of the era, including Hanna. Soon, however, Senator Don Cameron of Pennsylvania, who was retiring from office at the time of Hobart's inauguration, offered them the lease of the house he owned at 21 Madison Place, diagonally across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Executive Mansion, as the White House was then known. The asking price was $10,000 per year; the vice president bargained Cameron down to $8,000, equal to the vice-presidential salary, by suggesting that the public might assume he stole the excess.[53] Among the frequent visitors at what came to be known as the "Cream White House" was Hanna, by then a senator, who would come by for breakfast and talk with the vice president until it was time for both to go to the Senate.[54]

The president and vice president were already friends from the campaign; after the inauguration, a close relationship grew between the two men and their wives. The First Lady, Ida McKinley, had health issues, and could not stand the strain of the required official entertaining. Jennie Hobart often substituted for the first lady at receptions and other events, and also was a close companion, visiting her daily. The Hobarts and McKinleys visited each other's home without formality; according to Jennie Hobart, writing in 1930, "it was an intimate friendliness that no vice president and his wife, before or since, have had the privilege of sharing with their chief administrator."[55] The Hobarts often entertained at their house, which was useful to McKinley, who could attend and meet informally with congressmen without placing strain on his wife with a White House function. McKinley, who had become insolvent while governor of Ohio, turned over a portion of his presidential salary to Hobart to invest.[56]

The vice president had in recent administrations been considered a relatively low-level political functionary, whose activities were generally limited to the constitutional function of presiding over the Senate. Hobart, however, became a close adviser to McKinley and his Cabinet members, although he was not called upon to attend Cabinet meetings. Reporter Arthur Wallace Dunn wrote of Hobart in 1922, "for the first time in my recollection, and the last for that matter, the Vice President was recognized as somebody, as a part of the Administration, and as a part of the body over which he presided".[56]

Through late 1897 and early 1898, many Americans called for the United States to intervene in Cuba, then a Spanish colony revolting against the mother country. These calls greatly increased in February 1898, when the American battleship Maine sank in Havana harbor after an explosion. McKinley sought delay, hoping to settle the disputes peacefully, but in April 1898, Hobart told the President that the Senate would act against Spain whether McKinley liked it or not. McKinley gave in; Congress declared war on April 25, beginning the Spanish–American War, and Hobart sent McKinley a pen with which to sign the declaration.[57]

"Assistant President" edit

Hobart was more assertive as U.S. Senate president than his predecessors had been. It was customary for the vice president not to rule on disputed points, but to submit them to a vote. Hobart, with his experience as a presiding officer in the New Jersey Legislature, took a more assertive role, ruling on disputes, and trying to expedite legislation.[58] Hobart was initially diffident in his role, feeling himself unproven beside longtime national legislators, but soon gained self-confidence, writing in a letter that "I find that I am as good and as capable as any of them. If they know a whole lot of things I don't know, I also know a whole lot of things they don't know. And there is a common humanity running through them all that makes us all as one, after all."[59] Hobart was so successful at guiding the administration's legislative agenda through the Senate that he became known as the "assistant President".[14]

 
Vice President Hobart

Hobart was constant in his attendance at the Senate; one onlooker called him a "chronic audience".[60] Vice President Hobart cast his tie-breaking vote only once, using it to defeat an amendment which would have promised self-government to the Philippines, one of the possessions which the United States had taken from Spain after the war.[59] Hobart was instrumental in securing the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war; according to McKinley biographer H. Wayne Morgan, Hobart was "almost the president's alter ego, [turning] every screw with his legendary politeness".[61]

One post which Hobart refused to relinquish upon his inauguration was his position as one of three Joint Traffic Association (JTA) arbiters. The association was a group of railroads which sought to coordinate rates; if two railroads applied rates in different ways, the matter was settled by Hobart and two other arbiters. Hobart heard appeals while vice president.[62] An October 1897 Supreme Court decision signaled that the JTA was likely to be found in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (it was, the following year) and Hobart resigned as arbiter in November 1897.[63] Hobart was a major investor in the Ramapo Water Company; he had interests in many New York and New Jersey water utilities. In mid-1899, there was controversy over the so-called "Ramapo Scheme", whereby the Ramapo Water Company, which owned large tracts of land in the Catskill Mountains, would sell New York City $5 million in water per year for 40 years at high rates. The proposal was never agreed to, and a Republican-controlled investigating committee found no wrongdoing, but Hobart's role in the company was widely discussed in the press.[64]

Illness and death edit

 
The mausoleum of Garret and Jennie Hobart at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson, New Jersey[21]

By late 1898, Hobart was ill with a serious heart ailment, which he at first concealed from the public. He continued his responsibilities in the U.S. Senate, but nearly collapsed after delivering an address closing the session. He accompanied the president on a vacation trip to Hanna's winter home in Thomasville, Georgia, but quickly contracted the flu and returned to Washington, D.C.. By April 1899, Hobart's illness was well known, though Hanna assured media that Hobart would be on the ticket in the 1900 election, saying, "nothing but death or an earthquake can stop the re-nomination of Vice President Hobart".[65]

Hobart rented a home in his birthplace of Long Branch, New Jersey, which was then an upscale Jersey Shore resort. Doctors prescribed complete rest, and the vice president amused himself by feeding two pet fish, a gold one named McKinley and a silver one named Bryan.[66]

Despite his vice president's ill health, McKinley called upon him to break the news to Secretary of War Russell Alger that McKinley wanted him to resign; the secretary had previously ignored or misunderstood repeated hints from McKinley.[67] According to McKinley biographer Margaret Leech, "the president did not show his usual hypersensitive regard for other people's feelings in handing over to a sick man a disagreeable task which it was his own duty to perform."[68] Hobart invited Alger to Long Branch for the weekend, and broke the news, and Alger promptly submitted his resignation to McKinley.

Hobart's condition worsened in the days following Alger's visit, and he became bedridden. The Sun, a New York City-based newspaper at the time, attributed Alger's resignation to Hobart's "crystal insight" and "velvet tact". Following the description, Hobart wrote to McKinley, "My 'crystal insight' is still clear, but the nap is slightly worn off my velvet tact".[67]

After a vacation with the McKinleys on Lake Champlain, Hobart returned to Paterson in September. On November 1, 1899, the government announced that Hobart would not return to public life. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and he died on November 21, 1899, at age 55.[64] President McKinley told the family, "No one outside of this home feels this loss more deeply than I do."[69]

Foster Voorhees, the New Jersey governor ordered that state buildings be draped in mourning for 30 days, and that flags be flown at half staff until Hobart's funeral.[70] Hobart's home, Carroll Hall, was opened to the public for four hours so that citizens might pass by his open casket; 12,000 people did so. Hobart was laid to rest at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson after a large public funeral, attended by President McKinley and many high government officials. Although the large government delegation precluded many local residents from attending the service, a crowd of 50,000 came to Paterson to honor Hobart.[71]

The mausoleum over Hobart's grave was erected in 1901. His wife purchased eleven plots adjoining the family plot to accommodate the structure. The building has massive marble columns in the front with a heavy metal door; on the back above the sarcophagus is a stained glass window. There are two sarcophagi in the center of the building, for Garret Hobart and his wife. Around the tomb are niches for other members of the family. At the time of construction in 1901, the mausoleum cost about $80,000.[72]

Legacy edit

 
A statue of Hobart by Philip Martiny in Paterson, New Jersey

Hobart significantly expanded the powers of the vice presidency, becoming a presidential adviser, and taking a leadership role as president of the Senate.[14] Between his advisory and leadership roles, he was perhaps the most influential vice president since Martin Van Buren.[73] Although Magie, writing in 1910, stated that Hobart's death "fixed his memory at the height of his fame",[74] the former vice president is today little remembered. To date, the only in-depth biographies of Hobart are the one written in 1910 by Hobart's Presbyterian minister David Magie, as well as a 1930 memoir written by Hobart's wife Jennie on the couple's life in Washington D.C.[75] According to Hatfield, he is best known for his death, clearing the way for the ascent of New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt, who took Hobart's place on the Republican ticket in 1900 and succeeded as president after McKinley's assassination in 1901.[69]

Connolly finds Hobart to be very much a man of his times:

The public increasingly identified Republicans with the union of big business, big money, and big government, a union that ignited a Progressive reaction after 1900. Vice President Garret A. Hobart directed that union as lawyer, business receiver and director, and New Jersey Republican. He represented everything Progressives hated: a railroad advocate when railroads became America's most mistrusted industry, a corporate attorney who facilitated the agglomeration of capital when the public revolted against monopolies and trusts, a financial operator who used his political insight to capture lucrative business opportunities, and a national leader who moved easily between the worlds of political pull and economic power. As much as Hanna or any Gilded Age business-politician, Hobart symbolized the era.[75]

 
1901 bust of Hobart by Frank Elwell, part of the US. Senate Bust Collection

Roosevelt, Hobart's successor, praised Hobart. The day after Hobart's death, he stated:

What he did was done not by force of position, but by force of character, his rare tact, his extraordinary common sense, and the impression of sincerity he created upon every man with whom he was brought in contact.[76]

A statue of Hobart, erected in 1903, stands outside Paterson's city hall.[69] The communities of Hobart, Oklahoma, and Hobart, Washington, are named after the former vice president.[77]

During his vice presidency, Hobart was asked to select a sculptor to create a marble bust of his likeness for the United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection. However, he delayed the decision and died before he could select someone. Jennie Hobart later chose the prominent New Jersey sculptor Frank Edwin Elwell, and Elwell completed it in 1901. That same year, it was placed in the U.S. Capitol Building.[76]

Electoral history edit

Election Political result Candidate Party Votes % ±%
New Jersey General Assembly – Passaic County, Third District – November 5, 1872.Republican hold Garret HobartRepublican1,78765.03
William Oakley Democratic96134.97
New Jersey General Assembly – Passaic County, Third District – November 4, 1873.Republican hold Garret Hobart*Republican1,49059.29
Gerrit Planten Democratic1,02340.71
New Jersey Senate – Passaic County – November 7, 1876Republican gain from Democratic Garret HobartRepublican5,91254.16
Charles Inglis Democratic5,02245.84
New Jersey Senate – Passaic County – November 4, 1879Republican hold Garret Hobart*Republican5,54659.54
Garret A. Hopper Democratic3,64739.15
John Warr Greenback1221.31
1883 United States Senate election in New Jersey – by the New Jersey Legislature in joint session – January 24, 1883
For the six-year term beginning March 4, 1883. McPherson was elected on the first ballot; 41 votes needed for election.
Democratic hold John R. McPherson*Democratic4353.09
Garret Hobart Republican3644.44
George C. Ludlow Democratic22.47
1896 United States presidential election – Electoral College balloting for vice president. – Popular vote November 3, 1896 in most states.
The Democrats and People's Party (or Populists) both nominated William Jennings Bryan for president but the two parties chose different vice presidential candidates. Hobart's presidential running mate was William McKinley, who was also elected with 271 electoral votes. Candidates required 224 electoral votes for a majority. For the popular vote, see 1896 United States presidential election.
Republican gain from Democratic Garret HobartRepublican27160.63
Arthur Sewall Democratic14933.33
Thomas E. Watson Populist Party276.04

* Incumbent

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Magie, pp. 7–8.
  2. ^ Magie, pp. 4–7.
  3. ^ Magie, pp. 6–9.
  4. ^ Magie, p. 1.
  5. ^ Magie, p. 14.
  6. ^ Hatfield, p. 289.
  7. ^ Magie, pp. 14–16.
  8. ^ Magie, pp. 16–17.
  9. ^ Magie, p. 16.
  10. ^ Neso, Chelsea (October 14, 2011). "Five Things You Never Knew About Matawan and Aberdeen". Patch. New York, NY.
  11. ^ a b Magie, pp. 14–18.
  12. ^ Asbury Park Press, February 9, 1914, Page 4
  13. ^ a b Magie, p. 17.
  14. ^ a b c Miller Center, "Hobart".
  15. ^ Connolly, pp. 21–22.
  16. ^ Magie, pp. 20–23.
  17. ^ Hobart, p. 4.
  18. ^ Hatfield, pp. 289–290.
  19. ^ Magie, p. 26.
  20. ^ Connolly, p. 2.
  21. ^ a b The New York Times, June 10, 1902.
  22. ^ a b c d e Connolly, p. 22.
  23. ^ Magie, p. 29.
  24. ^ a b State of New Jersey, Manual of the Legislature.
  25. ^ Magie, pp. 29–30.
  26. ^ Magie, pp. 42–43.
  27. ^ a b c Connolly, p. 23.
  28. ^ a b c Hatfield, p. 290.
  29. ^ "New-Jersey Organizing; A Committee Of Seven To Map Out The Campaign". The New York Times, August 25, 1880. Accessed March 31, 2008.
  30. ^ "John Kean Elected Chairman". The New York Times, September 12, 1891. Accessed March 31, 2008
  31. ^ Magie, p. 50.
  32. ^ Connolly, pp. 22–23.
  33. ^ Hobart, p. 5.
  34. ^ Connolly, pp. 25–26.
  35. ^ Croly, p. 180.
  36. ^ Jones, pp. 175–176.
  37. ^ Croly, p. 191.
  38. ^ Law, p. 400.
  39. ^ a b c d Connolly, p. 27.
  40. ^ Williams, p. 65.
  41. ^ Williams, pp. 65–66.
  42. ^ Smith, pp. 31–35.
  43. ^ Magie, p. 113.
  44. ^ Leech, p. 68.
  45. ^ Williams, pp. 35–39.
  46. ^ Rhodes, pp. 13–16.
  47. ^ Horner, pp. 179–181.
  48. ^ Magie, p. 104.
  49. ^ Connolly, pp. 27–28.
  50. ^ Magie, p. 112.
  51. ^ Leech, p. 117.
  52. ^ Hobart, p. 15.
  53. ^ Hobart, p. 13.
  54. ^ Connolly, p. 29.
  55. ^ Hobart, pp. 13–15.
  56. ^ a b Hatfield, p. 291.
  57. ^ Hatfield, pp. 291–292.
  58. ^ Connolly, pp. 28–29.
  59. ^ a b Connolly, p. 31.
  60. ^ Connolly, p. 30.
  61. ^ Morgan, p. 320.
  62. ^ Connolly, pp. 23, 27–28.
  63. ^ Connolly, p. 32.
  64. ^ a b Connolly, pp. 33–38.
  65. ^ Connolly, p. 33.
  66. ^ Connolly, pp. 33–34.
  67. ^ a b Gould, pp. 175–176.
  68. ^ Leech, p. 376.
  69. ^ a b c Hatfield, p. 292.
  70. ^ Magie, p. 224.
  71. ^ Magie, pp. 226–241.
  72. ^ Matawan Journal May 16, 1901 - Page 4, column 1
  73. ^ Witcover, Jules (2014). The American Vice Presidency. Smithsonian Books. p. 227.
  74. ^ Magie, p. 263.
  75. ^ a b Connolly, p. 39.
  76. ^ a b "Garret Augustus Hobart (1844-1899)" (PDF). GovInfo. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  77. ^ Encyclopedia of Oklahoma, "Hobart".

Bibliography

  • Connolly, Michael J. (2010). "'I Make Politics My Recreation': Vice President Garret A. Hobart and Nineteenth Century Republican Business Politics". New Jersey History. Newark, N.J.: New Jersey Historical Society. 125 (1): 20–39. doi:10.14713/njh.v125i1.1019.
  • Croly, Herbert (1912). Marcus Alonzo Hanna: His Life and Work. New York: The Macmillan Company. OCLC 715683. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  • Gould, Lewis L. (1980). The Presidency of William McKinley. American Presidency. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-0206-3.
  • Hatfield, Mark O. (1997). Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789–1993 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-7567-0968-6.
  • Hobart, Jennie (1930). Memories. Mount Vernon, N.Y.: William Edwin Rudge. OCLC 4428978.
  • Horner, William T. (2010). Ohio's Kingmaker: Mark Hanna, Man and Myth. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-1894-9.
  • Jones, Stanley L. (1964). The Presidential Election of 1896. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. OCLC 445683.
  • Law, Robert O. (1896). The Parties and the Men; or, Political Issues of 1896. unknown. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  • Leech, Margaret (1959). In the Days of McKinley. New York: Harper and Brothers. OCLC 456809.
  • Magie, David (1910). Life of Garret Augustus Hobart. New York: G. P. Putnam and Sons. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  • Morgan, H. Wayne (2003). William McKinley and His America (revised ed.). Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-765-1.
  • Rhodes, James Ford (1922). The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations, 1897–1909. New York: The Macmillan Company. OCLC 457006. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  • Williams, R. Hal (2010). Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan and the Remarkable Election of 1896. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1721-0.

Other sources

  • David, Paul T. (November 1967). "The Vice Presidency: Its Institutional Evolution and Contemporary Status". The Journal of Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 29 (4): 721–748. doi:10.2307/2128760. JSTOR 2128760. S2CID 154467336.
  • . American President: A Reference Resource. Charlottesville, Va.: Miller Center (University of Virginia). 2011. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  • "Hobert's body entombed". The New York Times. June 10, 1902. p. 2. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  • . Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 11, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  • Smith, Joseph P. (1896). McKinley, the People's Choice. Canton, Ohio: The Repository Press. p. 1. Retrieved November 28, 2011. garret hobart canton.
  • State of New Jersey (1874). Manual of the Legislature. Morristown, N.J.: F. L. Lundy. p. 87. Retrieved November 26, 2011.

External links edit

Political offices
Preceded by
Isaac L. Fisher
Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
1874
Succeeded by
George O. Vanderbilt
Preceded by President of the New Jersey Senate
1881–1882
Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice President of the United States
1897–1899
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Vice Chair of the Republican National Committee
1881–1896
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the New Jersey Republican Party
1880–1891
Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States
1896
Succeeded by

garret, hobart, garret, augustus, hobart, june, 1844, november, 1899, 24th, vice, president, united, states, serving, from, 1897, until, death, 1899, under, president, william, mckinley, member, republican, party, hobart, influential, jersey, businessman, poli. Garret Augustus Hobart June 3 1844 November 21 1899 was the 24th vice president of the United States serving from 1897 until his death in 1899 under President William McKinley A member of the Republican Party Hobart was an influential New Jersey businessman politician and political operative prior to his vice presidency Garret HobartHobart c 189724th Vice President of the United StatesIn office March 4 1897 November 21 1899PresidentWilliam McKinleyPreceded byAdlai StevensonSucceeded byTheodore RooseveltPresident of the New Jersey SenateIn office January 11 1881 January 9 1883Preceded byWilliam Joyce SewellSucceeded byJohn J GardnerSpeaker of the New Jersey General AssemblyIn office January 13 1874 January 12 1875Preceded byIsaac L FisherSucceeded byGeorge O VanderbiltMember of the New Jersey Senatefrom Passaic CountyIn office January 9 1877 January 9 1883Preceded byJohn HopperSucceeded byJohn W GriggsMember of the New Jersey General Assembly from Passaic s 3rd districtIn office January 14 1873 January 12 1875Preceded byRobert M TorbetSucceeded byRobert M TorbetPersonal detailsBornGarret Augustus Hobart 1844 06 03 June 3 1844Long Branch New Jersey U S DiedNovember 21 1899 1899 11 21 aged 55 Paterson New Jersey U S Resting placeCedar Lawn Cemetery Paterson New Jersey U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseJennie Tuttle m 1869 wbr Children4RelativesGeorge S Hobart nephew EducationRutgers College BA ProfessionPoliticianattorneySignatureHobart was born in Long Branch New Jersey on the Jersey Shore and grew up in nearby Marlboro He attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick and read law under Paterson based attorney Socrates Tuttle He both studied with Tuttle and married his daughter Jennie Although he rarely set foot in a courtroom Hobart became wealthy as a corporate lawyer Hobart served in local governmental positions and then successfully ran for office as a Republican serving in both the New Jersey General Assembly where he was elected Speaker in 1874 and the New Jersey Senate where he became its president in 1881 He was a longtime party official during the 1896 Republican National Convention New Jersey delegates to the convention were determined to nominate him for vice president Hobart s political views were similar to those of William McKinley the presumptive Republican presidential candidate With New Jersey a key state in the upcoming election McKinley and his close adviser future U S Senator Mark Hanna decided to have the convention select Hobart The vice presidential candidate emulated his running mate with a front porch campaign and also spent considerable time at the campaign s New York City headquarters On November 3 1896 McKinley and Hobart were elected As vice president Hobart proved a popular figure in Washington and was a close adviser to McKinley Hobart s tact and good humor were valuable to the President as in mid 1899 when Secretary of War Russell Alger failed to understand that McKinley wanted him to leave office Hobart invited Alger to his New Jersey summer home and broke the news to the secretary who submitted his resignation to McKinley on his return to Washington Hobart died on November 21 1899 of heart disease at age 55 his place on the Republican ticket in 1900 was taken by Theodore Roosevelt Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Law practice 2 2 Political career 3 Election of 1896 3 1 Selection as candidate 3 2 Campaign 4 Vice presidency 1897 1899 4 1 Presidential advisor 4 2 Assistant President 4 3 Illness and death 5 Legacy 6 Electoral history 7 References 8 External linksEarly life and education edit nbsp Hobart as a young boy c 1858Garret Augustus Hobart was born on June 3 1844 in Long Branch New Jersey to Addison Willard Hobart and the former Sophia Vanderveer 1 Addison Hobart descended from the early colonial era settlers of New England many Hobarts served as pastors 2 Addison Hobart came to New Jersey where he taught school in Bradevelt a small hamlet in Marlboro Township New Jersey 1 His mother was descended from 17th century Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam in present day New York City who later moved to Long Island and then ultimately to New Jersey 3 When Addison and Sophia Hobart married in 1841 they moved to Long Branch where Addison founded an elementary school 1 4 The couple had three children who survived infancy Garret was the second of three boys 5 Hobart initially attended his father s school in Long Branch 6 The family moved to Marlboro in the early 1850s where he attended the village school 7 Childhood tales of the future vice president describe him as an excellent student in both day and Sunday School and a leader in boyhood sports 8 Recognizing his abilities his father sent him to a well regarded school in Freehold After a disagreement with the teacher however he refused to return 9 He then attended Middletown Point Academy later known as the Glenwood Institute a boarding school in Matawan New Jersey 10 Hobart graduated at age 15 His parents felt he was too young to attend college so he remained at home for a year where he studied and worked part time at the Bradevelt School the same institution that employed his father 11 12 In 1860 Hobart enrolled at Rutgers College 13 In 1863 he graduated third in his class 13 Throughout his adult life Hobart was a generous donor to Rutgers and was awarded an honorary degree after becoming vice president and was elected a Rutgers trustee shortly before his death 11 Career editLaw practice edit nbsp Paterson based lawyer Socrates Tuttle taught Hobart the law and helped advance his political career in 1869 Hobart married Tuttle s daughter JennieAfter graduating from Rutgers Hobart worked briefly as a teacher to repay loans 14 Although Hobart was young and in good health he did not serve in the Union Army 15 Addison Hobart s childhood friend lawyer Socrates Tuttle offered to take Hobart into his office to study law Tuttle was a prominent Passaic County lawyer who had served in the New Jersey state legislature Hobart supported himself by working as a bank clerk in Paterson he later became director of the same bank Hobart was admitted to the bar in 1866 he became a counsellor at law in 1871 and a master in chancery in 1872 16 In addition to learning law from Tuttle Hobart fell in love with his daughter Jennie Tuttle Hobart who later recalled When this attractive young law student appeared in our home I then a young girl in my teens unexpectedly played a role of importance by losing my heart to him 17 They were married on July 21 1869 The Hobarts had long been Democrats Garret Hobart s marriage into the Republican Tuttle family converted him 18 The Hobarts had four children two of whom survived infancy One daughter Fannie died in 1895 Hobart s son Garret Jr survived him 19 20 21 Socrates Tuttle was influential in Paterson which worked to Hobart s advantage According to 2010 article about Hobart the future vice president benefited greatly from Tuttle s beneficence 22 In 1866 the year he became a lawyer Hobart was appointed grand jury clerk for Passaic County New Jersey When Tuttle became mayor of Paterson in 1871 he appointed Hobart as city counsel A year later Hobart became counsel for the county Board of Chosen Freeholders 22 23 Political career edit nbsp Hobart at his desk date unknownIn 1872 Hobart ran as a Republican for the New Jersey General Assembly from Passaic County s third legislative district He was easily elected winning nearly two thirds of the vote At the time members of the General Assembly were elected annually and Hobart was successful in winning re election the following year although his margin of victory was cut in half 24 In 1874 still only age 30 he was voted Speaker of the Assembly 22 In 1876 he was nominated for the New Jersey Senate seat for Passaic County He was elected to a three year term and he was re elected in 1879 In 1881 and 1882 he served as President of the state Senate becoming the first man to lead both houses of the legislature 25 In 1883 he was the Republican nominee in the election for United States Senate until 1913 senators were elected by state legislatures As the Democrats were in the majority the nomination was a way of honoring Hobart for his political service When he was asked his feelings about the nomination he responded I do not worry about things that do not come my way The complimentary nomination would prove to be Hobart s only electoral defeat 22 26 Hobart said of his involvement in public affairs I make politics my recreation 22 He devoted most of his time to a law practice which according to Hobart s legislative biography was highly profitable 24 He was rarely seen in a courtroom his official biography for the 1896 campaign acknowledged that he has actually appeared in court a smaller number of times than perhaps any lawyer in Passaic County 27 Hobart s real work was in advising corporations how to accomplish their aims yet remain within the law 27 He also had a lucrative business acting as court appointed receiver of bankrupt railroads reorganizing them and restoring them to fiscal health He often invested heavily in them Hobart s success made him wealthy In addition to the railroads for which he served as a receiver he served as president of the Paterson Railway Company which ran the city s streetcars and as a board member for other railroads 27 One reason for Hobart s success in both the private and public sectors was his genial personality He worked well with others and was noted for tact and charm Senator Mark Hatfield in his book on American vice presidents suggests that these qualities would have made Hobart successful in Washington D C had he run for Congress Hatfield states that the reason why Hobart chose not to move from state to national politics prior to 1896 was a reluctance to leave a comfortable life and successful law practice in Paterson 28 Instead Hobart continued to involve himself in party politics he was widely regarded as Northern New Jersey s most influential Republican Beginning in 1876 he was a delegate to every Republican National Convention in his lifetime He was chairman of the New Jersey Republican Committee from 1880 to 1891 resigning the position as he became more deeply involved in Republican National Committee affairs 29 30 He was New Jersey s representative on the national committee after 1884 and rose to become vice chairman 31 32 Election of 1896 editFurther information 1896 United States presidential election and William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign Selection as candidate edit nbsp Hobart s wife Jennie nbsp A McKinley Hobart campaign poster during the 1896 campaignJennie Tuttle Hobart in her memoirs traced her suspicions that her husband might be a vice presidential contender to a lunch she had with him at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City in March 1895 During the meal industrialist and future U S Senator Mark Hanna interrupted them to ask what Garret Hobart thought of the possible presidential candidacy of Ohio governor William McKinley Hanna was one of McKinley s principal backers Garret Hobart evaded the question but Jennie Hobart believed the conversation to have been the first of a chain of events which elevated her husband to national office 33 In November 1895 Republican John Griggs was elected governor of New Jersey his campaign was managed by Hobart The election of New Jersey s first Republican governor since the 1860s led to speculation in the newspapers that Hobart would be a candidate for vice president New Jersey Republicans were anxious to nominate Hobart both to see one of their own possibly elevated to national office and in the hope that having Hobart on the national ticket would boost the Republican vote in New Jersey Hobart was an attractive candidate as he was from a swing state and the Griggs victory showed that Republicans could hope to win New Jersey s electoral votes which they had not done since 1872 Another reason for a Hobart selection was his wealth he could be expected to spend abundantly on his own campaign 34 According to Hanna biographer Herbert Croly Hobart an early supporter of McKinley helped ensure New Jersey s support for him at the Republican convention 35 Historian Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 election stated that Hobart stopped off in Canton Ohio McKinley s hometown en route to the convention in St Louis Jones wrote that the future vice president was selected several days in advance after Speaker of the House Thomas Reed of Maine turned down the nomination 36 Croly asserted that McKinley and Hanna desired an easterner on the ticket to balance it and boost support in the Mid Atlantic region The conventional means of assuring this was to nominate a politician from New York then the largest state in population As many New York delegates supported their favorite son candidate Governor and former vice president Levi P Morton instead of McKinley giving the state the vice presidential nomination would be an unmerited reward According to Croly On the other hand the adjoining state of New Jersey submitted an eligible candidate in Mr Garret A Hobart who had done much to strengthen the Republican party in his own neighborhood Mr Hobart was well known to Mr Hanna and in all probability his nomination had been scheduled for some time It was practically announced early in June He was a lawyer and a businessman with an exclusively local reputation and if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it 37 Not for himself but for our state not for his ambition but to give to the Nation the highest type of public official do we come to this convention by the command of our state and in the name of the Republican Party of New Jersey unconquered and unconquerable undivided and indivisible with our united voices speaking for all that counts for good citizenship in our state and nominate to you for the office of Vice President of the Republic Garret A Hobart of New Jersey John Franklin Fort of New Jersey June 18 1896 38 McKinley was nominated for president on the first ballot Hobart described his subsequent first ballot nomination for vice president as a tribute from his friends but Hatfield noted it came equally as a tribute from Hanna who wanted a ticket to satisfy the business interests of America and Hobart a corporate lawyer fit that requirement perfectly 28 Although a Hobart nomination had been talked about at least since Griggs victory the previous November Hobart expressed reluctance in a letter to his wife from the convention It looks to me I will be nominated for Vice President whether I want it or not and as I get nearer to the point where I may I am dismayed at the thought If I want a nomination everything is going my way But when I realize all that it means in work worry and loss of home and bliss I am overcome so overcome I am simply miserable 28 Despite Hobart s expressed hesitation he was welcomed home by a crowd of 15 000 at the Paterson Armory City officials feeling they had insufficient fireworks to properly honor Hobart obtained more from New York City 39 According to historian R Hal Williams the Republicans left St Louis in June with a popular experienced presidential candidate a respected vice presidential nominee and an attractive platform 40 Many Republicans were convinced the election would be fought over the issue of tariffs and they anticipated an easy victory 41 On June 30 1896 Hobart journeyed by train to Canton where he was met at the station by his running mate McKinley drove Hobart to the Ohioan s home where Hobart followed McKinley in speaking to a delegation which had arrived to greet the presidential candidate Hobart only remained in Canton a few hours before returning east 42 According to Magie Hobart made the trip to pay his respects to the head of the ticket and to consult with him upon important matters 43 McKinley biographer Margaret Leech recorded that the two men were friends almost as soon as they met 44 Campaign edit For a fuller explanation of the currency question in 1896 see Cross of Gold speech Background nbsp Pioneer Cleveland a Puck magazine cartoon showing Republicans following the path of the gold standard which President Grover Cleveland right has blazed Hobart in a black coat just left of center is wearing a campaign ribbon with his name on it and walks between McKinley and former president Benjamin Harrison with gray hat The Panic of 1893 had led to hard times in the United States and the effects were still felt in 1896 One proposal to cure the economic malaise was Free Silver that the government would accept silver bullion and return it to the depositor struck into silver dollars At the time the silver in a dollar coin was worth 53 Implementation of the proposals would increase the money supply and cause difficulties in international trade with nations that remained on the gold standard Proponents argued that the increased money supply would stimulate the economy President Grover Cleveland was firmly for the gold standard a stance which bitterly divided the Democratic Party Most Republicans were for the gold standard though some mostly from the West were Silver Republicans 45 The Democrats in early July nominated for president an eloquent silver supporter former Nebraska congressman William Jennings Bryan whose Cross of Gold speech at the convention catapulted him to the nomination 46 The selection of Bryan prompted a wave of popular support for the Democrats 47 Hobart was a strong supporter of the gold standard and insisted on it remaining a major part of the Republican campaign even in the face of Bryan s surge In his speech responding to the formal notification of his convention victory Hobart stated An honest dollar worth 100 cents everywhere cannot be coined out of 53 cents worth of silver plus a legislative fiat Such a debasement of our currency would inevitably produce incalculable loss appalling disaster and National dishonor 39 McKinley was not as strong a supporter of the gold standard as Hobart and considered modifying some of Hobart s expressed views on the gold standard before the acceptance was printed for public distribution Hobart insisted on it being printed without change writing I think I know the sentiment of Eastern men better than you can and with this knowledge and my convictions I must retain the statements as I have written them 48 According to Connolly Though a protectionist Hobart believed the money issue not tariffs led to a November Republican victory and in denouncing silver his rhetoric far outstripped that of William McKinley 39 Together with Pennsylvania Senator Matthew Quay Hobart ran the McKinley campaign s New York City office often making the short journey from Paterson for strategy meetings The vice presidential candidate emulated McKinley in giving speeches from his front porch unlike McKinley he also addressed rallies In October he made a short tour of New Jersey to campaign expressing relief to his wife when it came to a close On November 3 1896 the voters cast their ballots in most states a nervous Hobart spent the day at his office Special telegraph wires had been attached to his home at 8 30 in the evening they conveyed the news to him that McKinley and Hobart had won The Republican ticket won New Jersey together with the entire Northeast The following week Vice President elect Hobart attended Rutgers 130th anniversary celebrations as guest of honor The member of the Class of 1863 was now Rutgers most prominent graduate 39 Vice presidency 1897 1899 edit source source source source Film of the 1897 inauguration with later audio commentary Hobart appears and commented on briefly beginning at 0 38 mark Hobart spent much of the four months between election and inauguration reading about the vice presidency preparing for the move and winding down some business affairs He did not however resign from the boards of corporations which would not have business before the federal government It would be highly ridiculous for me to resign from the different companies in which I am officer and a stockholder whose interests are not in the least affected or likely to be by my position as Vice President 49 On March 2 1897 Hobart and his family left Paterson to travel to Washington by special train 50 On March 4 he was inaugurated as vice president in the Senate Chamber 51 The Chicago Daily News predicted Garret A Hobart will not be seen or heard until after four years he emerges from the impenetrable vacuum of the Vice Presidency 52 Presidential advisor edit nbsp McKinley left and Hobart photographed in Long Branch New Jersey during the summer of 1899After moving to Washington D C the Hobarts established themselves at the Arlington Hotel which was the Washington D C home to many political men of the era including Hanna Soon however Senator Don Cameron of Pennsylvania who was retiring from office at the time of Hobart s inauguration offered them the lease of the house he owned at 21 Madison Place diagonally across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Executive Mansion as the White House was then known The asking price was 10 000 per year the vice president bargained Cameron down to 8 000 equal to the vice presidential salary by suggesting that the public might assume he stole the excess 53 Among the frequent visitors at what came to be known as the Cream White House was Hanna by then a senator who would come by for breakfast and talk with the vice president until it was time for both to go to the Senate 54 The president and vice president were already friends from the campaign after the inauguration a close relationship grew between the two men and their wives The First Lady Ida McKinley had health issues and could not stand the strain of the required official entertaining Jennie Hobart often substituted for the first lady at receptions and other events and also was a close companion visiting her daily The Hobarts and McKinleys visited each other s home without formality according to Jennie Hobart writing in 1930 it was an intimate friendliness that no vice president and his wife before or since have had the privilege of sharing with their chief administrator 55 The Hobarts often entertained at their house which was useful to McKinley who could attend and meet informally with congressmen without placing strain on his wife with a White House function McKinley who had become insolvent while governor of Ohio turned over a portion of his presidential salary to Hobart to invest 56 The vice president had in recent administrations been considered a relatively low level political functionary whose activities were generally limited to the constitutional function of presiding over the Senate Hobart however became a close adviser to McKinley and his Cabinet members although he was not called upon to attend Cabinet meetings Reporter Arthur Wallace Dunn wrote of Hobart in 1922 for the first time in my recollection and the last for that matter the Vice President was recognized as somebody as a part of the Administration and as a part of the body over which he presided 56 Through late 1897 and early 1898 many Americans called for the United States to intervene in Cuba then a Spanish colony revolting against the mother country These calls greatly increased in February 1898 when the American battleship Maine sank in Havana harbor after an explosion McKinley sought delay hoping to settle the disputes peacefully but in April 1898 Hobart told the President that the Senate would act against Spain whether McKinley liked it or not McKinley gave in Congress declared war on April 25 beginning the Spanish American War and Hobart sent McKinley a pen with which to sign the declaration 57 Assistant President edit Hobart was more assertive as U S Senate president than his predecessors had been It was customary for the vice president not to rule on disputed points but to submit them to a vote Hobart with his experience as a presiding officer in the New Jersey Legislature took a more assertive role ruling on disputes and trying to expedite legislation 58 Hobart was initially diffident in his role feeling himself unproven beside longtime national legislators but soon gained self confidence writing in a letter that I find that I am as good and as capable as any of them If they know a whole lot of things I don t know I also know a whole lot of things they don t know And there is a common humanity running through them all that makes us all as one after all 59 Hobart was so successful at guiding the administration s legislative agenda through the Senate that he became known as the assistant President 14 nbsp Vice President HobartHobart was constant in his attendance at the Senate one onlooker called him a chronic audience 60 Vice President Hobart cast his tie breaking vote only once using it to defeat an amendment which would have promised self government to the Philippines one of the possessions which the United States had taken from Spain after the war 59 Hobart was instrumental in securing the ratification of the Treaty of Paris which ended the war according to McKinley biographer H Wayne Morgan Hobart was almost the president s alter ego turning every screw with his legendary politeness 61 One post which Hobart refused to relinquish upon his inauguration was his position as one of three Joint Traffic Association JTA arbiters The association was a group of railroads which sought to coordinate rates if two railroads applied rates in different ways the matter was settled by Hobart and two other arbiters Hobart heard appeals while vice president 62 An October 1897 Supreme Court decision signaled that the JTA was likely to be found in violation of the Sherman Anti Trust Act it was the following year and Hobart resigned as arbiter in November 1897 63 Hobart was a major investor in the Ramapo Water Company he had interests in many New York and New Jersey water utilities In mid 1899 there was controversy over the so called Ramapo Scheme whereby the Ramapo Water Company which owned large tracts of land in the Catskill Mountains would sell New York City 5 million in water per year for 40 years at high rates The proposal was never agreed to and a Republican controlled investigating committee found no wrongdoing but Hobart s role in the company was widely discussed in the press 64 Illness and death edit nbsp The mausoleum of Garret and Jennie Hobart at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson New Jersey 21 By late 1898 Hobart was ill with a serious heart ailment which he at first concealed from the public He continued his responsibilities in the U S Senate but nearly collapsed after delivering an address closing the session He accompanied the president on a vacation trip to Hanna s winter home in Thomasville Georgia but quickly contracted the flu and returned to Washington D C By April 1899 Hobart s illness was well known though Hanna assured media that Hobart would be on the ticket in the 1900 election saying nothing but death or an earthquake can stop the re nomination of Vice President Hobart 65 Hobart rented a home in his birthplace of Long Branch New Jersey which was then an upscale Jersey Shore resort Doctors prescribed complete rest and the vice president amused himself by feeding two pet fish a gold one named McKinley and a silver one named Bryan 66 Despite his vice president s ill health McKinley called upon him to break the news to Secretary of War Russell Alger that McKinley wanted him to resign the secretary had previously ignored or misunderstood repeated hints from McKinley 67 According to McKinley biographer Margaret Leech the president did not show his usual hypersensitive regard for other people s feelings in handing over to a sick man a disagreeable task which it was his own duty to perform 68 Hobart invited Alger to Long Branch for the weekend and broke the news and Alger promptly submitted his resignation to McKinley Hobart s condition worsened in the days following Alger s visit and he became bedridden The Sun a New York City based newspaper at the time attributed Alger s resignation to Hobart s crystal insight and velvet tact Following the description Hobart wrote to McKinley My crystal insight is still clear but the nap is slightly worn off my velvet tact 67 After a vacation with the McKinleys on Lake Champlain Hobart returned to Paterson in September On November 1 1899 the government announced that Hobart would not return to public life His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on November 21 1899 at age 55 64 President McKinley told the family No one outside of this home feels this loss more deeply than I do 69 Foster Voorhees the New Jersey governor ordered that state buildings be draped in mourning for 30 days and that flags be flown at half staff until Hobart s funeral 70 Hobart s home Carroll Hall was opened to the public for four hours so that citizens might pass by his open casket 12 000 people did so Hobart was laid to rest at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson after a large public funeral attended by President McKinley and many high government officials Although the large government delegation precluded many local residents from attending the service a crowd of 50 000 came to Paterson to honor Hobart 71 The mausoleum over Hobart s grave was erected in 1901 His wife purchased eleven plots adjoining the family plot to accommodate the structure The building has massive marble columns in the front with a heavy metal door on the back above the sarcophagus is a stained glass window There are two sarcophagi in the center of the building for Garret Hobart and his wife Around the tomb are niches for other members of the family At the time of construction in 1901 the mausoleum cost about 80 000 72 Legacy edit nbsp A statue of Hobart by Philip Martiny in Paterson New JerseyHobart significantly expanded the powers of the vice presidency becoming a presidential adviser and taking a leadership role as president of the Senate 14 Between his advisory and leadership roles he was perhaps the most influential vice president since Martin Van Buren 73 Although Magie writing in 1910 stated that Hobart s death fixed his memory at the height of his fame 74 the former vice president is today little remembered To date the only in depth biographies of Hobart are the one written in 1910 by Hobart s Presbyterian minister David Magie as well as a 1930 memoir written by Hobart s wife Jennie on the couple s life in Washington D C 75 According to Hatfield he is best known for his death clearing the way for the ascent of New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt who took Hobart s place on the Republican ticket in 1900 and succeeded as president after McKinley s assassination in 1901 69 Connolly finds Hobart to be very much a man of his times The public increasingly identified Republicans with the union of big business big money and big government a union that ignited a Progressive reaction after 1900 Vice President Garret A Hobart directed that union as lawyer business receiver and director and New Jersey Republican He represented everything Progressives hated a railroad advocate when railroads became America s most mistrusted industry a corporate attorney who facilitated the agglomeration of capital when the public revolted against monopolies and trusts a financial operator who used his political insight to capture lucrative business opportunities and a national leader who moved easily between the worlds of political pull and economic power As much as Hanna or any Gilded Age business politician Hobart symbolized the era 75 nbsp 1901 bust of Hobart by Frank Elwell part of the US Senate Bust CollectionRoosevelt Hobart s successor praised Hobart The day after Hobart s death he stated What he did was done not by force of position but by force of character his rare tact his extraordinary common sense and the impression of sincerity he created upon every man with whom he was brought in contact 76 A statue of Hobart erected in 1903 stands outside Paterson s city hall 69 The communities of Hobart Oklahoma and Hobart Washington are named after the former vice president 77 During his vice presidency Hobart was asked to select a sculptor to create a marble bust of his likeness for the United States Senate Vice Presidential Bust Collection However he delayed the decision and died before he could select someone Jennie Hobart later chose the prominent New Jersey sculptor Frank Edwin Elwell and Elwell completed it in 1901 That same year it was placed in the U S Capitol Building 76 Electoral history editElection Political result Candidate Party Votes New Jersey General Assembly Passaic County Third District November 5 1872 Republican holdGarret HobartRepublican1 78765 03William OakleyDemocratic96134 97New Jersey General Assembly Passaic County Third District November 4 1873 Republican holdGarret Hobart Republican1 49059 29Gerrit PlantenDemocratic1 02340 71New Jersey Senate Passaic County November 7 1876Republican gain from DemocraticGarret HobartRepublican5 91254 16Charles InglisDemocratic5 02245 84New Jersey Senate Passaic County November 4 1879Republican holdGarret Hobart Republican5 54659 54Garret A HopperDemocratic3 64739 15John WarrGreenback1221 311883 United States Senate election in New Jersey by the New Jersey Legislature in joint session January 24 1883For the six year term beginning March 4 1883 McPherson was elected on the first ballot 41 votes needed for election Democratic holdJohn R McPherson Democratic4353 09Garret HobartRepublican3644 44George C LudlowDemocratic22 471896 United States presidential election Electoral College balloting for vice president Popular vote November 3 1896 in most states The Democrats and People s Party or Populists both nominated William Jennings Bryan for president but the two parties chose different vice presidential candidates Hobart s presidential running mate was William McKinley who was also elected with 271 electoral votes Candidates required 224 electoral votes for a majority For the popular vote see 1896 United States presidential election Republican gain from DemocraticGarret HobartRepublican27160 63Arthur SewallDemocratic14933 33Thomas E WatsonPopulist Party276 04 IncumbentReferences edit a b c Magie pp 7 8 Magie pp 4 7 Magie pp 6 9 Magie p 1 Magie p 14 Hatfield p 289 Magie pp 14 16 Magie pp 16 17 Magie p 16 Neso Chelsea October 14 2011 Five Things You Never Knew About Matawan and Aberdeen Patch New York NY a b Magie pp 14 18 Asbury Park Press February 9 1914 Page 4 a b Magie p 17 a b c Miller Center Hobart Connolly pp 21 22 Magie pp 20 23 Hobart p 4 Hatfield pp 289 290 Magie p 26 Connolly p 2 a b The New York Times June 10 1902 a b c d e Connolly p 22 Magie p 29 a b State of New Jersey Manual of the Legislature Magie pp 29 30 Magie pp 42 43 a b c Connolly p 23 a b c Hatfield p 290 New Jersey Organizing A Committee Of Seven To Map Out The Campaign The New York Times August 25 1880 Accessed March 31 2008 John Kean Elected Chairman The New York Times September 12 1891 Accessed March 31 2008 Magie p 50 Connolly pp 22 23 Hobart p 5 Connolly pp 25 26 Croly p 180 Jones pp 175 176 Croly p 191 Law p 400 a b c d Connolly p 27 Williams p 65 Williams pp 65 66 Smith pp 31 35 Magie p 113 Leech p 68 Williams pp 35 39 Rhodes pp 13 16 Horner pp 179 181 Magie p 104 Connolly pp 27 28 Magie p 112 Leech p 117 Hobart p 15 Hobart p 13 Connolly p 29 Hobart pp 13 15 a b Hatfield p 291 Hatfield pp 291 292 Connolly pp 28 29 a b Connolly p 31 Connolly p 30 Morgan p 320 Connolly pp 23 27 28 Connolly p 32 a b Connolly pp 33 38 Connolly p 33 Connolly pp 33 34 a b Gould pp 175 176 Leech p 376 a b c Hatfield p 292 Magie p 224 Magie pp 226 241 Matawan Journal May 16 1901 Page 4 column 1 Witcover Jules 2014 The American Vice Presidency Smithsonian Books p 227 Magie p 263 a b Connolly p 39 a b Garret Augustus Hobart 1844 1899 PDF GovInfo Retrieved February 9 2024 Encyclopedia of Oklahoma Hobart Bibliography nbsp Biography portalConnolly Michael J 2010 I Make Politics My Recreation Vice President Garret A Hobart and Nineteenth Century Republican Business Politics New Jersey History Newark N J New Jersey Historical Society 125 1 20 39 doi 10 14713 njh v125i1 1019 Croly Herbert 1912 Marcus Alonzo Hanna His Life and Work New York The Macmillan Company OCLC 715683 Retrieved October 28 2011 Gould Lewis L 1980 The Presidency of William McKinley American Presidency Lawrence Kan University Press of Kansas ISBN 978 0 7006 0206 3 Hatfield Mark O 1997 Vice Presidents of the United States 1789 1993 PDF Washington D C United States Government Printing Office ISBN 978 0 7567 0968 6 Hobart Jennie 1930 Memories Mount Vernon N Y William Edwin Rudge OCLC 4428978 Horner William T 2010 Ohio s Kingmaker Mark Hanna Man and Myth Athens Ohio Ohio University Press ISBN 978 0 8214 1894 9 Jones Stanley L 1964 The Presidential Election of 1896 Madison Wis University of Wisconsin Press OCLC 445683 Law Robert O 1896 The Parties and the Men or Political Issues of 1896 unknown Retrieved March 20 2012 Leech Margaret 1959 In the Days of McKinley New York Harper and Brothers OCLC 456809 Magie David 1910 Life of Garret Augustus Hobart New York G P Putnam and Sons Retrieved November 22 2011 Morgan H Wayne 2003 William McKinley and His America revised ed Kent Ohio The Kent State University Press ISBN 978 0 87338 765 1 Rhodes James Ford 1922 The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations 1897 1909 New York The Macmillan Company OCLC 457006 Retrieved October 28 2011 Williams R Hal 2010 Realigning America McKinley Bryan and the Remarkable Election of 1896 Lawrence Kan University Press of Kansas ISBN 978 0 7006 1721 0 Other sources David Paul T November 1967 The Vice Presidency Its Institutional Evolution and Contemporary Status The Journal of Politics Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press 29 4 721 748 doi 10 2307 2128760 JSTOR 2128760 S2CID 154467336 Garret A Hobart 1897 1899 American President A Reference Resource Charlottesville Va Miller Center University of Virginia 2011 Archived from the original on August 19 2013 Retrieved November 25 2011 Hobert s body entombed The New York Times June 10 1902 p 2 Retrieved December 11 2011 Hobart Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History amp Culture Oklahoma Historical Society Archived from the original on July 11 2013 Retrieved January 19 2012 Smith Joseph P 1896 McKinley the People s Choice Canton Ohio The Repository Press p 1 Retrieved November 28 2011 garret hobart canton State of New Jersey 1874 Manual of the Legislature Morristown N J F L Lundy p 87 Retrieved November 26 2011 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garret Hobart U S Senate biography Works by Garret Augustus Hobart at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Garret Hobart at Internet Archive United States Congress Garret Hobart id H000660 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress US Congress 1900 Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Garret A Hobart Late Vice President of the United States Washington DC US Government Printing Office via Google Books Political officesPreceded byIsaac L Fisher Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly1874 Succeeded byGeorge O VanderbiltPreceded byWilliam Sewell President of the New Jersey Senate1881 1882 Succeeded byJohn J GardnerPreceded byAdlai Stevenson Vice President of the United States1897 1899 Succeeded byTheodore RooseveltParty political officesPreceded byJames S Clarkson Vice Chair of the Republican National Committee1881 1896 Succeeded byHenry Clay PaynePreceded byGeorge M Robeson Chair of the New Jersey Republican Party1880 1891 Succeeded byJohn KeanPreceded byWhitelaw Reid Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States1896 Succeeded byTheodore Roosevelt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Garret Hobart amp oldid 1206787784, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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