
Garret Hobart
Former Vice President of the United States
Education
- Graduated -
- Rutgers College -
Overview
Garret Augustus Hobart was the 24th vice president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his death in 1899. Prior to serving as vice president, Hobart was an influential New Jersey businessman, politician and political operative.
Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, Hobart grew up in nearby Marlboro. After attending Rutgers College, Hobart read law with prominent Paterson 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, and 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 senator Mark Hanna, decided to have the convention select Hobart. The vice-presidential candidate emulated his running mate with a front porch campaign, though spending much time at the campaign's New York City office. 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 New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt.
Early political career :
In 1874, still only age 30, he was voted Speaker of the Assembly. 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. 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.
Hobart said of his involvement in public affairs, "I make politics my recreation." He devoted most of his time to a law practice which according to Hobart's legislative biography was highly profitable. He was rarely seen in a courtroom; his official biography for the 1896 campaign admitted that "he has actually appeared in court a smaller number of times than, perhaps, any lawyer in Passaic County". Hobart's real work was in advising corporations how to accomplish their aims, yet remain within the law. 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 acted as receiver, he served as president of the Paterson Railway Company, which ran the city's streetcars, and as a board member for other railroads.
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 had he run for Congress. Hatfield states that the reason why Hobart chose not to move from state to national politics before 1896 was a reluctance to leave a comfortable life and successful law practice in Paterson. 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. He was New Jersey's representative on the national committee after 1884, and rose to become vice chairman.
Early Life
Garret Augustus Hobart was born on June 3, 1844, in Long Branch, New Jersey, to Addison Willard Hobart and the former Sophia Vanderveer. Addison Hobart descended from the early colonial settlers of New England; many Hobarts served as pastors. Addison Hobart came to New Jersey to teach at a school in Bradevelt, a small hamlet in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. His mother was descended from 17th-century Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (today's New York City) who had moved to Long Island and then to New Jersey. When Addison and Sophia Hobart married in 1841, they moved to Long Branch, where Addison founded an elementary school. Garret was born in Long Branch on June 3, 1844. Three children survived infancy; Garret was the second of three boys.
Hobart initially attended his father's school in Long Branch. The family moved to Marlboro in the early 1850s and he was sent to the village school. 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. Recognizing his abilities, his father sent him to a well-regarded school in Freehold, but after a disagreement with the teacher, he refused to return; He then attended Middletown Point Academy, (later known as the Glenwood Institute) a prominent boarding school in Matawan, New Jersey. Hobart graduated at age 15 and his parents thought he was too young to attend college, so he remained at home for a year to study and work part-time at the Bradevelt School, the same institution that employed his father. Hobart enrolled at Rutgers College in 1860. He graduated in 1863, and was ranked third in his class. In later life, Hobart was a generous donor to Rutgers, receiving an honorary degree after becoming vice president and was elected a trustee shortly before his death.
Career
- United States - Former Vice President