Harper, Robert Goodloe, 1765-1825

American general and senator.

American politician.

Baltimore lawyer and politician.

Harper served as a congressman from South Carolina from 1794-1801, after which he practiced law in Baltimore. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1816, but resigned in 1817.

Harper was an American Revolutionary War soldier; Princeton University graduate; Member of South Carolina state legislature; Member of U. S. Congress (1795-1801); unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President (1816).

Robert Goodloe Harper was a Southern lawyer and Federalist politician. Born in Virginia and raised in South Carolina, he served in the Revolutionary War at the age of fifteen. After graduating from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton) he studied law and taught school until admitted to the bar. While practicing law, he became a state Representative in South Carolina and then member of the United States House of Representatives. He later moved to Maryland, and served with distinction in the War of 1812. He was elected United States Senator from Maryland, and ran unsuccessfully for Vice President on the Federalist ticket.

U.S. Representative from South Carolina and a U.S. Senator from Maryland; Federalist; born near Fredericksburg, Va.; 1785 graduate of Princeton; served as Secretary of the Yazoo Land Company.

Early South Carolina congress member Robert Goodloe Harper (1765-1825), son of Jesse Harper and Diana Goodloe, was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and grew up in North Carolina. At age 15, Harper joined a volunteer cavalry corps and fought in the Revolutionary War. After the war, Harper continued his education and graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1785. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1786 and was practicing in Charleston by 1789. He served in the State House of Representatives from 1790-1795, and was elected by South Carolina to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th United States House of Representatives as a Federalist (February 1795 to March 1801). Harper was an influential congress member and acted as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means (5th and 6th congresses). While in the House, he was also interested in western land policies and was considered one of the most knowledgeable House members on foreign affairs. In the late 1790s, however, he became intensely xenophobic and vocally anti-French. His 1797 Observations on the Dispute Between the United States and France warned against the influence of French radicalism in America. The volume was popular enough to have multiple printings and was distributed in Europe and Great Britain. His xenophobia later manifested itself in his participation with the American Colonization Society, in which he had a leadership role in 1816.

After his tenure in the House, Harper moved to Baltimore, where he continued his law practice. He fought in the War of 1812 and attained the rank of major general. He served in the Maryland State Senate and was elected to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1815, and served until December 1816, when he resigned. Harper remained active after his political career, traveling through Europe and hosting European dignitaries in Baltimore. He died there in 1825.