George Sewall Boutwell

Birth/Death:                             1818 / 1905

League Membership:             The Anti-Imperialist League, 1898-1899
                                               New England Anti-Imperialist League
                                               The Anti-Imperialist League, 1904-1921

Role in League:                     President American Anti-Imperialist League, 1899-1904

Occupation:                            Politician, Teacher

Brief Biography

George Boutwell was a major force in Massachusetts politics for over fifty years. He not only served as a Congressman, Senator, and Governor, he remained committed to education, his first occupation. He served on the Massachusetts Board of Education and Harvard's Board of Overseers. While in Washington, Boutwell was instrumental in prosecuting Andrew Johnson's impeachment for the House, reorganized the Treasury Department, and helped codify federal law. He was offered the Treasury post again under President Arthur, but declined. He instead continued to practice international law. Boutwell was chosen as the President of the National League and as the New England regional League President because he was a "old-styled" Republican that gave the organization a more bipartisan composure.

Primary:

George Boutwell, 'Address by the President,' First Annual Meeting of the New England Anti-Imperialist League, November 25, 1899.

George S. Boutwell, Address Delivered at Anti-Imperialist Meeting at Tremont Temple, April 4, 1900.

George S. Boutwell Papers. Massachusetts Historical Society.

George S. Boutwell Papers. Library of Congress.

Secondary:

Beisner, Robert L. Twelve Against Empire: The Anti-Imperialists, 1898-1900. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968.

Dementyev, Igor. USA: Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists (Moscow: Progres Publishers, 1979).

Schirmer, Daniel B. Republic or Empire: American Resistance to the Philippine War. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing, 1972.

Tompkins, Berkeley E. Anti-Imperialism in the United States: The Great Debate, 1890-1920. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1970.

Michael Cullinane, Liberty and Anti-Imperialism, May 9, 2008.

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