Henry William Blair (December 6, 1834 – March 14, 1920) was a United States representative and Senator from New Hampshire.

A Radical Republican in his earlier political career,[1] Blair later became associated with the moderate "Half-Breeds"[2][3] who as a bloc pushed for civil service reform at the expense of racial and social equality efforts.

[4] In contrast to other Half-Breeds who exhibited coldness towards the plight of Southern African-Americans, Blair himself consistently fought to end racial disparities, and his efforts were considered decades ahead of his time.

After about a year at the front, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry.

He is also recommended as an able, honest, and a courageous man; a faithful soldier in the war of the rebellion, and a faithful member of the national House.Similar to many Republicans at the time, Blair favored higher protective tariffs, the gold standard, and generous pensions for Union veterans of the Civil War.

[7] During late 1882 and early January 1883, Blair attached an amendment to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act that prohibited hiring habitual drunkards to federal government positions, reflecting his effort to combat alcohol abuse.

[10][11] Blair wrote to African-American leader Frederick Douglass: It must, I think, have become evident to all that there must be a return to the fundamental issues which stir the heart and touch the life of the Republic or there is nothing except assured defeat for us next autumn.Blair declined an appointment by President Benjamin Harrison as judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire in 1891, but accepted an appointment as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China on March 6, 1891.