Harris M. Plaisted

Biography

Harris M. Plaisted, born in 1828, served as a colonel in the Civil War and afterward represented Maine in the U.S. House, bringing the lessons of the battlefield to the halls of Congress.

Elected governor in the early 1880s, he blended Republican and Greenback ideas to promote fair taxation and support for veterans, leaving a mark as a reform-minded leader who sought to reconcile fiscal discipline with social compassion.