Borah, William E.

Borah, William E. (Edgar)

(1865–1940) U.S. senator; born in Fairfield, Ill. Following a celebrated legal career in Boise, Ida., he was elected to the U.S. Senate (Rep., Ida.; 1907–40). Although a supporter of many progressive causes, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1924–33) he opposed U.S. entry into the League of Nations after World War I. He remained an outspoken isolationist until his death, but he was also a supporter of disarmament, of cooperation with Latin American countries, and of many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal measures.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.