George H. Browne graduated from Brown University and was admitted to the bar in 1843, commencing his legal career in Providence, Rhode Island. He served in various legislative capacities, including the Rhode Island General Assembly and the 37th United States Congress. Browne held the position of U.S. district attorney from 1852 to 1861 and participated in the Peace Conference of 1861. During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army as colonel of the 12th Rhode Island Infantry Regiment.

George H. Browne's political career reveals an intriguing blend of ideological flexibility and principled stands. His support for the People's Constitution during the Dorr Rebellion, followed by his service in the Union Army, suggests a commitment to both democratic reform and national unity. Browne's participation in the Peace Conference of 1861 and his later role in the Constitutional Union Party highlight a strategic balancing act between regional interests and broader national objectives. His decision to decline the governorship of the Arizona Territory and the chief justiceship of the Rhode Island Supreme Court further underscores a deliberate, perhaps calculated, avoidance of positions that might constrain his ideological independence.