Schuyler Colfax

Schuyler Colfax was a journalist, Republican politician, U.S. representative, Speaker of the House, and the seventeenth person to serve as vice president. His congressional career coincided with the Civil War and the beginning of congressional Reconstruction, and as Speaker he presided over the House when it passed major constitutional and legislative measures, including the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. He became vice president under Ulysses S. Grant in 1869, becoming the first former Speaker of the House to serve as vice president.

Colfax was born in New York City on March 23, 1823. His father died before his birth, and his family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, in 1836. He had little formal higher education and instead educated himself through reading and practical work. As a young man he worked as a printer and became involved in journalism, eventually acquiring an interest in the South Bend Free Press, which he renamed the St. Joseph Valley Register.

His newspaper career brought him into politics. Colfax served as a legislative correspondent, participated in Indiana's constitutional convention in 1850, and became increasingly opposed to the expansion of slavery. He entered the U.S. House in 1855 and served continuously until 1869. During the Civil War he became one of the leading Republicans in the House, serving as chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads before being elected Speaker in 1863.

As Speaker from 1863 through 1869, Colfax presided over the House during the final years of the Civil War and the opening years of Reconstruction. The House under his leadership passed the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the United States. In 1868, Republicans nominated Colfax for vice president alongside Ulysses S. Grant, and the ticket won the election. He served as vice president from 1869 to 1873.

Colfax did not receive the Republican vice-presidential nomination again in 1872. His political career had become entangled in allegations surrounding the Credit Mobilier scandal, involving members of Congress and a construction company associated with the Union Pacific Railroad. The House investigated the matter, and the controversy contributed to the end of Colfax's national political career. After leaving office, he worked primarily as a lecturer and public speaker. He died in Mankato, Minnesota, on January 13, 1885, while traveling through the state.

Colfax's legacy rests primarily on his role in the Republican congressional leadership of the Civil War era. He helped guide the House during the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment and became the first Speaker to rise directly from that office to the vice presidency. His career also demonstrates how the political scandals of the Grant era could end the careers of prominent Republican leaders.