Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869. Originally a Whig, then part of the short-lived People's Party of Indiana, and later a Republican, he was the U.S. representative for from 1855 to 1869.
Born in New York City, Colfax was known for his opposition to slavery while serving in Congress, and was a founder of the Republican Party. During his first term as speaker, he led the effort to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States. When it came before the House for a final vote in January 1865, he emphasized his support by casting a vote in favor—by convention the speaker would vote only to break a tie. Chosen as Ulysses S. Grant's running mate in the 1868 election, the pair won easily over Democratic Party nominees Horatio Seymour and Francis Preston Blair Jr. As was typical during the 19th century, Colfax had little involvement in Grant's presidency. In addition to his duties as president of the U.S. Senate, he continued to lecture and write for the press while in office. Believing Grant would serve only one term, Colfax attempted unsuccessfully to garner support for the 1872 Republican presidential nomination by telling friends and supporters he would not seek a second vice presidential term. When Grant announced that he would run again, Colfax reversed himself and attempted to win the vice-presidential nomination, but it was won by Henry Wilson.
An 1872–1873 congressional investigation into the Crédit Mobilier scandal identified Colfax as one of several federal government officials who, in 1868, had accepted payments of cash and discounted stock from the Union Pacific Railroad in exchange for favorable action during the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Though he vociferously defended himself against charges, his reputation suffered. Colfax left the vice presidency at the end of his term in March 1873, and never again ran for office. Afterward, he worked as a business executive and became a popular lecturer and speechmaker.
Colfax suffered a heart attack and died at a railroad station in Mankato, Minnesota, on January 13, 1885, while traveling to a speaking engagement in Iowa. He is one of only two persons to have served as both speaker of the House and vice president, the other being John Nance Garner.
Early life
Schuyler Colfax Jr. was born in New York City on March 23, 1823, the son of Schuyler Colfax Sr. (1792–1822),The Magazine of History a bank teller, and Hannah Stryker (1805–1872), both of English and Dutch ancestry, who had married on April 25, 1820. His grandfather, William Colfax, served in George Washington's Life Guard during the American Revolution and married Hester Schuyler, the second great-granddaughter of Philip Pieterse Schuyler. and a cousin of General Philip Schuyler. William Colfax became a general in the New Jersey Militia after the Revolution and commanded a brigade during the War of 1812.
Schuyler Colfax Sr. contracted tuberculosis and died on October 30, 1822, five months before Colfax was born. His sister Mary died in July 1823, four months after he was born. After the senior Colfax's death, Colfax's mother and grandmother ran a boarding house as their primary means of economic support. Colfax attended school in New York City until he was 10, when family financial difficulties caused him to end his formal education and take a job as a clerk in the store of George W. Matthews.
Colfax's mother married George Matthews in 1834, and the family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, where Matthews ran a store that also served as the village post office. There, Colfax became an avid reader of newspapers and books. The family moved again, in 1841, to nearby South Bend, Indiana, after Matthews became St. Joseph County Auditor. He appointed Colfax as his deputy, a post that Colfax held throughout the eight years Matthews was in office.
Newspaper editor In 1842, Colfax became the editor of the pro-Whig South Bend Free Press, owned by John D. Defrees. When Defrees moved to Indianapolis the following year and purchased the Indiana Journal, he hired Colfax to cover the Indiana Senate for the Journal. In addition to covering the state senate, Colfax contributed articles on Indiana politics to the New York Tribune, leading to a friendship with its editor, Horace Greeley.
In 1845, Colfax purchased the South Bend Free Press and changed its name to the St. Joseph Valley Register. He owned the Register for nine years, at first in support of the Whigs, then shifting to the newly established Republican Party.
Whig Party politician While covering the Indiana Senate as a journalist, Colfax also served as the senate's assistant enrolling clerk from 1842 to 1844. In 1843, several South Bend residents formed a debating society in which members researched and discussed current events and other topics of interest, and Colfax became a prominent member. The organization's success led it to create a moot state legislature, in which members introduced, debated, and voted on bills in accordance with the rules of the Indiana General Assembly. As with the debating society, Colfax was a prominent member of South Bend's moot legislature.
Colfax's success in the debating society and moot legislature made him prominent enough to take part in politics, and he was selected as a delegate to the 1848 Whig National Convention, where he was selected as one of the gathering's secretaries and supported Zachary Taylor for the presidency. He was next elected as a delegate to Indiana's 1849–1850 state constitutional convention. Colfax was the 1851 Whig nominee for Congress in the district which included South Bend, but narrowly lost to his Democratic opponent, primarily because he voted against a measure at the constitutional convention that stopped free African Americans from moving to Indiana.
In 1852, Colfax was a delegate to the Whig National Convention and was selected to serve as a convention secretary. He supported Winfield Scott for president, and after Scott was nominated, Colfax took an active part in the campaign by making speeches and authoring and distributing newspaper articles and editorials. In 1852, Colfax's political supporters encouraged him to make a second run for the U.S. House, but he declined.
U.S. House of Representatives (1855–1869)
In 1854, Colfax ran for Congress again, this time as nominee of the short-lived Indiana People's Party, an anti-slavery movement which formed to oppose the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Colfax won and was reelected six times, representing Indiana's 9th congressional district from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1869. During his House service, Colfax became a member of the leadership as chairman of the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads, a post he held from 1859 to 1863.
Know Nothing party affiliation In 1855, Colfax considered joining the Know Nothing Party because of the antislavery plank in its platform. He was chosen as a delegate to the party's June convention without his knowledge. Colfax had mixed feelings about the party and later denied being a member. He agreed with many of its policies, though disapproved of its secrecy oath and citizenship test. By the time of his 1856 campaign for re-election, the new Republican Party had become the main anti-slavery party, and Colfax became an early member.
Opposition to slavery Colfax was identified with the Radical Republicans in Congress and was an energetic opponent of slavery. His June 21, 1856, "Kansas Code" speech attacking laws passed by the proslavery Legislature in Kansas became the most widely requested Republican campaign document. Then, as the 1860 presidential election approached, Colfax traveled frequently, delivered many speeches, and helped bind the various Republican and antislavery factions together into a unified party that could win the presidency.
Civil War
Before Lincoln's inauguration, Colfax's name was put forward by Indiana Republicans for appointment as postmaster general. President Lincoln wrote him a warm letter stating that he considered him qualified and foretelling "a bright future" for the 37-year-old, but that he had already promised a cabinet position to another Hoosier, Caleb Blood Smith.
Speaker of the House Colfax faced a difficult reelection campaign in 1862 due to strong antiwar sentiments in Indiana, but won a narrow victory over Democrat David Turpie. Among the incumbents defeated that year was Speaker of the House Galusha Grow. When the 38th Congress convened in December 1863, Colfax was elected speaker, despite President Lincoln's preference for someone less tied to the Radical Republicans. Altogether, Colfax was elected speaker for three congresses: 38th Congress Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 101 (55.50%) Samuel S. Cox (D–OH) – 42 (23.08%) Others – 39 (21.42%) 39th Congress Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 139 (79.43%) James Brooks (D–NY) – 36 (20.57%) 40th Congress Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 127 (80.89%) Samuel S. Marshall (D–IL) – 30 (19.11%)
During his first term as speaker, Colfax presided over the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau, and helped secure congressional passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which, when ratified by the states, abolished slavery. Though it is unusual for the speaker to vote, except to break a tie, Colfax directed the clerk to call his name after the roll call vote had been taken. He then cast the final vote in favor of the amendment to much applause from its supporters in the House.> An observer commenting on Colfax's managerial style said that he "presides over the turbulent assembly with a promptness and decision which have a marvellous effect in expediting business."Henry Latham, Black and White: A Journal of a Three Months' Tour in the United States, p.73 (London: Macmillan & Co., 1867) (retrieved 9 January 2026).
Reconstruction In 1865, Colfax, along with author Samuel Bowles and Illinois Lieutenant Governor William Bross, set out across the western territories from Mississippi to the California coast to record their experiences. They compiled their observations in an 1869 book called Our New West. Included in their book were details of the views of Los Angeles, with its wide panorama of vast citrus groves and orchards, and conversations with Brigham Young.
On September 17, 1867, Colfax, along with Senator John Sherman, addressed a Republican meeting in Lebanon, Ohio on the political situation in Washington. Colfax said he was firmly against allowing those who participated in the Confederate rebellion to be reinstated in office and control Republican Reconstruction policy. Colfax affirmed that he was not in any way for repudiating the debt caused by the Confederate rebellion. Colfax said Congressional reconstruction would give security and peace to the nation as opposed to President Johnson and his southern Democratic policies. Colfax favored Johnson's impeachment, saying Johnson was recreant, a usurper, and was unfaithful in executing the Reconstruction laws of the land in granting a general amnesty to Southerners who had participated in the rebellion. Colfax told Republicans who were tired of Reconstruction to leave the party and join the Democrats.
Election of 1868
During the 1868 Republican Convention the Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant for president. Known as "Smiler Colfax", Colfax was popular among Republicans for his friendly character, party loyalty, and Radical views on Reconstruction, and he was selected for vice president on the fifth ballot.Joseph E. Delgatto, Indiana Journal Hall of Fame, Schuyler Colfax 1966 Grant won the general election, and Colfax was elected the 17th Vice President of the United States.