Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax | |
---|---|
17th Vice President of the United States | |
In office March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1873 | |
President | Ulysses S. Grant |
Preceded by | Andrew Johnson |
Succeeded by | Henry Wilson |
25th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
In office December 7, 1863 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | Galusha A. Grow |
Succeeded by | Theodore M. Pomeroy |
Leader of the House Republican Conference | |
In office December 7, 1863 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | Galusha A. Grow |
Succeeded by | Theodore M. Pomeroy |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 9th district | |
In office March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1869 | |
Preceded by | Norman Eddy |
Succeeded by | John P. C. Shanks |
Personal details | |
Born | Schuyler Colfax Jr. March 23, 1823 New York City, U.S. |
Died | January 13, 1885 Mankato, Minnesota, U.S. | (aged 61)
Resting place | South Bend City Cemetery, South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
Political party | Whig (before 1854) Republican (after 1854) |
Other political affiliations | Indiana People's Party (1854) |
Spouses | |
Children | Schuyler Colfax III |
Signature | |
Schuyler Colfax (
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. 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 votes 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 the Grant administration. 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 only serve one term, in 1870, 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 given to Henry Wilson.
An 1872–73
Colfax suffered a heart attack and died at a railroad station in Mankato, Minnesota, on January 13, 1885, while en route to a speaking engagement in Iowa.[2] 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.[3]
Early life
Schuyler Colfax was born in
Schuyler Colfax Sr. contracted tuberculosis and died on October 30, 1822, five months before Colfax was born.[8] His sister Mary died in July 1823, four months after he was born.[5] After the senior Colfax's death, Colfax's mother and grandmother ran a boarding house as their primary means of economic support.[8] 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.[5][9]
Colfax's mother married George Matthews in 1836, and the family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, where Matthews ran a store that also served as the village post office.[8][10] There, Colfax became an avid reader of newspapers and books.[2] The family moved again, in 1841, to nearby South Bend, Indiana, after Matthews became St. Joseph County Auditor.[5] He appointed Colfax as his deputy, a post that Colfax held throughout the eight years Matthews was in office.[5]
Newspaper editor
In 1842, Colfax became the editor of the pro-
In 1845, Colfax purchased the South Bend Free Press and changed its name to the St. Joseph Valley Register.[11] He owned the Register for nine years, at first in support of the Whigs, then shifting to the newly established Republican Party.[14]
Whig Party politician
While covering the Indiana Senate as a journalist, Colfax also served as the Whig Party's assistant enrolling clerk from 1842 to 1844.[15] 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.[16] 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.[12] As with the debating society, Colfax was a prominent member of South Bend's moot legislature.[12]
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
In 1852, Colfax was a delegate to the Whig National Convention and was selected to serve as a convention secretary.[17] 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.[18] In 1852, Colfax's political supporters encouraged him to make a second run for the U.S. House, but he declined.[19]
U.S. Representative (1855–1869)
In
Know Nothing party affiliation
In 1855, Colfax considered joining the
Opposition to slavery
Colfax was identified with the
Civil War
Before Lincoln's inauguration, Colfax's name was put forward by Indiana Republicans for appointment as postmaster general.
At the start of the Civil War, Major General John C. Frémont commanded Union Army forces in St. Louis, Missouri.[30] On September 3, 1861, Confederate General Sterling Price defeated Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon at the Battle of Wilson's Creek.[31] During the battle, Price's Confederate troops under Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, Kentucky.[32] Frémont was blamed for not reinforcing Lyon, who had been killed in the fighting.[33] On September 6, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, under Frémont's authority, took Paducah without a fight and established a Union supply base in Kentucky.[32] Colfax, concerned over the Confederate Army's occupation of Kentucky and threatened Union security of Missouri, decided to visit Frémont.[34]
After his arrival in St. Louis, Colfax met Frémont on September 14, 1861, and petitioned him to send troops to cut off Price from capturing Lexington.[35] Colfax believed Frémont had 20,000 troops under his command in St. Louis. Frémont informed Colfax that he only had 8,000 troops in St. Louis and was unable to spare any.[30] In addition, Frémont told Colfax that Lincoln and federal authorities in Washington had requested him to dispatch 5,000 of his troops elsewhere.[35] Colfax suggested that Frémont reply that he could not spare any troops or Missouri would be lost to the Confederacy. Frémont declined, recognizing that he had a reputation for being insubordinate because he had earlier imposed a controversial August 30 edict that put Missouri under martial law and emancipated rebel slaves beyond what was included in Lincoln's Confiscation Act, and not wanting to appear unwilling to follow the instructions of his superiors.[30][36] Price captured Lexington on September 20 and threatened to take the whole state of Missouri.[35] Frémont finally responded on September 29, arriving at Sedalia with 38,000 troops and threatening to trap the rebels against the Missouri River.[37] Price abandoned Lexington, and soon was forced to abandon the state and headed to Arkansas and later Mississippi.[37]
On November 1, seven weeks after Colfax's visit, Frémont ordered Grant to make demonstrations along the Mississippi against the Confederates, but not to directly engage the enemy. The following day Frémont was relieved from command by Lincoln for refusing to revoke his August 30 edict. On November 7, Grant attacked Belmont drawing Confederate troops from Columbus and inflicting Confederate casualties. In February 1862, Grant, in combination with the Union navy, captured Confederate Forts Henry and Donelson, forcing Polk to abandon Columbus. The Confederate army was finally pushed out of Kentucky after Union General Don Carlos Buell defeated Confederate General Braxton Bragg at the Battle of Perryville in October 1862.
Speaker of the House
Colfax faced a difficult reelection campaign in
- 38th Congress[38]
■ Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 101 (55.50%)
■ Samuel S. Cox (D–OH) – 42 (23.08%)
■ Others – 39 (21.42%) - 39th Congress[39]
■ Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 139 (79.43%)
■ James Brooks (D–NY) – 36 (20.57%) - 40th Congress[40]
■ 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
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.[42] 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.[42] 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.[42]
Election of 1868
During the 1868 Republican Convention the Republicans nominated
Grant won the general election, and Colfax was elected the 17th Vice President of the United States.On March 3, 1869, the final full day of the 40th Congress, Colfax, who was to be
Vice presidency (1869–1873)
Colfax was inaugurated March 4, 1869, and served until March 4, 1873. Grant and Colfax, 46 and 45 respectively at the time of their inauguration, were the youngest presidential and vice presidential team until the inauguration of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1993.[46]
Colfax and John Nance Garner, the first vice president under Franklin Roosevelt, are the only two vice presidents to have been Speaker of the House of Representatives prior to becoming vice president, and since the vice president is the President of the Senate, they are the only two people to have served as the presiding officers of both Houses of Congress.
Italian unity
On Friday, January 6, 1871, in a letter from Washington, D.C., published in the New York Times, Colfax recognized and rejoiced in King
Election of 1872
Prior to the 1872 Presidential election, Colfax believed that Grant would only serve one term as president.[44] In 1870, Colfax announced he would not run for political office in 1872.[44] Colfax's announcement failed to garner prominent support among Republicans for a presidential bid, as he had planned, while Grant decided to run for a second term.[44] In addition, Liberal Republican interest in Colfax as a possible presidential candidate alienated him from Grant and the regular Republicans. (The Liberal Republicans believed that the Grant administration was corrupt and were against Grant's attempted annexation of Santo Domingo.)[44] Colfax changed his mind and decided to run for the Republican nomination for vice president. He told his supporters that he would accept the nomination if it was given to him.[44] However, Colfax's previously stated intent not to run in 1872 had created the possibility of a contested nomination, and Senator Henry Wilson defeated Colfax by 399.5 delegates to 321.5.[44] Grant went on to win election to a second term, and Wilson became the 18th vice president of the United States.[44]
Crédit Mobilier scandal
In September 1872, during the presidential campaign, Colfax's reputation was marred by a
Colfax also denied involvement to the press, and defended himself in person before a
His political career ruined, Colfax left office under a cloud at the end of his term, and never ran for office again.[43][49][50] His only consolation on that bitterly cold[51] March day was a hand-written letter from Ulysses Grant. In it, the president wrote,
I sympathize with you in the recent congressional investigations; that I have watched them closely, and that I am satisfied now as I have ever been of your integrity, patriotism and freedom from the charges imputed as if I knew of my own knowledge your innocence. Our official relations have been so pleasant that I would like to keep up the personal relations engendered, through life.[52]
Post vice-presidency (1873–1885)
Lecturer and business executive
After leaving office in March 1873, Colfax began to recover his reputation, embarking on a successful career as a traveling lecturer offering speeches on a variety of topics. His most requested presentation was one on the life of Abraham Lincoln, whom the nation had begun to turn into an icon. With an expanding population that desired to know more details and context about Lincoln's life and career, an oration from someone who had known him personally was an attraction audiences were willing to pay to hear, and Colfax delivered his Lincoln lecture hundreds of times to positive reviews.
In 1875, he became vice president of the Indiana Reaper and Iron Company.[53] On February 12, 1875, having returned to Washington, D.C., to give a lecture, he advised his friends in Congress who were frustrated over the slow pace of action: "Ah! the way to get out of politics is to get out of politics."[53]
He had remained popular in his home area, and was often encouraged to run again for public office, but he always declined. Finally, in April 1882, when pressed to consider becoming a candidate for his old U.S. House seat in the upcoming election, Colfax announced in a letter to the South Bend Tribune that, while he deeply appreciated how much his friends wanted him to run for public office again, he was satisfied by the 20 years of service he had given during the "stormiest years of our nation's history." He also said that he was enjoying his life as a private citizen, and would neither be a candidate nor accept any nomination for any office in the future, stating that his "only ambition now is to go in and out among my townsmen as a private citizen during what years of life may remain for me to enjoy on this earth".[54]
Death and burial
On January 13, 1885, Colfax walked from Mankato, Minnesota's Front Street depot to the Omaha depot, about three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) in −30 °F (−34 °C) weather, intending to change trains on his way to Rock Rapids, Iowa, to give a speech.[55] Five minutes after arriving, Colfax died of a heart attack brought on by the extreme cold and exhaustion.[56]
He was buried at City Cemetery in South Bend.[57] A historical marker in Mankato's Washington Park, site of the former depot, marks the spot where he died.[58]
Personal life
Colfax was married twice:
- On October 10, 1844, he married his childhood friend Evelyn Clark. She died in 1863; they had no children.
- On November 18, 1868, two weeks after winning the vice presidency, he married Ellen (Ella) M. Wade (1836–1911), a niece of Senator Benjamin Wade. They had one son, Schuyler Colfax III (1870–1925), who served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 1898 to 1901. He assumed office at the age of 28, and remains the youngest person to become mayor in the city's history.[59]
Colfax was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). In 1850, Colfax and members William T. Martin of Mississippi and E. G. Steel of Tennessee were appointed to prepare a ritual pertaining to the Rebekah Degree and present a report at the 1851 annual meeting.[60] On September 20, 1851, the IOOF approved the degree and Colfax was credited as its author and founder.[61][62]
In 1854 Colfax was initiated into the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at DePauw University as an honorary member.[63]
Colfax was initiated into the fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons as an Entered Apprentice at Washington D.C.'s Lebanon Lodge No. 7 on August 15, 1856. He completed his Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees at St. Joseph Lodge No. 45 in South Bend, Indiana, however, he was not an especially active member. After failing to continue paying his dues, he was dropped from the rolls of Lebanon Lodge on December 16, 1864.[64]
Historical reputation
Colfax's 20 years of public service ended in controversy in 1873 due to the revelation that he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier scandal. He never returned to seek political office in part because he believed that it was best to stay out of politics once leaving office, and in part because he was content with his life as a private citizen. Because of his success as a lecturer, his reputation was somewhat restored.
The Revenue Cutter Service commissioned and named an iron-framed side-wheel steamer after Colfax in 1871. It served along the Atlantic Coast and hosted President McKinley aboard prior to her decommissioning in 1899.[65]
Towns in the U.S. states of
Colfax Avenue in
Colfax School was built in
The Schuyler Colfax monument in Colfax, California was made in his honor.[69] There is another statue of Colfax in Indianapolis, Indiana.[70]
Media portrayals
Actor Bill Raymond portrayed Colfax during his time as Speaker in the 2012 Steven Spielberg film Lincoln.[71] Raymond was in his early seventies when the film was made[72] while Colfax was in his early forties during the period depicted in the film.[2]
See also
- International Association of Rebekah Assemblies
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
- List of vice presidents of the United States by other offices held
References
- ^ "Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President (1869–1873)". Secretary of the Senate, Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ Feinman, Ronald L. (October 31, 2015). "21 Significant Speakers Of The House In American History". theprogressiveprofessor.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ The Magazine of History
- ^ a b c d e f g h BDOA_CS_1906.
- ^ a b William Nelson (1876). Biographical Sketch of William Colfax, Captain of Washington's Body Guard.
- ^ Phelps, Charles A. (1868). Life and Public Services of General Ulysses S. Grant. Boston, MA: Lee and Shepard. p. 322 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Schuyler Colfax (1823–1885)". newnetherlandinstitute.org. Albany, NY: New Netherland Institute. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- OCLC 697981267.
- ^ Brisbin, James S. (1868). The Campaign Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax. Cincinnati, Ohio: C. F. Vent & Company. p. 359. Retrieved April 6, 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Brisbin, p. 362.
- ^ a b c Brisbin, pp. 361–362.
- ISBN 978-1-4331-0722-1 – via Google Books.
- OCLC 23253205.
- ^ a b William Henry Smith Memorial Library (1988). "Biographical Sketch, Schuyler Colfax" (PDF). Schuyler Colfax Papers, 1843–1884. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Historical Society. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Brisbin, p. 361.
- ^ a b c d e Brisbin, p. 364.
- ^ Brisbin, pp. 364–365.
- ^ Brisbin, p. 365.
- ^ History of St. Joseph County, Indiana. Chicago, IL: Chas. C. Chapman & Co. 1880. p. 550 – via Google Books.
- ^ U.S. Congress (1913). A Biographical Congressional Directory. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 560 – via Google Books.
- ^ Office of the House Historian. "Historical Highlights : Representative Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, January 13, 1885". History, Art & Archives. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Sharp, Walter Rice (September 1920). "Henry S. Lane and the Formation of the Republican Party in Indiana". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Bloomington, IN: Mississippi Valley Historical Association – via Google Books.
- ^ Sharp, p. 107.
- ^ Brand, Carl Fremont (1916). The History of the Know Nothing Party in Indiana. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University. p. 74 – via Google Books.
- ^ Brand, p. 74.
- ISBN 978-0-3855-4261-6 – via Google Books.
- ^ "THE KANSAS CODE; Character of Chief Justice Lecompte" (PDF). The New York Times. July 12, 1856. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via The Times's print archive.
- ^ Hay and Nicolay (1890). Life of Lincoln, Vol. 3. p. 353,354.
- ^ a b c Abbot 1864, p. 282,283.
- ^ History.com Editors (November 6, 2009). "Battle of Wilson's Creek". History.com. New York, NY: A&E Television Networks, LLC.
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has generic name (help) - ^ a b History.com Editors. "This Day in History: November 7, 1861; Battle of Belmont, Missouri". History.com. New York, NY: A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
{{cite web}}
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has generic name (help) - TimesMachine.
- TimesMachine.
- ^ TimesMachine.
- ^ Weber, Lawrence (January 21, 2019). "The Frémont Emancipation Proclamation". Warfare History Network.com/. McLean, VA: Sovereign Media. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Phillips, Christopher. "Price, Sterling: Biographical Information". Civil War on the Western Border. Jefferson City, MO: Missouri State Library. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "US House Speaker (1863)". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ "US House Speaker (1865)". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ "US House Speaker (1867)". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ^ Rives, F. & J. (January 31, 1865). "Proceedings, January 31, 1865". Congressional Globe. Washington, DC. p. 531.>
- ^ a b c "Hon. Schuyler Colfax on the Political Situation" (PDF). The New York Times. September 20, 1867. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via The Times's print archive.
- ^ ISBN 0-14-303526-6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Joseph E. Delgatto, Indiana Journal Hall of Fame, Schuyler Colfax 1966
- ^ "The shortest period of service for a Speaker on record: March 03, 1869". Historical Highlights. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
- ^ Ifill, Gwen (July 10, 1992). "The 1992 Campaign: Democrats; Clinton Selects Senator Gore of Tennessee as Running Mate". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ "Hon. Schuyler Colfax on Italian Unity" (PDF). The New York Times. January 10, 1871. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via The Times's print archive.
- ^ Chernow 2017.
- ^ a b c MacDonald 1930, p. 298.
- ISBN 978-0-07-330702-2.
- ^ "The 22nd Presidential Inauguration: Ulysses S. Grant March 04, 1873". inaugural.senate.gov. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ Chernow 2017, p. 753.
- ^ a b "Washington Gossip: Social Topics at the National Capital; A Visit From Schuyler Colfax" (PDF). The New York Times. February 14, 1875. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via The Times's print archive.
- ^ "Schuyler Colfax Refuses" (PDF). The New York Times. April 7, 1882. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via The Times's print archive.
- ^ Hollister, 1886.
- ^ "Schuyler Colfax Dead", The New York Times, January 14, 1885, p. 1.
- ^ Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: St. Joseph County, Ind". politicalgraveyard.com.
- ^ "Washington Park Historical Marker – Mankato, MN". Waymarking.com. Seattle, WA: Groundspeak, Inc. August 7, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ Sloma, Tricia (November 9, 2011). "Pete Buttigieg becomes second youngest mayor in South Bend". South Bend, Indiana: WNDU – Channel 16. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ^ Humphrey, Jimmy C., ed. (January 1, 2015). "How Time has Changed... The Degree of Rebekah" (PDF). I.O.O.F. News. Winston-Salem, NC. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
- ^ "Our Rebekah History". Official website. Rebekah Assembly of Idaho. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ^ "The International Association of Rebekah Assemblies". Rebekahs in the San Francisco/San Jose Bay Area – website. Archived from the original on May 22, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ^ William Raimond Baird (1906). Hand-book of Beta Theta Pi. New York, NY: Published by the author. p. 297.
- ISBN 978-1-887560-31-3.
- ^ Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1934.
- ^ "History of Colfax Avenue". Colfax Avenue Museum. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ^ "Colfax Meadows". No. 1, Vol 45. Los Angeles Magazine. January 2000.
- ^ "Historic House Museums, Structures and Sites". Wayne Township Parks and Recreation Department. Town of Wayne, NJ. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
- ^ "Schuyler Colfax Monument | Sierra Nevada Geotourism".
- ^ "Schuyler Colfax Statue - Indianapolis, Indiana".
- ^ Titze, Anne-Katrin (January 9, 2013). "Speaking out about Lincoln: Bill Raymond talks about his role as Speaker of the House in Steven Spielberg's film". Eye for Film. Edinburgh, Scotland.
- ^ "Biography: Bill Raymond". Rotten Tomatoes. New York, NY. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
Books cited
- Abbot, John S.C. (1864). The History of the Civil War in America. New York City: Henry Bill.
- ISBN 978-1-5942-0487-6.
- MacDonald, William (1930). Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone (ed.). Dictionary of American Biography Colfax, Schuyler. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- Rossiter Johnson, ed. (1906). Biographical Dictionary of America Colfax, Schuyler. Boston, American Biographical Society.
Additional reading
- Hollister, Ovando James (1886). Life of Schuyler Colfax. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
External links
- Schuyler Colfax's signature on the 1864 joint resolution proposing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery
- Fremont's hundred days in Missouri : speech of Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, in reply to Mr. Blair, of Missouri, delivered in the House of Representatives, March 7, 1862 at archive.org
- The life and public services of Schuyler Colfax: together with his most important speeches at archive.org
- Schuyler Colfax letters, MSS SC 137 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University