View source for Schuyler Colfax

{{Short description|Vice President of the United States from 1869 to 1873}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Schuyler Colfax
| image               = Schuyler Colfax portrait (cropped).jpg
| office              = 17th [[Vice President of the United States]]
| president           = [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
| term_start          = March 4, 1869
| term_end            = March 4, 1873
| predecessor         = [[Andrew Johnson]] 
| successor           = [[Henry Wilson]]
| office1             = 25th [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]]
| term_start1         = December 7, 1863
| term_end1           = March 3, 1869
| predecessor1        = [[Galusha A. Grow]]
| successor1          = [[Theodore M. Pomeroy]]
| office2             = Leader of the <br />[[House Republican Conference#Caucus Leader|House Republican Conference]]
| term_start2         = December 7, 1863
| term_end2           = March 3, 1869
| predecessor2        = [[Galusha A. Grow]]
| successor2          = [[Theodore M. Pomeroy]]
| state3              = [[Indiana]]
| district3           = {{ushr|IN|9|9th}}
| term_start3         = March 4, 1855
| term_end3           = March 3, 1869
| predecessor3        = [[Norman Eddy]]
| successor3          = [[John P. C. Shanks]]
| birth_name          = Schuyler Colfax Jr.
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1823|3|23}}
| birth_place         = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1885|1|13|1823|3|23}}
| death_place         = [[Mankato, Minnesota]], U.S.
| party               = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] (before 1854)<br />[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (after 1854)
| otherparty          = [[People's Party (Indiana)|Indiana People's Party]] (1854)
| spouse              = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Evelyn Clark Colfax|Evelyn Clark]]|1844|1863|end=d}}
* {{marriage|[[Ellen Maria Colfax|Ellen Wade]]<br>|1868}}
}}
| children            = [[Schuyler Colfax III]]
| signature           = Schuyler Colfax Jr Signature.svg
| resting_place       = [[South Bend City Cemetery]], [[South Bend, Indiana]], U.S.
| caption             = Colfax in 1869
}}

'''Schuyler Colfax Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|aɪ|l|ər|_|ˈ|k|oʊ|l|f|æ|k|s}} {{respell|SKY|lər|_|KOHL|fax}}; March 23, 1823 – January 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|speaker of the House of Representatives]] from 1863 to 1869. Originally a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]], then part of the short-lived [[People's Party (Indiana)|People's Party of Indiana]], and later a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], he was the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for {{ushr|IN|9}} from 1855 to 1869.

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|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 (norm)|convention]] the speaker votes only to break a tie. Chosen as [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s [[running mate]] in the [[1868 United States presidential election|1868 election]], the pair won easily over [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] nominees [[Horatio Seymour]] and [[Francis Preston Blair Jr.]] As was typical during the 19th century, Colfax had little involvement in the [[Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant|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 National Convention|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 [[congressional investigation]] into the [[Crédit Mobilier of America scandal|Crédit Mobilier scandal]] identified Colfax as one of several [[Federal government of the United States|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 [[First transcontinental railroad|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Schuyler-Colfax |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |website=britannica.com |date=January 9, 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen>{{cite web |title=Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President (1869–1873) |url=https://www.cop.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Schuyler_Colfax.htm |publisher=Secretary of the Senate, Washington, D.C. |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405211615/https://www.cop.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Schuyler_Colfax.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Feinman |first=Ronald L. |title=21 Significant Speakers Of The House In American History |url=http://www.theprogressiveprofessor.com/?p=25096 |website=theprogressiveprofessor.com |date=October 31, 2015 |access-date=April 7, 2019}}</ref>

==Early life==
{{further|Schuyler-Colfax House}}
[[File:Schuyler-Colfax House.jpg|thumb|right|[[Schuyler–Colfax House]], ancestral home of Schuyler Colfax's grandparents William and Hester. Originally built in 1695.]]

Schuyler Colfax Jr. was born in [[New York City]] on March 23, 1823, the son of Schuyler Colfax Sr. (1792–1822),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sr88AAAAIAAJ&q=Schuyler+Colfax+Sr.+(1792%E2%80%941822) ''The Magazine of History'']</ref> a bank teller, and Hannah Stryker (1805–1872), both of English and Dutch ancestry, who had married on April 25, 1820.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}} His grandfather, [[William Colfax]], served in [[George Washington]]'s [[Commander-in-Chief's Guard|Life Guard]] during the [[American Revolution]] and married Hester Schuyler, the second great-granddaughter of [[Philip Pieterse Schuyler]].{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}}<ref name=Nelson1876>{{cite book| title = Biographical Sketch of William Colfax, Captain of Washington's Body Guard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETYuAAAAYAAJ | year = 1876 | author = William Nelson}}</ref>{{rp|146–148}} and a cousin of [[Major General (United States)|General]] [[Philip Schuyler]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Phelps |first=Charles A. |author-link=Charles A. Phelps |date=1868 |title=Life and Public Services of General Ulysses S. Grant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajMFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA322 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Lee and Shepard |page=322 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> William Colfax became a general in the [[New Jersey Army National Guard|New Jersey Militia]] after the Revolution and commanded a brigade during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name=Nelson1876/>{{rp|151}}

Schuyler Colfax Sr. contracted tuberculosis and died on October 30, 1822, five months before Colfax was born.<ref name="NewNetherland">{{cite web |url=https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/schuyler-colfax/ |title=Schuyler Colfax (1823–1885) |website=newnetherlandinstitute.org |publisher=New Netherland Institute |location=Albany, NY |access-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref> His sister Mary died in July 1823, four months after he was born.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}} After the senior Colfax's death, Colfax's mother and grandmother ran a boarding house as their primary means of economic support.<ref name="NewNetherland"/> 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.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}}<ref name=Hollister1886>{{cite book |last=Hollister |first=Ovando James |title=Life of Schuyler Colfax |year=1886 |url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeofschuylerco00holluoft#page/14/mode/2up |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |location=New York |oclc=697981267 |pages=14–19}}</ref>

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.<ref name="NewNetherland"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Brisbin |first=James S. |title=The Campaign Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler Colfax |year=1868 |publisher=C. F. Vent & Company |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQWfiyXXqdMC |via=[[Google Books]] |page=359 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|Brisbin}}}}</ref> There, Colfax became an avid reader of newspapers and books.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen/> The family moved again, in 1841, to nearby [[South Bend, Indiana]], after Matthews became [[St. Joseph County, Indiana|St. Joseph County]] [[County auditor|Auditor]].{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}} He appointed Colfax as his deputy, a post that Colfax held throughout the eight years Matthews was in office.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}}

==Newspaper editor==
In 1842, Colfax became the editor of the pro-[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] ''South Bend Free Press,'' owned by [[John D. Defrees]].{{sfn|Brisbin|page=362}} When Defrees moved to [[Indianapolis]] the following year and purchased the ''[[Indiana Journal]]'', he hired Colfax to cover the [[Indiana Senate]] for the ''Journal''.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}}{{sfn|Brisbin|pages=361–362}} 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]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bulla |first1=David W. |last2=Borchard |first2=Gregory A. |date=2010 |title=Journalism in the Civil War Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U67N0GsAUosC&pg=PA4 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Peter Lang |page=4 |isbn=978-1-4331-0722-1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

In 1845, Colfax purchased the ''South Bend Free Press'' and changed its name to the ''St. Joseph Valley Register''.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=362}} He owned the ''Register'' for nine years, at first in support of the Whigs, then shifting to the newly established Republican Party.<ref name=Trefousse>{{cite book |last=Trefousse |first=Hans |location=New York |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1991 |isbn=0313258627 |oclc=23253205 |title=Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction |pages=47–48}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="Papers">{{cite web |url=https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/schuyler-colfax-papers-1843-1884.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/schuyler-colfax-papers-1843-1884.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Biographical Sketch, Schuyler Colfax |last=William Henry Smith Memorial Library |date=1988 |website=Schuyler Colfax Papers, 1843–1884 |publisher=Indiana Historical Society |location=Indianapolis, IN |access-date=July 25, 2021 |page=2}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=361}} The organization's success led it to create a [[Moot court|moot]] state legislature, in which members introduced, debated, and voted on bills in accordance with the rules of the [[Indiana General Assembly]].{{sfn|Brisbin|pages=361–362}} As with the debating society, Colfax was a prominent member of South Bend's moot legislature.{{sfn|Brisbin|pages=361–362}}

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.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=364}} He was next elected as a delegate to Indiana's 1849–1850 state constitutional convention.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=364}} Colfax was [[1850 and 1851 United States House of Representatives elections#Indiana|the 1851 Whig nominee]] for Congress in the district which included South Bend, but narrowly lost to his [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democratic]] opponent,{{sfn|Brisbin|page=364}} primarily because he voted against a measure at the constitutional convention that stopped free African Americans from moving to Indiana.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=364}}

In 1852, Colfax was a delegate to the [[1852 Whig National Convention|Whig National Convention]] and was selected to serve as a convention secretary.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=364}} 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.{{sfn|Brisbin|pages=364–365}} In 1852, Colfax's political supporters encouraged him to make a second run for the U.S. House, but he declined.{{sfn|Brisbin|page=365}}

==U.S. House of Representatives (1855–1869)==
[[File:Schuyler Colfax, Representative from Indiana, Thirty-fifth Congress, half-length portrait) LCCN2010649388.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Congressman Colfax (Indiana) ''1859'']]

In [[1854 United States House of Representatives elections|1854]], Colfax ran for Congress again, this time as nominee of the short-lived [[People's Party (Indiana)|Indiana People's Party]], an anti-slavery movement which formed to oppose the [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]].<ref>{{cite book |date=1880 |title=History of St. Joseph County, Indiana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Li4VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA550 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Chas. C. Chapman & Co. |page=550 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Colfax won and was reelected six times, representing [[Indiana's 9th congressional district]] from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1869.<ref>{{cite book |last=U.S. Congress |date=1913 |title=A Biographical Congressional Directory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maIlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA560 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=560 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> During his House service, Colfax became a member of the leadership as chairman of the [[United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads|Committee on Post Office and Post Roads]], a post he held from 1859 to 1863.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/Representative-Schuyler-Colfax-of-Indiana/ |title=Historical Highlights : Representative Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, January 13, 1885 |last=Office of the House Historian |website=History, Art & Archives |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives |location=Washington, DC |access-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref>

===Know Nothing party affiliation===
In 1855, Colfax considered joining the [[Know Nothing Party]] because of the antislavery plank in its platform.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sharp |first=Walter Rice |date=September 1920 |title=Henry S. Lane and the Formation of the Republican Party in Indiana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scMLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA107 |magazine=The Mississippi Valley Historical Review |location=Bloomington, IN |publisher=Mississippi Valley Historical Association |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|Sharp}}}}</ref> He was chosen as a delegate to the party's June convention without his knowledge. He had mixed feelings about the party and later denied being a member.{{sfn|Sharp|page=107}} Although he agreed with many of its policies, he disapproved of its secrecy oath and citizenship test.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brand |first=Carl Fremont |author-link=Carl F. Brand |date=1916 |title=The History of the Know Nothing Party in Indiana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dG03AQAAMAAJ |location=Bloomington, IN |publisher=Indiana University |page=74 |via=[[Google Books]] |ref={{sfnRef|Brand}}}}</ref> By the time of his 1856 campaign for re-election, the new [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] had become the main anti-slavery party, and Colfax became an early member.{{sfn|Brand|page=74}}

===Opposition to slavery===
Colfax was identified with the [[Radical Republican]]s in Congress and was an energetic opponent of [[slavery]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Klein |first=Christopher |date=2019 |title=When the Irish Invaded Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1YpgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT161 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Anchor Books |page=161 |isbn=978-0-3855-4261-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His June 21, 1856, "Kansas Code" speech<ref>{{cite news| title=THE KANSAS CODE; Character of Chief Justice Lecompte| date=July 12, 1856| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1856/07/12/77053422.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1856/07/12/77053422.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| work=The New York Times| access-date=April 5, 2019| via=The Times's print archive}}</ref> attacking laws passed by the [[Kansas Legislature#Pre-statehood|proslavery Legislature]] in Kansas became the most widely requested Republican campaign document.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen/> Then, as the [[1860 United States presidential election|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.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen/>

===Civil War===
[[File:John C Frémont.png|thumb|right|upright|John C. Frémont]] 
Before Lincoln's inauguration, Colfax's name was put forward by Indiana Republicans for appointment as postmaster general.<ref name="Papers"/> President [[Abraham Lincoln|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]].<ref name=Nicolay>{{cite book |title=Life of Lincoln, Vol. 3|last=Hay and Nicolay |year=1890 |page=353,354|url=https://archive.org/details/abrahamlincoln1198nico}}</ref>

At the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Major General [[John C. Frémont]] commanded [[Union Army]] forces in St. Louis, Missouri.{{sfn|Abbot 1864|p=282,283}} On September 3, 1861, [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] General [[Sterling Price]] defeated Union Brigadier General [[Nathaniel Lyon]] at the [[Battle of Wilson's Creek]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-wilsons-creek |title=Battle of Wilson's Creek |last=History.com Editors |date=November 6, 2009 |website=History.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |location=New York, NY}}</ref> During the battle, Price's Confederate troops under [[Leonidas Polk]] occupied [[Columbus, Kentucky]].<ref name="Belmont">{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-belmont-missouri |title=This Day in History: November 7, 1861; Battle of Belmont, Missouri |last=History.com Editors |website=History.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC |location=New York, NY |access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> Frémont was blamed for not reinforcing Lyon, who had been killed in the fighting.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 2, 1861 |title=The Failure to Reinforce Lyon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/10/02/archives/the-failure-to-reinforce-lyon.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York, NY |page=1 |via=[[TimesMachine]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Belmont"/> Colfax, concerned over the Confederate Army's occupation of Kentucky and threatened Union security of Missouri, decided to visit Frémont.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 27, 1861 |title=A Visit to Gen. Fremont |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/09/27/archives/a-visit-to-gen-fremont.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York, NY |page=3 |via=[[TimesMachine]]}}</ref>

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 [[First Battle of Lexington|Lexington]].<ref name="Vindicated">{{cite news |date=October 3, 1861 |title=Gen. Fremont's Course: The Other Side of the Case; Gen. F. Vindicated |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/10/03/archives/gen-fremonts-course-the-other-side-of-the-case-gen-f-vindicated-the.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York, NY |page=1 |via=[[TimesMachine]]}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Abbot 1864|p=282,283}} In addition, Frémont told Colfax that Lincoln and federal authorities in Washington had requested him to dispatch 5,000 of his troops elsewhere.<ref name="Vindicated"/> 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 of 1861|Confiscation Act]], and not wanting to appear unwilling to follow the instructions of his superiors.{{sfn|Abbot 1864|p=282,283}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Weber |first=Lawrence |date=January 21, 2019 |title=The Frémont Emancipation Proclamation |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/01/21/the-fremont-emancipation-proclamation/ |magazine=Warfare History Network.com/ |location=McLean, VA |publisher=Sovereign Media |access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> Price captured Lexington on September 20 and threatened to take the whole state of Missouri.<ref name="Vindicated"/> Frémont finally responded on September 29, arriving at [[Sedalia, Missouri|Sedalia]] with 38,000 troops and threatening to trap the rebels against the [[Missouri River]].<ref name="Phillips">{{cite magazine |last=Phillips |first=Christopher |title=Price, Sterling: Biographical Information  |url=https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/price-sterling |magazine=Civil War on the Western Border |location=Jefferson City, MO |publisher=Missouri State Library |access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> Price abandoned Lexington, and soon was forced to abandon the state and headed to Arkansas and later Mississippi.<ref name="Phillips"/>

On November 1, seven weeks after Colfax's visit, Frémont ordered Grant to make [[Demonstration (military)|demonstrations]] along the [[Mississippi River|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 [[Battle of Belmont|Belmont]] drawing Confederate troops from Columbus and inflicting Confederate casualties. In February 1862, Grant, in combination with the Union navy, captured Confederate Forts [[Battle of Fort Henry|Henry]] and [[Battle of Fort Donelson|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 [[1862 and 1863 United States House of Representatives elections|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 United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Galusha Grow]]. When the [[38th United States Congress|38th Congress]] convened in December 1863, Colfax was elected speaker, despite President Lincoln's preference for someone less tied to the Radical Republicans.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen/> Altogether, Colfax was elected speaker for three congresses:
*38th Congress<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384175| title=US House Speaker (1863)| website=ourcampaigns.com| access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref>{{indent|2}}{{colorbull|red|size=90}}&nbsp;Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 101 (55.50%){{indent|2}}{{colorbull|blue|size=90}}&nbsp;[[Samuel S. Cox]] (D–OH) – 42 (23.08%){{indent|2}}{{colorbull|gray|size=90}}&nbsp;''Others'' – 39 (21.42%)
*[[39th United States Congress|39th Congress]]<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384174| title=US House Speaker (1865)| website=ourcampaigns.com| access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref>{{indent|2}}{{colorbull|red|size=90}}&nbsp;Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 139 (79.43%){{indent|2}}{{colorbull|blue|size=90}}&nbsp;[[James Brooks (politician)|James Brooks]] (D–NY) – 36 (20.57%)
*[[40th United States Congress|40th Congress]]<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=384173| title=US House Speaker (1867)| website=ourcampaigns.com| access-date=April 5, 2019}}</ref>{{indent|2}}{{colorbull|red|size=90}}&nbsp;Schuyler Colfax (R–IN) – 127 (80.89%){{indent|2}}{{colorbull|blue|size=90}}&nbsp;[[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 to the United States Constitution|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 [[Voting methods in deliberative assemblies#Recorded vote|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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rives |first=F. & J. |date=January 31, 1865 |title=Proceedings, January 31, 1865 |url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=068/llcg068.db&recNum=532 |newspaper=Congressional Globe |location=Washington, DC |page=531}}></ref>

===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.<ref name=NYT_08_20_1867>{{cite web| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1867/09/20/79366916.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1867/09/20/79366916.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| title=Hon. Schuyler Colfax on the Political Situation| date=September 20, 1867| work=The New York Times| access-date=April 5, 2019| via=The Times's print archive}}</ref> 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.<ref name=NYT_08_20_1867/> Colfax said Congressional reconstruction would give security and peace to the nation as opposed to President Johnson and his southern Democratic policies. Colfax favored [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|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.<ref name=NYT_08_20_1867/>

===Election of 1868===
{{further|1868 Republican National Convention|1868 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Grant-Colfax.png|thumb|right|Grant Colfax 1868 Campaign Poster]]
During the 1868 Republican Convention the Republicans nominated [[Ulysses S. Grant]] for president.<ref name=iron>{{cite book |last=Bain |first=David Haward |title=The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2004 |location=New York City |pages=65–6 |isbn=0-14-303526-6}}</ref> Colfax was selected for vice president on the fifth ballot.<ref name=IJHOF_1966>Joseph E. Delgatto, [http://indianajournalismhof.org/1966/01/schuyler-colfax/ Indiana Journal Hall of Fame], Schuyler Colfax 1966</ref> Colfax was popular among Republicans for his friendly character, party loyalty, and Radical views on [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]].<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> Among Republicans he was known as "Smiler Colfax".<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> 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 [[Oath of office of the Vice President of the United States|sworn into office]] as vice president the next day, resigned as speaker. Immediately afterward, the House passed a motion declaring [[Theodore Pomeroy]] duly elected speaker in place of Colfax. In office for one day, Pomeroy's tenure is the shortest of any speaker of the U.S. House.<ref>{{cite web| title=The shortest period of service for a Speaker on record: March 03, 1869| url=https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35841?ret=True| work=Historical Highlights| publisher=Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref>

==Vice presidency (1869–1873)==
[[File:SColfax.jpg|thumb|left|Vice President Schuyler Colfax]]
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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB133DF933A25754C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | title=The 1992 Campaign: Democrats; Clinton Selects Senator Gore of Tennessee as Running Mate | first=Gwen | last=Ifill | date=July 10, 1992 | access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref>

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 [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]]'s victory of unifying Italy and setting up a new government in Rome. Colfax encouraged Italy to form a Republican government that protected religious freedom, regardless of faith, and the civil rights of all individuals, including those who lived in poverty. Colfax said, "for out of this new life of civil and religious liberty will flow peace and happiness, progress and prosperity, with material and national development, and advancement as surely as healthy springs flow from fountains of purity."<ref>{{cite news| title=Hon. Schuyler Colfax on Italian Unity| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/01/10/78755508.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/01/10/78755508.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| work=The New York Times| date=January 10, 1871| access-date=April 7, 2019| via=The Times's print archive}}</ref>

===Election of 1872===
{{further|1872 Republican National Convention}}
Prior to the 1872 Presidential election, Colfax believed that Grant would only serve one term as president.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> In 1870, Colfax announced he would not run for political office in 1872.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> 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.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> In addition, [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|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.)<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> 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.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> 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.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/> Grant went on to win election to a second term, and Wilson became the 18th vice president of the United States.<ref name=IJHOF_1966/>

===Crédit Mobilier scandal===
In September 1872, during the presidential campaign, Colfax's reputation was marred by a ''[[The Sun (New York)|New York Sun]]'' article which indicated that he was involved in the [[Crédit Mobilier of America scandal|Crédit Mobilier scandal]]. Colfax was one of several representatives and senators (mostly Republicans), who were offered (and possibly took) bribes of cash and discounted shares in the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]'s Crédit Mobilier subsidiary in 1868 from Congressman [[Oakes Ames]] for votes favorable to the Union Pacific during the building of the [[First transcontinental railroad]]. [[Henry Wilson]] was among those accused, but after initially denying a connection, he provided a complicated explanation to a Senate investigating committee, which involved his wife having purchased shares with her own money, and then later canceling the transaction over concerns about its propriety. Wilson's reputation for integrity was somewhat dampened, but not enough to prevent him from becoming vice president.

[[File:Keppler Credit Mobilier Hari-Kari.png|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Colfax was castigated for his involvement in the Crédit Mobilier scandal in this March 6, 1873, political cartoon in which [[Uncle Sam]] is shown encouraging Colfax to commit [[seppuku|hara-kiri]].]]
Colfax also denied involvement to the press, and defended himself in person before a [[Congressional investigation|House investigative committee]], testifying in January 1873 that he had never received a dividend check from Ames.{{sfn|BDOA_CS_1906}} Despite his protests of innocence, the congressional investigation revealed that in 1868 Colfax had taken a $1,200 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1200|start_year=1868}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) gift check for 20 shares of Crédit Mobilier stock from Ames. Colfax had deposited $1,200 in his bank account at the same time Ames recorded that he had paid Colfax $1,200.{{sfn|Chernow|2017}} Making matters worse for Colfax, the investigation also revealed that Colfax had received a $4,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=4000|start_year=1868}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) gift also in 1868 from a contractor who supplied envelopes to the federal government while Colfax was chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, and so had influence in the awarding of such contracts.{{sfn|MacDonald 1930|p=298}} Afterward, a resolution to [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeach]] the vice president was introduced in the House, but failed to pass by a mostly party-line vote, mainly because the incidents took place during his tenure as congressman (not as vice president), and because just a few weeks remained in his term.{{sfn|MacDonald 1930|p=298}}

His political career ruined, Colfax left office under a cloud at the end of his term, and never ran for office again.<ref name=iron/>{{sfn|MacDonald 1930|p=298}}<ref name=unfinishednation>{{cite book | last=Brinkley |first=Alan |title=The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People |edition=5th  |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2008 |location=New York City |pages=409 |isbn=978-0-07-330702-2}}</ref> His only consolation on that bitterly cold<ref>{{cite web| title=The 22nd Presidential Inauguration: Ulysses S. Grant March 04, 1873| url=https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/past-inaugural-ceremonies/22nd-inaugural-ceremonies/index.html| website=inaugural.senate.gov| publisher=The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies| access-date=April 7, 2019| archive-date=September 21, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921060055/https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/past-inaugural-ceremonies/22nd-inaugural-ceremonies/index.html| url-status=dead}}</ref> March day was a hand-written letter from Ulysses Grant. In it, the president wrote,

{{blockquote|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.{{sfn|Chernow|2017|p=753}}}}

==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.<ref name=NYT2141875>{{cite news| title=Washington Gossip: Social Topics at the National Capital; A Visit From Schuyler Colfax| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/02/14/82420322.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/02/14/82420322.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| work=The New York Times| date=February 14, 1875| via=The Times's print archive| access-date=April 7, 2019}}</ref> 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."<ref name=NYT2141875/>

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 [[1882 United States House of Representatives elections|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".<ref>{{cite news| title=Schuyler Colfax Refuses| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1882/04/07/103412788.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1882/04/07/103412788.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| work=The New York Times| date=April 7, 1882| via=The Times's print archive| access-date=April 7, 2019}}</ref>

===Death and burial===
[[File:Schuyler Colfax gravesite.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|Gravesite of Schuyler Colfax, in South Bend City Cemetery, South Bend, Indiana]]
On January 13, 1885, Colfax walked from [[Mankato, Minnesota]]'s Front Street depot to the [[Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway|Omaha]] depot, about three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) in {{convert|−30|F}} weather, intending to change trains on his way to [[Rock Rapids, Iowa]], to give a speech.<ref>Hollister, 1886.</ref> Five minutes after arriving, Colfax died of a heart attack brought on by the extreme cold and exhaustion.<ref>"Schuyler Colfax Dead", ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 14, 1885, p. 1.</ref>

He was buried at [[South Bend City Cemetery|City Cemetery]] in South Bend.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IN/SJ.html#CEM|title=The Political Graveyard: St. Joseph County, Ind.|first=Lawrence|last=Kestenbaum|website=politicalgraveyard.com}}</ref> A historical marker in Mankato's Washington Park, site of the former depot, marks the spot where he died.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=c738f429-7a73-4ff8-bd77-b1dc6d73d45e&gid=3 |title=Washington Park Historical Marker – Mankato, MN |date=August 7, 2011 |website=Waymarking.com |publisher=Groundspeak, Inc. |location=Seattle, WA |access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Ellen Maria Colfax.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.95|[[Ellen Maria Colfax|Ellen M. Wade]], second wife of Schuyler Colfax]]
Colfax was married twice:
* On October 10, 1844, he married his childhood friend [[Evelyn Clark Colfax|Evelyn Clark]]. She died in 1863; they had no children.
* On November 18, 1868, two weeks after winning the vice presidency, he married [[Ellen Maria Colfax|Ellen (Ella) M. Wade]] (1836–1911), a niece of Senator [[Benjamin Wade]]. They had one son, [[Schuyler Colfax III]] (1870–1925), who served as [[List of mayors of South Bend, Indiana|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.<ref>{{cite web| last=Sloma| first=Tricia| date=November 9, 2011| title=Pete Buttigieg becomes second youngest mayor in South Bend| url=https://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/Pete_Buttigieg_becomes_second_youngest_mayor_in_South_Bend_133521918.html| publisher=WNDU – Channel 16| location=South Bend, Indiana| access-date=April 12, 2019| archive-date=April 12, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412173505/https://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/Pete_Buttigieg_becomes_second_youngest_mayor_in_South_Bend_133521918.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[International Association of Rebekah Assemblies|Rebekah Degree]] and present a report at the 1851 annual meeting.<ref>{{cite news |editor-last=Humphrey |editor-first=Jimmy C.  |date=January 1, 2015 |title=How Time has Changed... The Degree of Rebekah |url=http://www.ioof.org/ioofdocs/2015/IOOF%20News/ioof%20news%2015.1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.ioof.org/ioofdocs/2015/IOOF%20News/ioof%20news%2015.1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |newspaper=I.O.O.F. News |location=Winston-Salem, NC |page=13}}</ref> On September 20, 1851, the IOOF approved the degree and Colfax was credited as its author and founder.<ref name="RAOI">{{cite web |url=http://www.rebekahsofidaho.org/history.htm |title=Our Rebekah History |work=Official website |publisher=Rebekah Assembly of Idaho |access-date=April 11, 2010}}</ref><ref name="rebekahs.org">{{cite web |url=http://rebekahs.org/IOOF%20HISTORY.htm |title=The International Association of Rebekah Assemblies |work=Rebekahs in the San Francisco/San Jose Bay Area – website |access-date=April 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522050545/http://rebekahs.org/IOOF%20HISTORY.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2010 }}</ref>

In 1854 Colfax was initiated into the [[Beta Theta Pi]] fraternity at [[DePauw University]] as an honorary member.<ref name=beta>{{cite book |title=Hand-book of Beta Theta Pi |publisher=Published by the author. |author=William Raimond Baird |page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookbetathe00bairgoog/page/n306 297] |location= New York, NY |year=1906 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookbetathe00bairgoog}}</ref>

Colfax was initiated into the fraternity of [[Freemasonry|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Denslow |first=William R. |title=10,000 Famous Freemasons |publisher=[[Cornerstone Book Publishers]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-887560-31-3 |location=Lafayette, LA |publication-date=2007 |pages=271 |language=English}}</ref>

==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 [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|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.<ref name="USRC">{{cite book |title=Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933 |date=1934 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2437782/colfax-1871/}}</ref>
 
Towns in the U.S. states of [[Colfax, California|California]], [[Colfax, North Carolina|North Carolina]], [[Colfax, Illinois|Illinois]], [[Colfax, Washington|Washington]], [[Colfax, Wisconsin|Wisconsin]], [[Colfax, Indiana|Indiana]], [[Colfax, Iowa|Iowa]], [[Colfax, Texas|Texas]], and [[Colfax, Louisiana|Louisiana]] are named after him. [[Schuyler, Nebraska]], named after Colfax, is the county seat of [[Colfax County, Nebraska]]. The ghost town of [[Colfax, Colorado]], was named after him, as was [[Colfax County, New Mexico]].

Colfax Avenue in [[South Bend]] is named in his honor. Colfax's home of his adult years stood on that street, at 601 W. Market St. The city later renamed the street in his honor. The Colfax home was demolished and, {{As of|2019|lc=y}}, a [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] church stands on the spot. There is another Colfax Avenue in [[Mishawaka, Indiana]], the city just east of South Bend. There is also a Colfax Avenue in the Grant City section of Staten Island, one of the boroughs of [[New York City]]. The main east–west street traversing [[Aurora, Colorado|Aurora]], [[Denver]], and [[Lakewood, Colorado]], and abutting the [[Colorado State Capitol]] is named [[Colfax Avenue]] in the politician's honor; it is also known as the longest continuous commercial street in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Colfax Avenue |url=http://www.colfaxavenue.org/p/history-of-colfax-avenue.html |website=Colfax Avenue Museum |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> There is also a Colfax Place in the Highland Square neighborhood in [[Akron, Ohio]]; in [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota; in [[Roselle Park, New Jersey]]; and a Colfax Street on [[Chicago]]'s South Side. There is a Colfax Street in [[Springdale, Pennsylvania]], that leads up Mt. Colfax as well as one in [[Palatine, Illinois]], in [[Evanston, Illinois]], and in [[Jamestown, New York]]. [[Dallas]], Texas, and one of its suburbs, [[Richardson, Texas|Richardson]], each have separate residential roads named Colfax Drive. There is also a Colfax Avenue in the [[San Fernando Valley]] area of Los Angeles<ref>{{cite news |title=Colfax Meadows |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lV8EAAAAMBAJ&q=colfax+meadows |issue=1, Vol 45|publisher=Los Angeles Magazine |date=January 2000}}</ref> and in [[Concord, California]], as well as in [[Benton Harbor, Michigan]].

Colfax School was built in [[South Bend]] and opened in 1898 just a few blocks from the Schuyler Colfax home. The school building still stands, as of 2019, at 914 Lincoln Way West, although it is no longer a school and today is known as Colfax Cultural Center. In the 1950s and 1960s, one of the downtown movie theaters was The Colfax. There is a Colfax Elementary School in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania. The [[Schuyler-Colfax House]] in [[Wayne, New Jersey]], which was built by Colfax's ancestors, was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waynetownship.com/historic-house-museums.html |title=Historic House Museums, Structures and Sites |website=Wayne Township Parks and Recreation Department |publisher=Town of Wayne, NJ |access-date=May 28, 2016}}</ref>

The Schuyler Colfax monument in Colfax, California was made in his honor.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/schuyler-colfax-monument/2b9d666c-d5a4-4722-978e-825ed1544ed8 | title=Schuyler Colfax Monument &#124; Sierra Nevada Geotourism }}</ref> There is another statue of Colfax in Indianapolis, Indiana.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.presidentsusa.net/colfaxstatue.html | title=Schuyler Colfax Statue - Indianapolis, Indiana }}</ref>

==Media portrayals==
Actor [[Bill Raymond]] portrayed Colfax during his time as Speaker in the 2012 [[Steven Spielberg]] film ''[[Lincoln (film)|Lincoln]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Titze |first=Anne-Katrin |date=January 9, 2013 |title=Speaking out about Lincoln: Bill Raymond talks about his role as Speaker of the House in Steven Spielberg's film |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2013-01-09-bill-raymond-interview-about-lincoln-feature-story-by-anne-katrin-titze |work=Eye for Film |location=Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref> Raymond was in his early seventies when the film was made<ref>{{cite news |title=Biography: Bill Raymond |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/william-raymond |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |location=New York, NY |access-date=August 1, 2021}}</ref> while Colfax was in his early forties during the period depicted in the film.<ref name=ColfaxUSSen/>

==See also==
{{portal|American Civil War}}
* [[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==
{{reflist}}

===Books cited===
*{{cite book|first=John S.C.|last=Abbot|ref={{sfnRef|Abbot 1864}}|title=The History of the Civil War in America |publisher=Henry Bill|location=New York City|date=1864}}
*{{cite book |last=Chernow |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Chernow |title=Grant |publisher=Penguin Press |location=New York |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-5942-0487-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRYcDgAAQBAJ }}
*{{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=William|title=Dictionary of American Biography Colfax, Schuyler|editor=Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York City|date=1930|ref={{Sfnref|MacDonald 1930}}}}
*{{cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of America Colfax, Schuyler|url=https://archive.org/stream/biographicaldict02johnuoft#page/n335/mode/2up|date=1906|publisher=Boston, American Biographical Society|editor=Rossiter Johnson|ref={{sfnRef|BDOA_CS_1906}}}}

==Additional reading==
*{{cite book |last=Hollister |first=Ovando James |title=Life of Schuyler Colfax |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeschuylercol00hollgoog |year=1886 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |location=New York}}

==External links==
* Schuyler Colfax's signature on the [http://www.footnote.com/image/4346710  1864 joint resolution proposing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery]
* [https://archive.org/details/fremontshundredd00colfrich ''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]
* [https://archive.org/details/cu31924032765939/ ''The life and public services of Schuyler Colfax: together with his most important speeches'' at archive.org]
* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/3147 Schuyler Colfax letters, MSS SC 137] at [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections]], [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[Brigham Young University]]
{{CongBio|C000626}}
* [https://archives.isl.lib.in.us/repositories/2/resources/131 Schuyler Colfax Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library]

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colfax, Schuyler}}
[[Category:Schuyler Colfax| ]]
[[Category:1823 births]]
[[Category:1885 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:1868 United States vice-presidential candidates]]
[[Category:Vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Speakers of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Abolitionists from New York City]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Colfax family]]
[[Category:Schuyler family]]
[[Category:Indiana Republicans]]
[[Category:Indiana Whigs]]
[[Category:Grant administration personnel]]
[[Category:Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Republican Party vice presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana]]
[[Category:Politicians from New York City]]
[[Category:People from St. Joseph County, Indiana]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana]]
[[Category:Members of the Odd Fellows]]
[[Category:Abolitionists from Indiana]]