Schuyler Colfax papers

Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885) was born in New York City, but moved to Carlisle, Indiana in 1834. Active in the organization of the Republican Party in Indiana, Colfax was elected to the House of Representatives in 1855. From 1863-1869 he was Speaker of the House. His longest and most important service was as chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads. His speakership and "advanced ideas on Negro suffrage" commended him as a candidate for vice-president, and in 1868 he was elected to that office, serving under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was considered as a presidential candidate in 1872, but was defeated at the Philadelphia convention. Soon after he was offered the editorship of the New York Tribune, but declined. Although never formally charged, he was implicated in the Credit Mobilier scandal, and his political career was ended. His later years were devoted to lecturing and to the Indiana Odd Fellows.