Scope and Content Note
The correspondence and speeches of Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885) span the years 1837-1882. The collection documents Colfax’s ownership and editorship of the St. Joseph Valley Register, a Whig newspaper in South Bend, Indiana; his involvement in Whig and Republican party politics; and his tenure as United States representative from Indiana and vice president under Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).
The correspondence file dates from 1837 to 1882 and includes letters to and from Colfax. A large part of the correspondence consists of letters written by Colfax to Alfred Wheeler who assumed editorship of the St. Joseph Valley Register when Colfax was elected to Congress in 1855. Colfax’s letters discuss the running of his newspaper, events in Washington, D.C., and national and state politics. Other correspondents include Henry B. Anthony, Jay Cooke (1821-1905), Roscoe Conkling (1829-1888), and Henry L. Dawes. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.
The speech file contains drafts of speeches and lectures given by Colfax, largely from 1873 to 1882, when he had retired from politics and was touring the country giving public lectures. The speeches and lectures are arranged alphabetically by title or topic. Several folders contain compilations of partial drafts, reflecting Colfax’s practice of reusing portions of earlier speeches. A facsimile letter from Colfax to John Sherman (1823-1900) concerning Sherman’s brother William T. Sherman was added as an addition to the collection in 1982.