Charles W. Fairbanks | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fairbanks,c. 1900s | |
| 26th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1905 – March 4, 1909 | |
| President | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Succeeded by | James S. Sherman |
| United States Senator fromIndiana | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel W. Voorhees |
| Succeeded by | James A. Hemenway |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Warren Fairbanks (1852-05-11)May 11, 1852 Unionville Center, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1918(1918-06-04) (aged 66) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Crown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum, Section 24, Lot 3 39°49′03″N86°10′16″W / 39.8175875°N 86.1711419°W /39.8175875; -86.1711419 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Ohio Wesleyan University (BA,MA) |
| Signature |  |
Charles Warren Fairbanks (May 11, 1852 – June 4, 1918) was the 26thvice president of the United States under PresidentTheodore Roosevelt serving from 1905 to 1909. A member of theRepublican Party, Fairbanks was previously asenator fromIndiana from 1897 to 1905.
Born inUnionville Center, Ohio, Fairbanks moved toIndianapolis after graduating fromOhio Wesleyan University. He became an attorney and railroad financier, working under railroad magnateJay Gould. Fairbanks delivered the keynote address at the1896 Republican National Convention and won election to the Senate the following year.[1] In the Senate, he became an advisor to PresidentWilliam McKinley and served on a commission that helped settle theAlaska boundary dispute.
The1904 Republican National Convention selected Fairbanks as the running mate for PresidentTheodore Roosevelt. As vice president, Fairbanks worked against Roosevelt'sprogressive policies. Fairbanks unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination at the1908 Republican National Convention and backedWilliam Howard Taft in 1912 against Roosevelt.
Fairbanks sought the presidential nomination at the1916 Republican National Convention, but was instead selected as the vice presidential nominee, with former Associate Justice and GovernorCharles Evans Hughes, and would have been the third vice president to serve under different presidents (afterGeorge Clinton andJohn C. Calhoun), and the only one non-consecutively. The Hughes-Fairbanks ticket, however, narrowly lost to theDemocratic ticket of PresidentWoodrow Wilson and Vice PresidentThomas R. Marshall.
Fairbanks was born in alog cabin nearUnionville Center, Ohio, the son of Mary Adelaide (Smith) and Loriston Monroe Fairbanks, a wagon-maker.[2] Fairbanks in his youth saw his family's home used as ahiding place for runaway slaves. After attending country schools and working on a farm, Fairbanks attendedOhio Wesleyan University, where he graduated in 1872. While there, Fairbanks was co-editor of the school newspaper withCornelia Cole, whom he married after both graduated from the school.[3]
Fairbanks's first position was as an agent of theAssociated Press inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reporting on political rallies forHorace Greeley during the1872 presidential election.[4] He studied law in Pittsburgh before moving toCleveland, Ohio, where he continued to work for the Associated Press while attending a semester at Cleveland Law School to complete his legal education. Fairbanks was admitted to theOhio bar in 1874, and moved toIndianapolis, Indiana. In 1875 he received hisMaster of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan.
During his early years in Indiana, Fairbanks was paid $5,000 a year as manager for the bankrupt Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Western Railroad. With the assistance of his uncle, Charles W. Smith, whose connections had helped him obtain the position, Fairbanks was able to become a railroad financier and served as counsel for millionaireJay Gould.
Prior to the1888 Republican National Convention, federal judgeWalter Q. Gresham sought Fairbanks's help in campaigning for theRepublican nomination forU.S. President. WhenBenjamin Harrison won the nomination, Fairbanks supported him and made campaign speeches on his behalf. Afterward, Fairbanks began to take an even greater interest in politics, and made campaign speeches on Harrison's behalf again in thecampaign of 1892. In 1893, Fairbanks was a candidate for theUnited States Senate, but Democrats controlled the state legislature and reelected incumbent DemocratDavid Turpie.
In 1894, Fairbanks was the most visible organizer and speaker on behalf of Republicans in elections for the state legislature. He was credited with delivering Republican majorities to both theIndiana House of Representatives andIndiana Senate, ensuring that a Republican would be elected to succeedDaniel W. Voorhees in theUnited States Senate at the end of Voorhees's term in 1897. At the1896 Republican National Convention, Fairbanks was both temporary chairman and keynote speaker, further raising his public profile. Fairbanks was the most likely Republican candidate for Voorhees's seat, and in January 1897 Republican legislators formally chose him as their nominee. On January 19, 1897, Fairbanks was elected to the Senate, and he took his seat on March 4.
During his eight years in the U.S. Senate, Fairbanks served as a key advisor to McKinley during theSpanish–American War and was also the Chairman of theCommittee on Immigration and theCommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds. In 1898, Fairbanks was appointed a member of the United States and British Joint High Commission which met inQuebec City "for the adjustment of Canadian questions", including theAlaska boundary dispute.[1]
Fairbanks was elected vice president of the United States in 1904 on the Republican ticket withTheodore Roosevelt and served a four-year term, 1905 to 1909. He became the first vice president to serve a complete term without castingany tie-breaking votes asPresident of the Senate. Fairbanks, a conservative whom Roosevelt had once labeled a "reactionary machine politician" (and who had been caricatured as a "Wall Street Puppet" during the campaign), actively worked against Roosevelt's progressive "Square Deal" program. Roosevelt did not give Fairbanks a significant role in his administration, and (having chosen not to seek reelection) strongly promotedWilliam Howard Taft as his potential successor in 1908.[5][6] Fairbanks also sought the Republican nomination for president, but was unsuccessful and returned to the practice of law. In 1912, Fairbanks supported Taft's reelection against Roosevelt's Bull Moose candidacy.
In1916, Fairbanks was in charge of establishing the platform for the Republican party. He sought that year's Republicanpresidential nomination at the party's June convention. WhenCharles Evans Hughes was nominated, Fairbanks was selected by the convention as thevice presidential nominee, which would have returned him to office under a different president, a feat previously accomplished only byGeorge Clinton andJohn C. Calhoun. In November, Hughes and Fairbanks lost a close election to the Democratic incumbentsWoodrow Wilson andThomas Marshall. Fairbanks andAdlai Stevenson (vice president from 1893 to 1897) share the distinction of seeking reelection to non-consecutive terms as vice president. Former vice president Stevenson ran for a second non-consecutive term withWilliam Jennings Bryan in the1900 election but he and Bryan lost to theRepublican ticket ofWilliam McKinley andTheodore Roosevelt. After the election, Fairbanks resumed the practice of law in Indianapolis, but his health soon started to fail.
Fairbanks died ofnephritis in his home on June 4, 1918, at the age of 66, and he was interred inCrown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.[7]
Fairbanks received thehonorary degree ofLL.D. from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1901, and fromNorthwestern University in 1907. The Charles W. Fairbanks Professor of Politics and Government position at Ohio Wesleyan University is named for him.
The city ofFairbanks, Alaska,[8] and theFairbanks North Star Borough within which it lies; theFairbanks School District inUnion County, Ohio;Fairbanks, Minnesota;Fairbanks, Oregon; andFairbanks Township, Michigan, are all named after him.
In 1966, the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission placed an Indianahistorical marker in front of Fairbanks's home at 30th andMeridian Streets in Indianapolis.[9] On May 15, 2009, an Ohio historical marker was dedicated inUnionville Center, commemorating Fairbanks's birthplace.[10]
Charles Warren Fairbanks, former Vice President of the United States and former United States Senator for Indiana, died at his home at 8:55 o'clock tonight.
| U.S. Senate | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Indiana 1897–1905 Served alongside:David Turpie,Albert J. Beveridge | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Theodore Roosevelt | Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States 1904 | Succeeded by James Sherman |
| Preceded by | Republicannominee for Vice President of the United States 1916 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vice President of the United States 1905–1909 | Succeeded by |
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