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Charles W. Fairbanks

Also Known As Charles Warren FairbanksS , Fairbanks

Former Vice President of the United States

Education

  • Graduate - Ohio Wesleyan University

Overview

Charles Warren Fairbanks was an American politician who served as a senator from Indiana from 1897 to 1905 and the 26th vice president of the United States from 1905 to 1909. He was also the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 1916 presidential election. Had the Republican ticket been elected, Fairbanks would have become the third (and only non-consecutive) vice president to multiple presidents, after George Clinton and John C. Calhoun.

Born in Unionville Center, Ohio, Fairbanks moved to Indianapolis after graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University. He became an attorney and railroad financier, working under railroad magnate Jay Gould. Fairbanks delivered the keynote address at the 1896 Republican National Convention and won election to the Senate the following year. In the Senate, he became an advisor to President William McKinley and served on a commission that helped settle the Alaska boundary dispute.

The 1904 Republican National Convention selected Fairbanks as the running mate for President Theodore Roosevelt. As vice president, Fairbanks worked against Roosevelt's progressive policies. Fairbanks unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination at the 1908 Republican National Convention and backed William Howard Taft in 1912 against Roosevelt. Fairbanks sought the presidential nomination at the 1916 Republican National Convention, but was instead selected as the vice presidential nominee, with former Associate Justice and Governor Charles Evans Hughes, and would have been the third vice president to serve under different presidents (after George Clinton and John C. Calhoun), and the only one non-consecutively. The Hughes-Fairbanks ticket, however, narrowly lost to the Democratic ticket of President Woodrow Wilson and Vice President Thomas R. Marshall.

Fairbanks's first position was as an agent of the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reporting on political rallies for Horace Greeley during the 1872 presidential election. He studied law in Pittsburgh before moving to Cleveland, 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 the Ohio bar in 1874, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1875 he received his Master 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 millionaire Jay Gould.

Fairbanks in his office

Prior to the 1888 Republican National Convention, federal judge Walter Q. Gresham sought Fairbanks's help in campaigning for the Republican nomination for U.S. President. When Benjamin 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 the campaign of 1892. In 1893, Fairbanks was a candidate for the United States Senate, but Democrats controlled the state legislature and reelected incumbent Democrat David 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 the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana Senate, ensuring that a Republican would be elected to succeed Daniel W. Voorhees in the United States Senate at the end of Voorhees's term in 1897. At the 1896 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.

Early Life

Charles Warren Fairbanks born on May 11, 1852 in a log cabin near Unionville Center, Ohio, the son of Mary Adelaide (Smith) and Loriston Monroe Fairbanks, a wagon-maker. Fairbanks in his youth saw his family's home used as a hiding place for runaway slaves. After attending country schools and working on a farm, Fairbanks attended Ohio Wesleyan University, where he graduated in 1872. While there, Fairbanks was co-editor of the school newspaper with Cornelia Cole, whom he married after both graduated from the school.

Career

  • United States - Former Vice President

Reference

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