Bainbridge Colby

Bainbridge Colby
Colby in 1920
Bainbridge Colby
Born	12/22/1869
Birthplace	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	4/11/1950 Bemus Point, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Politician, attorney
Known for	43rd United States Secretary of State; co-founder of the Progressive Party; certifying the 19th Amendment
Education	New York Law School (LLB)
Spouse(s)	Nathalie Sedgwick Ann Ahlstrand Ely
Children	7

Bainbridge Colby (December 22, 1869 – April 11, 1950) was an American politician, attorney, and statesman who served as the 43rd United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from February 1920 to March 1921. His political career spanned three major American parties. He started as a Republican, helped co-found the National Progressive Party in 1912, and switched to the Democratic Party in 1920 when Wilson appointed him to the Cabinet. Two things made Colby stand out during his brief time at the State Department: he pushed a Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America, which came before Franklin D. Roosevelt's more famous version, and he certified the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26, 1920, giving women the constitutional right to vote. Colby also stated America's formal refusal to recognize the Bolshevik government in Russia, a position that shaped U.S. foreign policy for over a decade. After leaving government, he practiced law alongside Wilson himself and stayed active in legal and political circles until his death in 1950.

Early Life

Bainbridge Colby was born on December 22, 1869, in St. Louis, Missouri. A prominent New England family was behind him. The Colbys traced their lineage back to early colonial settlers, and young Bainbridge grew up with advantages that few had: access to education and the kind of social connections that would serve him well throughout his life.

His father was a successful attorney. The family's standing in St. Louis society meant that Bainbridge encountered the legal profession early. Post-Civil War Missouri was a border state, torn by political divisions, and this environment may have shaped the independent streak that defined his later political choices. He spent his early years in St. Louis before heading east for education, following the typical path for sons of upper-middle-class families during the Gilded Age.

Education

At Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Colby earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. Williams was one of America's oldest and most respected liberal arts schools, and it gave Colby a rigorous classical education. His election to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest academic honor society, reflected his scholarly success as an undergraduate.

Then came the New York Law School. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree there. This choice put Colby in the heart of the American legal profession, and after his studies he was admitted to the New York bar. His legal practice in New York City became his professional home for the rest of his career.

Career

Early Political Career and the New York Assembly

Colby started out as a Republican. This was natural enough for a young attorney of his social position in the late nineteenth century. He entered public life through election to the New York State Assembly, representing the 29th district of New York County. His time in the Assembly ran from January 1, 1901, to December 31, 1902, coming after Hal Bell and before George B. Clark.

In the legislature, Colby worked alongside reform-minded Republicans who'd grown restless with the party's conservative direction. His Assembly service was brief, but it taught him how government worked and how to build relationships. These lessons shaped his later career.

Back in New York City, Colby rebuilt his law practice and became known as a capable, well-connected attorney. He stayed involved in Republican politics through the first decade of the twentieth century, a period when the party was fracturing over whether to pursue reform or hold the line with tradition.

The Progressive Party and Political Realignment

In 1912, Colby made his defining political choice. He joined the movement to create the National Progressive Party, the "Bull Moose" Party. The split between former President Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent President William Howard Taft over the party's direction made this possible. Colby was among those who founded the Progressive Party and became one of its strong voices.

The Progressive platform called for women's suffrage, labor protections, corporate regulation, and direct election of senators. Colby supported all of this. He ran for multiple offices as a Progressive candidate, but he didn't win any of these contests. Still, his work in the Progressive movement raised his national profile and showed that he'd break with established parties for principle.

After Roosevelt's 1912 defeat and his decision not to run in 1916, the Progressive Party declined. Colby tried the Independence Party in 1916 before moving toward the Democratic Party. By then, the Democrats' progressive wing under Woodrow Wilson had taken up many of the reforms Progressives had championed.

Appointment as Secretary of State

On February 13, 1920, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Colby as the 43rd United States Secretary of State, replacing Robert Lansing. The appointment was unusual in how it came about. Wilson had forced Lansing out after discovering that Lansing had called Cabinet meetings without the President's permission while Wilson was recovering from his devastating stroke in October 1919.

Observers were surprised. Colby had backed Wilson and served on the United States Shipping Board during World War I, but he wasn't known for diplomatic experience. Wilson needed someone loyal at the State Department, someone who'd execute his vision rather than pursue his own agenda. Wilson, largely confined to the White House after his stroke, couldn't conduct foreign affairs himself anymore. He believed Lansing had overstepped, and he wasn't going to let that happen again.

Colby's switch to the Democratic Party was sealed by accepting this Cabinet job. He stayed a Democrat for the rest of his life.

Tenure as Secretary of State

Colby served from February 13, 1920, until March 4, 1921, roughly thirteen months. These were difficult months for American foreign policy. The Senate had rejected the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations membership, which Wilson had pinned his hopes on. That left America's international position in doubt. Wilson's health problems meant that the Secretary of State operated with unusual freedom in some areas while the President still clung to control in others.

The Colby Note and Non-Recognition of Soviet Russia

Colby's biggest diplomatic move was the "Colby Note" of August 10, 1920, a formal statement refusing to recognize the Bolshevik government in Russia. The note laid out why: the government wouldn't honor international obligations, it wanted to spread revolution, and it didn't represent the Russian people. This policy lasted until 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the Soviets diplomatic recognition.

The note rested on principle. It reflected Wilson's belief in democratic governance and American fears about Bolshevism spreading during the Red Scare. One of Colby's most important statements, it shaped how America dealt with revolutionary regimes and had real consequences for U.S.-Soviet relations in the years between the wars.

Good Neighbor Policy Toward Latin America

Colby also pushed an early version of the "Good Neighbor" policy toward Latin America. He took a diplomatic tour through South America, visiting Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, where he promoted cooperation between the United States and its southern neighbors. His approach stressed partnership and equality rather than dominance in the Western Hemisphere. This moved away from the interventionist policies that had dominated American relations with Latin America before.

The Good Neighbor policy is remembered as Roosevelt's idea from the 1930s. But Colby's earlier work laid the groundwork. His diplomatic efforts in South America represented some of the better thinking coming out of Wilson's last year in office.

Certification of the Nineteenth Amendment

Colby's most remembered act came on August 26, 1920, when he signed the proclamation certifying the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited denial of voting rights based on sex. Tennessee had delivered the crucial thirty-sixth state on August 18, 1920. Colby completed the certification eight days later.

He signed it early in the morning with no public ceremony, a choice that annoyed suffrage leaders. They'd wanted a formal event to mark decades of struggle for women's voting rights. But the date stuck. August 26 became the basis for Women's Equality Day in the United States.

Post-Government Career

On March 4, 1921, Colby left the State Department and entered into a law partnership with former President Woodrow Wilson. The firm of Wilson and Colby set up shop in Washington, D.C. It was mostly symbolic. Wilson's health kept declining, and he couldn't do real legal work. The partnership ended after Wilson died on February 3, 1924.

Colby practiced law in New York and stayed active in Democratic politics through the 1920s and 1930s. He earned a reputation as a skilled courtroom advocate and took on several high-profile cases. He also kept up his interest in public affairs, commenting on political news and occasionally being mentioned for various offices. But he never held another elected or appointed position.

In the 1930s, he backed some parts of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal but grew critical of what he saw as federal overreach. This pattern repeated throughout his political life. Colby wanted reform, yet he worried about abandoning established institutional structures.

Personal Life

Bainbridge Colby married twice. His first wife was Nathalie Sedgwick, and they had children together. His second wife was Ann Ahlstrand Ely. Over his lifetime, Colby fathered seven children.

He kept homes in New York City, where his law practice was based, and elsewhere. He belonged to prominent social and professional clubs in New York and Washington and moved in elite circles throughout his adult life.

On April 11, 1950, Bainbridge Colby died in Bemus Point, New York. He was 80 years old. His death occurred when Cold War policies he'd helped shape through the Colby Note were being tested by the worsening U.S.-Soviet confrontation.

Legacy

Colby's legacy rests on his brief but significant tenure as Secretary of State. When he certified the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26, 1920, he performed his most visible act. That date remains observed annually as Women's Equality Day. What he did was administrative, but its significance was enormous. Colby's name is now permanently linked to one of America's most important expansions of democratic participation.

The Colby Note of 1920 set the policy of refusing to recognize the Soviet government. It lasted thirteen years and shaped how America first dealt with the communist world. Roosevelt reversed it in 1933, but the Colby Note's principles endured. Recognition, the note said, means approving a government's legitimacy and conduct. That idea stayed with American diplomacy.

Colby's role in founding the Progressive Party in 1912 is less remembered than his Cabinet service. Yet he was present at a turning point in American politics. The Progressive platform, which included women's suffrage, labor rights, and corporate regulation, predicted the reform agenda of the decades that followed. His willingness to leave the Republicans and later join the Democrats showed how fluid political alignment could be during the Progressive Era.

The Library of Congress holds his papers. Scholars studying the Wilson administration's foreign policy and Progressive Era politics use them as primary sources.

Colby served as Secretary of State during one of the strangest periods in presidential history. The President was largely incapacitated. His tenure raises difficult questions about executive authority, how power gets delegated, and whether the government can function when the President can't. Those questions wouldn't get formal answers until the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was ratified in 1967.