Bainbridge Colby

Bainbridge Colby
Colby in 1920
Bainbridge Colby
Born	22 12, 1869
Birthplace	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age 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. A figure whose political career traversed three major American parties, Colby began as a Republican, helped co-found the National Progressive Party in 1912, and ultimately joined the Democratic Party in 1920 upon his appointment to the Cabinet. He is perhaps best remembered for two consequential acts during his brief tenure at the State Department: his promotion of a Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America, which anticipated the more famous policy later associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his certification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26, 1920, which granted women the constitutional right to vote. Colby also articulated the United States' formal refusal to recognize the Bolshevik government in Russia, a position that would shape American foreign policy for more than a decade. After leaving government, he practiced law in partnership with Wilson himself and remained 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. He was descended from a prominent New England family with deep roots in American history. The Colby family traced its lineage to early colonial settlers, and Bainbridge grew up in circumstances that afforded him access to education and social connections that would prove instrumental throughout his career.

His father was a successful attorney, and the family's prominence in St. Louis society provided young Bainbridge with exposure to the legal profession from an early age. The environment of post-Civil War Missouri, a border state that had experienced deep political divisions, may have contributed to the independent political sensibility that would characterize Colby's later career. He spent his formative years in St. Louis before eventually heading east for his education, following a path common among the sons of the upper-middle-class families of the Gilded Age.

Education

Colby pursued his undergraduate studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Williams College, one of the oldest and most prestigious liberal arts institutions in the United States, provided Colby with a rigorous classical education. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest academic honor society, reflecting his scholarly achievements as an undergraduate.

Following his undergraduate education, Colby enrolled at the New York Law School, where he obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. The choice of New York Law School positioned Colby in the center of the American legal profession, and upon completing his studies he was admitted to the New York bar. He established his legal practice in New York City, which would serve as his professional base for the remainder of his career.

Career

Early Political Career and the New York Assembly

Colby began his political career as a member of the Republican Party, a natural affiliation for a young attorney of his social standing in the late nineteenth century. He entered public life when he was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing the 29th district of New York County. He served in the Assembly from January 1, 1901, to December 31, 1902, succeeding Hal Bell and being succeeded by George B. Clark.

During his time in the state legislature, Colby gained experience in the workings of government and developed relationships with other reform-minded Republicans who were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the conservative leadership of the party. His tenure in the Assembly, while relatively brief, provided him with a foundation in electoral politics and legislative process that would inform his later career.

After leaving the Assembly, Colby returned to his law practice in New York City, building a reputation as a capable and well-connected attorney. He remained engaged in Republican politics through the first decade of the twentieth century, a period of growing tension within the party between its progressive and conservative wings.

The Progressive Party and Political Realignment

The defining political moment of Colby's early career came in 1912, when he joined the movement to establish the National Progressive Party, popularly known as the "Bull Moose" Party. The new party was formed in response to the bitter split between former President Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent President William Howard Taft over the direction of the Republican Party. Colby was among the co-founders of the Progressive Party and became one of its vocal advocates.

The Progressive Party platform called for a range of reforms including women's suffrage, labor protections, regulation of corporations, and direct election of senators. Colby embraced these causes and ran for multiple offices as a Progressive Party candidate, though he did not succeed in winning any of these electoral contests. Despite these defeats at the ballot box, his activism within the Progressive movement raised his national profile and established him as a figure of political principle willing to break with established party structures.

The Progressive Party's fortunes declined after Roosevelt's defeat in 1912 and particularly after Roosevelt declined to run again in 1916. Colby briefly associated with the Independence Party in 1916 before eventually gravitating toward the Democratic Party, whose progressive wing under Woodrow Wilson had adopted many of the reforms the Progressives had championed.

Appointment as Secretary of State

Colby's most prominent role came on February 13, 1920, when President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as the 43rd United States Secretary of State, succeeding Robert Lansing. The circumstances of his appointment were unusual. Wilson had forced Lansing's resignation after discovering that Lansing had convened Cabinet meetings without the President's authorization during Wilson's prolonged illness following his devastating stroke in October 1919.

Wilson's selection of Colby surprised many observers. Although Colby had supported Wilson politically and had served on the United States Shipping Board during World War I, he was not a figure with extensive diplomatic experience. His appointment reflected Wilson's desire for a loyal subordinate at the State Department at a time when the President's physical incapacity severely limited his ability to conduct foreign affairs personally. Wilson, who was largely confined to the White House following his stroke, needed a Secretary of State who would faithfully execute his vision without pursuing an independent agenda, as Wilson believed Lansing had done.

Colby's transition to the Democratic Party was effectively sealed by his acceptance of the Cabinet position. He would remain a Democrat for the rest of his life.

Tenure as Secretary of State

Colby served as Secretary of State from February 13, 1920, until March 4, 1921, a period of approximately thirteen months. His tenure coincided with a challenging period in American foreign policy. The United States Senate had rejected the Treaty of Versailles and American membership in the League of Nations, Wilson's signature diplomatic achievement, leaving the country's international posture uncertain. Meanwhile, Wilson's medical condition meant that the Secretary of State operated with an unusual degree of autonomy in some areas while remaining constrained in others by the President's insistence on maintaining control of policy.

The Colby Note and Non-Recognition of Soviet Russia

One of Colby's most significant diplomatic actions was the formulation of what became known as the "Colby Note" of August 10, 1920, a formal statement articulating the United States' refusal to recognize the Bolshevik government in Russia. The note declared that the United States could not recognize a government that refused to honor international obligations, that sought to export revolution, and that did not represent the will of the Russian people. This policy of non-recognition would remain in effect until 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

The Colby Note established a principled basis for American policy toward revolutionary regimes and reflected both Wilson's idealism about democratic governance and the broader American anxiety about the spread of Bolshevism during the Red Scare period. It was one of the most consequential diplomatic statements of Colby's tenure and had lasting implications for U.S.-Soviet relations during the interwar period.

Good Neighbor Policy Toward Latin America

Colby also articulated what would later be recognized as an early version of the "Good Neighbor" policy toward Latin American nations. During his tenure, he undertook a diplomatic tour of South America, visiting Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, where he sought to promote cooperation and mutual respect between the United States and its southern neighbors. Colby's approach emphasized that the United States sought relationships of equality and partnership rather than domination in the Western Hemisphere. This represented a departure from the more interventionist policies that had characterized American relations with Latin America in the preceding decades.

While the Good Neighbor policy is most commonly associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration in the 1930s, Colby's earlier advocacy for improved hemispheric relations laid important groundwork for that later approach. His diplomatic efforts in South America were among the more forward-looking aspects of Wilson's final year in office.

Certification of the Nineteenth Amendment

Perhaps the act for which Colby is most widely remembered occurred on August 26, 1920, when he signed the proclamation certifying the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibited the denial of the right to vote on the basis of sex. Tennessee had provided the crucial thirty-sixth state ratification on August 18, 1920, and Colby completed the formal certification eight days later.

The signing took place early in the morning, and Colby conducted it without public ceremony, a decision that drew criticism from suffrage leaders who had hoped for a formal event acknowledging the decades-long struggle for women's voting rights. Nonetheless, the date of Colby's certification—August 26—became the basis for the annual observance of Women's Equality Day in the United States.

Post-Government Career

After leaving the State Department on March 4, 1921, Colby entered into a law partnership with former President Woodrow Wilson, establishing the firm of Wilson & Colby in Washington, D.C. The partnership was largely symbolic, as Wilson's health continued to deteriorate and he was unable to contribute substantively to legal work. The firm dissolved after Wilson's death on February 3, 1924.

Colby continued to practice law in New York and remained active in Democratic Party politics throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He was known as a skilled courtroom advocate and handled a number of high-profile cases. He also maintained his interest in public affairs, commenting on political developments and occasionally being mentioned as a potential candidate for various offices, though he never again held an elected or appointed government position.

During the 1930s, Colby initially supported some aspects of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal but later became critical of what he viewed as the excessive expansion of federal power. This evolution reflected a broader pattern in his political life: Colby was drawn to reform but remained wary of radical departures from established institutional norms.

Personal Life

Bainbridge Colby married twice. His first wife was Nathalie Sedgwick, with whom he had children. He later married Ann Ahlstrand Ely. Over the course of his life, Colby fathered seven children.

Colby maintained residences in New York City, where he conducted his law practice, and in other locations. He was a member of prominent social and professional clubs in New York and Washington and moved in elite circles throughout his adult life.

Bainbridge Colby died on April 11, 1950, in Bemus Point, New York, at the age of 80. His death came during a period when the Cold War policies he had helped initiate through the Colby Note were being tested by the intensifying confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Legacy

Bainbridge Colby's legacy rests primarily on his brief but consequential tenure as Secretary of State. His certification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 26, 1920, remains his most visible contribution to American history, as that date continues to be observed annually as Women's Equality Day. The act itself was administrative in nature, but its significance as the final step in the constitutional process of enfranchising women ensured that Colby's name would be permanently associated with one of the most important expansions of democratic participation in American history.

The Colby Note of 1920 established the policy of non-recognition of the Soviet government that endured for thirteen years and shaped the contours of early American engagement with the communist world. While the policy was eventually reversed by Roosevelt in 1933, the principles articulated in the Colby Note—that recognition implies approval of a government's legitimacy and conduct—continued to influence American diplomatic practice.

Colby's role in founding the Progressive Party in 1912, while less remembered than his Cabinet service, placed him at a significant juncture in American political history. The Progressive movement's platform, which included women's suffrage, labor rights, and corporate regulation, anticipated much of the reform agenda that would be enacted over the following decades. Colby's willingness to break with the Republican Party and later join the Democrats illustrated the fluidity of American political alignments during the Progressive Era.

His papers are held by the Library of Congress, where they serve as a primary source for scholars studying the Wilson administration's foreign policy and the political history of the Progressive Era.

As a Secretary of State who served during one of the most unusual periods in presidential history—when the President was largely incapacitated—Colby's tenure raises enduring questions about executive authority, the delegation of power, and the functioning of the American government during periods of presidential disability. These questions would not be formally addressed until the ratification of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in 1967.