Bainbridge Colby

At the New York state election, 1914, Colby ran on the Progressive ticket for U.S. Senator from New York, but was defeated by Republican James W. Wadsworth, Jr. At the New York state election, 1916, he ran again, this time on the Progressive and Independence League tickets, but was defeated by Republican William M. Calder.

During World War I, Colby was a member of the United States Shipping Board.

Colby was a special assistant to the United States Attorney General in an anti-trust action in 1917, and represented the U.S. at the Inter-Allied Conference at Paris the same year.

Wilson appointed him Secretary of State on March 23, 1920, after firing his predecessor, Robert Lansing, for insubordination. Wilson's appointment of Colby was "bizarre" says historian John Milton Cooper, for Colby had no diplomatic experience or skills. Editorial responses from leading newspapers ranged "from puzzlement to outrage."[7] Colby was chosen because he was totally loyal to Wilson.

On August 26, eight days after ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, Colby issued the official proclamation that it had become a part of the Constitution of the United States, guaranteeing women the right to vote.[8] In December 1920, Colby embarked on the battleship Florida for an official goodwill cruise to South America.[9] His goodwill trip set the stage for the transition to a "Good Neighbor" policy.[10]

Colby advocated his policies firmly even as Wilson suffered the debilitating side effects of a series of strokes. Colby supported the League of Nations and established a precedent for not recognizing newly-Communist Russia; that would be reversed in 1933.[11] In a major statement in 1920, Colby declared:

It is not possible for the Government of the United States to recognize the present rulers of Russia as a government with which the relations common to friendly governments can be maintained. This conviction has nothing to do with any particular political or social structure which the Russian people themselves may see fit to embrace. It rests upon a wholly different set of facts....that the existing regime in Russia is based upon the negation of every principle of honor and good faith, and every usage and convention, underlying the whole structure of international law; the negation, in short, of every principle upon which it is possible to base harmonious and trustful relations, whether of nations or of individuals. The responsible leaders of the regime have frequently and openly boasted that they are willing to sign agreements and undertakings with foreign Powers while not having the slightest intention of observing such undertakings or carrying out such agreements....it is their understanding that the very existence of Bolshevism in Russia, the maintenance of their own rule, depends, and must continue to depend, upon the occurrence of revolutions in all other great civilized nations, including the United States, which will overthrow and destroy their governments and set up Bolshevist rule in their stead. They have made it quite plain that they intend to use every means, including, of course, diplomatic agencies, to promote such revolutionary movements in other countries.[12]

He served until Wilson left office on March 4, 1921.

The Library of Congress maintains a collection of Colby’s documents.[13]

After leaving office as secretary of state, Colby continued to practice law for the remainder of his career. As an attorney, Colby accepted Woodrow Wilson as a partner after the latter's presidency; Colby left that firm in 1923. Earlier in his career, Colby's most notable client was Mark Twain.