Charles W. Fairbanks

Fairbanks was born in a log cabin near Unionville Center, Ohio, the son of Mary Adelaide (Smith) and Loriston Monroe Fairbanks, a wagon-maker.[1] 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.[2]

Charles W. Fairbanks as Vice President of the United States

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.[3] 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. Afterwards, 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.

During his eight years in the U.S. Senate, Fairbanks served as a key advisor to McKinley during the Spanish–American War and was also the Chairman of the Committee on Immigration and the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds. In 1898, Fairbanks was appointed a member of the United States and British Joint High Commission which met in Quebec City for the adjustment of Canadian questions, including the boundary dispute about Alaska.

Fairbanks and Theodore Roosevelt.

Fairbanks was elected vice president of the United States in 1904 on the Republican ticket with Theodore Roosevelt and served a four-year term, 1905 to 1909. He became the first vice president to serve a complete term without casting any tie-breaking votes as President 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 promoted William Howard Taft as his potential successor in 1908.[4][5] 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.

In 1916, Fairbanks was in charge of establishing the platform for the Republican party. He sought that year's Republican presidential nomination at the party's June convention. When Charles Evans Hughes was nominated, Fairbanks was chosen as the vice presidential nominee. In November, Hughes and Fairbanks lost a close election to the Democratic incumbents Woodrow Wilson and Thomas Marshall. Fairbanks and Adlai Stevenson share the distinction of seeking reelection to non-consecutive terms as vice president. After the election, Fairbanks resumed the practice of law in Indianapolis, but his health soon started to fail.

He died of nephritis in his home on June 4, 1918, at the age of 66.[6] He was interred in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Fairbanks's grave in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Fairbanks received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1901, and from Northwestern University in 1907. The Charles W. Fairbanks Professor of Politics and Government position at Ohio Wesleyan University is named for him.

The city of Fairbanks, Alaska,[7] and the Fairbanks North Star Borough it lies within; the Fairbanks School District in Union County, Ohio; Fairbanks, Minnesota; Fairbanks, Oregon; and Fairbanks Township, Michigan, are named after him.

In 1966, the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission placed an Indiana historical marker in front of Fairbanks's home at 30th and Meridian Streets in Indianapolis.[8] On May 15, 2009, an Ohio historical marker was dedicated in Unionville Center, commemorating Fairbanks's birthplace.[9]

• List of Vice Presidents of the United States by time in office

• The life and speeches of Hon. Charles Warren Fairbanks : Republican candidate for vice-president
• United States Congress. "Charles W. Fairbanks (id: F000003)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 28, 2010.