Episode 5: Across the Continent

In 1865, freshly widowed and free of congressional duties, Speaker Schuyler Colfax hits the trail on America’s first great political road trip. From dusty stagecoach roads and Rocky-Mountain mining camps to a cautious handshake with Brigham Young in Salt Lake City, Colfax sells a war-weary nation on a new idea: the West can mend the Union and power its future. Follow his wagon across plains, peaks, and Pacific vistas — and see how the goodwill he earns in frontier towns propels him toward a spot on the 1868 presidential ticket.

Part of Series 4: South Bend’s Own: Schuyler Colfax

A Bend in Time is presented by The History Museum in South Bend, Indiana and hosted by Aaron Helman. 

Visit The History Museum's website at historymuseumsb.org

View the museum’s online Schuyler Colfax collection here.