Initially aligned with the pro-business Whig Party, Colfax helped organize a coalition of anti-slavery Northern Whigs, Know Nothings, and Democrats in establishing the [[Republican Party]] that emphasized [[abolitionism]].<ref name=ussenatebio/> He later became known as an ardent [[Radical Republican]] during [[Reconstruction]] under President Grant. | Initially aligned with the pro-business Whig Party, Colfax helped organize a coalition of anti-slavery Northern Whigs, Know Nothings, and Democrats in establishing the [[Republican Party]] that emphasized [[abolitionism]].<ref name=ussenatebio/> He later became known as an ardent [[Radical Republican]] during [[Reconstruction]] under President Grant. |