Columbus Delano | |
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| 11th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
| In office November 1, 1870 – September 30, 1875 | |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | Jacob Cox |
| Succeeded by | Zachariah Chandler |
| 5th Commissioner of Internal Revenue | |
| In office March 11, 1869 – October 31, 1870 | |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | Edward A. Rollins |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Pleasonton |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio | |
| In office June 3, 1868 – March 3, 1869 | |
| Preceded by | George W. Morgan |
| Succeeded by | George W. Morgan |
| Constituency | 13th district |
| In office March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 | |
| Preceded by | John O'Neill |
| Succeeded by | George W. Morgan |
| Constituency | 13th district |
| In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred P. Stone |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Duncan |
| Constituency | 10th district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 4, 1809 Shoreham, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | October 23, 1896 (aged 87) Mount Vernon, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mound View Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | National Republican (before 1834) Whig (1834–1860) Republican (1860–1896) |
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Leavenworth
(m. 1834) |
| Children | 2 |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Signature |  |
Columbus Delano (June 4, 1809 – October 23, 1896) was an American lawyer, rancher, banker, statesman, and a member of the prominent Delano family. Forced to live on his own at an early age, Delano struggled to become a self-made man. Delano was elected U.S. Congressman from Ohio, serving two full terms and one partial one. Prior to the American Civil War, Delano was a National Republican and then a Whig; as a Whig, he was identified with the faction of the party that opposed the spread of slavery into the Western territories. He became a Republican when the party was founded as the major anti-slavery party after the demise of the Whigs in the 1850s. During Reconstruction Delano advocated federal protection of African-Americans' civil rights, and argued that the former Confederate states should be administered by the federal government, but not as part of the United States until they met the requirements for readmission to the Union.
Delano served as President Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of the Interior during a time of rapid Westward expansionism, and contended with conflicts between Native tribes and White American settlers. He was instrumental in the establishment of America's first national park, having supervised the first federally funded scientific expedition into Yellowstone in 1871, and becoming America's first national park overseer in 1872. In 1874, Delano requested that Congress protect Yellowstone through the creation of a federally funded administrative agency, the first Secretary of the Interior to request such preservation of a nationally important site.
Believing that the communal, collective, and nomadic lifestyles of Native American tribes led to war and impoverishment, Delano argued that the most humane Indian policy was to force tribes onto small reservations in the Indian Territory, ceding their land to the United States, and assimilating them into white culture. The goal was for Indian tribes to be independent of federal funding. To compel the Native tribes to move to reservations, Delano supported the slaughter to the near extinction of the vast buffalo herds outside of Yellowstone, which were essential to the maintenance of the Plains Indians' way of life.
Concerning government reform, Delano defied Grant's 1872 executive order to implement the first Civil Service Commission's recommendations. With the exception of Yellowstone, the spoils system and corruption permeated throughout the Interior Department during his tenure, and Grant requested Delano's resignation in 1875; he left office with his reputation damaged. Delano remained a spoils man at a time when reformer demands for a federal merit system were gaining support. Delano returned to Ohio to practice law, tend to his business interests, and raise livestock; he did not return to politics and died in 1896.
Delano was traditionally viewed a 19th Century American "major mover and shaker." However, historians have strongly criticized Delano's weak oversight of the Interior, allowing rampant corruption, and for his treatment of Native Americans and endorsement of the Plains Indian bison slaughter. Yellowstone is considered Delano's greatest achievement, where bison and other wildlife were legally protected. He was viewed as an effective first administrator of America's first national park.[1] While in office, Delano was an outspoken supporter of black American rights and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan.