Following his military service, Ryan moved to
Topeka, Kansas, where he served as
prosecuting attorney of
Shawnee County, Kansas from 1865 to 1873. He was then appointed as an assistant
United States Attorney for
Kansas from 1873 to 1877. In 1876, he was elected as a
Republican to the
United States House of Representatives. After serving in that capacity from 1877 to 1889, he was appointed
Ambassador to Mexico by
President Benjamin Harrison in 1889, a post he held until 1893. On March 31, 1897, Ryan was appointed as
Assistant Secretary of the Interior by
President William McKinley after being recommended by Congressman
Charles Curtis. He served in that capacity until 1907 when he was sent to
Muskogee, Oklahoma as the personal resident representative of the
Secretary of the Interior. He held that post until his death. ==Death and interment==