John C. Breckinridge was the 14th Vice President of the United States from 1857-1861. He became the second vice president to be accused of treason when he served as a Confederate general during the Civil War.
Early Life
John C. Breckinridge was born near Lexington, Kentucky on January 16, 1821, to parents Joseph Cabell Breckinridge and Mary Clay Smith Breckinridge. Joseph Breckinridge had previously served as Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives and was appointed as Kentucky’s Secretary of State before John’s birth. John’s grandfather was Attorney General under President Thomas Jefferson. His mother was granddaughter of John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In 1839, Breckinridge graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He studied law at Princeton University and Transylvania University and was admitted to the bar in 1840.
Early Career
Breckinridge was a supporter of the Mexican American War and served as major of the 3rd Kentucky Volunteers. After the war, he became active in politics, serving in Kentucky’s State Legislature and then in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms from 1851 to 1855.
Vice-Presidency
The Democratic Party chose Breckinridge as the vice-presidential candidate under James Buchanan. In 1857, at the age of 36, he became the youngest vice president in American history. He did not perform many vice-presidential duties. He had almost no role as vice president because President Buchanan excluded him from policy matters, and they rarely consulted or had meetings with each other.
Late Career
In 1860, Breckinridge had an unsuccessful run for president, losing to Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln. Breckinridge was sworn into the U.S. Senate in 1861. In an open letter to his constituents, he argued that the Union no longer existed, and for Kentucky to be free to choose her own course. He defended his sympathy for the South and denounced the Union. Breckinridge officially enlisted in the Confederate Army and a few days later was indicted for treason in U.S. Federal District Court on November 6, 1861. In 1865, he was the Confederate Secretary of War.
Following the war, Breckinridge and his family fled the country in a self-imposed exile that lasted until 1869. He then returned to Lexington, Kentucky and resumed his practice of law until his death in 1875.
