Encyclopedia

Breckinridge, John

Breckinridge, John (Cabell)

(1821–75) vice-president, Confederate; born in Lexington, Ky. He served as James Buchanan's vice-president during 1857–61. In 1861, he joined the Confederate cause, and was indicted for treason by the federal government. He became major-general and was Confederate secretary of war in 1865. Following the war, he lived in Europe and Canada until an amnesty was declared in 1868. He returned to Lexington, Ky., and resumed his law practice.
The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.
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In 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the presidency: John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas.
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