John Jordan Crittenden
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Tried to stave off war by extending the Missouri Compromise with the
failed Crittenden Compromise. Had a son that became a Union General
and another that became a Confederate General.
1787-1863
For John J. Crittenden, the integrity of the Union came before all
else. Born in 1787 in Kentucky, Crittenden would go to have a
distinguished a career as anyone in politics. Having gone to college
at William and Mary, he passed the bar in 1807 and set up his legal
practice in his home state of Kentucky, where he quickly rose to
prominence. A few years after starting his legal career, Crittenden
entered the world of state politics. He was elected to the Kentucky
State Legislature in 1811 and served until 1817, two years as
Speaker. In 1817 he was elected to the United States Senate,
resigning in 1819 to return to private practice in Kentucky. He
served several more times in the State Legislature (1825, 1829-1832)
before again heading to the U. S. Senate in 1835. In 1848, he left
the Senate again. From 1850-1853 he held the post of Attorney General
for Millard Fillmore's administration. Crittenden returned to the
Senate again in 1855, sitting until 1863. He opposed the Kansas-
Nebraska Act, believing it violated the Missouri Compromise.
When Crittenden returned to the Senate in 1855, his goal was to keep
the Union together as secession and war seemed more and more
inevitable. He made one last effort to keep the Union together by
proposing a set of amendments, which became known collectively as
Crittenden's Compromise. His suggestions were to extend the Missouri
Compromise line prohibiting slavery above 360 30 across the entire
country and not interference with slavery where it already existed.
His proposals failed and war erupted.
After the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Crittenden worked to keep his
native state of Kentucky in the Union. He was successful with
Kentucky, but less so with his family, for one of his sons, Thomas
Leonidas Crittenden, served the Union as a General and another,
George Bibb Crittenden, served the Confederacy in the same capacity.
(A nephew also served the Union as an officer.) In 1863, Crittenden
was again running for the U. S. Senate when he died in Frankfort,
Kentucky.
