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John J. Crittenden (1787–1863)
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During the campaign of 1860, many Southerners declared
that Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency
would give them no choice but to secede from the
Union. One notable exception was Kentucky senator
John Crittenden. As the South moved toward secession
following Lincoln’s triumph, this passionate advocate
of national unity set himself to the task of reaching
an accommodation designed to head off disunion.
At the heart of his plan was a proposal that would
have permanently guaranteed the rights of slaveholders
below the nation's 36°30' parallel. By now,
however, bitterness over the slavery question ran
too deeply, and neither North nor South could accept
this conciliating measure. Instead, Crittenden had
to content himself with ensuring that his own Kentucky
did not give into secessionist sentiment; it was
largely owing to his exertions that this state remained
loyal to the Union after most of the South had left. |
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George Peter Alexander Healy (1813–1894)
Oil on canvas, 1857
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Silas B. McKinley
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