Editing John C. Breckinridge (section)

==Early life==
John Cabell Breckinridge was born at Thorn Hill, his family's estate near Lexington, Kentucky, on January 16, 1821,{{sfn|Harrison|1973|p=125}} the fourth of six children and only son of [[Cabell Breckinridge|Joseph "Cabell" Breckinridge]] and Mary Clay (Smith) Breckinridge.{{sfn|Davis|2010|p=10}} His mother was the daughter of [[Samuel Stanhope Smith]], who founded [[Hampden–Sydney College]] in 1775, and granddaughter of [[John Witherspoon]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].{{sfn|Harrison|1973|p=125}} Having previously served as speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Breckinridge's father had been appointed [[Secretary of State of Kentucky|Kentucky's secretary of state]] just prior to his son's birth.{{sfn|Klotter|1992|p=117}} In February, one month after Breckinridge's birth, the family moved with [[Governor of Kentucky|Governor]] [[John Adair]] to the [[Old Governor's Mansion (Frankfort, Kentucky)|Governor's Mansion]] in [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]], so his father could better attend to his duties as secretary of state.{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=3}}

In August 1823, an illness referred to as "the prevailing fever" struck Frankfort, and Cabell Breckinridge took his children to stay with his mother in Lexington.{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=3}} On his return, both his wife and he fell ill. Cabell Breckinridge died, but she survived.{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=4}} His assets were not enough to pay his debts, and his widow joined the children in Lexington, supported by her mother-in-law.{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=5}} While in Lexington, Breckinridge attended [[Pisgah Academy]] in [[Woodford County, Kentucky|Woodford County]].<ref name=congbio>{{cite web |title=Breckinridge, John Cabell |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |publisher=United States Congress |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000789 |access-date=November 8, 2012 |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903135707/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b000789 |url-status=live }}</ref> His grandmother taught him the political philosophies of her late husband, [[John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General)|John Breckinridge]], who served in the U.S. Senate and as [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] under President [[Thomas Jefferson]].{{sfn|Klotter|1986|p=97}} As a state legislator, Breckinridge had introduced the [[Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions|Kentucky Resolutions]] in 1798, which stressed states' rights and endorsed the doctrine of [[Nullification (U.S. Constitution)|nullification]] in response to the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]].{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=1}}

After an argument between Breckinridge's mother and grandmother in 1832,  his mother, his sister Laetitia, and he moved to [[Danville, Kentucky]], to live with his sister Frances and her husband, [[John C. Young (pastor)|John C. Young]], who was president of [[Centre College]].{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=6}}{{sfn|Davis|2010|p=14}} Breckinridge's uncle, William Breckinridge, was also on the faculty there, prompting him to enroll in November 1834.{{sfn|Klotter|1986|p=97}} Among his schoolmates were [[Beriah Magoffin]], [[William Birney]], [[Theodore O'Hara]], [[Thomas Leonidas Crittenden|Thomas L. Crittenden]], and [[Jeremiah Boyle]].{{sfn|Davis|2010|p=14}}{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=9}} After earning a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in September 1838, he spent the following winter as a "resident graduate" at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).{{sfn|Davis|2010|p=15}}{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=10}} Returning to Kentucky in mid-1839, he [[reading law|read law]] with Judge [[William Owsley]].{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=10}} In November 1840, he enrolled in the second year of the law course at [[Transylvania University]] in Lexington, where his instructors included [[George Robertson (congressman)|George Robertson]] and [[Thomas A. Marshall]] of the [[Kentucky Court of Appeals]].{{sfn|Heck|1976|pp=10–11}} On February 25, 1841, he received a [[Bachelor of Laws]] and was licensed to practice the next day.{{sfn|Heck|1976|p=11}}