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John Jordan Crittenden (September 10, 1787July 26, 1863) was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison, John Tyler and Millard Fillmore. He was also the 17th governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislature. Although frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.S. presidency, he never consented to run for the office. During his early political career, Crittenden served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and was chosen as speaker on several occasions. With the advent of the Second Party System, he allied with the National Republican (later Whig) Party and was a fervent supporter of Henry Clay and opponent of Democrats Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Jackson supporters in the Senate refused to confirm Crittenden's nomination by John Quincy Adams to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1828, but after his brief service as Kentucky Secretary of State, the state legislature elected him to the second of his four non-consecutive stints in the U.S. Senate. Upon his election as president, William Henry Harrison appointed Crittenden as Attorney General, but 5 months after Harrison's death, political differences prompted him to resign rather than continue his service under Harrison's successor, John Tyler. He was returned to the Senate in 1842, serving until 1848, when he resigned to run for governor, hoping his election would help Zachary Taylor win Kentucky's vote in the 1848 presidential election. Taylor was elected, but Crittenden refused a post in his cabinet, fearing he would be charged with making a "corrupt bargain", as Clay had been in 1825. Following Taylor's death in 1850, Crittenden resigned the governorship and accepted Millard Fillmore's appointment as attorney general. As the Whig Party crumbled in the mid-1850s, Crittenden joined the Know Nothing (or American) Party. After the expiration of his term as attorney general, he was again elected to the U.S. Senate, where he urged compromise on the issue of slavery to prevent the breakup of the United States. As bitter partisanship increased the threat of secession, Crittenden sought out moderates from all parties and formed the Constitutional Union Party, though he refused the party's nomination for president in the 1860 election. In December 1860, he authored the Crittenden Compromise, a series of resolutions and constitutional amendments he hoped would avert the Civil War, but Congress would not approve them. Crittenden was elected to the House of Representatives in 1861 and continued to seek reconciliation between the states throughout his term. He declared his candidacy for re-election to the House in 1863, but died before the election took place. ==Early life== John Jordan Crittenden was born September 10, 1787, near Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky.〔Howard, p. 64〕 He was the second child and first son of Revolutionary War veteran John Crittenden and his wife Judith Harris.〔Kirwan, p. 3〕 John and Judith Crittenden had four sons and five daughters, all but one of whom survived infancy.〔 On his father's side, he was of Welsh ancestry, while his mother's family was French Huguenot.〔Coulter, "John Jordan Crittenden"〕 His father had surveyed land in Kentucky with George Rogers Clark, and settled there just after the end of the American Revolution.〔 Two of Crittenden's brothers, Thomas and Robert, became lawyers, while the third, Henry, was a farmer.〔Allen, p. 100〕 Crittenden began a college preparatory curriculum at Pisgah Academy in Woodford County.〔Taylor, ''A Leaf Upon a Torrent''〕 He was then sent to a boarding school in Jessamine County.〔 Among his classmates were Thomas Alexander Marshall and Francis P. Blair.〔 Crittenden became especially close friends with Blair, and later political differences did little to diminish their friendship.〔Kirwan, p. 9〕 After a year at boarding school, Crittenden moved to the Lexington, Kentucky, home of Judge George M. Bibb to study law.〔 He began his tertiary studies at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia.〔Kirwan, p. 10〕 During his brief tenure there, he studied mathematics and belles-lettres and became friends with Hugh Lawson White.〔 Crittenden was dissatisfied with the curriculum at Washington College and matriculated to the College of William and Mary.〔 He studied under St. George Tucker and became acquainted with John Tyler.〔〔Kirwan, p. 12〕 Crittenden completed his studies in 1806, and was admitted to the bar the following year.〔〔"Crittenden, John Jordan". ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''〕 He began his practice in Woodford County, but as central Kentucky was well already supplied with able lawyers, he moved to Logan County, Kentucky, on the then western frontier and opened his practice in Russellville.〔 At age twenty-two, he was appointed by Governor Ninian Edwards of Illinois Territory as its attorney general.〔 The following year, Edwards also made Crittenden his aide-de-camp.〔Ragan, p. 4〕 On May 27, 1811, Crittenden married Sarah O. Lee at her home in Versailles.〔Kirwan, p. 16〕 Lee was a cousin of future U.S. President Zachary Taylor and aunt of US Senator Wilkinson Call.〔Kirwan, p. 203〕 They had seven children before Sarah's death in mid-September 1824.〔Kirwan, p. 45〕 Among their children were Confederate major general George Crittenden and Union general Thomas Leonidas Crittenden. Their daughter Sallie Lee "Maria" Crittenden was the mother of John C. Watson, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy during the late 19th century.〔Hatter, p. 55〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John J. Crittenden」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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