1903 TAHLEQUAH INDIAN TERRITORY CLIFTON R BRECKINRIDGE CONFEDERATE+CONGRESS VA For Sale -

POSTMARKED FORTRESS MONROE VA 1903, SENT TO MRS CLIFTON R BRECKINRIDGE, TAHLEQUAH, INDIAN TERRITORY,SEE PHOTOS !!! , SHIPPING AND HANDLING IS $2.00 IN USA, OR $4.00 FOREIGN. ALL ITEMS OVER $40.00 IN USA MUST BE INSURED AT BUYERS COST. ALL ITEMS OVER $80.00 FOREIGN MUST BE REGISTERED AT BUYERS COST. I COMBINE SHIPPING COSTS ON MULTIPLE ITEM TO SAVE YOU MONEY. CHECK MY VERY HIGH response !!!!! ---- Member of theU.S. House of office
March 4, 1883 – August 14, 1894Preceded by(none)
James K. Jones
John M. ClaytonSucceeded by(none)
John M. Clayton
John S. LittlePersonal detailsBornNovember 22, 1846
Lexington, KentuckyDiedDecember 3, partyDemocraticSpouse(s)Katherine Carson BreckinridgeChildrenJames Carson Breckinridge,Mary BreckinridgeParentsJohn Cabell Breckinridge& Mary Cyrene BurchProfessionPolitician, Banker, Cotton farmerMilitary serviceAllegianceConfederate States of AmericaService/branchConfederate States Army
Confederate States NavyRankMidshipman (navy)Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Clifton Rodes Breckinridge(November 22, 1846 – December 3, 1932) was aDemocraticalderman, congressman, diplomat, businessman and veteran of theConfederate ArmyandNavy. He was a member of the prominentBreckinridge family, the son ofVice President of the United StatesandConfederateGeneralJohn C. Breckinridgeand the great-grandson ofU.S. SenatorandAttorney General of the United StatesJohn Breckinridge.

Early life[edit]

Born nearLexington, Kentucky, the son ofJohn CabellandMary Cyrene BurchBreckinridge, Breckinridge attended rural schools in his hometown as a child. At the outbreak of theCivil War, he entered theConfederate Armywith his father and was later amidshipmanin theConfederate Navy. After the war, he attendedWashington CollegeinLexington, Virginiafor three years where the school's president,ConfederateGeneralRobert E. Lee, encouraged his desire for a career of public service. Afterwards, he joined his older brother in acottonplantationnearPine Bluff, Arkansasand engaged in cotton planting and in the commission business for thirteen years. In 1876, Breckinridge married Katherine Carson, the daughter of a well-to-doMississippifamily, with whom he would have four children.

Politics[edit]

Breckinridge started his political career when he was elected an alderman in the Pine Bluff City Council. He was later elected aDemocratto theUnited States House of Representativesin 1882, taking seat in 1883.John G. Carlisle, the newSpeaker of the Houseand friend of the Breckinridges, saw to it that the new congressman got a place on theCommittee on Ways and Meansand he was reelected in 1884 and 1886.

Clayton Affair[edit]

Breckinridge's political career came into great danger after the election of 1888.ArkansasDemocrats were found guilty of voting fraud in the election forArkansas's 2nd congressional districtafter it was discovered that inConway County, Arkansas, four masked and armedwhitemen stormed into a predominantlyblackvoting precinct and, at gunpoint, stole the ballot box that contained a large majority of votes for hisRepublicanopponent,John M. Clayton, the brother of formerArkansas GovernorandSenatorPowell Clayton. Under these circumstances, Clayton contested the election and went toPlumerville, Arkansasto start an investigation on the matter. However, on the evening of January 29, 1889, an unknown assailant shot through the window to the room he was staying in at a local boardinghouse and killed him instantly. After a congressional investigation, Clayton was declared the winner, thus unseating Breckinridge, however, owing to Clayton's death, the seat was declared vacant. Breckinridge was not found guilty in any wrongdoing in the rigged election or in Clayton's assassination and was elected to fill the vacant seat in 1890.

Work in Congress[edit]

Breckinridge was reelected to the House of Representatives again in 1890 and 1892. He was one of the authors of legislation to repeal theSherman Silver Purchase Actand adopted theWilson–Gorman Tariff Act. He regained trust after the so-called "Clayton Affair" and was greatly respected as a congressman. A featured article inHarper's Weeklydescribed him as "one of the very first men in the House of Representatives." During thePanic of 1893-1894, Breckinridge staunchly supportedPresidentGrover Cleveland's defense of thegold standard. Arkansas farmers, most of whom supportedfree silver, refused to support the incumbent for reelection and Breckinridge lost theDemocraticprimary toJohn S. Littlewho went on to win the election.

Diplomat[edit]Minister to Russia[edit]U.S. Minister Clifton R. Breckinridge at the coronation ofNicholas II of Russiain 1896 wearing the ceremonialknee breecheshe was uncomfortable in.

Breckinridge resigned from the House of Representatives in 1894 before his final term ran out to accept President Cleveland's nomination ofMinister to Russiawhich he served as until 1897. As Minister, he proved capable of sending reports onRussianaims back to Washington, D.C.. His warnings about the end of friendly relations between Russia and China due to Russia's expansion into China did not effect any change in the United States'foreign policydue to the fact it's dominant theme remained isolationism. Because of this, Breckinridge largely dealt with routine problems of trade and immigration. He was less successful in handling the ceremonial and social aspects of diplomacy inSaint Petersburgfor the expense of entertaining properly amidst the splendor of aristocratic Europe had been beyond his means. This was particularly true during the rich festivities that marked the coronation ofTsarNicholas IIandEmpressAlexandra Fyodorovnain 1896. To his chagrin, at the coronation, Breckinridge had to wear ceremonialknee breechesrequired by protocol. This was something he feared his former constituents inArkansaswould never understand.

Dawes Commission[edit]

AfterWilliam McKinley, a former colleague of his from the House Ways and Means Committee, took office as President in 1897, McKinley replaced Breckinridge withRepublicanEthan Allen Hitchcockand he returned toPine Bluff, Arkansas. However, in 1900, McKinley appointed him to a position on theDawes Commissionto theFive Civilized TribesinIndian Territory. Given the responsibility of distributing individual allotments of tribal land to theCherokee, Breckinridge and other commissioners were charged with fraudulently acquiringIndianlands in 1903. An investigation handled by theDepartment of Justicecleared Breckinridge of illegal actions and he left the commission in 1905.

Later life and death[edit]

After resigning from the Dawes Commission, Breckinridge founded the Arkansas Valley Trust Company inFort Smith, Arkansaswhich he served as president of until 1914. He was a delegate to theArkansas Constitutional Conventionfrom 1917 to 1918 where he convinced fellow delegates to approve a unicameral legislature, however the provision later rescinded. He was widowed in 1921 and lived in Fort Smith until 1925 when he moved to Hyden, Kentucky to live with his daughter,Mary Breckinridge, founder of theFrontier Nursing Service. At first they lived in the first Midwife Clinic with the nurses while the big log cabin was being built in Wendover. Clifton looked after the horses for the first frontier nurses. He died in Wendover on December 3, 1932 at age eighty-six. He was interred atLexington Cemeteryamong several members of his family including his wife and parents.His Fort Smith houseis listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

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