Sidney Breese
Encyclopedia
Sidney Breese was a U.S. Senator
from Illinois
, Chief Justice
of the Illinois Supreme Court, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
, a forefather of Illinois, and "father of the Illinois Central Railroad
".
, New York
, the son of Arthur Breese and Catherine Livingston, daughter of Henry Beekman Livingston and a member of the Livingston family
. His brother was Samuel Livingston Breese
, and he was a cousin of Samuel Morse.
in 1816. In 1818, he graduated third in his class of 64 and was a member of the New York Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa.
Kane had moved to Illinois following his graduation from Yale College
in 1814, and requested the assistance of Breese. Breese accepted, and would become a pioneer of Illinois.
in 1820.
In 1820, the capital of Illinois was moved to Vandalia
, in which Breese was responsible for moving the State Department's records, which he did by wagon. He remained Asst. Secretary of State until the end of the legislative session in 1821, when he began a private law practice in Kaskaskia
.
By chance in 1821, he was approached in his law office one day by the Post-Office Department to assume the duties of Postmaster for Kaskaskia. Breese accepted, earning a commission on postage stamp sales.
. The following year in 1827, U.S. President John Quincy Adams
appointed Sidney United States Attorney
for the State of Illinois. He remained in that capacity until Andrew Jackson removed him in 1829, where it was claimed his enemies had played a role in his removal.
in 1832, Sidney volunteered for military service, enlisting as a private. He was thereafter elected a Major, and the battalion assembled at Beardstown
, marching to the Illinois River near Peru
. After arriving at Camp Wilborn, the Lieutenant-Colonel Theophilus W. Smith
resigned for another position, and Breese was elected to fill the open position. Under his command were future Civil War
General Robert Anderson and future U.S. President Zachary Taylor
.
, whom he had replaced in military command earlier, during his impeachment trial by the Illinois House of Representatives. The defense team included future-Illinois Governor Thomas Ford
and future-U.S. Senator Richard M. Young
. Led by Breese's pleadings, Judge Smith was acquitted on the charges as the legislature failed to achieve a 2/3ds vote required for conviction.
. Of the 131 opinions rendered by the court during his tenure, Sidney delivered 34 of them.
during this time, as Lincoln served in the Illinois delegation of U.S. House of Representatives.
Breese had several accomplishments as a Senator, including serving as Chairman of the Public Lands Committee and as a member of the District of Columbia Committee. He was offered the more prestigious position as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but turned it down for the Public Lands Committee, which would be crucial for him in securing the Illinois Central Railroad
for his state later on.
, and he introduced legislation in 1845 calling for the annexation, which ultimately occurred later that year. Sidney supported the Mexican–American War
which followed, delivering one of the most famous speeches in Senate history on the subject of tactics from the war, in opposition to Senator John C. Calhoun
.
of 1846 with Great Britain, insisting that Britain remain isolated from the Pacific Coast and calling for the current boundaries of Oregon Country
to be extended to the 54th parallel, bordering Russian Alaska
. The treaty was ultimately signed, in which Sidney proclaimed his country had been unjustly stolen by the British.
He cast the deciding the vote in favor of the Tariff Act of 1846.
, was approved as he left office.
with the lower Mississippi River and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. Upon arriving in Washington, one of his first acts was to introduce legislation, which was passed in 1844, providing for the examination of the possibility of a naval depot and shipyard at the confluence of the Ohio
and Mississippi
Rivers, This would encourage the government to authorize land for the railroad by having a governmental interest in connecting the depot with the Great Lakes
. In 1846, Breese offered another bill requesting the government grant Illinois land to construct the road, which as the Chairman of the Public Lands Committee, Breese made the first full report ever made to Congress on the subject. In the report, Breese urged the importance of the railroad, which would connect the country coast-to-coast in four days, China and the American Atlantic cities in 30 days, China-to-Great Britain in 45 days, and the world with America in 30 days.
Sidney offered two more extensive reports in 1848, including constitutional analysis of Senator Douglas
's bill in support of the railroad. The railroad bills were consolidated with a bill from Senator King
, passed, and signed by President Millard Fillmore
in 1850, shortly after Sidney left office. In 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad Company was charted by the State of Illinois, and received the land grants from the federal government.
For his efforts, Breese is remembered as the "father of the Illinois Central Railroad".
Company. His name was offered as a nomination for Governor of Illinois at numerous conventions, while talk continued of his possible candidacy for the U.S. Presidency, including in 1868, when some thought he could have won for the Democrats.
He rejected a nomination to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1853, and many speculated Breese had ambition to return to the U.S. Senate. However, he was literally forced back into the judiciary of Illinois against his will, accepting an appointment as a Judge on the Circuit Court in 1855, before being elected to the Illinois Supreme Court as a Justice in 1857. He would serve the rest of years on the bench of that court, including stints as the Chief Justice during multiple terms.
, Breese was by then an elder statesmen of the Democratic Party. He was a Peace Democrat who was strongly pro-states' rights, but opposed secession. As the war raged on, in 1863 Breese proposed radical amendments to the Constitution for the inevitable reconstruction process that would follow the war, one which promised the non-interference of slavery. The amendments also included a complete overhaul of the federal election system, including how the President was elected, and enumerating a new power for the Senate to be the court of last resort for states' rights issues or for the constitutionality of a law to be decided. The amendments were presented to the pro-peace Chicago Times
for publication, but the editor deemed them too radical.
Breese was remembered as a philanthropist who gave his earnings to every church denomination and many worthy causes, accumulating little personal wealth. He encouraged young people studying law enormously, and was noted as being a man who has "a tear for pity, and a hand open as day to melting charity". Breese was a celebrated statesman and scholar in which Illinois's prosperity and judiciary reflects his tireless labor, where his inflexible justice prevented corruption from ever reaching the court he sat on.
The Illinois State Historical Society is home to "The Sidney Breese Papers", which consist of the letters and papers belonging to Breese, including personal letters from U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas
, U.S. President Martin Van Buren
, Lincoln's Secretary of War Simon Cameron
, Illinois Governor John Reynolds
, U.S. Ambassador to Spain Gustav Körner
, and U.S. Secretary of State Lewis Cass
, among many others.
In 1823, Sidney married Eliza Morrison, daughter of wealth merchant William Morrison. They had fourteen children, including:
Breese is buried in the Carlyle Cemetery in Carlyle, IL.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Illinois Supreme Court, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
, a forefather of Illinois, and "father of the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
".
Early life
Breese was born in 1800 in WhitesboroWhitesboro, New York
Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. United States. The population was 3,943 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler.The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Town of Whitestown....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of Arthur Breese and Catherine Livingston, daughter of Henry Beekman Livingston and a member of the Livingston family
Livingston family
The Livingston family of was a prominent family which migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from William, 4th Lord Livingston, its members included signers of the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States...
. His brother was Samuel Livingston Breese
Samuel Livingston Breese
Samuel Livingston Breese was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. His active-duty career included service in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, and he was a cousin of Samuel Morse.
Education
Breese's mother died in 1808, and he was mentored by Rev. Jesse Townsend. He became friends during this time with Elias Kent Kane. Townsend groomed the young Breese for college, where he entered Hamilton College at just 14 years old, then transferred to Union CollegeUnion College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
in 1816. In 1818, he graduated third in his class of 64 and was a member of the New York Alpha of the Phi Beta Kappa.
Illinois Pioneer
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
in 1814, and requested the assistance of Breese. Breese accepted, and would become a pioneer of Illinois.
Assistant Secretary of State
Breese was appointed by Kane as the Assistant Secretary of State, whereas Kane had become Illinois Secretary of State. He continued studying law, eventually being admitted to the barBar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1820.
In 1820, the capital of Illinois was moved to Vandalia
Vandalia, Illinois
Vandalia is a city in Fayette County, Illinois, United States, northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. From 1819 to 1839 it served as the state capital of Illinois. Vandalia was the western terminus of the National Road. Today it is the county seat of Fayette County and the home of the...
, in which Breese was responsible for moving the State Department's records, which he did by wagon. He remained Asst. Secretary of State until the end of the legislative session in 1821, when he began a private law practice in Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia, Illinois
Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. In the 2010 census the population was 14, making it the second-smallest incorporated community in the State of Illinois in terms of population. A major French colonial town of the Illinois Country, its peak population was about...
.
Postmaster of Kaskaskia
Prosecutor
In 1822, Breese was appointed as the Circuit-Attorney for the Third Judicial District in Illinois. He served in that capacity until 1826, when he was removed by Gov. Ninian EdwardsNinian Edwards
Ninian Edwards was a founding political figure of the state of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818, as one of the first two United States Senators from Illinois from 1818 to 1824, and as the third Governor of Illinois from 1826 to 1830...
. The following year in 1827, U.S. President John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
appointed Sidney United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the State of Illinois. He remained in that capacity until Andrew Jackson removed him in 1829, where it was claimed his enemies had played a role in his removal.
"Breese Reports"
Having removed to private practice following his dismissal in 1829, in 1831 he began compiling the reports of the Illinois Supreme Court, publishing the first volumes of such. These were the first books published in Illinois, and were known as the "Breese Reports".Black Hawk War
Following the outbreak of the Black Hawk WarBlack Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
in 1832, Sidney volunteered for military service, enlisting as a private. He was thereafter elected a Major, and the battalion assembled at Beardstown
Beardstown, Illinois
Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,123 at the 2010 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15.-Geography:Beardstown is located at...
, marching to the Illinois River near Peru
Peru, Illinois
Peru is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area...
. After arriving at Camp Wilborn, the Lieutenant-Colonel Theophilus W. Smith
Theophilus W. Smith
Theophilus Washington Smith was an Illinois Supreme Court Justice from 1825 until his resignation on December 26, 1842. He holds the distinction of being the subject of Illinois's first impeachment trial, held in 1833....
resigned for another position, and Breese was elected to fill the open position. Under his command were future Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
General Robert Anderson and future U.S. President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
.
Defense of Judge Smith
Following the war, he returned to private practice. In 1833, he was the lead counsel in the defense of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Theophilus W. SmithTheophilus W. Smith
Theophilus Washington Smith was an Illinois Supreme Court Justice from 1825 until his resignation on December 26, 1842. He holds the distinction of being the subject of Illinois's first impeachment trial, held in 1833....
, whom he had replaced in military command earlier, during his impeachment trial by the Illinois House of Representatives. The defense team included future-Illinois Governor Thomas Ford
Thomas Ford (politician)
Thomas Ford was the eighth Governor of Illinois, and served in this capacity from 1842 to 1846. A Democrat, he is remembered largely for his involvement in the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., and the subsequent Illinois Mormon War...
and future-U.S. Senator Richard M. Young
Richard M. Young
Richard Montgomery Young was a U.S. Senator from Illinois.Young was born in Fayette County, Kentucky and was admitted to the bar in 1814. In 1817, he moved his law practices to Jonesboro, Illinois and was appointed a Captain in the State Militia. He served in the Illinois state house from...
. Led by Breese's pleadings, Judge Smith was acquitted on the charges as the legislature failed to achieve a 2/3ds vote required for conviction.
2nd Circuit Judge
Following the establishment of the circuit courts in Illinois in 1835, Sidney was appointed a judge in the 2nd Circuit. During this service, a case arose in 1838, which would catapult Breese into the Illinois Supreme Court as a Justice, centered around the question of whether the Governor was able to remove a Secretary of State and appoint another. In a heated partisan atmosphere, Breese delivered a purely legal opinion, one of the most celebrated of the state, which upheld the power of the Governor to do so. The opinion was appealed to the supreme court, where his opinion was overturned. In retaliation, an upset legislature added to the number of justices on the court, appointing Breese to fill one of the new positions.Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
In 1841, following the contested legal dispute, Breese assumed the duties as a Justice in the Illinois Supreme Court on February 22. Among the five new appointees to the court made by the legislature, along with Breese, was future-U.S. Senator Stephen A. DouglasStephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
. Of the 131 opinions rendered by the court during his tenure, Sidney delivered 34 of them.
U.S. Senator
In December of 1842, Breese was elected as a U.S. Senator from Illinois as a Democrat. During his term he was considered a poor politician by insiders because he devoted his time and energy to the official duties of his office and people of Illinois versus the financiers and special interests of the Democratic Party and Washington establishment. Talks circulated about his possible candidacy for the U.S. Presidency, but Breese was more interested in the working for his state. He was an associate of future-President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
during this time, as Lincoln served in the Illinois delegation of U.S. House of Representatives.
Breese had several accomplishments as a Senator, including serving as Chairman of the Public Lands Committee and as a member of the District of Columbia Committee. He was offered the more prestigious position as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but turned it down for the Public Lands Committee, which would be crucial for him in securing the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
for his state later on.
Texas Annexation
One of his first speeches was in favor of Texas AnnexationTexas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...
, and he introduced legislation in 1845 calling for the annexation, which ultimately occurred later that year. Sidney supported the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
which followed, delivering one of the most famous speeches in Senate history on the subject of tactics from the war, in opposition to Senator John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
.
Oregon Treaty
Breese was a Democrat expansionist who was vehemently opposed the Oregon TreatyOregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
of 1846 with Great Britain, insisting that Britain remain isolated from the Pacific Coast and calling for the current boundaries of Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
to be extended to the 54th parallel, bordering Russian Alaska
Russian Alaska
Russian America was the name of Russian colonial possessions in the Americas from 1733 to 1867 that today is the U.S. state of Alaska and settlements farther south in California and Hawaii...
. The treaty was ultimately signed, in which Sidney proclaimed his country had been unjustly stolen by the British.
Tariff Act of 1846
Failure to be renominated
In 1849, he ultimately failed to secure his party's renomination. However, bittersweetly, a project he had long advocated and pushed for while in Washington, the Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
, was approved as he left office.
Illinois Central Railroad
Starting in 1835, Breese began lobbying for a railroad connecting the Illinois and Michigan CanalIllinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...
with the lower Mississippi River and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. Upon arriving in Washington, one of his first acts was to introduce legislation, which was passed in 1844, providing for the examination of the possibility of a naval depot and shipyard at the confluence of the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
Rivers, This would encourage the government to authorize land for the railroad by having a governmental interest in connecting the depot with the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. In 1846, Breese offered another bill requesting the government grant Illinois land to construct the road, which as the Chairman of the Public Lands Committee, Breese made the first full report ever made to Congress on the subject. In the report, Breese urged the importance of the railroad, which would connect the country coast-to-coast in four days, China and the American Atlantic cities in 30 days, China-to-Great Britain in 45 days, and the world with America in 30 days.
Sidney offered two more extensive reports in 1848, including constitutional analysis of Senator Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
's bill in support of the railroad. The railroad bills were consolidated with a bill from Senator King
William R. King
William Rufus DeVane King was the 13th Vice President of the United States for about six weeks , and earlier a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, Minister to France, and a Senator from Alabama...
, passed, and signed by President Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
in 1850, shortly after Sidney left office. In 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad Company was charted by the State of Illinois, and received the land grants from the federal government.
For his efforts, Breese is remembered as the "father of the Illinois Central Railroad".
Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
In 1850, Breese was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he was immediately elevated to the position of speaker. He served a term there, leaving in 1852.Later years and public service
Sidney left the assembly in 1852, returning to private law practice, while also serving as a director of the Ohio and Mississippi RailroadOhio and Mississippi Railroad
The Ohio and Mississippi Railway was a railroad operating between Cincinnati, Ohio, and East St. Louis, Illinois, from 1857 to 1893.General Ormsby M. Mitchel was a civil engineer on this project....
Company. His name was offered as a nomination for Governor of Illinois at numerous conventions, while talk continued of his possible candidacy for the U.S. Presidency, including in 1868, when some thought he could have won for the Democrats.
Civil War
During the outbreak of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Breese was by then an elder statesmen of the Democratic Party. He was a Peace Democrat who was strongly pro-states' rights, but opposed secession. As the war raged on, in 1863 Breese proposed radical amendments to the Constitution for the inevitable reconstruction process that would follow the war, one which promised the non-interference of slavery. The amendments also included a complete overhaul of the federal election system, including how the President was elected, and enumerating a new power for the Senate to be the court of last resort for states' rights issues or for the constitutionality of a law to be decided. The amendments were presented to the pro-peace Chicago Times
Chicago Times
The Chicago Times was a newspaper in Chicago from 1854 to 1895 when it merged with the Chicago Herald.The Times was founded in 1854, by James W. Sheahan, with the backing of Stephen Douglas, and was identified as a pro-slavery newspaper. In 1861, after the paper was purchased by Wilbur F...
for publication, but the editor deemed them too radical.
Legacy and family
The Illinois State Historical Society is home to "The Sidney Breese Papers", which consist of the letters and papers belonging to Breese, including personal letters from U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
, U.S. President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, Lincoln's Secretary of War Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
, Illinois Governor John Reynolds
John Reynolds (U.S. politician)
John Reynolds was a United States politician from the state of Illinois. He was one of the original four justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, 1818–1825, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1826–1830, 1846–1848, and 1852–1854 , and the 4th Illinois Governor from 1830–1834...
, U.S. Ambassador to Spain Gustav Körner
Gustav Körner
Gustav Philipp Körner, also spelled Gustave or Gustavus Koerner was an Illinois lawyer, politician and historian....
, and U.S. Secretary of State Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
, among many others.
In 1823, Sidney married Eliza Morrison, daughter of wealth merchant William Morrison. They had fourteen children, including:
- S.L. Breese-Commander in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War
- James Breese-Second Lieutenant in the Marine Guard during the Civil War
Breese is buried in the Carlyle Cemetery in Carlyle, IL.