In 1913, at the age of 27, he was appointed United States Assistant Secretary of War by President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow Democrat. At the same time, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was Franklin Roosevelt. In 1914, he was given charge of rescuing Americans trapped in Europe by the outbreak of World War I in August. Observers at the time and historians since gave him poor marks for his sloppy work and disregard of duties. Much more important was Herbert Hoover, an engineer who volunteered to help and took change of operations.[7][8] In 1916, Breckinridge resigned, along with SecretaryLindley M. Garrison, who was "advocating a larger army in opposition to the President's views."[6] During World War I, he served as commander of a battalion.
He was a member of the US fencing teams at the 1920 and 1928 Summer Olympics, and was captain of the latter.[9] At the 1920 Games, he won a bronze medal in the team foil event.[10][11]
In 1934, he ran for U.S. Senator from New York as the nominee of the "Constitutional Party,"[13][14] to oppose Roosevelt's New Deal policy,[15] but polled only 24,000 votes, half as much as the Communist vote, and one eighth as much as the Socialist candidate Norman Thomas.
1936 Democratic primary
In the 1936 Democratic primaries, Breckinridge, a strong opponent of the New Deal, was the only serious candidate opposing the highly popular incumbent Roosevelt. FDR was otherwise opposed within the party only by favorite son candidates. Breckinridge's test of the popularity of the New Deal among Democrats failed, as he lost by wide margins. However, in New Jersey, President Roosevelt did not file for the preference vote and lost that primary to Breckinridge.[16] Roosevelt did receive 19% of the vote on write-ins. Roosevelt's candidates for delegate swept the race in New Jersey and elsewhere. In other primaries, Breckinridge's best showing was his 15% in Maryland.[17][18]
Roosevelt won a total of 4,830,730 votes in all state primaries combined (93.19%) against Breckinridge's 136,407 (2.63%). Breckinridge endorsed Republican nominee Alf Landon against Roosevelt in the general election.[19]
Personal life
Breckinridge was married three times. His first marriage took place on July 7, 1910, to Ruth Bradley Woodman (1888–1941) in Geneva, Switzerland.[20] Ruth was the daughter of Edgar Horace Woodman,[20] a lawyer who served as mayor of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1883 and 1884.[21] Before they divorced in 1925, Ruth and Henry were the parents of two daughters:[22]
Louise Dudley Breckinridge (c. 1916–1934), who was killed, aged 17, when a bullet accidentally discharged from a target rifle she was carrying. At the time of her death, she was a student at Vassar College.[25]
He married for the second time on August 5, 1927, to socialite Aida de Acosta (1884–1962) in Washington, D.C. Aida, the first woman to fly a powered aircraft solo, was a daughter of Cuban emigre Ricardo de Acosta, who was a steamship-line executive and sugar refiner. Before their marriage, Aida was married to Oren Root IIII, a son of Oren Root II and nephew of Elihu Root.[26] In New York, they lived at 455 East 57th Street.[25] After twenty years of marriage and a three-year separation, they divorced in 1947.[27][28]
Breckinridge married for the third, and final, time on March 27, 1947, to Margaret Lucy Smith (1913–2011), daughter of horticulturist John Raymond Smith of Gloucestershire, England. Together, they lived at 67-38B 190th Lane in Fresh Meadows, Queens,[6] and were the parents of one daughter:[29]
^Branden Little, "Evacuating Wartime Europe: US Policy, Strategy, and Relief Operations for Overseas American Travelers, 1914-15." Journal of Military History 79.4 (2015) pp 929–958.
^George H. Nash, The Life of Herbert Hoover: The Humanitarian, 1914-1917 (WW Norton & Company, 1983) pp 1–14.
