Early Life and Political Career
McClernand was born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, near Hardinsburg, but his family moved to Shawneetown, Illinois, when he was quite young. His early life and career were similar to that of another Illinois lawyer of the time, Abraham Lincoln. He was largely self-educated and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1832. In that same year he served as a volunteer private in the Blackhawk War (Lincoln briefly served as a captain).
In 1835 McClernand founded the Shawneetown Democrat newspaper, which he edited. As a Democrat he served in 1836 and in 1840–43 in the Illinois House of Representatives, and in 1843–51 and in 1859–61 was a representative in the United States Congress, where in his first term he vigorously opposed the Wilmot Proviso, but in his second term was a strong Unionist and introduced the resolution of July 15, 1861, pledging money and men to the national government. He was known for his bombastic oratory and his adherence to Jacksonian principles. His dislike of abolitionists generated favor among his constituents, many of whom were originally natives of slaveholding states, as he was. In 1860 he was defeated in a bid for the speakership of the House of Representatives; the coalition of representatives opposing him objected to his moderate views on slavery and the importance of retaining the Union.
As a politician, McClernand remained a staunch Unionist Democrat, much like his mentor, Stephen Douglas. McClernand served as Douglas' ally and liaison in the House during the Compromise of 1850 debates, and later served as one of his campaign managers in the divisive Democratic presidential nomination convention held in Charleston, South Carolina in 1860.
In November 1842, McClernand married Sarah Dunlap of Jacksonville, Illinois, a close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln. Sarah was a daughter of James Dunlap, who served as a quartermaster in the Union Army during the Civil War, eventually appointed to the rank of brevet major general. John and Sarah's son, Edward John McClernand, was notable as a U.S. Army brigadier general in the Indian Wars and later in the Philippines.
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