Editing Caleb Cushing (section)

===1860 and the Civil War===
In 1860 he presided over the [[Democratic National Convention]], which met first at [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] and later at [[Baltimore]], until he joined those who seceded from the regular convention. He then presided also over the convention of the seceding delegates, who nominated [[John C. Breckinridge]] for the Presidency.<ref name="EB1911"/> Also in 1860 President [[James Buchanan]] sent him to Charleston as Confidential Commissioner to the Secessionists of South Carolina.

Despite having favored [[states' rights]] and opposed the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition]] of slavery, during the Civil War, he supported the Union. He was later appointed by President [[Andrew Johnson]] as one of three commissioners assigned to revise and codify the laws of the United States Congress. He served in that capacity from 1866 to 1870.