DANVILLE, Ky. -- Centre College lobbied hard to host vice presidential debates both this year and in 2000 -- in part because it has a veep legacy.

This tiny college in rural Kentucky has actually produced two vice presidents, both of them fairly notable.

John Breckinridge, class of 1838, played prominent roles in Civil War politics.

Adlai Stevenson, class of 1859, was the progenitor of a prominent political family.

Breckinridge's legacy is mixed. He served as the youngest vice president in history, inaugurated at age 36 under President Buchanan in the years leading up to the Civil War, 1857-61.

In the 1860 election, Breckinridge ran as the candidate of the ultra-pro-slavery Southern Democrats. He stayed with the South after Abraham Lincoln's victory and southern secession, eventually becoming secretary of war for the Confederate States of America.

Stevenson, meanwhile, served as vice president during President Cleveland's second term, 1893-97.

His grandson, also named Adlai Stevenson, ran for president as the Democratic nominee twice, losing in both 1952 and 1956 to Dwight Eisenhower.

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