Benjamin Gratz Brown graduated from both Transylvania University and Yale College, establishing a solid educational foundation. He began his career as a correspondent and later became involved in politics, serving in the Missouri House of Representatives and as an editor. Brown played a significant role in the Free Soil movement and the Republican Party in Missouri, advocating for the abolition of slavery. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and held positions in the U.S. Senate, where he chaired key committees. Brown transitioned to the Liberal Republican Party, serving as Governor of Missouri before running for Vice President in 1872.

Benjamin Gratz Brown's political career is marked by his ideological agility, shifting from a founding member of the Missouri Republican Party to a governor under the Liberal Republican Party, and finally rejoining the Democrats. His opposition to Lincoln's and Johnson's moderate Reconstruction plans reveals a radical stance on civil rights, while his objection to the Emancipation Proclamation for not including Missouri highlights a localized approach to national issues. Brown's military service and legislative focus on regional industrial interests further illustrate a complex, multifaceted political identity.