A New History of Kentucky / Edition 2

by James C. Klotter, Craig Thompson Friend

Overview

When originally published, A New History of Kentucky provided a comprehensive study of the Commonwealth, bringing it to life by revealing the many faces, deep traditions, and historical milestones of the state. With new discoveries and findings, the narrative continues to evolve, and so does the telling of Kentucky's rich history. In this second edition, authors James C. Klotter and Craig Thompson Friend provide significantly revised content with updated material on gender politics, African American history, and cultural history. This wide-ranging volume includes a full overview of the state and its economic, educational, environmental, racial, and religious histories.

At its essence, Kentucky's story is about its people—not just the notable and prominent figures but also lesser-known and sometimes overlooked personalities. The human spirit unfolds through the lives of individuals such as Shawnee peace chief Nonhelema Hokolesqua and suffrage leader Madge Breckinridge, early land promoter John Filson, author Wendell Berry, and Iwo Jima flag–raiser Private Franklin Sousley. They lived on a landscape defined by its topography as much as its political boundaries, from Appalachia in the east to the Jackson Purchase in the west, and from the Walker Line that forms the Commonwealth's southern boundary to the Ohio River that shapes its northern boundary. Along the journey are traces of Kentucky's past—its literary and musical traditions, its state-level and national political leadership, and its basketball and bourbon. Yet this volume also faces forthrightly the Commonwealth's blemishes—the displacement of Native Americans, African American enslavement, the legacy of violence, and failures to address poverty and poor health.

A New History of Kentucky ranges throughout all parts of the Commonwealth to explore its special meaning to those who have called it home. It is a broadly interpretive, all-encompassing narrative that tells Kentucky's complex, extensive, and ever-changing story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813176307
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	11/26/2018
Edition description:	second edition
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	444,975
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James C. Klotter is the author, coauthor, or editor of some twenty books, including texts used for Kentucky history classes at the elementary, secondary, and college level. Among his works are Henry Clay: The Man Who Would Be President; Kentucky Justice, Southern Honor, and American Manhood; and Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900–1950. The past executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society, he is professor emeritus of Georgetown College and the State Historian of Kentucky. Craig Thompson Friend is the author of Kentucke's Frontiers and Along the Maysville Road: The Early Republic in the Trans-Appalachian West, and editor of The Buzzel about Kentuck: Settling the Promised Land. He is professor of history at North Carolina State University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables xii

Preface xvii

1 A Place Called Kentucke 1

Creating the Hunting Grounds 1

From Prehistory to History 6

Two Women in the French and Indian War 10

The Long Hunters 14

The Fallacies of Kentucky Frontier History 18

2 The Invasion of Kentucky 20

Lord Dunmore's War 20

Planting Kentucky 24

Keeping the Family Together 29

Cornstalk, Blackfish, and Plukkemehnotee 34

The Rise of George Rogers Clark 38

Daniel Boone Was a Big Man 42

3 Colonial Kentucky, 1774-1792 47

Landscapes of an American Colony 47

The Great Migration 51

A Society with Slaves in a Slave Society 56

Patriarchy, Women, and Families 60

The Road to Statehood 63

The Vanishing Indian 67

4 Kentucky in the New Nation 70

The First Constitution of Kentucky, 1792 70

The Village West 73

Old Problems in a New State 78

Slavery, Marriage, and Keeping the Peace 81

The Kentucky Resolutions 83

Penal and Constitutional Reform 86

5 The First Generation of Kentuckians 89

The Frontier Heritage 89

Louisiana and the Burr Conspiracy 92

The War of 1812 94

Patriotism and Panic 99

The Fire Bell in the Night 104

Four Biographies from a Generation 106

6 The World They Made 111

Binding the Commonwealth Together 111

Economic Innovations 116

Becoming a Slave Society 122

The Refinement of Kentucky 125

A Great Revival and a Greater Awakening 130

7 The Age of the Whigs 135

Rise of the Second Party System 135

Kentucky and the Nation 139

The Last of the Whig Governors 143

Romanticism in the Commonwealth 146

The Heyday of Antislavery 151

The Constitution of 1850 154

8 Antebellum Kentucky 158

The Slaves' Cause 158

Sectionalism and the Rise of the Democrats 163

The Politics of Neutrality 167

Union, Secession, and the Kentucky Belle 170

The Invasions of Kentucky 174

9 The Civil War in a Border State 178

The Confederate Occupation 178

The Romanticism of Raiding 183

War on the Homefront 190

African Kentuckians and the End of Slavery 193

The Price of War 197

How Kentucky Became Confederate 199

10 1865 and After 206

The Kentucky World of 1865 206

Continuity and Change 209

Rural and Small-Town Life 211

The Urban Commonwealth 216

Leisure Time 219

11 Reconstruction, Readjustment, and Race, 1865-1875 223

Freedom 223

Political Decisions, 1865-1868 228

Bourbons and New Departure Democrats 231

The Stevenson Administration and Black Rights 232

The Leslie Years, 1871-1875 234

12 Decades of Discord, 1875-1900 237

The Political System 237

General Violence 239

Feud Violence 241

Kentucky Images and Appalachian Stereotypes 244

The McCreary Administration and Health Care, 1875-1879 245

The Blackburn Governorship and the Prison Issue 248

Knott, Buckner, and "Honest Dick" Tate, 1883-1891 250

A New Constitution 252

Populism in the Chaotic 1890s 253

Political, Tailgate, and Other Wars 255

Goebel! 257

13 Progressivism, Prohibition, and Politics, 1900-1920 260

Assassination of a Governor 260

Bosses and Beckham 262

Prohibition and Progressivism 265

The Black Patch War and the Night Riders 266

The Politics of Progressivism 269

Child Labor, Women's Rights, and Race Relations 273

World War I 276

14 Bourbon Barons, Tobacco Tycoons, and King Coal: The Economy, 1865-2015 279

Agriculture 279

Changing Crop Patterns 279

Livestock 283

"The Feds," the Family Farm, and Agribusiness 284

Commerce 287

The Falls City and Urbanization 290

Fragile Finances 291

Toward a Twenty-First-Century Economy 292

King Coal and the Mineral World 294

Rivers, Rails, and Roads 299

15 Culture and Communications, 1865-2015 305

The Press 305

Literature: The Rise to Prominence 308

The Maturing of the Literary Craft 311

New Generations of Writers 316

Historical Writing 318

Poets, Artists, Architects, and More 320

The Sounds of Music 324

Theater, Radio, and Film 326

16 The Transitional Twenties 330

Mindsets, Morals, and Manners 330

The Counterattack: Evolution and the Klan 332

Bosses, the Bipartisan Combine, and the Governors 336

Beckham and Betting 342

17 Old Problems and a New Deal 345

Economic Want 345

Depression-Era Politics 347

The New Deal 349

Labor and the Coal Wars 351

Happy 353

World War II 356

Wartime Politics 359

18 Education and Equality, 1865-2015 362

Shaping the System, 1865-1908 362

Separate and Unequal 365

Whirlwinds and Doldrums, 1908-1954 367

Before Brown 370

Implementing Integration 372

Civil Rights in the Sixties and Beyond 374

Kentucky Education Reform Act 378

Higher Education 380

19 A Half Century of Kentucky Politics, 1945-1995 386

Democratic Ascendancy 386

Happy Days Again? 388

The Sixties 392

Republican Resurgence and Retreat 399

New Politics or No Politics? 401

Boptrot and Beyond 406

20 A Political Metamorphosis, 1995-2015 410

The Patron Years 411

A New Era for Republicans? 413

The Hiring Scandal 415

Beshear and the Budget 417

The Federal Scene 419

Congressional Races 422

The Governor's Race, 2015 423

Politics Present and Future 424

21 New Challenges, Old Traditions 425

Images 425

Trends I 430

Trends II 434

Change and Nostalgia 438

Continuity 440

Frontiers 442

Appendix A Some Facts and Figures 445

Appendix B Kentucky's Governors 447

Appendix C Kentucky's Counties 453

Selected Bibliography 457

Acknowledgments 513

Index 515

What People are Saying About This

Thomas H. Appleton Jr.

"This newly revised edition reflects the latest scholarship about the commonwealth and its peoples. What is more, it is written in an engaging, accessible manner that will appeal to students and history-minded Kentuckians alike."

Melissa A. McEuen

"This truly new history of Kentucky combines masterful storytelling, cultural depth, and a wealth of fresh evidence. Inclusive and illuminating, it is a welcome look at the region's diverse peoples, entrenched myths, and frequently hidden realities. The authors balance the Commonwealth's political past against lesser-known traditions and ideas that shaped ordinary lives on a considerable scale. The New History of Kentucky is an exciting, rich narrative for the twenty-first century!"

From the Publisher

"In 1997 the late Lowell H. Harrison and James C. Klotter published the monumental A New History of Kentucky, the first major reinterpretation of the commonwealth's history in six decades. Now, in this new edition, Klotter and historian Craig Thompson Friend bring the story of Kentucky's past up into the second decade of the twenty-first century. Not only does this fast-paced, detailed, and beautifully-written second edition detail Kentucky's contemporary history, but it thoroughly revises the state's antebellum decades.  Richly illustrated and documented, this major text underscores the complexities of Kentucky's people — their contradictions, their triumphs, and their tragedies. Readers will find  Klotter and Friend's book a people's history — a penetrating look at and an appreciation of those who consider the commonwealth their home, now and then." — John David Smith, co-editor of A Union Woman in Civil War Kentucky

"Kentucky's history is rich in drama, diversity, and significance. Using a breadth of past and present research, James C. Klotter and Craig Thompson Friend have written an extensive, yet entertaining, narrative of Kentucky's past. Their work includes important analysis of the roles played by Native Americans, African Americans, and women in the forging of the state, and updates the political, social, and economic history into twenty-first century Kentucky. This book will be valued by academics, students, and readers of history alike." — Andrea Watkins, Northern Kentucky University

"This newly revised edition reflects the latest scholarship about the commonwealth and its peoples. What is more, it is written in an engaging, accessible manner that will appeal to students and history-minded Kentuckians alike." — Thomas H. Appleton Jr., Eastern Kentucky University

"This second edition offers readers a fresh and wonderfully engaging perspective of Kentucky history. It skillfully captures the images, individuals, and institutions that have given Kentucky its distinct character. It offers an intimate and insightful portrayal of the changes and controversies in Kentucky history. Lastly, it is an impressive blend of state and national history." — Gerald L. Smith, co-editor of The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia

"This truly new history of Kentucky combines masterful storytelling, cultural depth, and a wealth of fresh evidence. Inclusive and illuminating, it is a welcome look at the region's diverse peoples, entrenched myths, and frequently hidden realities. The authors balance the Commonwealth's political past against lesser-known traditions and ideas that shaped ordinary lives on a considerable scale. The New History of Kentucky is an exciting, rich narrative for the twenty-first century!" — Melissa A. McEuen, co-editor of Kentucky Women: Their Lives and Times

Gerald L. Smith

"This second edition offers readers a fresh and wonderfully engaging perspective of Kentucky history. It skillfully captures the images, individuals, and institutions that have given Kentucky its distinct character. It offers an intimate and insightful portrayal of the changes and controversies in Kentucky history. Lastly, it is an impressive blend of state and national history."

John David Smith

"In 1997 the late Lowell H. Harrison and James C. Klotter published the monumental A New History of Kentucky, the first major reinterpretation of the commonwealth's history in six decades. Now, in this new edition, Klotter and historian Craig Thompson Friend bring the story of Kentucky's past up into the second decade of the twenty-first century. Not only does this fast-paced, detailed, and beautifully-written second edition detail Kentucky's contemporary history, but it thoroughly revises the state's antebellum decades.  Richly illustrated and documented, this major text underscores the complexities of Kentucky's people—their contradictions, their triumphs, and their tragedies. Readers will find  Klotter and Friend's book a people's history—a penetrating look at and an appreciation of those who consider the commonwealth their home, now and then."

Andrea Watkins

"Kentucky's history is rich in drama, diversity, and significance. Using a breadth of past and present research, James C. Klotter and Craig Thompson Friend have written an extensive, yet entertaining, narrative of Kentucky's past. Their work includes important analysis of the roles played by Native Americans, African Americans, and women in the forging of the state, and updates the political, social, and economic history into twenty-first century Kentucky. This book will be valued by academics, students, and readers of history alike."

Editorial Reviews

It is well worth a reader's time to treat A New History of Kentucky as an action-packed novel or even as a primer for Kentucky citizenship. [This work] offers readers a detailed map of the territory their ancestors explored as well as vivid descriptions of places and practices contemporary Kentuckians continue to navigate.

Kentucky Humanities

This newly revised edition reflects the latest scholarship about the commonwealth and its peoples. What is more, it is written in an engaging, accessible manner that will appeal to students and history-minded Kentuckians alike.

Thomas H. Appleton Jr.

This second edition offers readers a fresh and wonderfully engaging perspective of Kentucky history. It skillfully captures the images, individuals, and institutions that have given Kentucky its distinct character. It offers an intimate and insightful portrayal of the changes and controversies in Kentucky history. Lastly, it is an impressive blend of state and national history.

Gerald L. Smith

Kentucky's history is rich in drama, diversity, and significance. Using a breadth of past and present research, James C. Klotter and Craig Thompson Friend have written an extensive, yet entertaining, narrative of Kentucky's past. Their work includes important analysis of the roles played by Native Americans, African Americans, and women in the forging of the state, and updates the political, social, and economic history into twenty-first century Kentucky. This book will be valued by academics, students, and readers of history alike.

Andrea Watkins

In 1997 the late Lowell H. Harrison and James C. Klotter published the monumental A New History of Kentucky, the first major reinterpretation of the commonwealth's history in six decades. Now, in this new edition, Klotter and historian Craig Thompson Friend bring the story of Kentucky's past up into the second decade of the twenty-first century. Not only does this fast-paced, detailed, and beautifully-written second edition detail Kentucky's contemporary history, but it thoroughly revises the state's antebellum decades.  Richly illustrated and documented, this major text underscores the complexities of Kentucky's people—their contradictions, their triumphs, and their tragedies. Readers will find  Klotter and Friend's book a people's history—a penetrating look at and an appreciation of those who consider the commonwealth their home, now and then.

John David Smith

This truly new history of Kentucky combines masterful storytelling, cultural depth, and a wealth of fresh evidence. Inclusive and illuminating, it is a welcome look at the region's diverse peoples, entrenched myths, and frequently hidden realities. The authors balance the Commonwealth's political past against lesser-known traditions and ideas that shaped ordinary lives on a considerable scale. The New History of Kentucky is an exciting, rich narrative for the twenty-first century!

Melissa A. McEuen

"It is well worth a reader's time to treat A New History of Kentucky as an action-packed novel or even as a primer for Kentucky citizenship. [This work] offers readers a detailed map of the territory their ancestors explored as well as vivid descriptions of places and practices contemporary Kentuckians continue to navigate." — Kentucky Humanities

From the Publisher