Kentucky's Governors

by Lowell H. Harrison (Editor)

Overview

Of all who have held the office of chief executive of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, some governors have been good, some have been at best mediocre, and a few have approached greatness. Whether famous, infamous, or merely obscure, the entire cast of Kentucky's gubernatorial history is collected here, in a single convenient reference volume, now updated and expanded to reflect developments of the last twenty years. Kentucky's Governors puts at a reader's fingertips the crucial details of each governor's life and career, from Isaac Shelby to Ernie Fletcher. Thirty-nine scholars contribute their expertise to this collection, presenting significant biographical information as well as the details of each governor's campaign, election, achievements, and strengths and weaknesses. Kentucky's historian laureate, Thomas D. Clark, provides an insightful essay that follows the evolution of the Kentucky governorship over the course of four state constitutions.

The biographical accounts collected here reveal the issues that have dominated the state's history, among them economic development, education, agriculture, and tax reform. Collectively, the sketches offer a glimpse into the social, political, and economic forces at work throughout Kentucky's fascinating history. This revised edition of Kentucky's Governors, expanded to include governors who have served since 1985, also provides new information on other recent governors. Each contributor suggests both primary and secondary sources to aid further investigation into the lives and careers of Kentucky's leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813187808
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	11/21/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lowell H. Harrison, professor emeritus of history at Western Kentucky University, is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including Lincoln of Kentucky and The Antislavery Movement in Kentucky.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	The Kentucky Governorship: An Overview	xiii
	Isaac Shelby (1792-1796, 1812-1816)	1
	James Garrard (1796-1804)	7
	Christopher Greenup (1804-1808)	12
	Charles Scott (1808-1812)	16
	George Madison (1816)	20
	Gabriel Slaughter (1816-1820)	22
	John Adair (1820-1824)	26
	Joseph Desha (1824-1828)	29
	Thomas Metcalfe (1828-1832)	33
	John Breathitt (1832-1834)	38
	James Turner Morehead (1834-1836)	43
	James Clark (1836-1839)	47
	Charles Anderson Wickliffe (1839-1840)	51
	Robert Perkins Letcher (1840-1844)	55
	William Owsley (1844-1848)	60
	John Jordan Crittenden (1848-1850)	64
	John Larue Helm (1850-1851, 1867)	68
	Lazarus Whitehead Powell (1851-1855)	71
	Charles Slaughter Morehead (1855-1859)	75
	Beriah Magoffin (1859-1862)	78
	George W. Johnson (1861-1862, Confederate)	82
	Richard Hawes (1862-1865, Confederate)	85
	James F. Robinson (1862-1863)	89
	Thomas Elliott Bramlette (1863-1867)	93
	John White Stevenson (1867-1871)	98
	Preston Hopkins Leslie (1871-1875)	101
	James B. McCreary (1875-1879, 1911-1915)	105
	Luke Pryor Blackburn (1879-1883)	111
	J. Proctor Knott (1883-1887)	115
	Simon Bolivar Buckner (1887-1891)	119
	John Young Brown (1891-1895)	123
	William O'Connell Bradley (1895-1899)	127
	William Sylvester Taylor (1899-1900)	131
	William Goebel (1900)	134
	J.C.W. Beckham (1900-1907)	137
	Augustus Everett Willson (1907-1911)	141
	Augustus Owsley Stanley (1915-1919)	145
	James Dixon Black (1919)	149
	Edwin Porch Morrow (1919-1923)	152
	William Jason Fields (1923-1927)	156
	Flem D. Sampson (1927-1931)	160
	Ruby Laffoon (1931-1935)	164
	Albert Benjamin Chandler (1935-1939, 1955-1959)	168
	Keen Johnson (1939-1943)	177
	Simeon Willis (1943-1947)	181
	Earle Chester Clements (1947-1950)	185
	Lawrence W. Wetherby (1950-1955)	191
	Bert T. Combs (1959-1963)	196
	Edward Thompson Breathitt Jr. (1963-1967)	200
	Louie B. Nunn (1967-1971)	206
	Wendell Hampton Ford (1971-1974)	211
	Julian Morton Carroll (1974-1979)	217
	John Y. Brown Jr. (1979-1983)	221
	Martha Layne Collins (1983-1987)	229
	Wallace Glenn Wilkinson (1987-1991)	237
	Brereton C. Jones (1991-1995)	244
	Paul Edward Patton (1995-2003)	251
	Ernest Lee Fletcher (2003- )	264
	Contributors	269
	Index	275

Editorial Reviews

Provides concise accounts of the lives of each governor [and] insights into the governors' evolving constitutional powers and their changing roles in political debates and policy information.

Kentucky Monthly

Provides informative and scholarly sketchescould serve as a good model for similar volumes about officials of other states.

Journal of American History

One of the standard reference works on the commonwealth's history.

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"Provides informative and scholarly sketches…could serve as a good model for similar volumes about officials of other states." — Journal of American History

"Provides concise accounts of the lives of each governor [and] insights into the governors' evolving constitutional powers and their changing roles in political debates and policy information." — Kentucky Monthly

"One of the standard reference works on the commonwealth's history." — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

From the Publisher