Reconstruction in Kentucky

Kentucky Studies

Kentucky at the end of the War• Kentucky emerged from

the Civil War in virtual ruin• Though the state had

remained in the union, they were basically treated like the states that had seceded

• Martial law (military oversight) remained in effect for six months after the war

End of the War Cont.• As a result of abuses (real

and imagined) by federal power, southern sentiment actually grew after the war

• Civil rights quickly restored to former confederates

• Pardons issued to those who had been convicted of treason

• The victors in the war lost the peace

Readjustment• Issues such as education, civil

rights, and suffrage for former slaves had to be addressed.

• 1866 Basic civil rights for freedmen, and black education bills passed by legislature

• Chaorges of racial violence led t the Freedmen’s Bureau (created by the federal government) extended to Kentucky

Power Vacuum

• Rival trade, commercial, social, and agricultural groups jockeyed for power in the state

• Hemp vs. dark tobacco• Louisville vs. Lexington• Louisville & Nashville

(L&N) Railroad vs. the Southern Cincinnati

Power Vacuum cont.

• Republicans very weak• Struggle for power

usually between factions within the democratic party

• Only when these rivalries became pronounced, did republicans have a chance to win

Power Vacuum cont.• Unionist democrats break

away from confederate democrats and form the new conservative party

• Confederates win the election (John L. Helm won, took the oath from his sick bed, and died 5 days later.)

• Lt. Gov. John W. Stevenson becomes governor

Power vacuum cont.• Stevenson’s term plagued by

unrest• Mob violence, vigilante

action, and racial unrest• Militia frequently deployed to

restore order• 1869, extra funds

appropriated for reform schools and asylums

• 1871, Stevenson resigned after being elected to the U.S. Senate

Railroad Rivalry• 1871, bill introduced to allow

construction on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad

• Would open trade from Cincinnati to the south

• Would also compete with the Louisville & Nashville line

• State repeatedly shut the bill down until faced with federal action

• CS railroad was built, but the L&N remained a powerful force

Democratic party factions

• Conservatives (called “Bourbons”) controlled party machinery and conventions

• “New Departure” democrats, leaders included former confederates. Urged acceptance of 14th and 15th amendments

Grover Cleveland

1871 election• Preston H. Leslie (Bourbon)

nominated for Governor• John G. Carlisle (new

Departure) nominated for Lt. Gov.

• John Marshall Harlan (republican gubernatorial nominee) campaigned on education for the poor and denounced the racism of democrats. Won more votes than any republican ever had, but still lost

Leslie’s Term

• Leslie pushed through many “Departure” policies

• Ex. Blacks allowed to testify against whites in open court

Panic of 1873• Collapse in tobacco prices

and land values• Rural discontent• Gold standard created “Hard

money”• Hard money was still highly

valuable because it was backed by gold in the federal reserve

• Gold from Federal reserve now housed at Fort Knox, Kentucky

The Grange• More and more farmers joined

a national movement called “The Grange”

• Started as a social organization• Soon became involved in

politics• Sought political and economic

reform• Demanded cheap, or

“inflated” money• Held a lot of influence in the

democratic party

Presidential Politics• Kentuckians had influence

in the election of 1876• Rutherford B. Hayes won

republican nomination• John Marshall Harlan

swung Kentucky delegation in his favor

• This is how Hayes won the nomination and the presidency

Presidential Politics0

• Hayes was grateful and in 1877 appointed Harlan to the Supreme Court

• Served for almost 40 years

• Hayes’ election was disputed

Election dispute• Henry Watterson, a

Kentuckian and head of the DNC appointed to committee to review election results

• Recommended that Hayes be given the election in exchange for Federal troops being pulled out of the south and the restoration of home rule

Other notes

• Women played an ever increasing role in religion after the Civil War Catholic Nuns especially)

• Very active in schools, hospitals and orphanages

• Endeared themselves to the public by acting as battle nurses during the war