A New History of Kentucky

551 Pages·1997·84.425 MB·English

by  Lowell Harrison, James Klotter

This book was published with generous support from
lames Graham Brown Foundation
Mary and Barry Bingham, Sr., Fund
The Filson Club Historical Society
and
The National Endowment for the Humanities
A New History of
Lowell H. Harrizon andjames C. Klotter
Copyright O 1997 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College,
Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society,
Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead
State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania
University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky
University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sah Ojices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harrison, Lowell Hayes, 1922-
A new history of Kentucky / Lowell H. Harrison and James C. Hotter
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-10: 0-8 131-2008-X (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-2008-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Kentucky-History. I. Hotter, James C. 11. Title.
F451.H315 1997
976.9-dc20 96-35904
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American
National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
@ @
Manufactured in the United States of America.
A IM ember of the Association of
d
I~ American University Presses
To Thomas D. Chrk
Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Part I. Kentucky before 1820
1. A Place Called Kentucke
A Newfound Paradise 5
The Kentuckians Called Indians 6
Two Women in Kentucky 9
The Long Hunters in Kentucky 10
Daniel Boone Is Enthralled with Kentucky 11
2. Exploring the Western Waters
The Early Explorations 15
The Role of the Land Companies 16
Official Interest in the West 17
On the Eve of Settlement 18
The Boundaries of Kentucky 20
The Physiographic Regions 22
3. Settling a New Land
Harrodsburg, the First Permanent Settlement 24
Boonesborough, Boone, and Henderson 25
Benjamin Logan and St. Asaph 29
Life in the Forts 29
A Government for Kentucky 30
4. The Years of the American Revolution
Settlements under Attack 33
Daniel Boone and Chief Black Fish 35
George Rogers Clark and the Illinois Campaign 39
Continued Indian Activity 4 1
Defeat at Lower Blue Licks 43
The Treaty of Paris, 1783 45
5. The Road to Statehood
Traveling to Kentucky 48
Land Claims in Kentucky 52
Background to Separation from Virginia 55
Starting toward Statehood 56
Nine Conventions but Not a State 58
The Virginia Compact 60
Drafting the 1792 Constitution 61
The 1792 Constitution 63
6. From Constitution to Constitution, 1792-1799
Starting the Government 65
The New Land Policy 68
Indian Problems in the Northwest Territory 70
Slavery Remains an Issue 7 1
Political Parties and the Democratic Society 72
A Few Good Federalists 74
Moving toward a New Constitution 75
Kentucky's Second Constitution, 1799 77
7. Kentucky in the New Nation, 1792-1815
The Kentucky Resolutions 80
A New Penal Code 83
The Louisiana Purchase 83
The Burr Conspiracy 85
Continued Problems with Europe and the Indians 87
In Defense of Neutral Rights 88
Henry Clay, the War Hawk 89
The War of 1812 in the Northwest 90
The Battle of New Orleans 93
8. Kentucky after Fifty Years of Settlement
The Immediate Postwar Years 96
The Missouri Compromise 97
The Kentuckians of the 1820s 98
The Rise of the Cities 99
Characteristics of Kentuckians 104
Part II. Kentucky, 1820- 1865
9. Politics and Politicians, 1820-1859
The Critical Court Struggle 109
The Second Party System 112
The Whig Ascendancy 11 3
The Mexican War 1 15
The 1850 Constitution 117
Henry Clay for President 1 19
Parties in Turmoil 121
10. Economic Development
Transportation by Land and Water 125
Agriculture 133
Manufacturing 138
The Extractive Industries 141
Commerce 142
Banks and Money 143
Revenue and Taxation 144
11. Social and Cultural Changes
The Status of Women 146
Public Education 148
Higher Education 151
Religion 153
Literature 157
Newspapers 158
Medicine 159
Amusements 160
Architecture 164
Art and Artists 165
12. Slavery and Antislavery
The Black Population 167
Slave Ownership and Distribution 168
Legal Status 169
Food, Clothing, and Shelter 170
Resistance to Slavery 170
A Black Subculture 173
Breeding and Miscegenation 173
Overall Treatment of Slaves 173
The Defense of Slavery 174
The Early Opponents 174
Abolition and Emancipation 175
Colonization 176
Other Antislavery Approaches 176
Antislavery in the 1850s 178
Free at Last 179
13. The Road to War
Divided Sentiment in Kentucky 181
Sectional Disputes, 1854-18 60 182
The Election of 1860 183
Efforts to Find a Compromise 185
Governor Magoffin in the Crisis 186
The 1861 Elections 189
A Fragile Neutrality 190
The End of Neutrality 191
The Provisional Government of Confederate Kentucky 192
Magoffin Resigns 194
14. The Civil War
Kentuckians at War 195
Early Engagements, 1861- 1 862 196
The Confederate Invasion, Summer 1862 198
The Raids Continue 202
Guerrilla Warfare, 1863-18 65 204
Civil-Military Relations 205
Economic Aspects of the War 207
Social Aspects of the War Years 209
Two Vital Changes 2 10
The Promise Unfulfilled 21 1
Part Ill. Kentucky after 1865
15. 1865 and After
The Kentucky World of 1865 21 5
Continuity and Change 2 18
Rural and Small-Town Life 220
The Urban Commonwealth 226
Leisure Time 229
16. Reconstruction, Readjustment, and Race, 1865-1875
Freedom 234
Political Decisions, 1865-18 68 239
Bourbons and New Departure Democrats 242
The Stevenson Administration and Black Rights 243
The Leslie Years, 1871-18 75 245
17. Decades of Discord, 1875-1900
The Political System 249
General Violence 25 1
Feud Violence 253
Kentucky Images and Appalachian Stereotypes 255
The McCreary Administration and Health Care, 1875-18 79 257
The Blackburn Governorship and the Prison Issue 259
Knott, Buckner, and "Honest Dick" Tate, 1883-18 9 1 261
A New Constitution 264
Populism in the Chaotic 1890s 265
Political, Tollgate, and Other Wars 267
Goebel! 269
18. Progressivism, Prohibition, and Politics, 1900-1920
Assassination of a Governor 272
Bosses and Beckham 274
Prohibition and Progressivism 277
The Black Patch War and the Night Riders 279
The Politics of Progressivism 282
Child Labor, Women's Rights, and Race Relations 286
World War I 289
19. Bourbon Barons, Tobacco Tycoons, and King Coal:
The Economy, 1865-1995
Agriculture 292
Changing Crop Patterns 292
Livestock 296
"The Feds," the Family Farm, and Agribusiness 297
Commerce 300
The Falls City and Urbanization 302
Fragile Finances 304
The Late Twentieth-Century Economy 305
King Coal and the Mineral World 307
Rivers, Rails, and Roads 3 12
20. Culture and Communications, 1865-1995
The Press 317
Literature: The Rise to Prominence 321
The Maturing of the Literary Craft 324
New Generations of Writers 330