Flemon Davis "Flem" Sampson (January 23, 1875 – May 25, 1967) was the
42nd
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
Governor of Kentucky
The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...
, serving from 1927 to 1931. He graduated from
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
in 1894, and opened a law practice in
Barbourville, Kentucky
Barbourville is a home rule-class city in Knox County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2010 census, down from 3,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city was formally established by ...
. He formed a political alliance with future
Representatives Caleb Powers
Caleb Powers (February 1, 1869 – July 25, 1932) was a United States representative from Kentucky and the first Secretary of State of Kentucky convicted as an accessory to murder.
Early life
He was born near Williamsburg, Kentucky. He attended ...
and
John Robsion, both prominent
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the eastern part of the state. By 1916, he was serving on the
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky.
The ...
(the state's highest court at the time) and had previously served as a
county judge
The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...
and
circuit court judge. In 1923, he was elevated to chief justice of the Court of Appeals. He served until 1927, when he became the Republican gubernatorial nominee.
The
Democrats nominated former governor and
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
J. C. W. Beckham
John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham (August 5, 1869 – January 9, 1940) was an American attorney serving as the List of governors of Kentucky, 35th Governor of Kentucky and a United States Senate, United States Senator from Kentucky. He was the s ...
to challenge Sampson. The primary issue in the campaign was whether to outlaw
parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...
at the state's racetracks. Beckham favored the ban, and Sampson opposed it. A
political machine
In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
, known as the Jockey Club, backed Sampson, and several key Democrats bolted the party after Beckham's nomination. Sampson won the governorship by over 32,000 votes, but every other Republican on the ticket lost by small majorities. The results suggested that some careful
vote fraud
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
had been co-ordinated to ensure Beckham's defeat, but none was ever proved.
Sampson's term in office was a tumultuous one. The 1928
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
was dominated by Democrats and was not particularly responsive to Sampson's proposals. After the session, Sampson was indicted for accepting gifts from textbook companies, but the charges were later dropped. In 1929, Sampson removed Democratic
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to:
In sports Association football
*Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer
* Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player
Other codes of football
*Ben Johnson (Australian footb ...
from his post as highway commissioner. When legislators reconvened in 1930, they retaliated by stripping Sampson of many of his appointment powers and reinstalling Johnson to his post. Later in the session, Sampson proposed to allow
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British-born American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States ...
to dam the
Cumberland Falls
Cumberland Falls, sometimes called the Little Niagara, the Niagara of the South, or the Great Falls, is a waterfall on the Cumberland River in southeastern Kentucky. Spanning the river at the border of McCreary and Whitley counties, the waterfal ...
to generate
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
. The General Assembly instead voted to accept an offer from
T. Coleman du Pont
Thomas Coleman du Pont (December 11, 1863 – November 11, 1930) was an American engineer and politician, from Greenville, Delaware. He was President of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Republican Party who served part ...
to purchase the falls and turn them into a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
. The Assembly voted to restrict further Sampson's powers in 1930. The end of Sampson's term was complicated by the economic realities of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. He called out the
Kentucky National Guard
The Kentucky National Guard comprises the:
*Kentucky Army National Guard
*Kentucky Air National Guard
See also
* Kentucky Active Militia, the state defense force of Kentucky which replaced the Kentucky National Guard during World War I and World ...
to quell a violent mine strike in
Harlan County, known as the
Battle of Evarts. Following his term, Sampson returned to Barbourville and was re-elected as a circuit court judge. He died May 25, 1967 and was buried in Barbourville Cemetery.
Early life
Flem Sampson was born in a
log cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.
Eur ...
near
London, Kentucky
London is a home rule-class city in Laurel County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 7,993 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the second-largest city named "London" in the United States and the ...
in
Laurel County, the ninth of ten children born to Joseph and Emoline (Kellam) Sampson.
[Finch, p. 42][Sexton, p. 160] He was educated in the county's public schools and John T. Hays School.
[Powell, p. 90] The family moved to
Barbourville, Kentucky
Barbourville is a home rule-class city in Knox County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 3,165 at the 2010 census, down from 3,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city was formally established by ...
when Sampson was 13.
[Johnson, p. 1619]
By 16, Sampson was teaching at Indian Creek School in Laurel County.
He attended
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in Barbourville and then enrolled at
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
.
He was
class president
A class president, also known as a class representative, is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council. In a grade school, class presidents are generally elected by th ...
for three years and earned an A.B. in 1894.
Per university policy, he was also awarded and an
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
because prior to graduation, he had studied for at least one year in a law office.
He returned to Kentucky and was admitted to the
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
in June 1895.
Sampson established his legal practice in Barbourville, where he became the city attorney.
["Kentucky Governor Flem Davis Sampson"] Caleb Powers
Caleb Powers (February 1, 1869 – July 25, 1932) was a United States representative from Kentucky and the first Secretary of State of Kentucky convicted as an accessory to murder.
Early life
He was born near Williamsburg, Kentucky. He attended ...
, who had been Sampson's college roommate, now joined him as a partner in his law firm.
[Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 356] Powers would later be accused of complicity to the assassination of Governor
William Goebel
William Justus Goebel (January 4, 1856 – February 3, 1900) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 34th governor of Kentucky for four days in 1900, having been sworn in on his deathbed a day after being shot by an assassin. ...
. Because Powers was convicted by a partisan jury, he became a political martyr to many
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, and Sampson's connection to him became a boon in heavily Republican eastern Kentucky.
Sampson later served as president of Barbourville's First National Bank and was the youngest person ever to hold that position.
He also served as president of the Barbourville Water-works Company.
[Johnson, p. 1618] On September 20, 1897, he married Susie Steele; the couple had three daughters—Pauline, Emolyn, and Helen Katherine.
Early political career
Sampson's political career began in 1906 when he was elected
county judge
The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...
of
Knox County, Kentucky
Knox County is a county located in Appalachia near the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,193. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox. It is one ...
, a position that he held for four years.
[Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 795] In 1911, he was elected to the
circuit court of the 34th Judicial District.
He was re-elected to this post in 1916, but later that year, he was elected to the
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky.
The ...
, which was then the
court of last resort
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
in Kentucky.
He represented Kentucky's Seventh Appellate District, and he was elevated to chief justice on January 1, 1923.
He was re-elected to the court in 1924.
Elected governor of Kentucky
Sampson and
US Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
John M. Robsion organized a formidable Republican faction in the eastern part of Kentucky.
[Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 796] In 1927, Sampson was a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. His opponent was Robert H. Lucas, a tax collector for the
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
.
Lucas secured the support of Kentucky Senators
Frederic M. Sackett
Frederic Mosley Sackett (December 17, 1868May 18, 1941) served as a United States senator from Kentucky and ambassador to Germany during the Hoover Administration.
Early life
He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His father, also named Fr ...
and
Richard P. Ernst, and Sampson was backed by longtime supporter John M. Robsion and the Jockey Club, a coalition of leaders who supported
parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...
on horse races.
[Klotter, p. 285] Sampson won the
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
by a margin of 39,375.
[Finch, p. 43]
The Democratic Party was badly divided over the parimutuel betting issue as well as
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, and a
severance tax
Severance taxes are taxes imposed on the removal of natural resources within a taxing jurisdiction. Severance taxes are most commonly imposed in oil producing states within the United States. Resources that typically incur severance taxes when e ...
on coal.
The prohibitionist and anti-gambling faction of the Democratic Party, with the help of ''
Louisville Courier-Journal
The ''Courier Journal'',
also known as the
''Louisville Courier Journal''
(and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017,
is the highest circulation newspape ...
'' editor
Robert Worth Bingham
Robert Worth Bingham (November 8, 1871 – December 18, 1937) was a politician, judge, newspaper publisher and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1933 to 1937.
Background
Bingham attended the University of North Carolina an ...
, united to make former governor and
US Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
J. C. W. Beckham
John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham (August 5, 1869 – January 9, 1940) was an American attorney serving as the List of governors of Kentucky, 35th Governor of Kentucky and a United States Senate, United States Senator from Kentucky. He was the s ...
the party's gubernatorial nominee.
[Sexton, p. 161] After Beckham's nomination, many pro-gambling and anti-prohibition Democrats hurried to the support of Sampson.
The sitting Democratic governor
William J. Fields
William Jason Fields (December 29, 1874October 21, 1954) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Known as "Honest Bill from Olive Hill", he represented Kentucky's Ninth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 19 ...
, who had been elected with help from the Jockey Club, was very passive in the campaign and refused to support Beckham.
The campaign was particularly contentious. Sampson contrasted his humble roots with Beckham's aristocratic ones by declaring, "I'm just plain old Flem. When I'm elected governor of Kentucky, come into my office and sit down and say 'Howdy Flem'."
[Klotter, p. 286] He also trumpeted his own moral purity, claiming he "never smoked, chewed, drank, gamblednot even bet on an election."
He promised, however, to protect horse-racing in the Commonwealth.
In response, Sampson's opponents dubbed him "Flem-Flam Flem."
Sampson won the election by a majority of over 32,000 votes although every other Republican candidate lost by small margins.
In the lieutenant governor's race, Democrat
James Breathitt Jr.
James Breathitt Jr. (December 14, 1890 – October 29, 1934) was an American politician from Kentucky.
Breathitt was born on December 14, 1890, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Breathitt was educated at Centre College.
Breathitt served in the Kentuck ...
defeated Sampson's running mate, E. E. Nelson, by 159 votes out of more than 700,000 cast.
[Klotter, p. 288] It was estimated that the Jockey Club spent half-a-million dollars to defeat Beckham, and the large majority for Sampson versus the close defeat of all other Republican candidates suggested some type of
electoral fraud
Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
, but none was ever proved.
Governor
![Flem D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Flem_D._Sampson_%28KY%29.png)
During the 1928 legislative session, it became clear that the bipartisan support shown for Sampson had been one of political convenience rather than true conviction. Among the minor accomplishments of the session were the creation of the Kentucky Progress Commission, the forerunner of the State Department of Commerce, as well as the adoption of "
My Old Kentucky Home
"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!" is a sentimental ballad written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firth, Pond, & Co. of New York. Foster was likely inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-sl ...
" as the
state song
Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. states have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state.
Some U.S. states have more than one official state ...
.
[Klotter, p. 289] The Democratic
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
sanctioned Sampson's plan for free textbooks but did not fund it.
Proposals to ban parimutuel betting and the teaching of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
in the state's schools were both defeated.
Kentucky historian
James C. Klotter
James C. Klotter is an American historian who has served as the State Historian of Kentucky since 1980. Klotter is also a history professor at Georgetown College and one of the co-authors of Kentucky's staple history book, ''A New History of Kentuc ...
called the 1928 legislative session "almost a 'do-nothing' session."
Following the session, a
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
indicted Sampson for accepting gifts from the textbook companies, but the indictment was eventually dismissed.
The first major controversy of Sampson's administration was over the selection of the state's highway commissioner. The Highway Department employed over 10,000 people and spent nearly 45% of the state's budget.
Legislators' votes could often be bought with promises of new roads for their districts.
Thus, the department became a primary vehicle for dispensing
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
to political supporters.
[Klotter, p. 290]
Sampson's predecessor, Governor Fields, had chosen a retired US representative and Democratic
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
,
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to:
In sports Association football
*Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer
* Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player
Other codes of football
*Ben Johnson (Australian footb ...
, to head the department, and Sampson had agreed to retain him in exchange for his support against Beckham.
However, Sampson felt that such a powerful position could not be left in the hands of a Democrat, and he removed Johnson from office in December 1929.
[Harrison in ''A New History of Kentucky'', p. 357]
Democrats in the General Assembly were outraged. When the 1930 legislative session convened, they immediately passed a bill that stripped Sampson of his power to appoint a highway commissioner, giving it to a three-person commission, composed of the governor, lieutenant governor, and
attorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
.
The Republican Sampson would then be outnumbered and outvoted.
Confident that the Democrats would not lose another gubernatorial election, Democratic legislators stipulated in the bill that the appointment power would return to the governor in 1931, which was the end of Sampson's term.
The law passed the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
53—42 and the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
22—15.
Sampson vetoed the bill, but the veto was overridden, and Johnson was returned to his former position.
[Klotter, pp. 290–291]
Sampson also made enemies when he backed
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British-born American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States ...
's plan to dam the
Cumberland Falls
Cumberland Falls, sometimes called the Little Niagara, the Niagara of the South, or the Great Falls, is a waterfall on the Cumberland River in southeastern Kentucky. Spanning the river at the border of McCreary and Whitley counties, the waterfal ...
to generate
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
.
An ally of the traditional southern power groups (the utility companies and textbook manufacturers), Sampson cited the jobs to be gained from the plan.
The plan was opposed
conservationists
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...
in the state and by most of the state's newspapers.
An alternate plan was proposed by Louisville-born millionaire and
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
Senator
T. Coleman du Pont
Thomas Coleman du Pont (December 11, 1863 – November 11, 1930) was an American engineer and politician, from Greenville, Delaware. He was President of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Republican Party who served part ...
, who offered to purchase the falls for $230,000 and turn it into a state park.
[Sexton, p. 162] The General Assembly passed legislation giving the state park commission the right of
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
over the falls and then voted to accept the du Pont's offer.
[Klotter, p. 292] Sampson vetoed the Assembly's action, but his veto was overridden.
Sampson's agenda for the 1930 session was lost in the fights over Ben Johnson and Cumberland Falls. His calls for funding the free textbook program,
compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization, also known as forced or coerced sterilization, is a government-mandated program to involuntarily sterilize a specific group of people. Sterilization removes a person's capacity to reproduce, and is usually done throug ...
of the
mentally ill
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, and restrictions on
chain store
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
s were ignored.
Instead, the legislature further eroded his gubernatorial powers, including the power to appoint members of the textbook commission.
With nearly all of the governor's powers stripped away and given to a three-person commission, Lieutenant Governor James Breathitt Jr. became the ''de facto'' governor for the remainder of Sampson's term.
The General Assembly pursued its own agenda, passing a mandatory
driver's license
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...
law, a revised election law, and a
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
on retail stores.
It also allocated funding for the purchase of what would become
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is an American national park in west-central Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper Sout ...
.
Sampson vetoed 12 bills during the 1930 session, but the legislature overrode 11 of them.
With the onset of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Sampson worked to control government costs, but he endorsed highway progression.
A severe drought in 1930 left 86 of the state's
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
applying for federal aid.
As unemployment in the
eastern coal fields climbed to 40 percent, the
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
made their first inroads in the region.
In 1931, mine owners began firing workers who joined the union.
[Bush, p. 161] Many of those workers gathered in
Evarts, Kentucky
Evarts is a home rule-class city in Harlan County, Kentucky, in the United States. The post office was opened on February 9, 1855, and named for one of the area's pioneer families. The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 19 ...
.
The local
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
added 26 deputies to his staff, helping to enforce the blacklisting of those miners and to discourage further organization.
Union leaders petitioned Sampson to remove the sheriff and the county judge from office.
[Bush, p. 162]
Violent squabbles between
striking union miners and local authorities began as early as mid-April 1931.
[Bush, p. 164] On May 5, 1931, three guards and a miner were killed in a shootout that became known as the
Battle of Evarts.
Two days later, Sampson called in the
Kentucky National Guard
The Kentucky National Guard comprises the:
*Kentucky Army National Guard
*Kentucky Air National Guard
See also
* Kentucky Active Militia, the state defense force of Kentucky which replaced the Kentucky National Guard during World War I and World ...
to disarm both the mine guards and the union miners.
[Bush, p. 165] All of the union's leaders were arrested, and the strike ultimately failed.
Later life
Following his term as governor, Sampson returned to his legal practice in Barbourville and was elected as a circuit court judge.
["Sampson Fails to Come Back"] In 1940, he once again sought election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals but was defeated in the Republican primary by
Eugene Siler
Eugene Edward Siler Sr. (June 26, 1900 – December 5, 1987) was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky between 1955 and 1965. He was the only member of the House of Representatives to oppo ...
.
In 1957, he was appointed to the Citizens' Advisory Highway Committee, and was awarded the Governor's Medallion for distinguished public service in 1959.
At the age of 91, Sampson served on the State Constitutional Revision Committee.
He died in
Pewee Valley, Kentucky
Pewee Valley is a home rule-class city in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,456 at the 2010 census.
History
The site of present-day Pewee Valley was first settled as a stop on the Louisville and Frankfort Railroad in 1 ...
on May 25, 1967, and was buried at the Barbourville Cemetery.
Notes
Powell gives the name as "Kellums."
Powell gives the year as 1899.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Flem D.
1875 births
1967 deaths
Republican Party governors of Kentucky
Judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
County judges in Kentucky
Kentucky lawyers
People from Barbourville, Kentucky
People from Laurel County, Kentucky
People from Pewee Valley, Kentucky
Valparaiso University alumni
Methodists from Kentucky
Union College (Kentucky) alumni
20th-century American judges
20th-century American politicians