James Turner Morehead (May 24, 1797 – December 28, 1854) was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state.Harrison, p. 846 A member of

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

National Republican Party The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

, Morehead entered politics just as his party was beginning to challenge the Democratic Party's dominance in the state. Morehead was nominated for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

at his party's nominating convention in

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, Maryland in 1831, and was elected on a split ticket with Democratic governor John Breathitt. He ascended to the governorship upon Breathitt's death in 1834. Saddled with a shortened term, Morehead was not able to formulate a significant legislative agenda, and stuck to the politically safe issue of internal improvements during his term. When his party changed its name to the Whig Party and wrested control of the General Assembly from the Democrats in the summer of 1834, Morehead hosted the new party's first nominating convention in Frankfort. Following his term as governor, Morehead returned to the state legislature. An opponent of

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

, he accompanied

John Speed Smith John Speed Smith (July 1, 1792 – June 6, 1854) was an attorney and politician, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and a state representative for several terms, as well as state senator. He served for four years as a US District Attorney. He ...

to Ohio to secure the return of slaves owned by Kentuckians. He was later appointed to the U.S. Senate, where he remained a close ally of Clay's. In 1847, he retired to Covington, Kentucky, practicing law until his death in 1854. The city of Morehead, Kentucky is named in honor of Governor Morehead.

Early life and career

James Turner Morehead was born on May 24, 1797 near Shepherdsville, Kentucky in

Bullitt County Bullitt County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,217. Its county seat is Shepherdsville. The county was founded in 1796. Located just south of the c ...

. His parents, Armistead and Lucy (Latham) Morehead, moved to Russellville, Kentucky when he was very young, and he was educated at the public schools in that city. He attended Transylvania University in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

from 1813 to 1815. He then returned to Russellville, where he studied law under circuit court judge H. P. Broadnax and John J. Crittenden. He was admitted to the

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in 1818, and commenced practice in Bowling Green, Kentucky.''Kentucky Explorer'', p. 99 On May 1, 1823, Morehead married Susan A. Roberts; the couple had two children. He was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

representing Warren County from 1828 to 1831. While there, he served on the Committee on Internal Improvements, and reported a bill for state subscription to the Maysville- Lexington Turnpike Company in 1831.Powell, p. 34

Governor of Kentucky

In 1831, Morehead was also a delegate to the National Republican Party Convention in

, Maryland that nominated

for president.Levin, p. 119 During the convention, he was nominated for the office of

. Though his National Republican running mate, Richard A. Buckner, was defeated by Democrat John Breathitt, Morehead was elected the ninth Lieutenant Governor.Mathias, p. 44 Governor Breathitt died of tuberculosis on February 21, 1834, and Morehead was sworn in as governor the following day. The replacement of a Democratic governor with one from the rival National Republican party caused a great deal of angst among Democrats, but the ascendancy of Democrat James Guthrie to president of the state senate and Morehead's willingness to retain Breathitt's secretary of state, Lewis Saunders, did much to allay their fears. Later that year, the National Republican party began to re-brand itself as the Whig Party, a name that first appeared in the ''Lexington Intelligencer'' on April 25, 1834. On July 4, 1834, Governor Morehead hosted the party's first convention in Frankfort. Kentuckians flocked to the "new" party ''en masse'', and the legislative elections of August 1834 saw the party garner majorities in both houses of the state legislature. Flexing their political muscles, the majority party ousted Guthrie from his post as president of the Senate and by a vote of 90–40, and sent John J. Crittenden instead of Guthrie to the U.S. Senate in 1835.Mathias, p. 44–46 In his first address to the legislature, Morehead recommended a plan of expanded internal improvements, including improvements along the state's rivers. The legislature responded by creating a state board of internal improvements, and named Morehead the ex-officio president of the board. In this role, he authorized many surveys of Kentucky's rivers and formulated several plans for improvements, but most of them were blocked by the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

. One improvement that did proceed was construction of the Lexington and Ohio Railroad, which was completed in 1835.Mathias, p. 45 Though education was not a high priority for Governor Morehead, the Kentucky Common School Society and the Kentucky Association of Professional Teachers were formed during his term.NGA Bio

Later career

Following his service as governor, Morehead resumed his legal practice in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

. In March 1837, he was commissioned by Governor James Clark to act as an agent for the state, selling bonds to fund internal improvements. He returned to the state House from 1837 to 1838, representing Franklin County. He was president of the Kentucky Board of Internal Improvements from 1838 to 1841, and in 1839, he and

were chosen as commissioners to the state of Ohio to secure the return of Kentucky-owned slaves as property of their masters. They were successful in this endeavor. Learned in Kentucky history, Morehead published ''An Address in Commemoration of the First Settlement of Kentucky'', which contained original information regarding the early settlement of Boonesborough, Kentucky, in 1840. In 1846, he published another book, ''Practice in Civil Actions and Proceedings at Law''. In 1841, Morehead was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1847. There he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on Retrenchment. During his service in the Senate, he defended a federal bank bill and opposed the

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of Texas, though he supported the U.S.-Mexican War after it began. He was also a staunch supporter of fellow Kentuckian

. After his time in Congress, he continued the practice of law in Covington, Kentucky until his death. He was interred in the State lot of Frankfort Cemetery,

. The city of Morehead, Kentucky was named after him.

References

Bibliography

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External links