Berry Craig
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813146928
- eISBN:
- 9780813151441
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813146928.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
Dubbed “the South Carolina of Kentucky,” the Jackson Purchase was Kentucky's only pro-Confederate region during the Civil War. Secession sentiment was so strong that in 1861, while Kentucky was ...
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Dubbed “the South Carolina of Kentucky,” the Jackson Purchase was Kentucky's only pro-Confederate region during the Civil War. Secession sentiment was so strong that in 1861, while Kentucky was officially neutral, leading politicians and influential citizens met in Mayfield and considered a regional military alliance with Tennessee or secession from Kentucky to form a Confederate state with West Tennessee. In addition, the Purchase was Kentucky's only region that furnished more soldiers to the Confederacy army than to the Union forces. Between 1861 and 1865, nearly 5,000 Purchase men donned Rebel gray while approximately 850—white and African American—opted for Yankee blue. Statewide, between 90,000 and 100,000 Kentuckians—white and African American—fought for the Union, and between 25,000 and 40,000 took up arms for the Confederacy.Less
Dubbed “the South Carolina of Kentucky,” the Jackson Purchase was Kentucky's only pro-Confederate region during the Civil War. Secession sentiment was so strong that in 1861, while Kentucky was officially neutral, leading politicians and influential citizens met in Mayfield and considered a regional military alliance with Tennessee or secession from Kentucky to form a Confederate state with West Tennessee. In addition, the Purchase was Kentucky's only region that furnished more soldiers to the Confederacy army than to the Union forces. Between 1861 and 1865, nearly 5,000 Purchase men donned Rebel gray while approximately 850—white and African American—opted for Yankee blue. Statewide, between 90,000 and 100,000 Kentuckians—white and African American—fought for the Union, and between 25,000 and 40,000 took up arms for the Confederacy.
Berry Craig
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813146928
- eISBN:
- 9780813151441
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813146928.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” are the oft-quoted words that begin A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens's famous novel set in London and Paris during the French Revolution. ...
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” are the oft-quoted words that begin A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens's famous novel set in London and Paris during the French Revolution. The prose might also apply to the Jackson Purchase in September 1861. It was the best of times for most citizens of Hickman and Columbus and other Rebel-run territory in the region. They were overjoyed with the advent of soldiers they saw as their salvation from the “abolitionist” army at Cairo. On the other hand, the secessionist majority in Paducah and its environs endured what they lamented as their worst of times, with the arrival of Grant and his troops.Less
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” are the oft-quoted words that begin A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens's famous novel set in London and Paris during the French Revolution. The prose might also apply to the Jackson Purchase in September 1861. It was the best of times for most citizens of Hickman and Columbus and other Rebel-run territory in the region. They were overjoyed with the advent of soldiers they saw as their salvation from the “abolitionist” army at Cairo. On the other hand, the secessionist majority in Paducah and its environs endured what they lamented as their worst of times, with the arrival of Grant and his troops.
Susan P. Hendricks
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813168685
- eISBN:
- 9780813169941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813168685.003.0011
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
The convergence of five river systems in far western Kentucky significantly influenced the progress of human settlement and activity over the past several thousand years in the area now known as the ...
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The convergence of five river systems in far western Kentucky significantly influenced the progress of human settlement and activity over the past several thousand years in the area now known as the Jackson Purchase. The geological history of the Jackson Purchase set the stage for the development of unique land- and waterscapes with natural histories very different from the rest of Kentucky. The Ohio, the Mississippi, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee Rivers define the present boundaries of the Purchase area, and the smaller Clarks River provides the major drainage through its midsection. Major geological, hydrological, and human historical events including the New Madrid earthquakes, Civil War, floods, water-borne diseases, the ever-changing focus of agriculture and industry, and 20th century dam building, including construction of two major hydroelectric reservoirs (Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley) all affected peoples’ choices of where to live and how to use the land and water resources of the region.Today, western Kentuckians are actively engaged in preserving the quality of the region’s water resources because of the recreational, agricultural, industrial, transportation, and ecological services they provide.Less
The convergence of five river systems in far western Kentucky significantly influenced the progress of human settlement and activity over the past several thousand years in the area now known as the Jackson Purchase. The geological history of the Jackson Purchase set the stage for the development of unique land- and waterscapes with natural histories very different from the rest of Kentucky. The Ohio, the Mississippi, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee Rivers define the present boundaries of the Purchase area, and the smaller Clarks River provides the major drainage through its midsection. Major geological, hydrological, and human historical events including the New Madrid earthquakes, Civil War, floods, water-borne diseases, the ever-changing focus of agriculture and industry, and 20th century dam building, including construction of two major hydroelectric reservoirs (Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley) all affected peoples’ choices of where to live and how to use the land and water resources of the region.Today, western Kentuckians are actively engaged in preserving the quality of the region’s water resources because of the recreational, agricultural, industrial, transportation, and ecological services they provide.
James K. Libbey
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813167138
- eISBN:
- 9780813167831
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813167138.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Born in humble, rural surroundings in the Jackson Purchase, Barkley grew into a sturdy youth who received an education through parental sacrifices. He graduated from Marvin College as an ...
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Born in humble, rural surroundings in the Jackson Purchase, Barkley grew into a sturdy youth who received an education through parental sacrifices. He graduated from Marvin College as an award-winning speaker and soon moved with his parents to Paducah, where he read law and became an attorney. Barkley entered politics winning elections as county attorney and then county judge: he gained victory through his farmer constituents. In 1913 he moved from courthouse to Congress as a progressive who championed President Wilson’s New Freedom program. During World War I, he favored freedom of the seas to promote agricultural exports and gained national attention by advocating prohibition. In wartime he visited US soldiers on the front lines and in peacetime became a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which enhanced his understanding of international relations. His only electoral loss occurred when he campaigned for governor, but his Kentucky canvass enabled him to win a US Senate seat in 1926. Furious over Republican administrations for their support of high tariffs that hurt agricultural exports and their inability to assist impoverished Americans during the Great Depression, Barkley became a strong supporter and national spokesman for the New Deal. World War II found Senate majority leader Barkley playing a key role in wartime legislation, but he lost favor with President Roosevelt by opposing the president’s expensive revenue bill of 1944. Meanwhile, the senator had maintained close and supportive relations with Truman and joined him as his vice presidential candidate on the 1948 presidential ticket. Barkley became the one and only Veep who turned the vice presidency into an important office. The Paducah politician failed to get his party’s nomination for president in 1952, so he temporarily retired, appearing on his own national television show, and preparing (with help) his autobiography. In 1954 he won election and returned to the US Senate as a junior member.Less
Born in humble, rural surroundings in the Jackson Purchase, Barkley grew into a sturdy youth who received an education through parental sacrifices. He graduated from Marvin College as an award-winning speaker and soon moved with his parents to Paducah, where he read law and became an attorney. Barkley entered politics winning elections as county attorney and then county judge: he gained victory through his farmer constituents. In 1913 he moved from courthouse to Congress as a progressive who championed President Wilson’s New Freedom program. During World War I, he favored freedom of the seas to promote agricultural exports and gained national attention by advocating prohibition. In wartime he visited US soldiers on the front lines and in peacetime became a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which enhanced his understanding of international relations. His only electoral loss occurred when he campaigned for governor, but his Kentucky canvass enabled him to win a US Senate seat in 1926. Furious over Republican administrations for their support of high tariffs that hurt agricultural exports and their inability to assist impoverished Americans during the Great Depression, Barkley became a strong supporter and national spokesman for the New Deal. World War II found Senate majority leader Barkley playing a key role in wartime legislation, but he lost favor with President Roosevelt by opposing the president’s expensive revenue bill of 1944. Meanwhile, the senator had maintained close and supportive relations with Truman and joined him as his vice presidential candidate on the 1948 presidential ticket. Barkley became the one and only Veep who turned the vice presidency into an important office. The Paducah politician failed to get his party’s nomination for president in 1952, so he temporarily retired, appearing on his own national television show, and preparing (with help) his autobiography. In 1954 he won election and returned to the US Senate as a junior member.