I believe one of the most efficient ways to learn about Kentucky’s past is to study its governors, who have always dealt with the abiding issues of the day. That said, I’d specifically start with the person who served as the state’s first and fifth chief executive, Isaac Shelby (1792-1796 and 1812-1816).
I’ve written about Shelby previously in this column and featured him while teaching the subject of Kentucky as a fourth-grade teacher for 22 years. Ol’ Isaac is probably my favorite from the 1800s, but recently I started looking at another governor, this one from the early 1900s, who, like Isaac Shelby, had a catchy name and, in my opinion, possesses one of the most interesting stories of the lot.
Augustus Owsley (A.O) Stanley (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Augustus Owsley (A.O) Stanley served from 1915-1919 as the 38th governor. He was son of a Disciples of Christ minister and was born in Shelbyville in 1867. A.O.’s mother, Amanda Owsley Stanley, was the niece of the sixteenth governor, William Owsley. Fortthomasmatters.com reported that A.O. was given the name “Nudicut Owsley Stanley” but “at age 10, convinced his parents to change his first name to ‘Augustus’ in honor of his grandmother Augusta Owsley so that no one would call him NO Stanley.” His own path to the governorship, and other political offices, took on a circuitous path. After attending Gordon Academy in Nicholasville, he enrolled in the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College in Lexington and later at Danville’s Centre College, where he graduated with a baccalaureate degree in 1889.
Stanley taught school in several Kentucky towns, but after “reading law” under Gilbert Cassidy in Flemingsburg, he was admitted to the bar in 1894. He ran for Fleming County attorney in 1897 and lost, and financial difficulties sent him packing to Henderson where he married Sue Soper and became a law partner of John L. Dorsey. He soon involved himself in local politics and was outspoken. Author/judge Bill Cunningham, in his book, Flames in the Wind, called A.O. “a spellbinding orator . . . and although courteous and polite, he was never one to avoid saying exactly what was on his mind.”
Urged on by supporters, he ran as a Democrat for U.S. House of Representatives, Second Kentucky District, in 1903, and won. He held onto the position for six terms, becoming, emphasized Cunningham, the friend of west Kentucky farmers. The region of the state depended strongly on the tobacco industry, and when the market collapsed because of the monopolistic practices of the Duke Trust, he fought hard in Congress to turn back a devastating tax on the product. The era spawned the anti-trust group called the “Night Riders,” which solicited farmers in both west Kentucky and Tennessee to keep their crops off the market (and who were known to engage in terroristic actions for the farmers who would not oblige). Stanley denounced the group’s violence but understood why they were angry. His efforts in Congress were followed by the 1911 U.S. Supreme Court decision that dissolved the Duke Trust for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
In 1914, Stanley decided not to go for his seventh term as a representative and instead cast his lot by running for his lifetime dream job, the U.S. Senate, against J.C.W. Beckham and James B. McCreary. Stanley finished second, but soon he entered the Kentucky governor race in 1915 (some think to improve his chances of later gaining the Senate). He beat Henry McChesney, of Frankfort, in the primary and consequently matched up against Republican Edwin P. Morrow in the general race.
This is when things got interesting. The candidates had a warm friendship, yet, according to Dr. Tom Appleton, Jr. in Kentucky’s Governors, they “verbally attacked each other without mercy. Yet in private they enjoyed dining and drinking together, and they were once observed walking with their arms around each other’s shoulders.” The race was remarkably close, with Stanley defeating Morrow by only 471 votes.
Stanley was fortunate to have Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature, but there still was contention by unfriendly political forces, especially with the liquor issue. A “dry” amendment was put forward and saw defeat by both chambers, and temperance leaders criticized Stanley profusely. However, he succeeded in having passed much of his progressive agenda: a corrupt practices act, an antitrust law, a workman’s compensation measure, and a convict labor bill, though not a state tax structure law measure until 1917.
With the liquor battle still going on, Stanley allowed a prohibition amendment to go forward on a referendum. It passed, and Kentucky became the first wet state to ratify the proposed national government’s 18th Amendment. In another controversial matter during his term, Stanley received much criticism when he vetoed a bill designed to ban the teaching of German in Kentucky schools (Germany was the main enemy of the U.S. in World War I).
While still serving his governor’s term, Kentucky Senator Ollie M. James, running for reelection, died; Stanley was selected to replace James as a candidate, and he won the election. A longtime dream of serving as a senator had come true. But whether it was bad timing or whatever other reason, Stanley possessed little influence as a freshman senator, had few accomplishments, and lost four years later for reelection.
After serving in Congress and the governorship, Stanley returned to private life in the nation’s capital. He was appointed to the International Joint Commission by President Herbert Hoover and named chairman three years later, but later resigned under pressure under the Eisenhower administration.
One might rightly say that, looking back, A.O. Stanley won some and lost some as a public servant, but no one can say he wasn’t involved in important affairs of the day.
Sources: Flames in the Wind (1997) by Bill Cunningham; Kentucky Governors (2004 updated version) article by Thomas H. Appleton, Jr.; Kentucky Governors (Kentucky Images Magazine, 1984) edited by Robert Powell; The Kentucky Encyclopedia (1992) editor in chief John Kleber; Wikipedia; Fortthomasmatters.com
I have a letter that’s still in the envelope from KY governor A O Stanley to E C Conley dated July 12 1916 I was wondering if any family members be interested in it?