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Populism
in Kentucky
Kentucky's
farmers found their voice in the Farmers Alliance
movement that began in the 1880s. This movement
eventually led to Populism, and furthered the
extent of violence within the state. The Farmers
Alliance was organized in 1886 to help give farmers
a political voice. Farmers were unhappy with their
place in politics and wanted to stand up to the
railroad companies' price discrimination. Within
five years the movement had grown to 125,000 members
in 2,400 sub-unions. The Populist movement was
brought to Kentucky in 1891, and had the same
appeal to farmers as the Farmers Alliance. The
Populist Party gained many supporters and a Populist
governor was elected.
In 1904, the farmers
of Kentucky formed the Planters Protective Association
to help obtain better prices for their tobacco.
The American Tobacco Company and two overseas
companies dominated the tobacco market. This virtual
monopoly left the farmers with no choice but to
sell to them at increasingly lower rates. The
success of the farmers depended on them banding
together and holding out for a fair price. The
Planters Protective Agency turned to violence
in order to convince farmers to join their association.
Knight Riders, masked vigilante gangs, marauded
the countryside threatening farmers and forcing
them to join the co-op. Threats were issued, crops
were burned, and many farmers were beaten. It
is estimated that there were 10,000 Knight Riders
in Kentucky, and armies of over one hundred would
take over entire towns. The Knight Rider violence
continued until political action was taken to
stop them. In 1907, Augustus Wilson was elected
governor of Kentucky and took action against the
Knight Riders. He activated the militia and indicated
that anyone who killed a Knight Rider would be
pardoned. In 1909, a bill passed through Congress
lifting an oppressive national tax on tobacco,
and two years later the U.S. Supreme Court found
the American Tobacco Company in violation of anti-trust
laws. These laws were instrumental in helping
farmers obtain better prices and the Planters
Protection Agency dissolved, but Kentucky gained
fame for its violence yet again.
Progressivism in Kentucky
During the Progressive
era, Kentucky's women and children gained new
rights and protections. In 1902 the first of Kentucky's
child labor laws was passed. This law stated that
children under the age of fourteen could only
be employed if they had parental consent. The
law was amended in 1906, limiting a child's work
to ten hours per day. In 1914 another law was
passed forbidding children under the age of fourteen
to work during school hours. These laws were very
progressive, and Kentucky was noted as having
some of the best child labor laws in the country.
Many women's rights
were achieved in Kentucky during this time as
well. In the late 1800s, the Kentucky Women's
Suffrage Association and the Women's Christian
Temperance Union were formed. These organizations
targeted discriminatory laws such as the law that
granted divorce for adultery only in cases where
the wife was the offender. These campaigns began
to gain effect, and in 1894 women were granted
the right to own property and to prepare a will.
Six years later women were allowed to keep their
wages, and in 1910, the age of consent to marry
rose from twelve to sixteen.
World War I
Kentucky contributed
to the country's effort in World War I by providing
food, soldiers, and building training camps. Kentucky
was on the receiving end of a huge agricultural
windfall when overseas demand for food products
increased profits. Kentucky, like other states,
participated in rationing. Each day of the week
was a different ration day; Fireless Monday, Meatless
Tuesday, Wheatless Wednesdays, etc. Four training
camps were built in Kentucky during the First
World War: Fort Thomas in Northern Kentucky, Camp
Stanley in Lexington, Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville,
and Camp Knox which was opened in 1918. Over 84,000
Kentuckians served during the war, 2,000 of whom
died. The Spanish Flu epidemic, spread by the
soldiers killed 14,000 people in Kentucky.
This war had a number
of outcomes in Kentucky. Strong anti-German sentiment
developed throughout the state, which led to the
Americanization of German immigrants and the disappearance
of any recognizable signs of their heritage. German
language was not taught in schools, and German
place names were Americanized. The German Insurance
Bank of Kentucky was changed to Liberty Insurance
Bank, and sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage.
African-Americans also faced discrimination after
the war. Many African-Americans served in the
war, including 13,584 black Kentuckians, but many
returned to Kentucky only to receive disdain from
whites who were not proud to see them in uniform.
The Roaring Twenties in Kentucky
In many places throughout
the United States the 1920s saw a time of modernization,
rebellion, and the rise of mass media. Kentucky
witnessed these things in moderation. The flamboyant
behavior of young adults and the new ideas circulating
during the 1920s only served to bring out Kentucky's
conservative nature. The Kentucky Purity League
was formed to combat this new sinful age. A female
student at Bethel Women's College in Hopkinsville
was expelled for bobbing her hair.
The theory of evolution
was another issue in the 1920s that exposed Kentucky's
fundamentalist roots. Some urban areas in Kentucky
accepted and tried to reconcile Darwin's theory
with creationism, but others bitterly rejected
it. The rejection of the Darwin's Theory was followed
by fierce evangelicalism. Anti-evolution bills
were proposed to Kentucky's House, but were eventually
voted down by a narrow margin.
The Ku Klux Klan
(KKK) resurfaced in the 1920s due to general protest
against modernization as well as the 1915 film,
The Birth of a Nation. The KKK believed
that only white Anglo-Saxon Protestants should
rule the nation. In addition to African-Americans,
the regenerated KKK added immigrants, Catholics,
and Jews to their hate-list. In Kentucky, the
resurgence wasn't felt as strong as it was in
Indiana and the lower South, but the state boasted
50,000 to 200,000 members. Rallies of 5,000 people
took place in Paintsville and Owensboro.
This backlash to
modernization did not entirely succeed in repressing
Kentuckians. Some aspects of the 20s did prove
to influence the state, such as the rise of mass
media and professional sports. Isolated incidents
became matters of national interest. The Kentucky
Derby, first held in 1875, became a national sporting
event in the 1920s.
The Great Depression
Farmers in Kentucky
had been suffering long before the Great Depression.
In the 1920s the tobacco industry was failing,
corn acreage decreased, and soil was eroding.
In 1928 Kentucky ranked 47th in farm income nationally.
After the stock market crash in 1929, Kentucky
suffered even greater. In 1930 a drought brought
even greater hardships to an already failing farming
industry. Agriculture in Kentucky would continue
to be depressed for another decade. Prohibition
and the declining coal industry added even more
damage to the state's economy. Natural disasters
would continue their assault on farmers and citizens
throughout the decade. In 1937, a flood submerged
large parts of the state. On the Ohio River, two-thirds
of Louisville's businesses were flooded and thousands
were evacuated. The streets filled with dead animals
and homeless people. Two years later the Frozen
Creek Flash Floods killed dozens of people.
The New Deal brought
much needed relief to Kentuckians in a number
of ways. Aid to Dependent Children, provided families
monthly relief. The National Youth Association
furnished jobs to high school and college aged
men, and the Works Project Administration [WPA]
put men to work building a state and national
infrastructure. One of the greatest changes in
attitude came to Kentuckians during this time
as they saw, for the first time, the government
helping them directly.
World War II
The production demanded
by World War II brought the country out of the
Great Depression. In Kentucky, new factories were
built and those in existance temporarily changed
gears to aid the war effort. For example, the
Louisville Slugger factory made rifle stocks instead
of baseball bats during the war. Louisville also
became the nations leading producer of rubber.
Although Kentucky's industry was increasing during
this time, even more factories sprang up in the
north and the east. These factories drew labor
from other states, and thirteen percent of Kentucky's
population left between 1940 and 1950. This "out
migration" caused a labor shortage in Kentucky,
in turn causing an even greater number of women
to enter the workforce.
Kentucky's war effort
extended to the military as well. Over 300,000
Kentuckians served during World War II. Camp Campbell,
Kentucky was created during this time and it,
as well as older forts, actively trained soldiers
for the war.
By
Rickie Lazzerini
Historian
BA History
University of California, Santa Barbara
Index
of Historical Reviews
© 2005 Rickie Lazzerini,
All Rights Reserved
This page may be freely linked to but may
not be reproduced
in any form without prior written consent
from the author.
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