J. C. W. Beckham

John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham ( * August 5, 1869 in Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky; † 9 January 1940 in Louisville, Kentucky ) was an American politician and governor of Kentucky. He also represented this state in the U.S. Senate.

Early youth and ascent

Beckham, whose grandfather Charles Wickliffe had been from 1839 to 1840 Governor of Kentucky, received his education at the Roseland Academy, Central University of Richmond and the University of Kentucky in Lexington. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1889, he worked in Bardstown in this profession. Between 1894 and 1898 he was Democrat member of the House of Representatives from Kentucky. In the disputed gubernatorial election of 1899 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. After the political turmoil surrounding the governors William Taylor and William Goebel, and the murder of the latter Beckham fell to the office of governor of Kentucky.

Governor of Kentucky

Beckham first task as governor of Kentucky was the restoration of order after the turmoil among his two predecessors. Which was finally made ​​possible through a give in both political parties. In November 1900 extraordinary elections were conducted, in which Beckham with 49.9 % of the vote against John W. Yerkes (49.1% ) was just re-elected. His lead was just over 3,700 votes. The result showed that the state was politically still very divided. At the next regular election in 1903, Beckham was able to extend his lead slightly. This time he won with 52.1% of the vote against 46.2 % which was able to record his rival candidate Morris B. Belknap for themselves. During his 1900 running to 1907 term of office he managed a reduction of public debt and nationwide uniform textbooks were introduced. It was also started with the construction of the present capitol building.

More career

After the end of his term on December 10, 1907 Beckham remained politically active. By 1920, he participated in all Democratic National Conventions. In 1908, he made ​​a first attempt to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Between 1915-1921 he was then still a member of the Senate. He was among the first directly elected by the people, senators. This process was made ​​possible by the 17th Amendment, which was adopted in 1913. The election to the Senate he had won against Augustus Willson, who had in 1907 become his successor as governor of Kentucky. When re-election attempt in 1920, he failed narrowly to Richard P. Ernst. During his time in the Senate, the United States entered the First World War. The debate about the League of Nations and the Prohibition were the main domestic issues of the time. In 1927, Beckham applied again to the office of governor of Kentucky. But he was defeated in the election to the Republican Flem Sampson. Even an attempt to be 1936 again elected to the U.S. Senate, was not crowned with success. In 1936 he was involved in various commissions of his home state, including in the Commission to reform the administration of the State. John Beckham died in January 1940. He was married to Jean Raphael Fuqua, with whom he had two children.