John W. Stevenson

John White Stevenson ( born May 4, 1812 in Richmond, Virginia; † August 10, 1886 in Covington, Kentucky ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who represented the state of Kentucky in both chambers of Congress and served as its governor.

Early years and political rise

John Stevenson received his first education in Virginia. There he attended Hampden - Sydney Academy and the University of Virginia, which he successfully completed in 1832. After a subsequent law studies he settled temporarily in Vicksburg (Mississippi) as a lawyer down. In 1841 he moved his home and workplace to Covington in Kentucky.

His political rise began in 1845 with his election to the House of Representatives from Kentucky. In 1846 and 1848 he was re-elected each. In 1849 he was a delegate at the conference for the revision of the Constitution of Kentucky. He was also a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1848, 1852 and 1856. Between 1857 and 1861 he was a member of his party in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington. He was an advocate of the rights of individual states to the federal government. During the Civil War, but he held himself back politically very.

Governor and U.S. Senator

Stevenson was elected in 1867 to the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky. Governor John L. Helm, however, died five days after his inauguration, and Stevenson thus fell to the governorship. Because helmet died so early in his term, a new election for the office of governor was announced. This then won Stevenson with a clear majority against the Republican Richard Baker. Now between September 6, 1867 to February 3, 1871, he served as governor. During this time the education system was in Kentucky expanded and created a separate ministry (Bureau of Education). The governor campaigned for improvements in the prisons. Kentucky was still suffering from the aftermath of the civil war and the governor had repeatedly the National Guard against wandering criminals inserting. In 1870, African Americans were allowed for the first time in Kentucky choose what also led to unrest again because did not want to accept all the whites with it. Stevenson came on 3 February in 1871 by the Office of the Governor, to feed in the U.S. Senate, in which he had been elected before. His successor as governor was Leslie Preston.

Stevenson remained until 1877 in the Senate. He was leader of the Democratic Party. After leaving Congress, he taught law in Cincinnati. In 1880 he was President of the National Democratic Convention. He received his last office 1884 as president of the American Bar Association (American Bar Association). He died in August 1886. John Stevenson was married to Sibella Winston, with whom he had six children.