Robert P. Letcher
Encyclopedia
Robert Perkins Letcher was a politician and lawyer from the US state of Kentucky
. He served as a U.S. Representative
, Minister to Mexico
, and the 15th Governor of Kentucky
. He also served in the Kentucky General Assembly
where he was Speaker of the House in 1837 and 1838. A strong supporter of the Whig Party
, he was a friend of Henry Clay
and John J. Crittenden
.
Letcher's family came to Kentucky around 1800. Letcher attended the private academy of Joshua Fry
, then studied law. He was briefly a judge advocate
in John Allen
's volunteer militia during the War of 1812
. He began his political career in 1813, representing Garrard County
in the Kentucky House of Representatives
. In 1823, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for more than a decade. During the 1824 presidential election
, he acted as an intermediary between John Quincy Adams
and Henry Clay. Adams' opponent, Andrew Jackson
, charged that, through these negotiations, Clay agreed to support Adams for president in exchange for being named Secretary of State
.
In 1840, Letcher was chosen as the Whig nominee for governor of Kentucky over William Owsley
. In the general election, Letcher won by landslide over Judge Richard French
. Letcher's fiscally conservative policies helped Kentucky recover from the financial Panic of 1837
. By the end of his term, the state was experiencing budget surpluses and state banks had resumed specie payments. After Letcher left office, he was appointed Minister to Mexico by President Zachary Taylor
. Following this, he made an attempt to return to the U.S. House, but was defeated by Democrat
John C. Breckinridge
. Letcher's defeat in Henry Clay's home district was a strong indication of the decline of Whig influence in Kentucky. Though he remained active in politics, Letcher never again sought public office. He died on January 24, 1861.
, on February 10, 1788. He was seventh of twelve children born to Stephen Giles and Betsy (Perkins) Letcher. The family moved to Kentucky around 1800, first living at Harrodsburg
, then settling in Garrard County. For a time, Letcher attended the common schools of the area, but he was dismissed for being unruly. He studied the trade of masonry
, though not very enthusiastically, at his father's brickyard
.
Letcher enrolled in Joshua Fry's private academy near Danville, Kentucky
, faring better under Fry's instruction than he had in the common schools, and gained a sound education. Following his instruction at Fry's academy, he returned to his father's brickyard, where tradition holds that he helped build the state's first governor's mansion
alongside future governor Thomas Metcalfe
. He then read law
in the office of Humphrey Marshall, was admitted to the bar
, and commenced practice in Lancaster, Kentucky
. He briefly served as a judge advocate in Colonel
John Allen's volunteer militia during the War of 1812.
Letcher first married Susan Oden Epps. Epps died on March 9, 1816 and did not bear any children. Following the death of his first wife, Letcher married Charlotte Robertson, daughter of George Robertson
, a congressman and future chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
. Historian Jennie Morton records that Letcher referred to his second wife as "the queen". No children were born as a result of this marriage, but the couple raised one of their nieces from childhood. Charlotte Letcher survived her husband, and died October 29, 1879.
. His political career began in 1813 when he was elected to represent Garrard County in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He served until 1815, and after a respite of one term, was re-elected in 1817.
in 1823. He represented the state's fourth district
until 1833, when the General Assembly conducted a redistricting of the state. After the redistricting, Garrard County became part of the fifth district
.
Letcher was a friend and ardent supporter of Henry Clay. When no candidate gained a two-thirds majority of the electoral vote
in the 1824 presidential election, the outcome fell to a vote of the House of Representatives. In the political wrangling that followed, Letcher served as an intermediary between Clay and John Quincy Adams. Eventually, Clay's supporters threw their support behind Adams, reportedly in exchange for Clay's being named Secretary of State. Andrew Jackson called the alleged deal the "corrupt bargain
".
Letcher supported Adams' administration, but became anti-administration when Jackson won the 1828 presidential contest
. Consistent with his support of Clay, he promoted expansion of internal improvements
, including the Maysville
Road bill vetoed by Jackson. In 1833, Clay proposed a compromise in the Senate to quell the Nullification Crisis
; Letcher introduced Clay's compromise in the House.
In the 1833 election, Thomas P. Moore challenged Letcher for the fifth district's seat in the House of Representatives. Moore had previously represented the counties in the fifth district (Garrard excepted), and had just returned from a four-year stint as U.S. minister to Grenada
. The vote was so close that the House refused to seat either candidate and ordered a new election. Letcher won the new election by 258 votes. During this term, he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He did not seek re-election at the end of his term.
In 1836, Letcher served as a presidential elector on the Whig ticket. He returned to the Kentucky House later that year, and was re-elected every year until 1838. Each of these years, he sought to become Speaker of the House. In 1836, he was defeated by incumbent speaker John L. Helm
by a vote of 45—48. The following year, there was a three-way contest for speaker between Letcher, Helm, and James Turner Morehead
. After nine ballots, Helm withdrew from the race, and Letcher defeated Morehead 50—48. The next year, Letcher was re-elected to the post without opposition.
. Letcher won the nomination by a vote of 48—26. In the general election, Letcher defeated his Democratic opponent, Judge Richard French, by a majority of over 15,000 votes (out of 95,020 cast). The Whigs also captured large majorities in both houses of the state legislature.
Just weeks after Letcher's inauguration, William Henry Harrison
prevailed in the 1840 presidential election
. Soon after, Harrison visited Letcher in Frankfort
to discuss the appointment of Letcher's friend, John J. Crittenden, to Harrison's cabinet
. On December 14, 1840, Letcher wrote Crittenden to tell him that the General Assembly would shortly re-elect him to his Senate
seat. If he (Crittenden) were going to accept a position in President
Harrison's cabinet, Letcher would prefer he do it before March 4, 1841 so the General Assembly would still be in session to elect Crittenden's replacement in the Senate. On January 11, 1841, Crittenden replied that he expected to be named attorney general
and believed he could accept the post before Letcher's preferred deadline. However, due to Harrison's death only a month after his inauguration
, Crittenden was not able to keep Letcher's timeline; he was appointed attorney general by John Tyler
on March 5, 1841.
For the first half of Letcher’s term, the state was still struggling to recover from the financial Panic of 1837. Consistent with his Whig views, Letcher blamed the crisis on the federal government's failure to recharter the Second Bank of the United States
. To ameliorate the state's dire financial situation, Letcher drastically cut spending, including the suspension of turnpike
construction and improvements on the Green
, Kentucky
, and Licking
rivers. These actions greatly reduced the state’s deficit and improved its credit. In each of Letcher's years in office, the state showed a small but growing budget surplus.
Although Letcher generally opposed debt relief measures, he did allow the passage of some minor legislation to aid those most in danger of foreclosure
on their property. In 1842, legislation was passed that expanded the types of personal property that were exempted from foreclosure. The next year, the General Assembly eliminated the summer terms of the circuit court
s, effectively delaying some foreclosure hearings. Letcher also encouraged banks to make new small loans, and the legislature followed suit by moderately increasing the credit extended by state banks. As the state's economy recovered, its banks resumed specie payments. State bonds increased in value. By the end of Letcher's term, Kentucky had weathered the worst of the economic crisis.
In one of his final acts as governor, Letcher proclaimed the first thanksgiving day
in Kentucky on September 26, 1844. After leaving office, he resumed his law practice in Frankfort. In 1847, he was one of four contenders for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The other contenders consisted of two fellow Whigs and a Democrat. After twenty-eight ballots, no winner emerged, and Letcher's supporters withdrew his name and nominated Joseph R. Underwood
, who eventually won the seat.
. When Taylor won the election, Letcher's friend John J. Crittenden recommended Letcher for the post of postmaster general
; Taylor declined this suggestion, but instead appointed Letcher as the United States envoy
and minister to Mexico
. Letcher arrived in Mexico City
on February 3, 1850.
Letcher's primary responsibility was negotiating a treaty to protect the interests of some American citizens who had purchased the rights to construct a line of transit on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
. He submitted a rough draft of the treaty to Mexican officials in March 1850. After nearly three months of negotiation, Letcher signed a modified treaty on June 22, 1850. Among the modifications were a provision that tolls
on Mexican-produced goods transported on the route would be twenty-percent less than those of United States goods and an increase in the authority exercised by Mexico in protecting the route. Letcher wrote to Secretary of State John M. Clayton
that the treaty fell short of what he had hoped for, but that he believed that its provisions were the best that could be obtained.
A month after Letcher signed the treaty, Clayton was replaced as Secretary of State by Daniel Webster
. In response to concerns raised by one of the Americans hoping to construct the line of transit, Webster asked that Letcher attempt to obtain certain modifications to the treaty. Letcher brought these modifications to the Mexican diplomats, but they steadfastly refused to accept them. Letcher, speaking with the blessing of the administration, intimated that the United States would take the region by force if the requested concessions were not made. The Mexican government conceded that they would not be able to resist such action, but still refused to accept the modifications to the treaty.
Upon learning of the strong Mexican resistance to his proposed modifications, Webster instructed Letcher to negotiate the most favorable terms to which the Mexicans would agree. On January 25, 1851, Letcher signed a second treaty that was slightly more favorable to the Americans. During the time it had taken both sides to negotiate the treaty, however, public sentiment in Mexico had turned decidedly against any form of treaty with the United States regarding Tehuantepec. On May 22, 1851, the Mexican government declared the agreement with the American investors null on grounds that the provisional government which granted it did not have the right to do so. Letcher attempted to negotiate a new treaty to re-acquire the rights nullified by the Mexican government, but by February 14, 1852, he reported that he did not expect to be able to reach any kind of agreement. He returned home in August 1852.
On returning to Kentucky, Letcher resumed his legal practice. In 1853, the Whig Party chose Letcher as their nominee to represent Whig Party founder Henry Clay's district in the House of Representatives. The seat had been taken by Democrat John C. Breckinridge in 1851. During the campaign, Breckinridge adopted a strong pro-slavery position and charged Letcher with having abolitionist
sympathies. Breckinridge won the canvass by 526 votes. Letcher was considered the strongest Whig candidate in the state, and his inability to win the seat was a harbinger of the ultimate failure of the Whig Party in Kentucky.
Letcher's loss to Breckinridge would be his last run for public office, though he remained active in politics until his death. During the 1856 presidential election
, Letcher spoke on behalf of Millard Fillmore
in Pennsylvania
, New York, and Kentucky. In 1857 and 1858, he urged John J. Crittenden to oppose the Lecompton Constitution
for Kansas
.
After the dissolution of the Whig Party, Letcher generally supported Know-Nothing candidates in state politics. Letcher and Crittenden both supported National Union
candidate John Bell
in the 1860 presidential election
, believing he represented the best hope of peacefully resolving the tension between the north and south. By election day, his health was beginning to fail. He died at his home in Frankfort on January 24, 1861, and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery
. Letcher County, Kentucky
is named in his honor.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He served as a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, Minister to Mexico
United States Ambassador to Mexico
The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett became the first U.S. envoy to Mexico in 1825. The rank...
, and the 15th Governor of Kentucky
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
. He also served in the Kentucky General Assembly
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
where he was Speaker of the House in 1837 and 1838. A strong supporter of the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, he was a friend of Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
.
Letcher's family came to Kentucky around 1800. Letcher attended the private academy of Joshua Fry
Joshua Fry
Colonel Joshua Fry was a surveyor, adventurer, mapmaker, soldier, and member of the House of Burgesses, the legislature of the colony of Virginia...
, then studied law. He was briefly a judge advocate
Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
in John Allen
John Allen (soldier)
John Allen was a United States politician and army officer who was killed in the War of 1812.Allen was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, and moved with his father to Kentucky in 1779. He went to school in Bardstown, Kentucky and studied law in Staunton, Virginia. He then returned to Kentucky...
's volunteer militia during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. He began his political career in 1813, representing Garrard County
Garrard County, Kentucky
Garrard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is pronounced 'Gair-ad' with the third "r" silent. It was formed in 1797 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Its county seat is Lancaster. The population was 16,912 in the 2010 Census...
in the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
. In 1823, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for more than a decade. During the 1824 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1824
In the United States presidential election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous years had seen a one-party government in the United States, as the Federalist Party had dissolved, leaving...
, he acted as an intermediary between John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
and Henry Clay. Adams' opponent, Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, charged that, through these negotiations, Clay agreed to support Adams for president in exchange for being named Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
.
In 1840, Letcher was chosen as the Whig nominee for governor of Kentucky over William Owsley
William Owsley
William Owsley was an associate justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the 16th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was Kentucky Secretary of State under Governor James Turner Morehead.Owsley studied law under John Boyle...
. In the general election, Letcher won by landslide over Judge Richard French
Richard French
Richard French was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born near Boonesborough, Kentucky, French attended private schools.He studied law.He was admitted to the bar in 1820 and commenced practice in Winchester, Kentucky....
. Letcher's fiscally conservative policies helped Kentucky recover from the financial Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
. By the end of his term, the state was experiencing budget surpluses and state banks had resumed specie payments. After Letcher left office, he was appointed Minister to Mexico by President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
. Following this, he made an attempt to return to the U.S. House, but was defeated by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
. Letcher's defeat in Henry Clay's home district was a strong indication of the decline of Whig influence in Kentucky. Though he remained active in politics, Letcher never again sought public office. He died on January 24, 1861.
Early life
Robert Perkins Letcher was born in Goochland County, VirginiaGoochland County, Virginia
Goochland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 21,717. Its county seat is Goochland. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area ....
, on February 10, 1788. He was seventh of twelve children born to Stephen Giles and Betsy (Perkins) Letcher. The family moved to Kentucky around 1800, first living at Harrodsburg
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...
, then settling in Garrard County. For a time, Letcher attended the common schools of the area, but he was dismissed for being unruly. He studied the trade of masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, though not very enthusiastically, at his father's brickyard
Brickyard
A brickyard is a place or yard where the earthen building material called bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from.-See also:...
.
Letcher enrolled in Joshua Fry's private academy near Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
, faring better under Fry's instruction than he had in the common schools, and gained a sound education. Following his instruction at Fry's academy, he returned to his father's brickyard, where tradition holds that he helped build the state's first governor's mansion
Old Governor's Mansion (Frankfort, Kentucky)
The Old Governor's Mansion, also known as Lieutenant Governor's Mansion, is located at 420 High Street, Frankfort, Kentucky. It is reputed to be the oldest official executive residence officially still in use in the United States, as the mansion is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor...
alongside future governor Thomas Metcalfe
Thomas Metcalfe (US politician)
Thomas Metcalfe , also known as Thomas Metcalf or as "Stonehammer", was a U.S. Representative, Senator, and the tenth Governor of Kentucky. He was the first gubernatorial candidate in the state's history to be chosen by a nominating convention rather than a caucus...
. He then read law
Reading law
Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...
in the office of Humphrey Marshall, was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
, and commenced practice in Lancaster, Kentucky
Lancaster, Kentucky
Lancaster is a city in Garrard County, Kentucky, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,734. It is the county seat of Garrard County. Located south of Lexington, it is the site of the Kennedy House, said to have been used in Uncle Tom's Cabin. The controversial...
. He briefly served as a judge advocate in Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John Allen's volunteer militia during the War of 1812.
Letcher first married Susan Oden Epps. Epps died on March 9, 1816 and did not bear any children. Following the death of his first wife, Letcher married Charlotte Robertson, daughter of George Robertson
George Robertson (congressman)
George Robertson was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.-Early life:Born near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Robertson pursued preparatory studies and attended Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, until 1806...
, a congressman and future chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
. Historian Jennie Morton records that Letcher referred to his second wife as "the queen". No children were born as a result of this marriage, but the couple raised one of their nieces from childhood. Charlotte Letcher survived her husband, and died October 29, 1879.
Political career
Nicknamed "Black Bob", Letcher was known as a witty and gregarious campaigner. He was also known to distract audiences at his opponents' campaign speeches by playing a fiddleFiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
. His political career began in 1813 when he was elected to represent Garrard County in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He served until 1815, and after a respite of one term, was re-elected in 1817.
In the House of Representatives
Letcher was elected as a Democratic Republican to the Eighteenth Congress18th United States Congress
The Eighteenth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1823 to March 3, 1825, during the seventh and eighth...
in 1823. He represented the state's fourth district
Kentucky's 4th congressional district
Kentucky's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in Northern Kentucky, it is a long district that follows the Ohio River...
until 1833, when the General Assembly conducted a redistricting of the state. After the redistricting, Garrard County became part of the fifth district
Kentucky's 5th congressional district
Kentucky's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in the heart of Appalachia in Southeastern Kentucky, the rural district is one of the most impoverished districts in the nation and, as of the 2010 U.S. Census, it has the largest percentage of...
.
Letcher was a friend and ardent supporter of Henry Clay. When no candidate gained a two-thirds majority of the electoral vote
United States Electoral College
The Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election...
in the 1824 presidential election, the outcome fell to a vote of the House of Representatives. In the political wrangling that followed, Letcher served as an intermediary between Clay and John Quincy Adams. Eventually, Clay's supporters threw their support behind Adams, reportedly in exchange for Clay's being named Secretary of State. Andrew Jackson called the alleged deal the "corrupt bargain
Corrupt Bargain
The term Corrupt Bargain refers to three separate events that each involved a United States presidential election and a deal that was struck that many viewed to be corrupt from many standpoints, such as in the Election of 1824 controversy over the House of Representative's choice for president with...
".
Letcher supported Adams' administration, but became anti-administration when Jackson won the 1828 presidential contest
United States presidential election, 1828
The United States presidential election of 1828 featured a rematch between John Quincy Adams, now incumbent President, and Andrew Jackson, the runner-up in the 1824 election. With no other major candidates, Jackson and his chief ally Martin Van Buren consolidated their bases in the South and New...
. Consistent with his support of Clay, he promoted expansion of internal improvements
Internal improvements
Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements...
, including the Maysville
Maysville, Kentucky
Maysville is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,993 at the 2000 census, making it the fiftieth largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville...
Road bill vetoed by Jackson. In 1833, Clay proposed a compromise in the Senate to quell the Nullification Crisis
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariff of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within...
; Letcher introduced Clay's compromise in the House.
In the 1833 election, Thomas P. Moore challenged Letcher for the fifth district's seat in the House of Representatives. Moore had previously represented the counties in the fifth district (Garrard excepted), and had just returned from a four-year stint as U.S. minister to Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
. The vote was so close that the House refused to seat either candidate and ordered a new election. Letcher won the new election by 258 votes. During this term, he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He did not seek re-election at the end of his term.
In 1836, Letcher served as a presidential elector on the Whig ticket. He returned to the Kentucky House later that year, and was re-elected every year until 1838. Each of these years, he sought to become Speaker of the House. In 1836, he was defeated by incumbent speaker John L. Helm
John L. Helm
John LaRue Helm was the 18th and 24th governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky, although his service in that office totaled less than fourteen months. He also represented Hardin County in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was chosen to be the Speaker of the Kentucky House of...
by a vote of 45—48. The following year, there was a three-way contest for speaker between Letcher, Helm, and James Turner Morehead
James Turner Morehead (Kentucky)
James Turner Morehead was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state...
. After nine ballots, Helm withdrew from the race, and Letcher defeated Morehead 50—48. The next year, Letcher was re-elected to the post without opposition.
As governor of Kentucky
The Whigs' state nominating convention was held in Harrodsburg on August 26, 1839. Four candidates were initially put forward for the office of governor, but two withdrew from consideration, leaving the contest between Letcher and Judge William OwsleyWilliam Owsley
William Owsley was an associate justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the 16th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was Kentucky Secretary of State under Governor James Turner Morehead.Owsley studied law under John Boyle...
. Letcher won the nomination by a vote of 48—26. In the general election, Letcher defeated his Democratic opponent, Judge Richard French, by a majority of over 15,000 votes (out of 95,020 cast). The Whigs also captured large majorities in both houses of the state legislature.
Just weeks after Letcher's inauguration, William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
prevailed in the 1840 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1840
The United States presidential election of 1840 saw President Martin Van Buren fight for re-election against an economic depression and a Whig Party unified for the first time behind war hero William Henry Harrison and his "log cabin campaign"...
. Soon after, Harrison visited Letcher in Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
to discuss the appointment of Letcher's friend, John J. Crittenden, to Harrison's cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
. On December 14, 1840, Letcher wrote Crittenden to tell him that the General Assembly would shortly re-elect him to his Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat. If he (Crittenden) were going to accept a position in President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harrison's cabinet, Letcher would prefer he do it before March 4, 1841 so the General Assembly would still be in session to elect Crittenden's replacement in the Senate. On January 11, 1841, Crittenden replied that he expected to be named attorney general
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
and believed he could accept the post before Letcher's preferred deadline. However, due to Harrison's death only a month after his inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
, Crittenden was not able to keep Letcher's timeline; he was appointed attorney general by John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
on March 5, 1841.
For the first half of Letcher’s term, the state was still struggling to recover from the financial Panic of 1837. Consistent with his Whig views, Letcher blamed the crisis on the federal government's failure to recharter the Second Bank of the United States
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...
. To ameliorate the state's dire financial situation, Letcher drastically cut spending, including the suspension of turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
construction and improvements on the Green
Green River (Kentucky)
The Green River is a tributary of the Ohio River that rises in Lincoln County in south-central Kentucky. Tributaries of the Green River include the Barren River, the Nolin River, the Pond River and the Rough River...
, Kentucky
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the...
, and Licking
Licking River (Kentucky)
The Licking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of the region of northeastern Kentucky between the watersheds of the Kentucky River to the west and the Big Sandy River to the east.-Origin of name:The Native...
rivers. These actions greatly reduced the state’s deficit and improved its credit. In each of Letcher's years in office, the state showed a small but growing budget surplus.
Although Letcher generally opposed debt relief measures, he did allow the passage of some minor legislation to aid those most in danger of foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
on their property. In 1842, legislation was passed that expanded the types of personal property that were exempted from foreclosure. The next year, the General Assembly eliminated the summer terms of the circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
s, effectively delaying some foreclosure hearings. Letcher also encouraged banks to make new small loans, and the legislature followed suit by moderately increasing the credit extended by state banks. As the state's economy recovered, its banks resumed specie payments. State bonds increased in value. By the end of Letcher's term, Kentucky had weathered the worst of the economic crisis.
In one of his final acts as governor, Letcher proclaimed the first thanksgiving day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
in Kentucky on September 26, 1844. After leaving office, he resumed his law practice in Frankfort. In 1847, he was one of four contenders for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The other contenders consisted of two fellow Whigs and a Democrat. After twenty-eight ballots, no winner emerged, and Letcher's supporters withdrew his name and nominated Joseph R. Underwood
Joseph R. Underwood
Joseph Rogers Underwood was a lawyer, judge, United States Representative and Senator from Kentucky....
, who eventually won the seat.
As a diplomat to Mexico
Letcher was a strong supporter of Whig candidate Zachary Taylor in the 1848 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1848
The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James K. Polk, having achieved all of his major objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.The...
. When Taylor won the election, Letcher's friend John J. Crittenden recommended Letcher for the post of postmaster general
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
; Taylor declined this suggestion, but instead appointed Letcher as the United States envoy
Envoy (title)
In diplomacy, an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary is, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident....
and minister to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Letcher arrived in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on February 3, 1850.
Letcher's primary responsibility was negotiating a treaty to protect the interests of some American citizens who had purchased the rights to construct a line of transit on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
. He submitted a rough draft of the treaty to Mexican officials in March 1850. After nearly three months of negotiation, Letcher signed a modified treaty on June 22, 1850. Among the modifications were a provision that tolls
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
on Mexican-produced goods transported on the route would be twenty-percent less than those of United States goods and an increase in the authority exercised by Mexico in protecting the route. Letcher wrote to Secretary of State John M. Clayton
John M. Clayton
John Middleton Clayton was an American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware and U.S. Secretary of State....
that the treaty fell short of what he had hoped for, but that he believed that its provisions were the best that could be obtained.
A month after Letcher signed the treaty, Clayton was replaced as Secretary of State by Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
. In response to concerns raised by one of the Americans hoping to construct the line of transit, Webster asked that Letcher attempt to obtain certain modifications to the treaty. Letcher brought these modifications to the Mexican diplomats, but they steadfastly refused to accept them. Letcher, speaking with the blessing of the administration, intimated that the United States would take the region by force if the requested concessions were not made. The Mexican government conceded that they would not be able to resist such action, but still refused to accept the modifications to the treaty.
Upon learning of the strong Mexican resistance to his proposed modifications, Webster instructed Letcher to negotiate the most favorable terms to which the Mexicans would agree. On January 25, 1851, Letcher signed a second treaty that was slightly more favorable to the Americans. During the time it had taken both sides to negotiate the treaty, however, public sentiment in Mexico had turned decidedly against any form of treaty with the United States regarding Tehuantepec. On May 22, 1851, the Mexican government declared the agreement with the American investors null on grounds that the provisional government which granted it did not have the right to do so. Letcher attempted to negotiate a new treaty to re-acquire the rights nullified by the Mexican government, but by February 14, 1852, he reported that he did not expect to be able to reach any kind of agreement. He returned home in August 1852.
Later political career
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
sympathies. Breckinridge won the canvass by 526 votes. Letcher was considered the strongest Whig candidate in the state, and his inability to win the seat was a harbinger of the ultimate failure of the Whig Party in Kentucky.
Letcher's loss to Breckinridge would be his last run for public office, though he remained active in politics until his death. During the 1856 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1856
The United States presidential election of 1856 was an unusually heated contest that led to the election of James Buchanan, the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Republican candidate John C. Frémont condemned the Kansas–Nebraska Act and crusaded against the expansion of slavery, while Democrat...
, Letcher spoke on behalf of Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New York, and Kentucky. In 1857 and 1858, he urged John J. Crittenden to oppose the Lecompton Constitution
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
for Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
After the dissolution of the Whig Party, Letcher generally supported Know-Nothing candidates in state politics. Letcher and Crittenden both supported National Union
National Union Party (United States)
The National Union Party was the name used by the Republican Party for the national ticket in the 1864 presidential election, held during the Civil War. State Republican parties did not usually change their name....
candidate John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
in the 1860 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1860
The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...
, believing he represented the best hope of peacefully resolving the tension between the north and south. By election day, his health was beginning to fail. He died at his home in Frankfort on January 24, 1861, and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery
Frankfort Cemetery
The Frankfort Cemetery is located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors.-History:...
. Letcher County, Kentucky
Letcher County, Kentucky
Letcher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 25,277. Its county seat is Whitesburg. The county is named for Robert P...
is named in his honor.
Further reading
- Contested Election: Robert P. Letcher vs. Thomas P. Moore. 23rd Congress, 1st Session, House Report No 446. May 6, 1834.
- Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, June 12, 1834, p. 743.