Kentucky Rising: Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War

Image Plates

Henry Clay represented the hope of Kentuckians in global progress and freedom. John Neagle, engraved by John Sartain, Library of Congress. Artists attempted to portray one of the features of Henry Clay’s great speeches—he made sweeping, dramatic gestures with his long arms and pointed emphatically with his right index finger. James Wise, engraved by John Sartain, Library of Congress. Henry Clay pleaded for preservation of the Union in the U.S. Senate in 1850. P. F. Rothermel, engraved by Robert Whitechurch, Library of Congress. Henry Clay reviewing a militia company on the campus of Transylvania University . Sheet Music, The Ashland Quick Step, Henry Clay Collection, Transylvania University Library. Henry Clay was the most popular man in America when he died. For his funeral procession in New York City, Stewart’s department store and other businesses were decorated in mourning. Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, August 14, 1852. Richard M. Johnson became famous as “Old Tecumseh” for reportedly killing Chief Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames. Ballou’s Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, June 10, 1854, courtesy Martin F. Schmidt, ed., Kentucky Illustrated: The First Hundred Years (1992). This popular song idolized the Kentucky militia in the Battle of New Orleans. The Hunters of Kentucky, Filson Historical Society. Camp meeting during the Great Revival, 1801. Kentucky Historical Society. Large flocks of Carolina parakeets, now extinct, flew to Big Bone Lick to drink the brine. The numbers in the illustration identify whether a bird is male (1), female (2), or young (3). Carolina Parakeet, in John James Audubon, The Birds of America, with a foreword and captions by William Vogt (1937; reprint, New York: Macmillan, 1946), pl. 26. Mary Austin Holley, wife of Transylvania University president Horace Holley and a talented poet, song lyrics writer, and guitarist, contributed to early Kentucky’s cultural renaissance. Mary Austin Holley silhouette, photograph of the original, Horace Holley Collection, Transylvania University Library. (Above) Principal Building, Transylvania University, 1818. Transylvania University Archives Photographs. (Below) Architect Gideon Shryock designed Transylvania University ’s Morrison Hall, dedicated in 1833. Old Morrison, J. Winston Coleman Jr. Photographic Collection, Transylvania University Library. General Lafayette was impressed with Kentucky’s patriotic spirit and progress in manufacturing, education, and culture. The Kentucky General Assembly commissioned Kentucky artist Matthew Jouett to paint his portrait. Matthew Jouett after Ary Scheffer, Kentucky Historical Society Library. (Above) The outstanding sports painter Edward Troye painted the racehorse Lexington , foaled in the Bluegrass in 1850. Edward Troye, Lexington, J. Winston Coleman Jr. Photographic Collection, Transylvania University Library. (Below) Battle of Buena Vista. Library of Congress. (Above) Battle of Buena Vista. Currier and Ives lithograph, 1847, Library of Congress. (Below) Gallant Charge of the Kentuckians at the Battle of Buena Vista. Currier and Ives lithograph, ca. 1847, Library of Congress. (Above) Kentuckians celebrated advances in the speed of steamboats, and the Louisville area manufactured some of the fastest, most luxurious “floating palaces.” “Rounding a Bend” on the Mississippi: The Parting Salute. Currier and Ives, ca. 1866, Library of Congress. (Below) Before 1850, Louisville was the Ohio River steamboat transshipment center. In the 1850s, Cincinnati surpassed Louisville in shipping, and Newport and Covington participated in the area’s economic growth. The flag waves over Newport Barracks. Martin F. Schmidt, ed., Kentucky Illustrated: The First Hundred Years (1992). (Above) The Louisville and Nashville Railroad reduced travel time to Nashville to less than ten hours. This engraving portrays a train on the Green River bridge. Harper ’s Weekly, February 25, 1860, in Martin F. Schmidt, ed., Kentucky Illustrated: The First Hundred Years (1992). (Below) The process of harvesting hemp was labor intensive , and many Kentucky slaves were involved throughout the Bluegrass region. Kentucky Historical Society. Slave auction on Cheapside, Lexington. J. Winston Coleman Jr. Photographic Collection , Transylvania University Library. (Above) While Kentucky law never prohibited the education of slaves, many masters shunned the practice to prevent the forging of free papers. Licking Valley Register, August 10, 1844. (Below) Runaway ads often included descriptions of clothing to help identify escaped slaves. Licking Valley Register, August 10, 1844. Lexington Main Street, 1859. J. Winston Coleman Jr. Photographic Collection, Transylvania University Library. Confederate President Jefferson Davis led the war of proclamations with the goal of persuading Kentuckians to secede from the Union. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated, March 9...