Lincoln and Kentucky's Political Culture

Although Henry Clay, the great Kentucky compromiser and the Bluegrass State’s preeminent statesman, was Lincoln’s political idol, Kentuckians rejected Lincoln as a presidential candidate.  Politically, Kentuckians did not support Abraham Lincoln.

Although Lincoln was originally a Whig who believed in Henry Clay’s policies, by the 1860 presidential election Lincoln’s views on slavery and his shift to the Republican Party alienated him from most Kentucky voters.  While his wartime policies included some Whig elements (land grant colleges and railroad expansion), his administration’s military policies, the enlistment of black soldiers, and emancipation continued to place him at odds with most Kentuckians.

Kentuckians did not vote for Abraham Lincoln during the crucial presidential election of 1860.  That year, four candidates ran for the presidency:  Lincoln (Republican), Kentuckian John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat), and John Bell (Constitutional Union).  Most Kentuckians supported Bell, who called for the preservation of the Union.  Lincoln received only 1,364 votes in Kentucky.  Of these, only five came from Fayette County, the home of his in-laws.

Kentuckians also failed to support Lincoln in 1864, when he ran for his second term.  His opponent, Union Major General George B. McClellan, garnered 61,478 votes in Kentucky, while Lincoln secured only 26,592.  Most Kentuckians did not support Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and, by 1864, were angered over the enlistment of African American soldiers and what they perceived to be heavy-handed Union military policy in the Bluegrass State.