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Kentucky (view source)

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===The Civil War===
===The Civil War===
{{Main|Border states (American Civil War)|Kentucky in the American Civil War}}
{{Main|Border states (American Civil War)|Kentucky in the American Civil War}}
Kentucky was a heavily divided slave state during the American Civil War. Though the state had dueling Union and Confederate state governments, Kentucky was never an official component of the Confederacy. [[Kentucky in the American Civil War|Kentucky was one of]] the Southern [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] during the war, and it remained neutral within the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Border States in the Civil War | date=February 15, 2002 | publisher=CivilWarHome.com | url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/borderstates.htm | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=December 8, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208033207/http://www.civilwarhome.com/borderstates.htm }}</ref> Despite this, representatives from 68 of 110 counties met at [[Russellville, Kentucky|Russellville]] calling themselves the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an [[Ordinance of Secession]] on November 20, 1861.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ordinances of Secession | publisher=Historical Text Archive | url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=170 | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123052735/http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=170 | archive-date=November 23, 2010 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> They established a [[Confederate government of Kentucky]] with its capital in [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]], and Kentucky was officially admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861, as the 13th Confederate state with full recognition in Richmond.<ref>{{cite web | title=Civil War Sites – Bowling Green, KY | publisher=WMTH Corporation | url=http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg3/bowling_green.html | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=October 9, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009101515/http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg3/bowling_green.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The Confederate shadow government was never popularly elected statewide, though 116 delegates were sent representing 68 Kentucky counties which at the time made up a little over half the territory of the Commonwealth to the Russellville Convention in 1861, and were occupied and governed by the Confederacy at some point in the duration of the war, and Kentucky had full representation within the Confederate Government. Although Confederate forces briefly controlled Frankfort, they were expelled by Union forces before a Confederate government could be installed in the state capital. After the expulsion of Confederate forces after the Battle of Perryville, this government operated in-exile. Though it existed throughout the war, Kentucky's provisional government only had governing authority in areas of Kentucky under direct Confederate control and had very little effect on the events in the Commonwealth or in the war once they were driven out of the state.
Kentucky was a heavily divided slave state during the American Civil War. Though the state had dueling Union and Confederate state governments, Kentucky was never an official component of the Confederacy. [[Kentucky in the American Civil War|Kentucky was one of]] the Southern [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] during the war, and it remained neutral within the Union.<ref>{{cite web | title=Border States in the Civil War | date=February 15, 2002 | publisher=CivilWarHome.com | url=http://www.civilwarhome.com/borderstates.htm | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=December 8, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208033207/http://www.civilwarhome.com/borderstates.htm }}</ref> Despite this, representatives from 68 of 110 counties met at [[Russellville, Kentucky|Russellville]] calling themselves the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an [[Ordinance of Secession]] on November 20, 1861.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ordinances of Secession | publisher=Historical Text Archive | url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=170 | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123052735/http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=170 | archive-date=November 23, 2010 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> They established a [[Confederate government of Kentucky]] with its capital in [[Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green]], and Kentucky was officially admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861, as the 13th Confederate state with full recognition in Richmond.<ref>{{cite web | title=Civil War Sites – Bowling Green, KY | publisher=WMTH Corporation | url=http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg3/bowling_green.html | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=October 9, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009101515/http://www.trailsrus.com/monuments/reg3/bowling_green.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The Confederate shadow government was never popularly elected statewide, though 116 delegates were sent representing 68 Kentucky counties which at the time made up a little over half the territory of the Commonwealth to the Russellville Convention in 1861, and were occupied and governed by the Confederacy at some point in the duration of the war, and Kentucky had full representation within the Confederate Government. Although Confederate forces briefly controlled Frankfort, they were expelled by Union forces before a Confederate government could be installed in the state capital. After the expulsion of Confederate forces after the Battle of Perryville, this government operated in-exile. Though it existed throughout the war, Kentucky's provisional government only had governing authority in areas of Kentucky under direct Confederate control and had very little effect on the events in the Commonwealth or in the war once they were driven out of the state.


Kentucky remained officially "neutral" throughout the war{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} due to the [[Southern Unionists]] sympathies of a majority of the Commonwealth's citizens who were split between the struggle of Kentucky's sister Southern States fully in the [[Confederate States of America]] and a continued loyalty to the Unionist cause that was prevalent in other areas of the South such as in East Tennessee, West Virginia, Western North Carolina, and others. Despite this, some 21st-century Kentuckians observe [[Confederate Memorial Day]] on [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] leader [[Jefferson Davis]]' birthday, June 3, and participate in Confederate battle re-enactments.<ref>{{cite web | title=KRS 2.110 Public Holidays | publisher=[[Kentucky General Assembly]] | url=http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/002-00/110.PDF | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=September 27, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927011246/http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/002-00/110.PDF | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Tony Hiss, ''Confederates in the Attic''</ref> Both Davis and U.S. president Abraham Lincoln were born in Kentucky. [[John C. Breckinridge]], the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President was born in Lexington, Kentucky at Cabell's Dale Farm. Breckenridge was expelled from the U. S. Senate for his support of the Confederacy.
Kentucky remained officially "neutral" throughout the war{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} due to the [[Southern Unionists]] sympathies of a majority of the Commonwealth's citizens who were split between the struggle of Kentucky's sister Southern States fully in the [[Confederate States of America]] and a continued loyalty to the Unionist cause that was prevalent in other areas of the South such as in East Tennessee, West Virginia, Western North Carolina, and others. Despite this, some 21st-century Kentuckians observe [[Confederate Memorial Day]] on [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] leader [[Jefferson Davis]]' birthday, June 3, and participate in Confederate battle re-enactments.<ref>{{cite web | title=KRS 2.110 Public Holidays | publisher=[[Kentucky General Assembly]] | url=http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/002-00/110.PDF | access-date=November 29, 2006 | archive-date=September 27, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927011246/http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/002-00/110.PDF | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Tony Hiss, ''Confederates in the Attic''</ref> Both Davis and U.S. president Abraham Lincoln were born in Kentucky. [[John C. Breckinridge]], the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President was born in Lexington, Kentucky at Cabell's Dale Farm. Breckenridge was expelled from the U. S. Senate for his support of the Confederacy.
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Since the late 1990s, Kentucky has supported [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidates for most federal political offices, and, more recently, for state-level office as well. The state leaned toward the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] from 1860 through the 1990s, and was considered a [[swing state]] at the presidential level for most of the latter half of the 20th century.
Since the late 1990s, Kentucky has supported [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidates for most federal political offices, and, more recently, for state-level office as well. The state leaned toward the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] from 1860 through the 1990s, and was considered a [[swing state]] at the presidential level for most of the latter half of the 20th century.


The southeastern region of the state aligned with the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] during the war and has consistently supported Republican candidates. The central and western portions of the state were heavily Democratic in the years leading to the Civil War, were pro-secessionist and pro-Confederate during the Civil War, and in the decades following the war. Kentucky was part of the Democratic [[Solid South]] in the second half of the nineteenth century and through the majority of the twentieth century.
The southeastern region of the state aligned with the Union during the war and has consistently supported Republican candidates. The central and western portions of the state were heavily Democratic in the years leading to the Civil War, were pro-secessionist and pro-Confederate during the Civil War, and in the decades following the war. Kentucky was part of the Democratic [[Solid South]] in the second half of the nineteenth century and through the majority of the twentieth century.


Mirroring a broader national reversal of party composition, the Kentucky Democratic Party of the twenty-first century primarily consists of liberal whites, African Americans, and other minorities. Although most of the state's voters have reliably elected Republican candidates for federal office since the late 1990s, Democrats held an advantage in party registration until 2022. On July 15, 2022, the [[Secretary of State of Kentucky|Kentucky Secretary of State]]'s office announced that for the first time in its history, the commonwealth had more registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] than registered Democrats, with 45.19% of the state's voters registered as Republicans, 45.12% registered as Democrats, and 9.69% registered with [[Third party (United States)|another political party]] or as independents.<ref name="kypartyreg">{{cite web|url=https://elect.ky.gov/Resources/Documents/voterstatscounty-20220115-075312.pdf|title=Election Statistics Registration Statistics|website=elect.ky.gov|access-date=January 19, 2022|archive-date=January 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119190209/https://elect.ky.gov/Resources/Documents/voterstatscounty-20220115-075312.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
Mirroring a broader national reversal of party composition, the Kentucky Democratic Party of the twenty-first century primarily consists of liberal whites, African Americans, and other minorities. Although most of the state's voters have reliably elected Republican candidates for federal office since the late 1990s, Democrats held an advantage in party registration until 2022. On July 15, 2022, the [[Secretary of State of Kentucky|Kentucky Secretary of State]]'s office announced that for the first time in its history, the commonwealth had more registered [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] than registered Democrats, with 45.19% of the state's voters registered as Republicans, 45.12% registered as Democrats, and 9.69% registered with [[Third party (United States)|another political party]] or as independents.<ref name="kypartyreg">{{cite web|url=https://elect.ky.gov/Resources/Documents/voterstatscounty-20220115-075312.pdf|title=Election Statistics Registration Statistics|website=elect.ky.gov|access-date=January 19, 2022|archive-date=January 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119190209/https://elect.ky.gov/Resources/Documents/voterstatscounty-20220115-075312.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
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