Lawrence Wetherby facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lawrence Wetherby
48th Governor of Kentucky
In office November 27, 1950 – December 13, 1955
Lieutenant	Emerson Beauchamp
Preceded by	Earle Clements
Succeeded by	A. B. "Happy" Chandler
40th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 9, 1947 – November 27, 1950
Governor	Earle Clements
Preceded by	Kenneth H. Tuggle
Succeeded by	Emerson Beauchamp
Member of the Kentucky Senate
In office 1966
Personal details
Born	Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (1908-01-02)January 2, 1908 Middletown, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	March 27, 1994(1994-03-27) (aged 86) Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Frankfort Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Helen Dwyer
Alma mater	University of Louisville (LLB)
Profession	Lawyer

Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician. He served as Lieutenant Governor and then as Governor of Kentucky. He was one of only two governors in Kentucky's history born in Jefferson County. The other is the current governor, Andy Beshear.

After finishing college at the University of Louisville, Wetherby worked in the Jefferson County court system. In 1947, he was elected lieutenant governor. He was known as Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor. Governor Earle C. Clements gave him many important tasks. These included preparing the state budget and attending meetings with other southern governors. In 1950, Governor Clements resigned to join the U.S. Senate. This made Wetherby the new governor.

Wetherby quickly became popular. He called a special meeting of lawmakers to use the state's extra money. This money was used to increase funding for schools and government benefits. In 1951, he won a full four-year term as governor. He continued and expanded many of Clements' plans. These included building more roads and bringing new businesses to Kentucky. He supported the Supreme Court's 1954 order to end segregation in schools. This order came from the Brown v. Board of Education case. Wetherby set up a special group of both white and Black citizens. This group helped schools in Kentucky integrate smoothly. As head of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept desegregation.

Kentucky's constitution limited governors to one term. So, Wetherby could not run again. He supported Bert Combs to be the next governor. But Combs lost the primary election to A. B. "Happy" Chandler. Chandler was a former governor and a political rival. In 1956, Wetherby ran for the U.S. Senate but lost. From 1964 to 1966, he helped revise the state constitution. In 1965, he was elected to the Kentucky Senate. He helped create the state budget there. After this, he retired from politics. Wetherby passed away on March 27, 1994. He was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Early Life and Career

Lawrence Wetherby was born on January 2, 1908. His hometown was Middletown, Kentucky. He was the fourth child of Samuel Davis and Fanny Wetherby. His grandfather was a surgeon during the Civil War. His father was also a doctor and a farmer. Lawrence worked on the family farm when he was a child.

After high school, Wetherby studied law at the University of Louisville. He was a talented athlete. He played football in 1927 and 1928. He also played second base on the baseball team in 1928 and 1929. He was later honored in the university's Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1929, he earned his law degree. He then started working for Judge Henry Tilford. They worked together until 1950. On April 24, 1930, he married Helen Dwyer. They had three children together.

Wetherby became interested in politics early on. His father's influence helped him. He joined a group within the Jefferson County Democratic Party. In 1933, he was appointed a part-time lawyer for the Jefferson County juvenile court. He held this job until 1937. He returned to it in 1942 and 1943. In March 1943, he became the first trial commissioner for the juvenile court.

Serving as Lieutenant Governor

Wetherby was elected chairman of a local Democratic committee in 1943. He held this role until 1956. In March 1947, he left his court job to run for lieutenant governor. He faced several opponents in the Democratic primary election. He won the primary race. Then, he defeated Republican Orville M. Howard by more than 95,000 votes.

Even though Governor Clements did not publicly support Wetherby at first, they worked well together. They generally agreed on what laws to pass. Many people called Wetherby Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor. Before him, lieutenant governors mostly just led the Kentucky Senate. But Clements gave Wetherby more duties. He prepared the state budget. He also led the Legislative Research Commission. He even attended the Southern Governors Conference. Clements also made Wetherby a key leader in the State Democratic Central Committee. This helped Wetherby meet many important political people.

Governor of Kentucky (1950–1955)

First Term as Governor

On November 27, 1950, Governor Clements resigned. He took a seat in the U.S. Senate. This made Wetherby the new governor. One of his first actions was to call a special meeting of lawmakers. This meeting took place on March 6, 1951. Its goal was to decide how to spend the state's extra $10 million. The lawmakers approved more money for teachers' salaries. They also increased state benefits for people in need and government workers. Wetherby became very popular because of this. He thought about running for the Senate himself. But after talking with other Democratic leaders, he decided to run for a full four-year term as governor instead.

1951 Gubernatorial Election

Former governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler was a possible candidate for governor in 1951. Chandler and Clements were big political rivals. The chance of Chandler running made Clements' supporters unite behind Wetherby. They wanted to stop Chandler from winning. In the end, Chandler did not run for the nomination. He even supported Wetherby on May 15, 1951. Wetherby easily defeated his opponents in the Democratic primary. He won by the largest margin ever in a Kentucky primary election.

In the main election, Wetherby ran against Republican judge Eugene Siler. Siler was a religious leader. He claimed the state government was corrupt. He said only he could fix it. He pointed to gambling in northern Kentucky. He also mentioned bribery claims against some officials. Wetherby fought back against these claims. He removed an official accused of bribery from office. He sent the new Kentucky State Police to stop organized crime. To further stop crime, he supported laws to take away alcohol licenses from places that allowed gambling. Siler's views against alcohol and Catholics were popular in rural areas. But they cost him votes in the growing cities. Wetherby won the election with 346,345 votes (55%) to Siler's 288,014 votes (45%).

Second Term as Governor

Early in Wetherby's term, the state had a lot of money. This was due to the Korean War. After the war ended, he needed to find more money for the state. He did this by adding special taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and horse racing bets. But he could not convince lawmakers to pass a sales tax.

Wetherby cared deeply about improving roads. Three of his close family members had died in car accidents. He used money from a gasoline tax to build or fix almost 6,000 miles (9,700 km) of roads. The most important project was the state's first toll road. This was the Kentucky Turnpike. It connected Louisville and Elizabethtown. He also encouraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to build a federal toll road. This led to the creation of the Interstate Highway System. Better roads brought more tourists. Wetherby supported tourism by giving more money to state parks. He added Breaks Interstate Park, shared by Kentucky and Virginia. Wetherby also showed off Kentucky as a great place for hunting and fishing.

Wetherby worked to bring different types of businesses to Kentucky. He wanted to balance the state's farming economy. He expanded a board that helped with agriculture and industry. This board looked for places to build new factories. He supported modern airports and improved rivers for shipping. He continued to lead tours for the state's Chamber of Commerce. New businesses came to Kentucky during his time. These included the General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville. Also, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant came to Paducah. In 1954, he used the state police to handle labor problems in the Western Coal Fields. He also passed the state's first laws to control strip mining. He stopped a bill that would have limited workers' rights.

Wetherby also helped farmers. His Green Pastures Program encouraged different crops. It also improved beef production and helped save soil. He got federal money to control floods in several river areas. This saved valuable farmland. In 1952, Wetherby created an agricultural council. This group helped organize the state's farming agencies. He also oversaw the completion of the state fairgrounds in Louisville. This project helped display the state's farm products.

Improvements in education were a major part of Wetherby's time as governor. He increased school funding by $20 million. He wanted to create an educational television network. He also started the state's first public bookmobile program. He supported a 1954 change to the state constitution. This change allowed money to go to schools based on their needs. Before, it was based only on the number of students.

In 1954 and 1955, Wetherby led the Southern Governors Conference. He urged southern governors to peacefully end segregation. This was required by the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision. He was one of five southern governors who refused to sign a statement against integration. In Kentucky, he formed a group of both white and Black citizens. This group helped public schools integrate. Kentucky's integration happened with less conflict than in other states.

Wetherby also created a Department of Mental Health. He built fifteen hospitals and thirty health centers. In 1952, he created the Youth Authority. This group helped children who had problems with the law. He built new state prisons. He also updated the probation and parole systems. He made the system for choosing grand and petit juries better. He also helped with voting reforms. This included money to buy voting machines where people wanted them. He tried to change the state's constitution. He wanted to allow governors to serve more than one term. But he was not successful. He also failed to get support for combining some of Kentucky's counties. In 1955, voters approved a change to the constitution. This gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. Wetherby had opposed this change.

1955 Gubernatorial Election

Both Clements and Wetherby supported Bert Combs to be the next governor. Happy Chandler, Clements' old rival, ran against Combs. Chandler called Combs a puppet of "Clementine" and "Wetherbine." These were his nicknames for Clements and Wetherby. Chandler's campaign was against Clements and Wetherby, not just Combs. He accused them of spending too much money. He claimed Clements bought a $20,000 rug for his office. He also said Wetherby used African mahogany wood in his office. Chandler promised to use "good, honest Kentucky wood" if elected. He said everyone could walk on the $20,000 rug. Later, records showed Clements did not buy a $20,000 rug. Wetherby's wood paneling was bought locally. Chandler's claims may have been wrong, but he defeated Combs. He then won the general election.

1956 Senate Race

After being governor, Wetherby went back to his law practice. In 1956, Senator Alben Barkley suddenly passed away. This meant Kentucky would elect two senators that year. Clements' term was ending, and Barkley's seat was open. The Democratic party chose Wetherby to run for Barkley's vacant seat.

Neither Wetherby nor Clements had Governor Chandler's support. Also, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson had a heart attack. Clements had to take over his role. This kept Clements away from campaigning for a long time. When he could visit Kentucky, he campaigned for Wetherby. In the election, Republican John Sherman Cooper defeated Wetherby by 65,000 votes. Clements also lost his race. This was Clements' first loss in thirty years. Kentucky Democrats would not elect another senator for sixteen years.

State Senator (1966-1968)

After his Senate loss, Wetherby moved to Franklin County. He got a job at Brighton Engineering. In 1964, he helped revise the state constitution. In 1965, he ran for the Kentucky Senate. He won the election. He was chosen to lead the Senate from 1966 to 1968. He was very effective in this role. The state's 1966 budget was debated for only ten days. It passed almost exactly as it was presented.

Later Life and Death

After serving in the state senate, Wetherby returned to Brighton Engineering. He eventually became a vice-president there. Lawrence Wetherby passed away on March 27, 1994. He died from problems after breaking his hip. He is buried at the Frankfort Cemetery. A building at Western Kentucky University and a gym at Morehead State University were named in his honor.