William J. Fields

William J. Fields (1923)

William Jason Fields (born December 29, 1874 in Willard , Carter County , Kentucky , † October 21, 1954 in Grayson , Kentucky) was an American politician and governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early youth and advancement

William Fields attended local elementary schools in his home country and the University of Kentucky . He then studied law privately, worked as a farmer and was active in the real estate business. He was also traveling around the country as a traveling dealer, which enabled him to establish important contacts. In 1911 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the Democratic Party . He held this mandate until 1923.

Kentucky governor

His candidacy for the office of governor came about by chance. J. Campbell Cantrill won the internal primaries . This should make him a Democratic candidate for gubernatorial election. Due to the sudden death of Cantrill and the waiver of the second-placed candidate Alben W. Barkley , Fields was now nominated. This won the election against his Republican opponent Charles I. Dawson with 53.3% of the vote. Dawson received 45.8% of the vote. Fields' four-year tenure began on December 11, 1923 and ended on December 13, 1927, during which time an African American business school was established in Paducah . In general, he advocated an improvement in educational policy and promoted the expansion of the country's infrastructure, especially the road network. A mineral oil tax was introduced to finance this. In addition, an authority to administer the state's own national parks was established. As a devout and strict Methodist , he banned all dance events in the governor's villa. Despite his successes, Fields was not without controversy. The hiring of two sons in the civil service was interpreted as nepotism. His opponents, who were also represented in his own party, accused him of corruption and accused him of having issued too many pardons.

Old age and death

After his tenure ended in 1927, he was officially admitted to the bar. Subsequently he worked as a lawyer for a time. An attempt to be re-elected to the US Congress failed. Between 1932 and 1935 he was a district attorney in a Kentucky regional court. From 1936 to 1944 he was a member of the Kentucky state trade association, the Workmen's Compensation Board . After all, from 1940 to 1945 he was still a partner in an insurance company. William Fields died on October 21, 1954. He was married to Dora McDavid and the couple had six children.

Web links

Commons : William J. Fields  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• William J. Fields in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• William Fields at the National Governors Association (English)
• William J. Fields in the database of Find a Grave (English)