John L. Helm

John Helm

John LaRue Helm (born July 4, 1802 in Elizabethtown , Kentucky , † September 8, 1867 ibid) was an American politician and the 18th  governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early years and political advancement

The young John Helm was educated first privately and then in the public schools of his homeland. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1823. In 1824, he was the District Attorney for Meade County . Between 1826 and 1843 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Kentucky with a few interruptions . During this time he was also President ( Speaker ) of the house several times . A candidacy for Congress failed in 1838. From 1844 to 1848 he sat in the Kentucky Senate , then he was finally elected as a candidate of the ( Whig Party ) lieutenant governor under John J. Crittenden .

First term as governor

On July 31, 1850, Governor Crittenden resigned to become US attorney general in the Fillmore cabinet . This gave Helm the office of governor. He had to end the remaining term of office by September 2, 1851. As governor, he spoke out in favor of electoral reform. At the same time he was critical of the financing of the school system from tax revenues. He was dissatisfied with the result of the constitutional reform of 1850 and voted against it, but could not stop the reform.

Another résumé

After leaving office, he was president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad from 1854 to 1860 . During the Civil War , he first advocated the neutrality of Kentucky. When that was not possible, he sympathized with the Confederation and became a harsh critic of President Abraham Lincoln . Therefore he was classified as a rebel by the Union and temporarily imprisoned. After an oath of allegiance to the Union, he was released again.

From 1865 to 1867 he was again a member of the Kentucky Senate. After the dissolution of the Whig Party, Helm turned to the Democrats , who put him up again as their candidate for gubernatorial election in 1866. He won the election with 65.7% of the vote against Sidney Barnes (24.7%) and was sworn in on September 3, 1867, but died on September 8, which is why his lieutenant governor John W. Stevenson took over his office. John Helm was married to Lucinda Barbour Hardin, with whom he had eleven children.

Web links

• John Helm in the National Governors Association (English)

• John L. Helm in the database of Find a Grave (English)