Robert Perkins Letcher letters, 1825-1845

Descriptive Summary

Title
Robert Perkins Letcher letters, 1825-1845
Creator
Letcher, Robert Perkins, 1788-1861.
Extent
5 pieces.
Subjects
Blair, Francis Preston, 1791-1876.
Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875.
Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850.
Combs, Leslie, 1793-1881.
Letcher, Robert Perkins, 1788-1861.
Southard, Samuel L. (Samuel Lewis), 1787-1842.
Kentucky.--General Assembly.
Politicians.
Governors--Kentucky.
Kentucky--Politics and government--1792-1865.
United States--Politics and government--19th century
Arrangement
Arranged by accession number.
Finding Aid Author
Processed by: Archives Staff ; machine-readable finding aid created by:Eric Weig
Repository
University of Kentucky

Collection Overview

Biography / History
Kentucky politician. Letcher, a lawyer from Lancaster, Ky, served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1813 to 1815, and again in 1817. In 1823, he was elected to the U.S. Congress as a (Henry) Clay Democrat; later he was affiliated with the Whig party. After leaving Congress in 1835, he returned to the Kentucky House, and in 1938 became Speaker. In 1840, he was elected governor of Kentucky. Upon leaving office in 1844, he practiced law until 1849, when he was appointed envoy to Mexico. He returned to Kentucky in 1852 to make another bid for Congress, but was defeated by John C. Breckinridge. He retired to private life and his law practice. He died in 1861.
Scope and Content
These are five letters written by Robert Perkins Letcher, governor of Kentucky from 1840-1844. Included are two letters to John J. Crittenden about political matters. One, dated 1828, is in regard to observations Crittenden had made to Francis P. Blair about the election of 1824 (62M12). The other, dated 1840, at the beginning of Letcher's term as governor, contains his impressions of John C. Calhoun and of the Kentucky General Assembly (62M11). Also part of the collection are two letters to Leslie Combs, a Kentucky Whig who managed Henry Clay's Presidential campaigns, during the 1840's (63M94, 77M6). The last letter, from 1825, is addressed to Samuel L. Southard, Secretary of the Navy, and requests a midshipman's appointment for a friend of Letcher's (59W26).

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