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.
- 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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Table of Contents
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Requests
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You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
