- Augustus O. Stanley
Infobox Officeholder
name = Augustus O. Stanley
width =
height =
caption =
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jr/sr = United States Senator
state =Kentucky
term_start =May 19 ,1919
term_end =March 3 ,1925
preceded =George B. Martin
succeeded =Frederic M. Sackett
order2 = 38th
office2 = Governor of Kentucky
lieutenant2 =James D. Black
term_start2 =December 7 ,1915
term_end2 =May 19 ,1919
predecessor2 =James B. McCreary
successor2 =James D. Black
state3 = Kentucky
district3 = 2nd
term_start3 =March 4 ,1903
term_end3 =March 3 ,1915
predecessor3 =Henry Dixon Allen
successor3 =David Hayes Kincheloe
birth_date = birth date|1867|5|21|mf=y
birth_place =Shelbyville, Kentucky
death_date = death date and age |1958|8|12|1867|5|21
death_place =Washington, D.C.
party = Democratic
spouse = Sue Soaper
alma_mater =Centre College
religion = Disciples of Christ
profession =Lawyer Augustus Owsley Stanley (
May 21 ,1867 -August 12 ,1958 ) wasGovernor of Kentucky and a member of theUnited States Senate .Early life
Augustus Owsley Stanley was born in
Shelbyville, Kentucky onMay 21 ,1867 , the son of William and Amanda (Owsley) Stanley. [Harrison, p. 846] His father was a minister of the Disciples of Christ and served as a judge advocate in theConfederate Army .Powell, p. 82] His mother was the niece of former Kentucky governorWilliam Owsley . He attended Gordon Academy inNicholasville, Kentucky and the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College (later theUniversity of Kentucky ) before graduating with an A.B. fromCentre College in 1889.NGA Biography] While he studied law under Gilbert Cassiday, Stanley simultaneously taught at Christian College and served as principal of Mackville Academy from 1891 to 1893. He was admitted to the bar in 1894, and opened his practice inFlemingsburg, Kentucky .Stanley married Sue Soaper on
April 29 1903 . The couple had three sons.Political career
Stanley's first venture into the political arena was in 1897, running for
county attorney of Fleming County, an election he lost.Harrison, p. 847] He served as a Democratic presidential elector on the ticket ofWilliam Jennings Bryan in 1900. Struggling financially, he moved to Henderson the next year.Appleton, p. 145] In 1902, he was elected as a U.S. Representative fromKentucky's 2nd congressional district . His defense oftobacco farmers made him virtually unbeatable in his district, where he served five consecutive terms. While in the House, Stanley was also an opponent ofcorporate trust s, and gained national notoriety for his committee's investigation of U.S. Steel. Many of the committee's recommendations were included in theClayton Antitrust Act .In 1914, Stanley ran for a seat in the Senate. In an election that centered around the issue of prohibition, Stanley's defense of the
liquor industry cost him the election to former governorJ.C.W. Beckham . He did, however, out-poll incumbentJames B. McCreary by more than a three-to-one margin. The next year, he lost his seat in the House.Stanley was a candidate for
Governor of Kentucky in 1915, campaigning on a platform that included promises of better roads, ending convict labor, and enforcement of thelocal option law instead of statewide prohibition. His opponent in the general election was his close friend, RepublicanEdwin P. Morrow . The two provided an interesting campaign that saw issues debated such as a dollar tax for every dog a person owned. Stanley favored the tax, while Morrow contended that everyone should be allowed one dog tax-free. Stanley ridiculed the idea as "Free Old Dog Ring," and sometimes howled like a dog in speeches deriding the proposal. Stanley would win the contest by the narrow margin of 471 votes.As in his run for Senate, the liquor question was central to Stanley's tenure as governor. In 1916, a prohibition amendment failed in both houses of the General Assembly, but passed both houses two years later. In 1919, Kentucky was the first "wet" state to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment. Other accomplishments of Stanley's tenure included initiating the state's first budget program, improving the corrupt practices act, enacting the state's first
workman's compensation law, authorizing anti-trust measures, and instituting a convict labor law. DuringWorld War I , heveto ed a bill that would have banned the teaching of German in public schools.Governor Stanley called the General Assembly into special session in February 1917. At issue was reformation of the state's tax code, which Stanley felt unjustly burdened agricultural interests. The session lasted sixty days, and saw the passage of many of the bills advocated by Governor Stanley. The most significant of these was the creation of a three-member state tax commission, chaired by
M. M. Logan .Appleton, p. 147]Upon the death of Senator
Ollie M. James in August 1918, Stanley announced his candidacy for the open seat. Continuing to serve as governor throughout the campaign, Stanley defeated challenger Dr. Ben L. Bruner by more than 5,000 votes. He resigned as governor to assume the Senate seat in May 1919. As a Democrat in a mostly Republican Senate, he wielded little influence. In 1924, he fell victim to the Republican surge that electedCalvin Coolidge , losing his re-election bid toFrederic M. Sackett .Appleton, p. 148]Later life and death
Following his defeat in the Senate, Stanley returned to his legal practice. In 1930, President
Herbert Hoover appointed Stanley to theInternational Joint Commission , a body charged with settling boundary disputes between theUnited States andCanada . Stanley became chair of the body in 1933. He was very proud of his service on the Commission, and once noted that nowhere on earth have two great powers lived so long as neighbors with so few disputes. Stanley served until 1954 when he resigned under pressure from his own party.Stanley died in
Washington, D.C. , onAugust 12 1958 and was buried Frankfort Cemetery inFrankfort, Kentucky . His grandson wasOwsley Stanley .References
*cite book |last=Appleton, Jr. |first=Thomas H. |chapter=Augustus Owsley Wilson |title="Kentucky's Governors" |editor=Lowell H. Harrison |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=
Lexington, Kentucky |year=2004 |isbn=0813123267
*CongBio|S000796
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6865322 Find-A-Grave profile for Augustus O. Stanley]
*cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lowell H. |authorlink=Lowell H. Harrison |chapter=Stanley, Augustus Owsley |editor=Kleber, John E. |others=Associate editors:Thomas D. Clark , Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter |title="The Kentucky Encyclopedia" |year=1992 |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=0813117720
*cite web |url=http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=0bfbb60771f66010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD |title=Kentucky Governor Augustus Owsley Stanley |publisher=National Governors Association |accessdate=2007-08-23
*cite book |last=Powell |first=Robert A. |title="Kentucky Governors" |publisher=Bluegrass Printing Company |location=Danville, Kentucky |year=1976 |id=OCLC|2690774Notes
Persondata
NAME=Stanley, Augustus Owsley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Stanley, Augustus O.
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American state and federal politician
DATE OF BIRTH=May 21 ,1867
PLACE OF BIRTH=Shelbyville,Kentucky ,United States
DATE OF DEATH=August 12 ,1958
PLACE OF DEATH=Washington, D.C. , United States
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