Kentucky. Governor (1867-1871 : Stevenson)

John White Stevenson succeeded to the office of governor in September 1867, upon the death of newly-elected Governor John L. Helm. A Democrat, he served until a few months prior to the end of the term, when he resigned to take a seat in the United States Senate.

Stevenson was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1812. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he studied law and eventually moved to Covington, Kentucky in 1841. He was first elected to public office in 1845, as a Democrat, to the Kentucky House of Representatives. Stevenson served as a delegate to three Democratic national conventions, and in 1857 successfully ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms.

In the first post-Civil War election in 1867, Stevenson was elected lieutenant governor, with John Larue Helm as governor. When Helm died five days after his inauguration, Stevenson became governor. A special election held in August 1868 allowed Stevenson to serve out the remainder of the term.

As governor, Stevenson considered the federal government to be abusing its power when, in 1868, Congress refused to accept the elected representatives from Kentucky because of supposed Confederate inclinations. Stevenson also protested efforts to legally incorporate civil rights for blacks as a violation of state sovereignty. When the Kentucky General Assembly rejected the Fifteenth Amendment, and passed legislation changing the dates of elections and the boundaries of election districts, thereby making it difficult for blacks to vote, the governor did not interfere.

Stevenson dealt forcefully with the periodic outbreaks of violence which plagued the state, a result of Civil War resentments and animosity toward the freed slaves. He activated the state militia to subdue the disturbances; and when blacks were permitted to vote in the 1870 elections, he instructed local officials to prevent any physical intimidation against them.

The state school system had languished during the turmoil of the Civil War. Governor Stevenson recognized the need for improvement, and advocated a tax increase to support education. The taxes were collected and funds appropriated on the basis of race, and black education suffered accordingly.

In 1869, Governor Stevenson accused two of Kentucky's elected officials in Washington of supporting Stephen Burbridge for a position in the federal government. During the Civil War, Burbridge had been a federal military official in Kentucky, and was remembered with contempt by many for his authoritarian treatment of the state's citizens. Governor Stevenson chose to run for the United States Senate seat held by one of his adversaries in this dispute, and was elected by the Kentucky legislature. He resigned as governor and began his senatorial duties in March 1871. Preston Leslie, the president of the Kentucky Senate, finished Stevenson's term as governor.

Stevenson's term as a United States Senator ended in March 1877. He returned to his legal practice in Covington, and to a teaching post with the Cincinnati Law School. In 1880, he served as chair for the Democratic National Convention, and later as president of the American Bar Association. Stevenson died on August 10, 1886, and is buried in Cincinnati.