Kentucky. Governor (1871-1875 : Leslie)

Preston H. Leslie succeeded to the office of governor of Kentucky in February 1871, upon the resignation of John W. Stevenson. He served the remaining six months of that term, and was then elected to a full term in his own right.

Leslie was born in 1819 in what was then Wayne County, Kentucky. He received little formal education until he began his studies for the bar, to which he was admitted in 1840. Leslie was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Whig in 1844, and to the state Senate in 1850. With the decline of the Whig party, Leslie became a Democrat.

Leslie was not politically active during the Civil War. Although he endorsed many of the principles of the southern cause, he did not support secession. In 1867, Leslie was again elected to the Kentucky Senate, where he served as president. When Governor John W. Stevenson resigned from office in February 1871 to take a seat in the United States Senate, Leslie succeeded him, as the office of lieutenant governor was vacant at the time. As the Democratic candidate for governor in the election of 1871, Leslie defeated his Republican opponent, John M. Harlan, by 37,000 votes.

One of the most important issues facing Kentucky during Governor Leslie's term concerned the Southern Railroad bill. The proposal would permit the construction of a major line from Cincinnati to the southern rail network. This would allow the central Kentucky area to reach out-of-state markets without having to use the Louisville & Nashville line, which up to this time effectively monopolized Kentucky's commerce with the South. L & N supporters adamantly opposed the measure, but after a lengthy struggle the Kentucky legislature issued the charter. The governor, although not a strong advocate of the new line, did not veto the bill.

Kentucky continued to suffer from the lawlessness which had its basis in the animosities and disaffections resulting from the Civil War. Some groups, such as the Regulators and the Ku Klux Klan, espoused a social or political purpose; others were little more than outlaw gangs. Regardless of their expressed intentions, these violent bands provoked a climate of fear and outrage around the state. Governor Leslie's predecessors had confronted this problem with varying degrees of success. With the support of the governor, the General Assembly passed strict legislation designed to curb the violence.

As he had promised to do in his inaugural address, the governor persuaded the legislature to enact a law allowing blacks to testify in court. Leslie also successfully advocated increased financial support for the prisons and asylums, and for education, including the formation of a common school system for black children. The legislature also agreed to fund his proposal for a geological survey to ascertain Kentucky's natural resources.

With the end of his term in 1875, Leslie returned to his law practice. He served as a circuit judge from 1881 until 1887, and was then appointed Governor of the territory of Montana by President Grover Cleveland. He was replaced in 1889, but remained in Montana. In 1894, Leslie again received an appointment from President Cleveland, this time as United States District Attorney for Montana, and served for four years. Preston H. Leslie died in 1907 and is buried in Montana.