Kentucky. Governor (1850-1851 : Helm)

John Larue Helm became governor of Kentucky in 1850, upon the resignation of Governor John J. Crittenden, and completed the final thirteen months of Crittenden's term. He was elected to office in his own right in 1867, but died five days after his inauguration. Helm was a Whig during his first term, and a Democrat by the time of his second term.

Born into a prominent Hardin County, Kentucky family on July 4, 1802, Helm studied in local schools and then read law with several Elizabethtown attorneys before being admitted to the bar in 1823. He was appointed to the office of Meade County Attorney in 1824, and elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Whig in 1826. Until 1848, Helm served in the state House and Senate with brief interupptions, and was Speaker of the House four times. He was the Whig candidate for lieutenant governor in the 1848 election, and won on a ticket headed by John J. Crittenden.

After succeeding Crittenden to the governorship, Helm clashed with the General Assembly over funding the educational system. The legislature proposed using monies from the sinking fund to cover deficits in the school budget; Helm considered this idea to be fiscally irresponsible. After considerable debate, the General Assembly passed this measure over Helm's veto. A major election reform bill was also passed, with Helm's support and approval. This was in response to the prevalence of corruption and occasional violence in the voting process. Helm also advocated establishing and expanding Kentucky's railway system, as well as other means of economic growth.

In 1854, Helm became president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and for the next six years presided over the successful completion of that line. In the years preceding the Civil War, Helm advocated neutrality for Kentucky. When war came, his son, Ben Hardin Helm, became a Confederate Brigadier General and died at Chickamauga.

In 1867, Helm successfully ran for governor as a Democratic candidate. He became seriously ill prior to his election, and his inaugural address was read by the secretary of state. In it, Helm pledged to allow former Confederates back into the political process, and condemned the idea of votes for blacks.

Helm died on September 8, 1867, five days after his inauguration. He is buried near Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

From the description of Subunit history. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145415941