| Joseph Desha | |
|---|---|
| 9th Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office 1824–1828 |
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| Preceded by | John Adair |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Metcalfe |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th district |
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| In office March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1819 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Mentor Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Metcalfe |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 6th district |
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| In office March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813 |
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| Preceded by | George M. Bedinger |
| Succeeded by | Solomon P. Sharp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 9, 1768 Monroe County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 11, 1842 (aged 73) Georgetown, Kentucky |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Bledsoe |
| Profession | Soldier, Farmer, Governor |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | Kentucky militia |
| Battles/wars | Northwest Indian War, War of 1812 |
Joseph Desha (December 9, 1768 – October 11, 1842) was a U.S. Representative and the ninth Governor of Kentucky. Desha was the first Kentucky governor not to have served in the Revolutionary War.[1] He did, however, serve under William Henry Harrison and "Mad" Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War, and lost two brothers in battle. He married in 1789 and returned to Kentucky in 1792, settling in Mason County. There he began his political career, serving in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly. In 1807, he began the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. A Democratic-Republican, he joined his party in supporting the War of 1812. Desha himself volunteered to serve in the war and commanded a division at the Battle of the Thames.
In 1824, Desha ran for governor on a platform of debt relief and won a landslide victory. His term was marred by numerous controversies. Chief among these was the Old Court-New Court controversy, a move by the legislature to abolish the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which was hostile to their debt relief agenda, and replace it with a more sympathetic court. For a time, two courts of last resort existed in the state, but the old court was eventually restored, albeit over Desha's veto. Another contentious issue during Desha's tenure was Horace Holley's presidency of Transylvania University. Many in the state felt that Holley was too liberal and when Desha joined in the criticism, Holley resigned. Also during his term, Desha's son Isaac was convicted of murder, despite the political intervention of his father. Following the conviction, the younger Desha unsuccessfully attempted suicide. Governor Desha then issued a controversial pardon for his son.
Desha did not approve of the election of Thomas Metcalfe to succeed him, and for a time, he threatened not to vacate the governor's mansion. Following his term as governor, Desha retired from public life. He and his wife moved in with their son, and Desha died at his son's residence on October 11, 1842.
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Joseph Desha was born to Robert and Eleanor (Wheeler) Desha in Monroe County, Pennsylvania on December 9, 1768.[2] He was of French Huguenot ancestry.[1] He obtained a limited education in the state's rural schools.[3] Desha's family relocated to Fayette County, Kentucky in 1779 and in 1782, settled in Gallatin, Tennessee.[4] Between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two, Desha volunteered in several military campaigns against the Indians.[5] In one such campaign, two of his brothers were killed while fighting alongside him.[6]
Following the war, Desha lived with William Whitley in the town of Crab Orchard, Kentucky.[7] He married Margaret "Peggy" Bledsoe, the daughter of Jesse Bledsoe, in December 1789.[8] The couple had thirteen children.[1] In 1792, the family moved to Mason County, Kentucky, where Desha worked as a farmer.[2] In 1794, he served under Generals William Henry Harrison and "Mad" Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War.[4] On January 23, 1798, Desha was appointed as a major in the 29th Regiment of the Kentucky Militia.[9] He was promoted to colonel on March 23, 1799, and on September 5, 1805, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 7th Brigade of the Kentucky Militia.[9] On December 24, 1806, he was made a major general and took command of the 7th Brigade of the Kentucky Militia.[9]
Desha entered politics in 1797, when he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Kentucky House of Representatives.[3] He chaired the committee of the whole as the House debated the Kentucky Resolutions in 1798.[10] He again served in the House from 1799 to 1802, and was elected to the Kentucky Senate from 1802 to 1807.[2]
Desha was elected to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1807.[4] He opposed renewing the charter of the First Bank of the United States because most of the bank's investors were foreigners.[11] Specifically, he was concerned about the fact King George III of Great Britain was a major shareholder.[11] (It was thought by many that the British monarch was on the verge of madness at this time.)[11] The bank's charter ultimately was not renewed in 1811.[12]
As early as 1807, Desha began calling for an adequate army to defend American territory.[1] He supported President Thomas Jefferson's embargo on England and France.[1] Like most in his party, he supported the War of 1812.[6] In 1813, he left his post in Congress, was commissioned a major general, and commanded a division of Kentucky volunteers at the Battle of the Thames.[1]
Desha served as chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures during the Fifteenth Congress.[4] In total, Desha served in the House from March 4, 1807 to March 3, 1819, and did not run for reelection in 1818.[4] Though he was known as a capable orator, he did not speak often, claiming it was best "to think much and speak but little."[1]
Desha finished third behind John Adair and William Logan in the Kentucky gubernatorial canvass of 1820. However, he was elected governor in 1824. The primary issue in his platform was debt relief. He supported replevin laws favorable to debtors.[1] He opposed locating branches of the Second Bank of the United States in Louisville and Lexington.[1] Desha received 38,378 votes to 22,499 for his opponent, Anti-Relief candidate Christopher Tompkins. (William Russell came in third, with 3,900 votes.)[2] Desha and his allies in the General Assembly interpreted the landslide victory as a mandate from the voters to aggressively pursue their debt relief agenda.[1]
Desha's major accomplishment as governor was in the area of internal improvements. In 1825, he convinced the legislature to fund the creation of the Louisville and Portland Canal on the Falls of the Ohio. The canal opened in 1830, and proved very profitable, so much so that Desha lamented the fact that the state had split the cost of the project – and consequently, its profits – with the federal government and private investors. He also urged state investment in a turnpike joining Maysville to Louisville via Lexington.[13]
Desha and his pro-relief allies in the Kentucky General Assembly were prevented from moving on their proposals by anti-relief members of the Court of Appeals. Lacking the votes necessary to remove the judges from office, the assembly instead created a new court system and dismissed the "Old Court".[14] Old Court judges refused to quit, but the clerk of the New Court took the Old Court’s records by force. When Old Court allies regained control of the assembly, they overrode Desha’s veto and abolished the New Court.[15]
Another issue during Desha's tenure was Horace Holley's service as president of Transylvania University. From the time Holley assumed the post of president in 1818, the university had attracted well-qualified and well-respected faculty, and had risen to national prominence.[15] However, the New England Unitarian was too liberal for the tastes of many in Kentucky.[2] Many called Holley an infidel and charged that he was a drinker and a gambler.[15] He was criticized for spending time at the horse races and for furnishing his home with nude classical statues.[16]
Holley successfully resisted these charges until Governor Desha came out against him in his annual message to the General Assembly, claiming that under Holley, the school had become too elitist.[15][16] Desha's attack, combined with dwindling state funds for the college, prompted Holley to resign the following year.[15] Kentucky historian James Klotter opined that, with Holley's departure, "perhaps the state's best chance for a world-class university had passed."[16]
Governor Desha's reputation was finally tarnished because of a pardon issued to his son. On November 2, 1824, Isaac Desha had brutally murdered Francis Baker, a Mississippian who was visiting Kentucky. Governor Desha assembled a team of New Court lawyers to represent his son. The judge was also a New Court partisan, and a friend of the governor. He granted a change of venue favorable to the governor's son, but the younger Desha was still convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. He was spared, however, when the judge declared a mistrial.[17]
In 1826, Isaac Desha was retried and again convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. The judge in this trial had been temporarily appointed by Governor Desha to fill a vacancy. This judge also overturned the verdict because the Commonwealth's Attorney had not proven that the murder took place in Fleming County. The state argued that this was of no consequence, since a change of venue had already been granted, but the judge's ruling stood, and Governor Desha's reputation took a further hit.[17]
While free on bail and awaiting a third trial, Isaac Desha, apparently in a highly intoxicated state, attempted suicide by cutting his own throat. Physicians saved his life by connecting his severed windpipe with a silver tube. He recovered, and in 1827, faced a third trial. His lawyers used a number of preemptory challenges to prevent the court from empaneling a jury. The judge ordered him held without bail until the next session of the court, but Governor Desha, who was present at the proceedings, stood and issued a pardon for his son, as well as lambasting the judge in a lengthy impromptu speech.[17]
Following his release, Isaac Desha traveled to Texas under an alias, where he robbed and killed another man. He was identified based on family resemblance and the silver pipe that had earlier saved his life. After being arrested, he confessed to both murders, then committed suicide.[17]
Following his term as governor, Desha retired from public life to his farm in Harrison County.[3] He was displeased with the election of Thomas Metcalfe as his successor.[8] Not only did they not agree politically, Desha believed that the governorship should go to a high born aristocrat.[8] Though Metcalfe was the son of a Revolutionary War soldier, his nickname of "Old Stone Hammer" indicated his pride in his humble trade of masonry.[8]
During the final years of his life, Desha and his wife Margaret moved to Georgetown, Kentucky where his son, a physician, lived. Desha died at the his home in Georgetown, Kentucky on October 11, 1842 and was buried on the grounds.[10] The state erected a monument in his honor over his grave.[10] In 1880, both Desha's body and the monument were moved to Georgetown Cemetery.[10]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Adair |
Governor of Kentucky 1824–1828 |
Succeeded by Thomas Metcalfe |
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