John L. Helm
Encyclopedia
John LaRue Helm was the 18th and 24th governor
of the U.S. state of Kentucky
, although his service in that office totaled less than fourteen months. He also represented Hardin County
in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly
and was chosen to be the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives four times. In 1838 his sole bid for federal office ended in defeat when his opponent, Willis Green
, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
.
Helm was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives
in 1826; between 1826 and 1843 he served eleven one-year terms in the state house. In 1844 he was elected to the state senate
, where he served continuously until he was chosen as the Whig Party
nominee for lieutenant governor
on a ticket with John J. Crittenden
, famous for the Crittenden Compromise
. The Whigs won the general election and Helm was elevated to governor on July 31, 1850, when Crittenden resigned to accept an appointment as United States Attorney General
in President
Millard Fillmore
's cabinet. After his service as governor Helm became president of the struggling Louisville and Nashville Railroad
. He invested thousands of dollars of his own money in the project and convinced residents along the line's main route to buy stock in the company. In 1859 the line was completed, but the next year Helm resigned over of differences with the board of directors regarding a proposed branch that would extend the line to Memphis, Tennessee
.
Although he openly opposed secession
during the American Civil War
, federal military forces labeled Helm a Confederate
sympathizer. In September 1862, he was arrested for this alleged sympathy, but Governor James F. Robinson
recognized him as he was being transported to a prison in Louisville
and had him released. After the war Helm identified with the Democratic Party
, and in 1865 Hardin County voters returned him to the state senate. In 1867 he was the state's Democratic candidate for governor. Despite his failing health, Helm made a vigorous canvass of the state and won the general election. He was too weak to travel to Frankfort
for his inauguration, so state officials administered the oath of office at his home on September 3, 1867. He died five days later.
and founded the settlement of Helm Station near Elizabethtown, Kentucky
in Hardin County, where John L. Helm was born on July 4, 1802. He was the eldest of nine children born to George B. Helm, a farmer and politician, and Rebecca LaRue Helm, a descendant of a prominent local pioneer family.
Helm attended the area's public schools and studied with noted educator Duff Green
. When Helm was 14 his father fell on hard financial times and Helm returned to work on the family farm. In 1818 he took a better-paying job in the office of Samuel Haycraft, the circuit court
clerk of Hardin County. While there he read law
with Haycraft, then entered the law office of Ben Tobin in 1821.
At about this time Helm's father traveled to Texas to enter into business and rebuild his finances, but he died there in 1822, leaving Helm responsible for his mother and siblings. He was admitted to the bar
in 1823, the same year Meade County, Kentucky
was formed. There were no lawyers in the county yet, so although Helm continued living in Hardin County he was made Meade's county attorney
. His practice grew rapidly and he was soon able to pay off his father's debts and purchase the Helm homestead. Between 1832 and 1840 he built "Helm Place" on this land and it remained his home for the rest of his life.
In 1823 Helm called on Representative
Benjamin Hardin
. While Hardin and Helm discussed business, Hardin's 14-year-old daughter, Lucinda, entered the room to show her father a map she had drawn. Helm later claimed it was love at first sight
, and began to pursue Lucinda's affections. They courted
for seven years, married in 1830 and had six daughters and five sons together. One of his sons, Benjamin Hardin Helm
, was a Confederate
general in the Civil War
and was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga
.
. Reeling from the panic of 1819
, Kentuckians had demanded debt relief. In response, the Kentucky General Assembly
passed an act that granted debtors a grace period of two years in repaying their debts unless their creditors would accept payment in the devalued notes of the Bank of the Commonwealth. The Kentucky Court of Appeals
struck down the law, claiming it was in violation of the Contract Clause
of the U.S. Constitution
. The angered legislature attempted to impeach
the justices on the Court of Appeals, but lacked the necessary two-thirds majority. Instead, they abolished the Court of Appeals and replaced it with a new court, which was stocked with more sympathetic justices by pro-relief governor John Adair
. Both courts claimed to be Kentucky's court of last resort.
Throughout 1825 Helm made speeches and distributed pamphlets in Hardin and surrounding counties, espousing the Old Court position. In 1826 he campaigned as a Whig
for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives
. Helm won the election, and at the age of twenty-four became one of the youngest members to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly. An Old Court majority was elected to both houses of the General Assembly in 1826, which then passed legislation abolishing the New Court.
Helm was re-elected to the state House in 1827 and 1830, and was re-elected every year from 1833 to 1837. He served as Speaker of the House in 1835 and 1836. In 1837 there was a three-way race for speaker between Helm, James Turner Morehead
and Robert P. Letcher
. After nine ballots Helm withdrew, and Letcher was elected speaker.
Helm made his only run for federal office in 1838 and was defeated by Willis Green
for a seat in the United States House of Representatives
. He returned to the Kentucky House in 1839 and was re-elected in 1842 and 1843, serving as Speaker of the House both years. In 1843, the Kentucky General Assembly proposed to create a new county from part of Hardin County and name it Helm County in honor of John L. Helm. Because of the few dissenting votes on this question, Helm declined the honor and proposed instead that the county be called Larue County
after his mother's family, many of whom still lived in the proposed county. Helm's suggestion was unanimously adopted.
In 1844 Helm was elected to the Kentucky Senate
, where he served until 1848. That year he was the Whig
candidate for lieutenant governor
on a ticket with John J. Crittenden
. Helm defeated Democrat
John Preston Martin
in the general election. The major political question in the state during Helm's time as lieutenant governor was whether to adopt a new state constitution. As a state senator in 1848, Helm had voted to allow the state's citizens to decide the matter in a referendum, but after seeing the document produced by the constitutional convention, he opposed its ratification. In an address to the state senate in 1850 he declared, "I was for reform, and not for revolution. I was for amending the Constitution, and not for obliterating every vital principle in contained." He especially opposed creating an elective judiciary. His antagonism to the constitution put him at odds with his father-in-law, Benjamin Hardin. The two did not reconcile until 1852, as Hardin lay on his deathbed. The new constitution was adopted in 1850, and in June of that year Helm encouraged the people to accept it.
Governor Crittenden resigned on July 31, 1850 to accept President
Millard Fillmore
's appointment as attorney general
, and Helm ascended to the governorship. As governor, Helm vetoed a legislative plan to cover deficits in the public school fund by drawing money from the state's sinking fund
, but the General Assembly overrode the veto. He urged the legislature to fund a survey of the state's mineral reserves and a census of the state's agricultural and manufacturing resources. He called for spending on internal improvements and for raising judges' salaries to attract more qualified jurists to the bench. He also sought a ban on the carrying of concealed deadly weapons. The legislature did not act on any of these proposed reforms. The only part of Helm's agenda that did progress through the General Assembly was election reform.
for Winfield Scott
in the 1852 presidential election
. After this he took twelve years off from politics. As early as 1836, Helm had advocated the construction of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
. On October 2, 1854, he became the railroad's second president. The previous president had been forced out of that position after a disagreement with Louisville's board of aldermen
, and construction of the line had almost been abandoned.
Helm worked diligently to convince residents along the line's main route of the economic benefits it would bring. He persuaded many of them to help clear and grade land for the line and accept company stock as payment, and succeeded in selling stock subscriptions to people in the same area. Rising labor costs and troubles transporting materials raised expenses far above the projected budget, and at one point Helm personally redeemed $20,000 ($ as of ) of the company's bonds. Meanwhile, some observers accused Helm of mismanaging the company. The company's fortunes improved in 1857 when the city of Louisville provided $300,000 ($ as of ) in financial aid and the line was completed on October 18, 1859. Due to Helm's influence, the railroad's charter required all trains traveling through Elizabethtown to stop there.
By the time the line was finished there were public calls from inside and outside the company for Helm to resign, mostly because of his support for a proposed Memphis
branch of the railroad. To complete the branch, the Louisville and Nashville would have to complete a line from Bowling Green
to Guthrie, Kentucky
. There it would join a line owned by the Memphis and Ohio Railroad that began across the state line at Clarksville, Tennessee
and extended to Memphis. Supporters believed the branch would economically help both Louisville and Memphis and would lessen their dependence on trade along the Mississippi
and Ohio
Rivers. Opponents argued that the project was simply a ploy to whip up new support for the struggling railroad. Helm endorsed the Memphis branch in his annual report in 1857.
On February 4, 1860, two members of the company's board of directors wrote a letter requesting Helm's resignation; they claimed they had voted for his re-election as president of the company with the understanding that he would resign when the main line between Louisville and Nashville was finished. Helm maintained that he felt an obligation to the citizens of Logan County
– many of whom he had personally sold stock to – to remain president until the Memphis branch through their county was built. The rift between Helm and the directors continued to widen, however. Helm resigned on February 21, 1860, and was replaced by James Guthrie. The Memphis branch was completed on September 24, 1860.
that advocated for Kentucky's neutrality in the Civil War. Helm was an outspoken opponent of secession, but also denounced the election of Abraham Lincoln
and his use of military force to subdue the southern states. Because Helm did not condemn his son, Benjamin, for joining the Confederate Army, federal authorities classified him as a southern sympathizer.
After learning of the arrest of former governor Charles S. Morehead
by federal authorities, Helm fled to Bowling Green, fearing his own arrest. Through the intervention of Warner Underwood
he was able to return home on the condition that he swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. Nevertheless, federal soldiers repeatedly entered his home, encouraging his slaves to abandon him, and consuming or destroying his crops. Because the state's courts were closed on account of the war, he was unable to earn a living by practicing law. In short order his once-substantial fortune was expended, and he resorted to borrowing money to support his family.
In September 1862 Helm and several other citizens from Hardin County were arrested by Colonel Knox. After several days of confinement in Elizabethtown the prisoners were conducted to Louisville. By chance, Kentucky governor James F. Robinson
recognized Helm in the group and negotiated with General Jeremiah Boyle
to get him released. Shortly after returning home Helm learned of Benjamin's death at the Battle of Chickamauga.
After the war Helm identified with the Democratic Party, and he returned to the state senate in 1865. During his tenure he chaired the Committee on Federal Relations and fought against punitive and restrictive laws against ex-Confederates. On January 22, 1866 he presented to the state senate a protest against the actions of the United States Congress
during the Civil War. It denounced the Reconstruction Amendments
on the grounds that they granted powers to the federal government that were reserved for the states, and that they were passed while many southern states were not represented in Congress. He also decried the creation and operation of the Freedman's Bureau. On January 29, 1867, Helm introduced legislation to organize a meeting in Louisville to rally support for President Andrew Johnson
and his efforts to restore the Union.
The state Democratic Convention met on February 22, 1867 in Frankfort
and chose Helm and John W. Stevenson
as the party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Helm resigned his seat in the state senate to accept the nomination. Though his health was frail, he determined to canvass the entire state. He continued his call for an end to Civil War bitterness and proscription
s against those who had sided with the Confederacy. He won the general election over Republican
Sidney Barnes and a third party candidate, Judge William B. Kinkead.
The strenuous campaign took a decisive toll on Helm's already weakened body. He was too weak to travel to Frankfort for his inauguration, so the oath of office was administered at his home on September 3, 1867. Helm's secretary of state read the governor's inaugural address at the Hardin County Courthouse. In it Helm repeated his intent to remove political disabilities from ex-Confederates. He also charged that Congress was meddling in the affairs of the states. Though he promised protections for blacks, he opposed the idea of black suffrage
.
Helm died on September 8, 1867, just five days after his inauguration. He was buried in a family graveyard at Helm Place. Helm Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on November 9, 1976.
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
of the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, although his service in that office totaled less than fourteen months. He also represented Hardin County
Hardin County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 94,174 people, 34,497 households, and 25,355 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 37,673 housing units at an average density of...
in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
and was chosen to be the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives four times. In 1838 his sole bid for federal office ended in defeat when his opponent, Willis Green
Willis Green
Willis Green was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, GreenBirth date unknown.He attended the public schools.He settled in that part of Virginia which is now the State of Kentucky....
, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
.
Helm was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
in 1826; between 1826 and 1843 he served eleven one-year terms in the state house. In 1844 he was elected to the state senate
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
, where he served continuously until he was chosen as the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
nominee for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
on a ticket with John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
, famous for the Crittenden Compromise
Crittenden Compromise
The Crittenden Compromise was an unsuccessful proposal introduced by Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden on December 18, 1860. It aimed to resolve the U.S...
. The Whigs won the general election and Helm was elevated to governor on July 31, 1850, when Crittenden resigned to accept an appointment as United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
in President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
's cabinet. After his service as governor Helm became president of the struggling Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
. He invested thousands of dollars of his own money in the project and convinced residents along the line's main route to buy stock in the company. In 1859 the line was completed, but the next year Helm resigned over of differences with the board of directors regarding a proposed branch that would extend the line to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
Although he openly opposed secession
Secession in the United States
Secession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, federal military forces labeled Helm a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
sympathizer. In September 1862, he was arrested for this alleged sympathy, but Governor James F. Robinson
James F. Robinson
James Fisher Robinson was the 22nd Governor of Kentucky, serving the remainder of the unfinished term of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin, a Confederate sympathizer, became increasingly ineffective after the elections of 1861 yielded a supermajority to pro-Union forces in both houses of the...
recognized him as he was being transported to a prison in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and had him released. After the war Helm identified with the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, and in 1865 Hardin County voters returned him to the state senate. In 1867 he was the state's Democratic candidate for governor. Despite his failing health, Helm made a vigorous canvass of the state and won the general election. He was too weak to travel to Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
for his inauguration, so state officials administered the oath of office at his home on September 3, 1867. He died five days later.
Early life
In 1780 Helm's grandfather, Thomas Helm, emigrated to Kentucky from Prince William County, VirginiaPrince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
and founded the settlement of Helm Station near Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
in Hardin County, where John L. Helm was born on July 4, 1802. He was the eldest of nine children born to George B. Helm, a farmer and politician, and Rebecca LaRue Helm, a descendant of a prominent local pioneer family.
Helm attended the area's public schools and studied with noted educator Duff Green
Duff Green
Duff Green , American politician and journalist, was born in Woodford County, Kentucky.He was a school teacher in his native state, served during the War of 1812 in the Kentucky militia, and then settled in Missouri, where he worked as a schoolmaster and practiced law...
. When Helm was 14 his father fell on hard financial times and Helm returned to work on the family farm. In 1818 he took a better-paying job in the office of Samuel Haycraft, the circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
clerk of Hardin County. While there he read law
Reading law
Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...
with Haycraft, then entered the law office of Ben Tobin in 1821.
At about this time Helm's father traveled to Texas to enter into business and rebuild his finances, but he died there in 1822, leaving Helm responsible for his mother and siblings. He was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1823, the same year Meade County, Kentucky
Meade County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,349 people, 9,470 households, and 7,396 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,293 housing units at an average density of...
was formed. There were no lawyers in the county yet, so although Helm continued living in Hardin County he was made Meade's county attorney
County attorney
A county attorney in many areas of the United States is the chief legal officer for a county or local judicial district. It is usually an elected position...
. His practice grew rapidly and he was soon able to pay off his father's debts and purchase the Helm homestead. Between 1832 and 1840 he built "Helm Place" on this land and it remained his home for the rest of his life.
In 1823 Helm called on Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Benjamin Hardin
Benjamin Hardin
Benjamin Hardin was a United States Representative from Kentucky. Martin Davis Hardin was his cousin. He was born at the Georges Creek settlement on the Monongahela River, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and then moved with his parents to Washington County, Kentucky in 1788...
. While Hardin and Helm discussed business, Hardin's 14-year-old daughter, Lucinda, entered the room to show her father a map she had drawn. Helm later claimed it was love at first sight
Love at first sight
Love at first sight is a common trope in Western literature, in which a person, character, or speaker feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them...
, and began to pursue Lucinda's affections. They courted
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
for seven years, married in 1830 and had six daughters and five sons together. One of his sons, Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm was a Kentucky politician, attorney, Confederate brigadier general, and a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm.-Early life:...
, was a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
general in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
.
Political career
The major political issue in Kentucky during Helm's legal training was the Old Court-New Court controversyOld Court-New Court controversy
The Old Court – New Court controversy was a 19th century political controversy in the U.S. state of Kentucky in which the Kentucky General Assembly abolished the Kentucky Court of Appeals and replaced it with a new court...
. Reeling from the panic of 1819
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, and had occurred during the political calm of the Era of Good Feelings. The new nation previously had faced a depression following the war of independence in the late 1780s and led directly to the establishment of the...
, Kentuckians had demanded debt relief. In response, the Kentucky General Assembly
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
passed an act that granted debtors a grace period of two years in repaying their debts unless their creditors would accept payment in the devalued notes of the Bank of the Commonwealth. The Kentucky Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
struck down the law, claiming it was in violation of the Contract Clause
Contract Clause
The Contract Clause appears in the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1. It states:The Contract Clause prohibits states from enacting any law that retroactively impairs contract rights...
of the U.S. Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
. The angered legislature attempted to impeach
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
the justices on the Court of Appeals, but lacked the necessary two-thirds majority. Instead, they abolished the Court of Appeals and replaced it with a new court, which was stocked with more sympathetic justices by pro-relief governor John Adair
John Adair
John Adair was an American pioneer, soldier and statesman. He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. Adair enlisted in the state militia and served in the Revolutionary War, where he was held captive by the British for a period of time...
. Both courts claimed to be Kentucky's court of last resort.
Throughout 1825 Helm made speeches and distributed pamphlets in Hardin and surrounding counties, espousing the Old Court position. In 1826 he campaigned as a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
. Helm won the election, and at the age of twenty-four became one of the youngest members to serve in the Kentucky General Assembly. An Old Court majority was elected to both houses of the General Assembly in 1826, which then passed legislation abolishing the New Court.
Helm was re-elected to the state House in 1827 and 1830, and was re-elected every year from 1833 to 1837. He served as Speaker of the House in 1835 and 1836. In 1837 there was a three-way race for speaker between Helm, James Turner Morehead
James Turner Morehead (Kentucky)
James Turner Morehead was a United States Senator and the 12th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first native-born Kentuckian to hold the governorship of the state...
and Robert P. Letcher
Robert P. Letcher
Robert Perkins Letcher was a politician and lawyer from the US state of Kentucky. He served as a U.S. Representative, Minister to Mexico, and the 15th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in the Kentucky General Assembly where he was Speaker of the House in 1837 and 1838. A strong supporter of the...
. After nine ballots Helm withdrew, and Letcher was elected speaker.
Helm made his only run for federal office in 1838 and was defeated by Willis Green
Willis Green
Willis Green was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, GreenBirth date unknown.He attended the public schools.He settled in that part of Virginia which is now the State of Kentucky....
for a seat in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He returned to the Kentucky House in 1839 and was re-elected in 1842 and 1843, serving as Speaker of the House both years. In 1843, the Kentucky General Assembly proposed to create a new county from part of Hardin County and name it Helm County in honor of John L. Helm. Because of the few dissenting votes on this question, Helm declined the honor and proposed instead that the county be called Larue County
LaRue County, Kentucky
LaRue County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 13,373. Its county seat is Hodgenville...
after his mother's family, many of whom still lived in the proposed county. Helm's suggestion was unanimously adopted.
Lieutenant governor and governor
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
, where he served until 1848. That year he was the Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
candidate for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
on a ticket with John J. Crittenden
John J. Crittenden
John Jordan Crittenden was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and twice served as United States Attorney General in the administrations of William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore...
. Helm defeated Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John Preston Martin
John Preston Martin
John Preston Martin was a political figure in Kentucky in the early 19th century. He was born on October 11, 1811 near Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia. He moved to Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Kentucky in 1828. He served in the State House of Representatives from 1841 through 1843.Martin served in...
in the general election. The major political question in the state during Helm's time as lieutenant governor was whether to adopt a new state constitution. As a state senator in 1848, Helm had voted to allow the state's citizens to decide the matter in a referendum, but after seeing the document produced by the constitutional convention, he opposed its ratification. In an address to the state senate in 1850 he declared, "I was for reform, and not for revolution. I was for amending the Constitution, and not for obliterating every vital principle in contained." He especially opposed creating an elective judiciary. His antagonism to the constitution put him at odds with his father-in-law, Benjamin Hardin. The two did not reconcile until 1852, as Hardin lay on his deathbed. The new constitution was adopted in 1850, and in June of that year Helm encouraged the people to accept it.
Governor Crittenden resigned on July 31, 1850 to accept President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
's appointment as attorney general
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, and Helm ascended to the governorship. As governor, Helm vetoed a legislative plan to cover deficits in the public school fund by drawing money from the state's sinking fund
Sinking fund
A sinking fund is a fund established by a government agency or business for the purpose of reducing debt by repaying or purchasing outstanding loans and securities held against the entity. It helps keep the borrower liquid so it can repay the bondholder....
, but the General Assembly overrode the veto. He urged the legislature to fund a survey of the state's mineral reserves and a census of the state's agricultural and manufacturing resources. He called for spending on internal improvements and for raising judges' salaries to attract more qualified jurists to the bench. He also sought a ban on the carrying of concealed deadly weapons. The legislature did not act on any of these proposed reforms. The only part of Helm's agenda that did progress through the General Assembly was election reform.
President of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Helm was a presidential electorUnited States Electoral College
The Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election...
for Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
in the 1852 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1852
The United States presidential election of 1852 bore important similarities to the election of 1844. Once again, the incumbent president was a Whig who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of his war-hero predecessor. In this case, it was Millard Fillmore who followed General Zachary Taylor...
. After this he took twelve years off from politics. As early as 1836, Helm had advocated the construction of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
. On October 2, 1854, he became the railroad's second president. The previous president had been forced out of that position after a disagreement with Louisville's board of aldermen
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, and construction of the line had almost been abandoned.
Helm worked diligently to convince residents along the line's main route of the economic benefits it would bring. He persuaded many of them to help clear and grade land for the line and accept company stock as payment, and succeeded in selling stock subscriptions to people in the same area. Rising labor costs and troubles transporting materials raised expenses far above the projected budget, and at one point Helm personally redeemed $20,000 ($ as of ) of the company's bonds. Meanwhile, some observers accused Helm of mismanaging the company. The company's fortunes improved in 1857 when the city of Louisville provided $300,000 ($ as of ) in financial aid and the line was completed on October 18, 1859. Due to Helm's influence, the railroad's charter required all trains traveling through Elizabethtown to stop there.
By the time the line was finished there were public calls from inside and outside the company for Helm to resign, mostly because of his support for a proposed Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
branch of the railroad. To complete the branch, the Louisville and Nashville would have to complete a line from Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
to Guthrie, Kentucky
Guthrie, Kentucky
Guthrie is a city in Todd County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,469 at the 2000 census. The city is named for James Guthrie, president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad when the city was incorporated in 1867.-Geography:...
. There it would join a line owned by the Memphis and Ohio Railroad that began across the state line at Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
and extended to Memphis. Supporters believed the branch would economically help both Louisville and Memphis and would lessen their dependence on trade along the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
Rivers. Opponents argued that the project was simply a ploy to whip up new support for the struggling railroad. Helm endorsed the Memphis branch in his annual report in 1857.
On February 4, 1860, two members of the company's board of directors wrote a letter requesting Helm's resignation; they claimed they had voted for his re-election as president of the company with the understanding that he would resign when the main line between Louisville and Nashville was finished. Helm maintained that he felt an obligation to the citizens of Logan County
Logan County, Kentucky
Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...
– many of whom he had personally sold stock to – to remain president until the Memphis branch through their county was built. The rift between Helm and the directors continued to widen, however. Helm resigned on February 21, 1860, and was replaced by James Guthrie. The Memphis branch was completed on September 24, 1860.
Civil War and second term as governor
On January 8, 1861 Helm chaired a meeting in LouisvilleLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
that advocated for Kentucky's neutrality in the Civil War. Helm was an outspoken opponent of secession, but also denounced the election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and his use of military force to subdue the southern states. Because Helm did not condemn his son, Benjamin, for joining the Confederate Army, federal authorities classified him as a southern sympathizer.
After learning of the arrest of former governor Charles S. Morehead
Charles S. Morehead
Charles Slaughter Morehead was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and served as the 20th Governor of Kentucky...
by federal authorities, Helm fled to Bowling Green, fearing his own arrest. Through the intervention of Warner Underwood
Warner Underwood
Warner Lewis Underwood was an attorney, diplomat, state legislator, and U.S. Representative from Kentucky, the brother of Joseph Rogers Underwood.Born in Goochland County, Virginia, Underwood completed preparatory studies....
he was able to return home on the condition that he swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. Nevertheless, federal soldiers repeatedly entered his home, encouraging his slaves to abandon him, and consuming or destroying his crops. Because the state's courts were closed on account of the war, he was unable to earn a living by practicing law. In short order his once-substantial fortune was expended, and he resorted to borrowing money to support his family.
In September 1862 Helm and several other citizens from Hardin County were arrested by Colonel Knox. After several days of confinement in Elizabethtown the prisoners were conducted to Louisville. By chance, Kentucky governor James F. Robinson
James F. Robinson
James Fisher Robinson was the 22nd Governor of Kentucky, serving the remainder of the unfinished term of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin, a Confederate sympathizer, became increasingly ineffective after the elections of 1861 yielded a supermajority to pro-Union forces in both houses of the...
recognized Helm in the group and negotiated with General Jeremiah Boyle
Jeremiah Boyle
Jeremiah Tilford Boyle was a successful lawyer and noted abolitionist. He served as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
to get him released. Shortly after returning home Helm learned of Benjamin's death at the Battle of Chickamauga.
After the war Helm identified with the Democratic Party, and he returned to the state senate in 1865. During his tenure he chaired the Committee on Federal Relations and fought against punitive and restrictive laws against ex-Confederates. On January 22, 1866 he presented to the state senate a protest against the actions of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
during the Civil War. It denounced the Reconstruction Amendments
Reconstruction Amendments
The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War...
on the grounds that they granted powers to the federal government that were reserved for the states, and that they were passed while many southern states were not represented in Congress. He also decried the creation and operation of the Freedman's Bureau. On January 29, 1867, Helm introduced legislation to organize a meeting in Louisville to rally support for President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
and his efforts to restore the Union.
The state Democratic Convention met on February 22, 1867 in Frankfort
Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...
and chose Helm and John W. Stevenson
John W. Stevenson
John White Stevenson was a U.S. Representative, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, the 25th Governor of Kentucky and U.S. Senator. His father, Andrew Stevenson, had served as Speaker of the House and minister to Great Britain...
as the party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Helm resigned his seat in the state senate to accept the nomination. Though his health was frail, he determined to canvass the entire state. He continued his call for an end to Civil War bitterness and proscription
Proscription
Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...
s against those who had sided with the Confederacy. He won the general election over Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Sidney Barnes and a third party candidate, Judge William B. Kinkead.
The strenuous campaign took a decisive toll on Helm's already weakened body. He was too weak to travel to Frankfort for his inauguration, so the oath of office was administered at his home on September 3, 1867. Helm's secretary of state read the governor's inaugural address at the Hardin County Courthouse. In it Helm repeated his intent to remove political disabilities from ex-Confederates. He also charged that Congress was meddling in the affairs of the states. Though he promised protections for blacks, he opposed the idea of black suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
.
Helm died on September 8, 1867, just five days after his inauguration. He was buried in a family graveyard at Helm Place. Helm Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on November 9, 1976.