Kentucky
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State flag
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KENTUCKY,
officially Commonwealth of Kentucky, one of the East South
Central states of the U.S., bordered on the N by Indiana, Ohio,
and Illinois; on the E by West Virginia and Virginia; on the S by Tennessee;
and on the W by Missouri. The Ohio R. forms the state’s
entire N boundary, the Big Sandy and Tug Fork rivers form much of
the E border, and the Mississippi R. forms the W boundary.
Kentucky entered the Union on June 1, 1792, as the 15th state.
Located on the border between the historical U.S. regions of the
North and the South, the state officially remained in the Union
during the American Civil War, but a considerable number of its
citizens fought with the Confederate army. Kentucky was mainly a
farming state until the mid-20th century, when services and manufacturing
became the leading economic activities. Abraham Lincoln was born
in Kentucky. The state’s name is taken from the Kentucky
R., the name of which may be derived from an Iroquoian Indian term
for “meadowland.” Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass
State.
| KENTUCKY STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
June 1, 1792; 15th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Frankfort |
| MOTTO: |
United we stand, divided we fall |
| NICKNAME: |
Bluegrass State |
| STATE SONG: |
“My Old Kentucky Home” (words and music by Stephen C. Foster) |
| STATE TREE: |
Kentucky coffee tree |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Goldenrod |
| STATE BIRD: |
Cardinal |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
4,041,769; 25th among the states |
| AREA: |
104,665 sq km (40,411 sq mi); 37th largest state;
includes 1758 sq km (679 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Black Mt., 1263 m (4145 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
78 m (257 ft), along the Mississippi River |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
8 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 6 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Ernie Fletcher (Rep.)
Took office December 2004 |
Kentucky, with an area of 104,665 sq km (40,411 sq mi), is
the 37th largest state in the U.S.; 5.5% of its land area
is owned by the federal government. The state is roughly triangular
in shape, and its maximum dimensions are about 685 km (about 425
mi) from E to W and about 280 km (about 175 mi) from N to S. Elevations
range from 78 m (257 ft), along the Mississippi R. in SW Kentucky,
to 1263 m (4145 ft), atop Black Mt. in the SE part of the state.
The approximate mean elevation is 229 m (750 ft).
Western Kentucky is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain; it is
also known as the Jackson Purchase because Gen. Andrew Jackson (later
president of the U.S.) represented the federal government in its
acquisition of the area from the Chickasaw Indians in 1818. The
region is characterized by low hills and broad valleys. Its alluvial
sands and windblown silts provide some of the best agricultural
land in the state.
The central Interior Low Plateau consists of two major physiographic
regions, the Lexington Plain (or Bluegrass Region) and the Highland
Rim. The middle portion of the Lexington Plain is underlain by the
oldest rocks in the state. Limestone soils produce excellent row
crops and pasture grasses in the area, which is the center of racehorse
breeding in Kentucky. In the S part of the Lexington Plain is an
area called the Knobs because it is dotted with hilly formations
(knobs). The Highland Rim is also known as the Pennyroyal (Pennyrile)
Plateau. It is largely underlain by limestone, in which many sinkholes
and caverns (including Mammoth Cave) have developed. The Western
Coal Field is in the N part of the region.
The E one-fourth of Kentucky is part of the Appalachian (Cumberland)
Plateau. It is underlain by sandstone, shale, and limestone. On
the surface are thin, sandy clay soils. The forested mountain ridges
of the region are crossed by several gaps, including historic Cumberland
Gap (about 518 m/1700 ft high). The Appalachian Plateau
includes the Eastern Coal Field.
All significant lakes in Kentucky were created by dams on
rivers such as the Tennessee (Kentucky Lake), the Cumberland (Lakes
Barkley and Cumberland), the Rough (Rough River Lake), the Green
(Green River Lake), and the Big Sandy (Dewey Lake). Other rivers
include the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Licking, and the Kentucky.
Almost all Kentucky’s rivers flow W or N. The state has
several notable waterfalls, including Cumberland Falls, near Corbin,
and the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville.
Kentucky has a temperate climate, with warm to hot summers
and cool winters. The average annual temperature is about 14° C
(about 57° F) in most parts of the state. The recorded temperature
has ranged from –36.7° C (–34° F),
in 1963 at Cynthiana, to 45.6° C (114° F), in
1930 at Greensburg. Average yearly precipitation in Kentucky is
about 1170 mm (about 46 in). In winter, snow accumulations of more
than 610 mm (more than 24 in) are not uncommon on the Appalachian
Plateau.
| KENTUCKY AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Louisville |
Lexington |
| Average January temperature range |
–3.9° to 5.6° C |
25° to 42° F |
–3.9° to 5° C |
25° to 41° F |
| Average July temperature range |
18.9° to 30.6° C |
66° to 87° F |
18.9° to 30° C |
66° to 86° F |
| Average annual temperature |
13.3° C |
56° F |
12.8° C |
55° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
1092 mm |
43 in |
1118 mm |
44 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
432 mm |
17 in |
406 mm |
16 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
124 |
131 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
70% |
70% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
94 |
95 |
Approximately 40% of Kentucky is forested, with the
thickest stands located on the Appalachian Plateau. Most trees are
hardwoods, such as oak, beech, hickory, maple, and walnut, but softwoods
such as cypress, hemlock, cedar, and pine are also important. Other
plants of Kentucky include buckeye, dogwood, laurel, azalea, rhododendron,
redbud, blueberry, pennyroyal, and goldenrod (the state flower).
Kentucky formerly provided a habitat for large wild mammals,
such as bison and elk, but its wildlife now is mostly made up of
smaller animals. Common mammals include fox, groundhog, muskrat,
opossum, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel, and deer. The numerous species
of birds in Kentucky range from the small house wren to the huge
eagle; other birds are the cardinal (the state bird), egret, mockingbird,
yellowbellied sapsucker, crow, kingfisher, and woodpecker. A major
bird migration route is along the W part of the state.
More than 100 kinds of fish are native to Kentucky waters,
the most common of which are bass, bluegill, crappie, perch, and
catfish. Reptiles include many species of snakes, including rattlesnake,
copperhead, and water moccasin, as well as turtles and lizards.
The most important mineral resource of Kentucky is bituminous coal,
located mainly in the Highland Rim and Appalachian Plateau regions.
Significant deposits of petroleum and natural gas are in the S and
E parts of the state. Other minerals include stone, sand and gravel,
clay, lime, lead, zinc, and fluorite.
According to the 2000 census, Kentucky had 4,041,769 inhabitants,
an increase of 9.7% over 1990. The average population density
in 2000 was 101.7 people per sq mi of land area; considerably higher
densities occurred in the N central, E, and W parts of the state.
Whites made up 90.1% of the population and blacks 7.3%;
additional population groups included some 8616 American Indians
and Alaska Natives, 29,744 Asians, and 1460 Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islanders. (These figures do not include the 1.1% of
the population who reported more than one race.) A total of 59,939
Kentucky residents, about 1.5% of the population, claimed
Hispanic ancestry. Kentucky’s largest cities were Lexington-Fayette,
Louisville, Owensboro, Bowling Green, and Covington. Frankfort is
the state capital.
According to the 1990 census, Baptists (42.5%) constituted
the largest single religious group; other groups included Roman
Catholics (13.3%), Methodists (7.2%), and Disciples
of Christ. In 1990 about 52% of all Kentuckians lived in
areas defined as urban, and the rest of the state’s inhabitants
lived in areas categorized as rural.
| POPULATION OF KENTUCKY SINCE 1790 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1790 |
74,000 |
0% |
| 1820 |
564,000 |
2% |
| 1850 |
982,000 |
8% |
| 1880 |
1,649,000 |
15% |
| 1900 |
2,147,000 |
22% |
| 1920 |
2,417,000 |
26% |
| 1940 |
2,846,000 |
30% |
| 1960 |
3,038,000 |
45% |
| 1980 |
3,660,574 |
51% |
| 1990 |
3,685,296 |
52% |
| 2000 |
4,041,769 |
-- |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN KENTUCKY |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Lexington-Fayette |
260,512 |
225,366 |
| Louisville |
256,231 |
269,063 |
| Owensboro |
54,067 |
53,549 |
| Bowling Green |
49,296 |
40,641 |
| Covington |
43,370 |
43,264 |
| Hopkinsville |
30,089 |
29,809 |
| Frankfort |
27,741 |
25,968 |
| Henderson |
27,373 |
25,945 |
| Richmond |
27,152 |
21,183 |
| Jeffersontown |
26,633 |
23,223 |
Louisville is Kentucky’s main cultural and educational
center, but many institutions are located in other parts of the
state.
The first school in present-day Kentucky was a private school
established in the mid-1770s. In 1838 the first public school system
was set up. In the late 1980s, Kentucky had 1385 public elementary
and secondary schools, which annually enrolled about 451,900 elementary
pupils and 178,800 secondary students. Some 56,400 students attended
private schools each year. In the same period, Kentucky had 59 institutions
of higher learning, with a combined yearly enrollment of some 166,000 students.
Among the leading universities and colleges of the state were the
University of Kentucky and Transylvania University (1780), both
at Lexington; the University of Louisville (1798); Kentucky State University
(1886), at Frankfort; Eastern Kentucky University (1906), at Richmond;
Western Kentucky University (1906), at Bowling Green; Morehead State
University (1922), at Morehead; Berea College (1855), at Berea;
and Centre College (1819), at Danville.
Kentucky’s principal museums include the John James Audubon
Museum, with original works by the noted ornithologist, at Henderson;
the J. B. Speed Art Museum, featuring exhibits of American and European
painting and decorative art, the Museum of Natural History and Science,
and the Kentucky Derby Museum, with displays on horse racing, all
at Louisville; the Barton Museum of Whiskey History, at Bardstown;
the Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor, at Fort Knox; and the Museum
of the Kentucky Historical Society, at Frankfort. The oldest library
in the state is the Lexington Public Library, which was founded
in 1795, and the largest collection of books is in the University
of Kentucky Library. Louisville is the seat of a noted symphony
orchestra, as well as ballet and opera companies and the well-known
Actors Theatre of Louisville.
About 80 km (about 50 mi) S of Louisville is Abraham Lincoln Birthplace
National Historic Site, which includes a cabin similar to the one
in which Lincoln was born. Another notable landmark is Cumberland
Gap National Historical Park, straddling the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Virginia. A major stream of westward migration poured through
this natural gateway. Much of an early 19th-century Shaker community
is preserved in Shakertown at Pleasant Hill, at Harrodsburg. The Shakers
were a religious group known for their singing, dancing, and fine
handicrafts. The house that inspired Stephen Foster to write the
favorite song “My Old Kentucky Home” is near Bardstown.
Kentucky Lake, in the W part of the state, is a popular outdoor-recreational
center, as are several of Kentucky’s other big artificial
lakes. A leading event in the state is the Kentucky Derby, a Thoroughbred-horse
race that has been held annually at Churchill Downs, in Louisville,
since 1875.
In the early 1990s, Kentucky had 141 AM radio stations, 148
FM radiobroadcasters, and 38 television stations. The state’s
first radio station, WHAS in Louisville, began in 1922. In the early
1990s, Kentucky had 23 daily newspapers, with a combined daily circulation
of about 662,400 copies. The Courier-Journal (published
in Louisville) and the Lexington Herald-Leader were
among the leading dailies. The state’s initial newspaper,
the Kentucky Gazette, was first published at Lexington
in 1787.
Kentucky is governed under a constitution adopted in 1891,
as amended; previous constitutions had been adopted in 1792, 1799,
and 1850. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by the
state legislature or by a constitutional convention; an amendment
proposed by the legislature must be approved by a majority of persons
voting on the issue in a general election.
The chief executive of Kentucky is a governor, who is popularly
elected to a 4-year term. A governor may serve more than one term,
but not two successive terms. The lieutenant governor, also elected
to a 4-year term, succeeds the governor in case of the latter’s
death, removal from office, or incapacity to govern. Other elected
state officials include the secretary of state, attorney general, auditor
of public accounts, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction,
and commissioner of agriculture.
Kentucky’s bicameral legislature is called the General
Assembly. It consists of a house of representatives, with 100 members
popularly elected to 2-year terms, and a senate, with 38 members
elected to 4-year terms.
The highest court in Kentucky is the supreme court, which
has seven justices. One justice is chosen by the court to serve
as the chief justice for a 4-year term. The next highest tribunal
is the court of appeals, with 14 judges. The chief trial courts
are the circuit courts, with a total of 91 judges. All members of
these courts are popularly elected to 8-year terms.
Kentucky is divided into 120 counties, each of which is run
by a fiscal court presided over by the county judge.
Kentucky elects two senators and six representatives to the U.S.
Congress. The state has eight electoral votes in presidential elections.
Except for a period during the 1950s and ’60s, the
Democratic party has dominated state and local politics in Kentucky
since the Civil War. Democratic candidates carried the state in all
but three presidential elections (1896, 1924, 1928) from 1876 to
1952, but the Republicans have been much more successful in presidential
contests since that time.
Until the 20th century, farming was the main source of income
in Kentucky, and manufacturing was limited largely to processing
agricultural commodities and timber resources. A shift toward manufacturing
began in the 1930s and increased markedly after 1945. The state’s
success in attracting new industries was in part due to the abundance
of coal and the availability of low-cost hydroelectricity. As the
1990s began, service industries constituted Kentucky’s
dominant economic sector, followed by manufacturing and government.
| KENTUCKY STATE ECONOMY (early 1990s) |
| STATE BUDGET |
|
| General revenue |
$7.3 billion |
| General expenditure |
$7.1 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$5.3 billion |
 |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$1496 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$11,153 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
19.0% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (335) |
$39.3 billion |
|
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
1,434,000 |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
24% |
| Employed in services |
22% |
| Employed in manufacturing |
20% |
| Employed in government |
18% |
|
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Commercial, financial, and professional services |
43% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
28% |
| Government |
12% |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
4% |
| Mining |
4% |
Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF KENTUCKY (early 1990s) |
|
Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
|
$3.4 billion |
|
| CROPS |
|
$1.7 billion |
| Tobacco |
200,000 metric tons |
$779 million |
| Hay |
969,000 metric tons |
$344 million |
| Corn |
3.0 million metric tons |
$306 million |
| Soybeans |
1.1 million metric tons |
$232 million |
| Wheat |
544,000 metric tons |
$55 million |
|
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
|
$1.7 billion |
| Cattle |
338,000 metric tons |
$696 million |
| Milk |
987,000 metric tons |
$322 million |
| Hogs |
151,000 metric tons |
$188 million |
| Eggs |
407 million |
$23 million |
|
| MINERALS |
|
$4.8 billion |
| Coal |
151.0 million metric tons |
$4.2 billion |
| Stone |
43.7 million metric tons |
$188 million |
| Natural gas |
2.1 billion cu m |
$137 million |
| Petroleum |
5.4 million barrels |
$99 million |
|
| |
|
Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
|
$6.8 billion |
| Industrial machinery and equipment |
|
$829 million |
| Electronic equipment |
|
$679 million |
| Transportation equipment |
|
$606 million |
| Primary metals |
|
$563 million |
| Apparel and textile mill products |
|
$478 million |
| Fabricated metal products |
|
$472 million |
| Printing and publishing |
|
$459 million |
| Chemicals and allied products |
|
$445 million |
| Food and kindred products |
|
$415 million |
| Rubber and plastics products |
|
$358 million |
|
| OTHER |
|
$20.3 billion |
| Government |
|
$5.8 billion |
| Services |
|
$4.6 billion |
| Retail trade |
|
$2.7 billion |
| Wholesale trade |
|
$1.6 billion |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
|
$1.6 billion |
| Finance, insurance, and real estate |
|
$1.3 billion |
| Construction |
|
$1.2 billion |
| Sources: U.S. government publications |
Agricultural income in Kentucky exceeds $3 billion
annually and represents about 3% of the gross state product.
Kentucky has about 91,000 farms, which average 63 ha (155 acres)
in size. Livestock and livestock products provide about half the
yearly farm income. Beef cattle are Kentucky’s leading
livestock product. Milk ranks second in value among livestock and
livestock products, followed by hogs, chicken eggs, and broiler
chickens. Most of Kentucky’s famous Thoroughbred racehorses are
raised on bluegrass pastures near Lexington.
Crops account for about half of Kentucky’s total
farm income. Kentucky ranks second (to North Carolina) among the
U.S. states in the production of tobacco, the state’s most
valuable crop. Hay, corn, soybeans, and wheat are next in value,
and significant quantities of barley, sorghum grain, oats, and fruit
(especially apples and peaches) also are produced.
Forests cover about 50% of the land area of Kentucky.
Most of the trees are hardwoods, oak and hickory being the dominant
types. Kentucky’s total annual timber output is about 2.6
million cu m (about 92.2 million cu ft). Hardwoods account for more
than 90% of the output. Approximately 85% of the
timber is used for sawlogs.
Most fishing in Kentucky is recreational. The size of the
commercial catch is very small. Catfish are marketed by a few of
the state’s farmers.
The mineral output of Kentucky has an annual value of about $4.8
billion and accounts for 4% of the gross state product.
Kentucky typically ranks among the ten leading U.S. states in the
value of mineral production. Kentucky leads the nation in coal production,
and coal accounts for more than 85% of the value of its
mineral output. The type of coal mined is bituminous, or soft, coal.
Coal mines are located in the Appalachian Plateau of E Kentucky
and in the Western Coal Field. Other leading minerals, in order
of value, are stone, natural gas, and petroleum. Sand and gravel,
clay, and gemstones are also produced. The state was formerly a
leading source of fluorspar, but fluorspar mining in the state ceased
in the late 1970s.
Manufacturing accounts for about 23% of the annual
gross state product in Kentucky and employs some 284,000 people.
The annual value added by manufacturing in Kentucky totals more
than $18 billion. Louisville is the state’s leading
industrial center. Kentucky’s leading manufactured products
include industrial machinery, electronic equipment, transportation
equipment, primary metals, and apparel and textiles. The industrial
machinery manufactured in Kentucky includes food-processing equipment
made in Louisville and air-conditioning equipment produced in Lexington.
A large plant in Louisville produces household appliances, and a
huge factory in Georgetown is a major source of automobiles. Chemicals
are produced in plants at Louisville, Ashland, Calvert City, Paducah,
and other communities. Kentucky leads all states in the production
of whiskey, much of which is made in distilleries in Louisville.
Other major manufactures of the state include fabricated metals,
printed materials, processed foods, and rubber and plastics products.
Each year millions of travelers spend more than $5.3
billion in Kentucky. About 3.4 million people visit the three main
areas in the state administered by the National Park Service. Almost
two-thirds of these visit Mammoth Cave National Park. Other areas
are Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site and Cumberland
Gap National Historical Park. Big South Fork National River and Recreation
Area, along a headstream of the Cumberland R. and partly in Tennessee,
is being developed for public use. In addition, the state maintains
a system of 46 parks and recreation areas.
Lexington is the hub of a network of about 112,120 km (about 69,670
mi) of federal, state, and local roads that serves all sections
of the state. Some 1190 km (some 740 mi) of interstate highways
and an extensive system of other limited-access arteries link the
major cities of Kentucky. The state has about 3910 km (about 2430
mi) of operated Class I railroad track. Louisville is the major
rail junction.
The Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers are
the major waterways serving Kentucky. Only a small part of the traffic
on these rivers stops at Kentucky ports, however. Louisville is
the state’s most important port. Kentucky has 114 airports
and 28 heliports. The busiest airport serves Louisville.
Electricity generating plants in Kentucky have a total capacity
of about 15.5 million kw and produce approximately 73.8 billion
kwh of electricity each year. Coal is the source of most of the
electric power, with hydroelectric facilities accounting for nearly
all the rest.
The region now known as Kentucky was inhabited in ancient
times by people whose extant remains include a wealth of artifacts.
In more recent centuries the rich meadowlands and hunting grounds
of Kentucky attracted such Indian tribes as the Shawnee, Wyandot,
Delaware, and Cherokee.
The French explorer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, visited
the area during his descent (completed 1682) of the Mississippi
River; it is believed that he may also have visited the region in
1669. Later explorers included the Americans Thomas Walker (1715–94)
in 1750 and Christopher Gist (1706?–59) in 1751. In 1767
the frontiersman Daniel Boone and five companions visited eastern
Kentucky, but it was not until seven years later that the American
pioneer and soldier James Harrod (1742–93), along with
40 associates from the Monongahela country, established the first
permanent settlement in the state of Kentucky, which was given the
name Harrodsburg. In 1775 Boone established a settlement, which
he named Boonesboro.
The land policy of Virginia encouraged immigration to the
new country, but hostile Indians made the region dangerous. In 1774
a Virginian force decisively defeated the Northwestern Indians at
Point Pleasant (now in West Virginia) and forced them to retire
beyond the Ohio River. In the same year Boone concluded a treaty
with the Cherokee by which they sold to Richard Henderson and his
associates, who styled themselves the Transylvania Co., their claim
to the lands between the Ohio and Cumberland rivers west and south
of the Kentucky River—a total of about 6.9 million ha (about
17 million acres), or approximately 65 percent of the present state
of Kentucky—for 10,000 pounds sterling. Virginia claimed
the territory in question and refused to recognize the validity
of the sale, but the Virginia legislature consented in 1778 to give
the company a title to more than 80,900 ha (more than 200,000 acres)
and to confirm the sales already made.
Attempts to make the region into a state began in May 1775.
Henderson convoked at Boonesboro a convention that adopted a code
of nine laws for the government of the self-constituted commonwealth;
this action was, however, disallowed by the legislature of Virginia.
The following year, by act of the legislature, the new county was
organized under the name of Kentucky Co., with Harrodsburg as the
county seat and with separate representatives in the Virginia legislature.
Kentucky was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792. In July 1799
the second constitution of Kentucky was passed, making the governor
and other state officers elective by the people instead of by the
electors. In the War of 1812, Kentucky sent 7000 men into action;
about one-fourth of the army of Gen. Andrew Jackson at the Battle
of New Orleans consisted of Kentucky riflemen.
Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, Kentucky attempted
to maintain a position of neutrality, but the geographical position
of the state made the plan impossible. The governor rejected the
appeal of Abraham Lincoln for troops, and when the Confederate and
Union armies began to pour into the state from opposite directions,
formal demands were made for their withdrawal. The Union armies
soon took possession, however, and by 1862 the Confederate forces
had evacuated the state. Important military operations in Kentucky
were the battles of Mill Springs, Richmond, and Perryville; the invasion
of Gen. Braxton Bragg; the five successive cavalry raids of the
Confederate general John Morgan (1825–64); and the Confederate
raid on Paducah under Gen. Nathan Forrest. Including the so-called
Home Guards and those who enlisted but were never mustered in, Kentucky
furnished more than 90,000 troops to the Union army and 40,000 to
the Confederacy. Throughout the war Kentucky remained a slave state;
its slaves were freed only after the adoption (1865) of the 13th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A period of fighting, known as the Black Patch War of 1904–9,
led to the end of the tobacco-buying monopoly held by a group of
large firms. The depression of the 1930s, however, forced many farmers
and miners to seek work in the cities. By the end of World War II,
Kentucky had shifted from an agricultural to an industrial economy,
and by the late 1970s the state led the U.S. in coal production.
The controversy in the 1960s surrounding the U.S. Supreme
Court decision to end racial segregation in public schools found
Kentucky generally in favor of integration.
Endowed with spectacular scenery and rich in human, mineral,
and agricultural resources, Kentucky enjoys a major tourist industry.
In the 1980s and ’90s the state faced the challenge of
controlling strip mining and finding ways to increase employment
opportunities and improve social services. Flooding throughout the Ohio
River valley in March 1997 caused extensive damage in many Kentucky
towns.