career as a stonemason. But by virtue of the genius within him, and that necessary accompaniment to genius, — the power to labor unfalteringly, he succeeded in the profession toward which his ideal ever aspired. He made several statues of prominent men of the day; but his chief claim to fame rests upon the imaginative group to which he gave the 'name Woman Triumphant.1 He spent twelve years' work upon this statue, death alone ending his efforts to perfect it. t 1 In 1884 a Hart Memorial Association was organized at Lexington by Mrs. Issa Desha Breckinridge, for the purpose of raising $5000 with which to purchase of Messrs. Tiffany & Co., of New York, Woman Triumphant. The statue was secured, and is now in one of the public buildings of the city. Old Court and New Court parties. Dissatisfaction occasioned in Kentucky. Two new parties. The Democratic Republicans elect all the State officers except governor. Thomas Metcalf chosen governor. Victory wavers between the two parties. John Breathitt, Democratic Republican, elected governor. Henry Clay elected to the United Final triumph of National Repub- Transylvania University. Dr. Holly and Professor Rafinesque. Botanical gardens projected at Lexington. Thomas H. Barlow, inventor. The artists of Kentucky. CHAPTER XIII CIVIL AFFAIRS AND THE MEXICAN WAR, 1836-1849 Whig party THE National Republican party became merged into the Whig party, and the affairs of Kentucky were now controlled by that conservative element. As Rise of the an evidence of this change of sentiment in the State, James Clark, the judge who gave the decision against the replevin laws, was elected governor in 1836 The elections of the following year gave a continued triumph to the Whigs. It was as a result of a congressional contest of this year that one of the most gifted sons of Kentucky was brought within the recognition of the nation. Richard H. Menefee his twenty-third year, when he was appointed Commonwealth's attorney. With one term in the State legislature, one term in the Congress of the United States as the Whig representative of his district, and less than two years' legal practice at the Fayette bar, his brief life closed at the age of thirty-two. In legal ability and the powers of oratorical persuasion he has never been sur Thomas F. Thomas F. Marshall But passed, and in those dis- And it must be understood that this was the day of great men in Kentucky. From the long list of nota ble names, one or two may be selected as representative of the others. Thomas F. Marshall was born in Frankfort, June 7, 1801, and died at his old home, "Buck Pond," near Versailles in Woodford County, September 22, 1864. In wide scholarship and fervent, imaginative oratory he was rarely gifted. As a speaker he possessed the rather unusual combination of vigorous logic and captivating brilliancy. If his moral character had equaled his intellectual ability, he might have made an enduring impression upon his country. In the beginning of his second term, President Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. As a result of this measure State banks sprang up all over the Union. The legislature of Kentucky, in 1833-34, established the Bank of Kentucky, the Bank Financial of Louisville, and the Northern Bank of Kentucky. Paper money became abundant; as usual, speculation increased, and bankruptcy followed. In the year depression 1837, all the banks in the United States were obliged to suspend specie payment. By prudent management, however, they were able to resume specie payment the following year. But unfortunately for the country, the spirit of speculation had been stifled only momentarily, not destroyed. Business ventures increased, and again, the next year, there occurred a universal suspension of banks. This financial depression not only existed in Kentucky, but was general throughout the United States for several years. In 1842 an attempt was made to revive the old "relief measures." But there was no danger now of the passage of any radical laws by the legislature. The people had at last learned that legislation does not remedy evils. William Owsley Still the Whigs led in State politics. In 1840, Robert P. Letcher, who had been a member of Congress for ten years, was elected governor by a majority of Continued nearly sixteen thousand votes over the nomi- Whig control nee of the Democratic party-by which name the Democratic Republicans were now called. But the political contests of 1844 were the most exciting that had occurred |