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The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state in the United States.
Geography
See also: List of Kentucky counties
Kentucky, affectionately known as The Bluegrass State, borders states of both the Midwest and the Southeast. West Virginia and Virginia lie to the east; Tennessee to the south; Missouri to the west; and Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north.
The state's northern border is formed by the Ohio River, and the western border is formed by the Mississippi River. Other major rivers in Kentucky include the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, the Green River, and the Licking River.
Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland Plateau in the southeast, the north-central Bluegrass Region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, also sometimes termed "Pennyrile" with cities such as Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, the western coal-fields area, and the far-west Jackson Purchase.
Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part exist as an enclave of another state. Far western Kentucky includes a small part of land, Kentucky Bend, on the Mississippi River bordered by Missouri and accessible via Tennessee, created by the New Madrid Earthquake.
The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass - the encircling 90 miles (145 km) around Lexington - and the Outer Bluegrass, the region that contains most of the Northern portion of the state, above the Knobs.
Significant natural attractions
History
Kentucky was used as sacred hunting grounds by roving bands of Native Americans (particularly the Shawnee); however as early as 1750, there were no known permanent Native settlements. After 1770, settlers from Virginia and North Carolina came through the Cumberland Gap, and Kentucky grew rapidly as the first settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains were founded. After the American Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County. Eventually, the residents of Kentucky County petitioned for a separation from Virginia. Ten constitutional conventions were held in the Constitution Square Courthouse in Danville between 1784 and 1792. In 1790, Kentucky's delegates accepted Virginia's terms of separation, and a state constitution was drafted at the final convention in April 1792. On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state to be admitted to the union and Isaac Shelby, a military veteran from Virginia, was elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth Of Kentucky.
While remaining loyal to the Union, Kentucky was a border state during the American Civil War. The state did not secede, and was officially neutral until invaded by Confederate forces. The Confederates entered the state during the "Kentucky Campaign" of Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith in 1862. Bragg's retreat following the Battle of Perryville left the state under the control of the Union Army for the remainder of the war. The state then abandoned neutrality, and publicly sided with the Union. Southern sympathizers attempted to establish an alternative state government with the goal of secession but failed to displace the legitimate government in Frankfort.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
Census
year |
Population |
|
| 1790 |
73,677 |
| 1800 |
220,955 |
| 1810 |
406,511 |
| 1820 |
564,317 |
| 1830 |
687,917 |
| 1840 |
779,828 |
| 1850 |
982,405 |
| 1860 |
1,155,684 |
| 1870 |
1,321,011 |
| 1880 |
1,648,690 |
| 1890 |
1,858,635 |
| 1900 |
2,147,174 |
| 1910 |
2,289,905 |
| 1920 |
2,416,630 |
| 1930 |
2,614,589 |
| 1940 |
2,845,627 |
| 1950 |
2,944,806 |
| 1960 |
3,038,156 |
| 1970 |
3,218,706 |
| 1980 |
3,660,777 |
| 1990 |
3,685,296 |
| 2000 |
4,041,769 |
As of 2005, Kentucky has an estimated population of 4,173,405, which is an increase of 31,570, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase of 131,120, or 3.2%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 77,156 people (that is 287,222 births minus 210,066 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 59,604 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,435 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 32,169 people.
Kentucky Population Density Map
As of 2004, Kentucky's population included about 95,000 foreign-born (2.3%).
Racially, the population is:
The five largest ancestries in the state are: American (20.9%), German (12.7%), Irish (10.5%), English (9.7%), African American (7.3%).
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Blacks, who once represented a quarter of the state's population during the height of the tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantation era, are mostly concentrated in the southwest (notably Christian County and the city of Paducah), the Bluegrass, and the city of Louisville. "American ancestry" is the largest reported ancestry group throughout most of the state in the Census.
Religion
Religiously, Kentucky is mostly Protestant. The religious affiliations of the state are as follows:
Religious movements were important in the early history of Kentucky. Perhaps the most famous event was the interdenominational revival in August 1801 at the Cane Ridge Meeting house in Bourbon County. As part of what is now known as the "Western Revival", thousands began meeting around a Presbyterian communion service on August 6, 1801, and ended six days later on August 12, 1801 when both humans and horses ran out of food. The service was originally scheduled for August 8, but people began arriving two days earlier on a rainy August 6. The meeting was hosted by Barton Stone. Presbyterians, Methodists and some Baptists were present, as the services attempted to be interdominational as possible. As the days wore on, some counted as many as seven preachers preaching at the same time from tree stumps or wagons.
Economy
The total gross state product for 2003 was US$129 billion. Its per-capita personal income was US$26,575, 41st in the nation. Kentucky's agricultural outputs are horses, cattle, tobacco, dairy products, hogs, soybeans, and corn. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, chemical products, electric equipment, machinery, food processing, tobacco products, coal, and tourism.
There are 5 income tax brackets, ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent of personal income. The sales tax rate in Kentucky is 6 percent. Kentucky has a broadly based classified property tax system. All classes of property, unless exempted by the Constitution, are taxed by the state, although at widely varying rates. And many of these classes are exempted from taxation by local government. Of the classes that are subject to local taxation, three have special rates set by the General Assembly, one by the Kentucky Supreme Court and the remaining classes are subject to the full local rate, which includes the tax rate set by the local taxing bodies plus all voted levies. Real property is assessed on 100 percent of the fair market value and property taxes are due by Dec. 31. Once the primary source of state and local government revenue, property taxes now account for only about 6 percent of the Kentucky's annual General Fund revenues.
Kentucky imposes a tax on intangible personal property held by a taxpayer on Jan. 1 of each year. Intangible property consists of any property or investment which represents evidence of value or the right to value. Some types of intangible property include: money market accounts, bonds, notes, retail repurchase agreements, accounts receivable, trusts, enforceable contracts sale of real estate (land contracts), money in hand, money in safe deposit boxes, annuities, interests in estates, loans to stockholders, and commercial paper.
Transportation
Major U.S. interstate highways servicing Kentucky include: I-24, I-75, I-65, I-64, I-71.
Law and government
The current governor is Ernie Fletcher (Republican). Kentucky's two U.S. Senators are Jim Bunning (Republican) and Mitch McConnell (Republican). The Kentucky Constitution provides for three branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. Kentucky's General Assembly has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch is headed by the Governor. See List of Kentucky Governors. The judicial branch of Kentucky is made up of trial courts, called District and Circuit Courts; an intermediate appellate court, called the Kentucky Court of Appeals; and a court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court. The Attorney General is Greg Stumbo.
Politics
Historically, Kentucky has been very hard fought and leaned slightly towards the Democratic Party. It was never included among the "Solid South." The majority of the state's voters are officially registered as Democrats, although the majority has slimmed substantially in recent election cycles. Kentucky has voted Republican in five of the last seven presidential elections but has supported the Democratic candidates of the South. The Commonwealth supported Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's 8 electoral votes overwhelmingly in 2004 by a margin of 20 percentage points and 59.6% of the vote. The most solidly Democratic counties are in the mountainous eastern unionized coal mining region, especially Pike, Floyd, Knott, Menifee, and Breathitt, and the cities of Louisville and Lexington. The Jackson Purchase area in the far west was historically a Democratic stronghold but has moved Republican recently.
Important cities and towns
The largest city in Kentucky is Louisville Metro, with a 2004 census estimated population of 556,332. The second largest city is Lexington-Fayette with 260,512 people. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and the cities of Northern Kentucky (suburban Cincinnati) make up about 45% of the state population.
Population > 1,000,000 (urbanized areas)
Population > 100,000 (urbanized areas)
Population > 10,000 (urbanized areas)
Important suburbs and small towns
Education
Colleges and universities
Private
Public
Community colleges
Professional sports teams
Kentucky is home to no major league sports team but several minor league teams.
Minor league baseball
Football
Basketball
Miscellaneous topics
Kentucky is well known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, local bourbon whisky distilleries, bluegrass music, and college basketball. While Kentucky's pastimes are distinctly those of the South, the state's cuisine is considered to be a synergistic blend of Midwestern cuisine and Southern US cuisine.
Origin of name
It was once believed that the name Kentucky was derived from the Native American word meaning "dark and bloody hunting ground," which is believed to be due to the fact that many Native American tribes went there to hunt in the game-rich forests and often fought each other there. However, it is now most commonly believed that the name Kentucky can be attributed to various Native American languages with several possible meanings from "land of tomorrow" to "cane and turkey lands" to "meadow lands." This last may come from the Iroquois name for the Shawnee town Eskippathiki. The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.
State symbols
Interesting facts about Kentucky
- Both the president of the Union (Abraham Lincoln) and the Confederacy (Jefferson Davis) during the Civil War were born in Kentucky.
- The Old Louisville neighborhood is the largest historic preservation district in the U.S., featuring Victorian architecture and is also the first place the public viewed Thomas Edison's light bulb. It is also the fourth largest historic preservation district overall in the U.S.
- Garrett Morgan, born to former slaves in Paris, invented the red, yellow, green traffic signal, as well as the first gas mask.
- The first public library open to African Americans was the Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.
- Rainey Bethea was the last condemned prisoner to be publicly executed in the United States. The sentence was carried out on August 14, 1936 in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators in Owensboro.
- The flat broom was invented by the Shakers in Kentucky at Pleasant Hill Settlement in the 19th century.
- Bourbon whiskey was first produced in Kentucky, purportedly by Baptist minister Elijah Craig.
- The University of Kentucky's men's basketball team, The UK Wildcats, are the winningest team in college basketball history.
- The Freedom Bell, located in Newport, is the largest free-swinging bell in existence.
- Several U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Kentucky in honor of the state. The USS Paducah and USS Louisville also served as naval vessels. Also, in honor of their massive and record-breaking contributions to scrap drives in World War II, the small town of Stearns got a ship named after itself.
- Famous performers, writers and other artists born in Kentucky include:
Trivia
As a result of the multiplexing of US Highways 51, 60, and 62 crossing the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky, and the multiplexing of US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri, rather than US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River directly from Kentucky to Missouri, Kentucky and Missouri are the only two states to share a boundary with no road directly connecting the two states.
See also
References
Politics
The commonwealth's politics remain controlled by the 'good ol' boy network favoring Lexington politics and leaving Louisville in the Twentieth Century.
History
Surveys and reference
- Bodley, Temple and Samuel M. Wilson. History of Kentucky 4 vols. (1928)
- Channing, Steven. Kentucky: A Bicentennial History (1977)
- Clark, Thomas Dionysius. A History of Kentucky (many editions, 1937-1992)
- Collins, Lewis. History of Kentucky (1880)
- Harrison, Lowell H. and James C. Klotter. A New History of Kentucky (1997), the best place to start
- Kleber, John E. et al The Kentucky Encyclopedia (1992), standard reference history
- Klotter, James C. Our Kentucky: A Study of the Bluegrass State (2000), high school text
- Lucas, Marion Brunson and Wright, George C. A History of Blacks in Kentucky (1992) 2 vol.
- Share, Allen J. Cities in the Commonwealth: Two Centuries of Urban Life in Kentucky (1982).
- Wallis, Frederick A. and Hambleton Tapp. A Sesqui-Centennial History of Kentucky 4 vols. (1945).
- Ward, William S., A Literary History of Kentucky (1988) (ISBN 087049578X)
- WPA, Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State (1939), classic guide
Specialized scholarly studies
- Bakeless, John. Daniel Boone, Master of the Wilderness (1989)
- Blakey, George T. Hard Times and New Deal in Kentucky, 1929-1939 (1986)
- Coulter, E. Merton. The Civil War and Readjustment in Kentucky (1926)
- Ellis, William E. The Kentucky River (2000).
- Faragher, John Mack. Daniel Boone (1993)
- Fenton, John H. Politics in the Border States: A Study of the Patterns of Political Organization, and Political Change, Common to the Border States: Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri (1957)
- Ireland, Robert M. The County in Kentucky History (1976)
- Klotter, James C. Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900-1950 (1992)
- Pearce, John Ed. Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics, 1930-1963 (1987)
- Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union (1991).
- Sonne, Niels Henry. Liberal Kentucky, 1780-1828 (1939)
- Tapp, Hambleton and James C Klotter. Kentucky Decades of Discord, 1865-1900 (1977)
- Townsend, William H. Lincoln and the Bluegrass: Slavery and Civil War in Kentucky (1955)
- Waldrep, Christopher Night Riders: Defending Community in the Black Patch, 1890-1915 (1993) tobacco wars
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky under GFDL
