text: earle c. clements earle chester clements ( october 22 , 1896 – march 12 , 1985 ) was an american farmer and politician . he represented the state of kentucky in both the u.s. house of representatives and the u.s. senate and was its 47th governor , serving from 1947 to 1950 . for three decades , he was the leader of a faction of the state 's democratic party that stood in opposition to the faction led by two - time governor and senator a. b. " happy " chandler . after following his father into the local politics of his home county , clements agreed to chair the gubernatorial campaign of thomas rhea in 1935 . already committed to rhea , he turned down an offer from happy chandler to chair his campaign , beginning the rift between the two men . clements went on to the kentucky senate in 1941 . in 1944 , he was selected as democratic floor leader of the senate and successfully campaigned for a larger budget than that proposed by republican governor simeon willis . his stand against willis made him popular in the democratic party , and he went on to serve two terms in the u.s. house of representatives from 1944 to 1948 . in 1947 , clements succeeded willis as governor , defeating harry lee waterfield , chandler 's preferred candidate , in the democratic primary . as governor , clements raised taxes and used the revenue to increase funding for the state park system and construct and maintain more roads . he also achieved advancements in education , including some progress toward desegregation . in 1950 , clements was elected to the u.s. senate . he resigned as governor to accept his senate seat . while in the senate , he served as chairman of the senate democratic reelection committee and as democratic party whip under party leader lyndon johnson . he was defeated by thruston morton in his re - election bid in 1956 ; a lack of support from chandler ( then serving his second term as governor ) contributed to clements ' defeat . at johnson 's insistence , clements resumed chairing the senate democratic reelection committee in 1957 and 1959 . clements had supported bert t. combs for governor against chandler in 1955 , and did so again against harry lee waterfield in 1959 . combs defeated waterfield and rewarded clements by appointing him state highway commissioner . in 1961 , clements and combs split over a proposed deal to lease dump trucks from a louisville car dealer . state newspapers charged that the deal was payback to the dealer , a combs supporter . when combs canceled the deal clements took it as a public rebuke and soon after resigned to work on the presidential campaign of his friend , lyndon johnson . following his split with combs , clements allied himself with the chandler faction , opposing combs ' lieutenant governor , wilson wyatt in his bid to unseat senator thruston morton . clements ' influence declined rapidly after the split with combs , and by the 1963 gubernatorial race , he was unable to deliver his home county for chandler in the primary against edward t. breathitt . clements died in his hometown of morganfield , kentucky on march 12 , 1985 . early life earle c. clements was born in morganfield , kentucky on october 22 , 1896 . he was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to aaron waller and sallie anna ( ) clements . his father was a popular county judge and sheriff in union county , but clements at first shunned a political career . he obtained his early education in the public schools , and graduated from morganfield high school in 1915 . later in 1915 , he enrolled at the university of kentucky 's college of agriculture . in 1915 and 1916 , he played center on the football team , and was named to the " all - southern team " in 1916 . he was also a member of the pi kappa alpha fraternity . clements ' studies were interrupted by world war i. on july 9 , 1917 , he enlisted as a private in company m of the kentucky national guard . the company was ordered to camp taylor near louisville , kentucky where they were mustered into the infantry of the u.s. army . clements first served as a guard at camp taylor and later entered the officers training school at fort benjamin harrison near indianapolis , indiana . he graduated with the rank of first lieutenant and remained stateside as a professor of military science . he served for a total of 28 months , attaining the rank of captain , and was discharged on september 12 , 1919 . after the war , clements worked as a rigger in the oil fields of east texas . in 1921 , however , his father 's health began to fail , and he returned to kentucky to help him on the farm and served as his deputy sheriff . as a hobby , he also coached football at his high school alma mater . one of his assistant coaches , rodes k. myers , would go on to be lieutenant governor under keen johnson . on january 18 , 1927 , clements married sara m. blue . their only child , elizabeth ( bess ) hughes clements abell , became social secretary to lady bird johnson and walter mondale . political career in 1922 , clements ' father died , and clements was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term . he was subsequently elected to the office ; his term ended in 1925 . in 1926 , he was elected county clerk . he served two terms in that office , with his tenure ending january 1 , 1934 . later in 1934 , he was elected county judge . during his two terms , which lasted until 1941 , he ordered the paving of 123 miles of road in the county — more than all the previous county judges combined — despite the financial hardships of the great depression . in 1935 , thomas rhea asked clements to serve as his campaign chairman for the 1935 gubernatorial race . clements accepted , and consequently had to refuse a later request from his boyhood friend , a. b. " happy " chandler , to fill the same position for his campaign . chandler won the democratic primary , and for decades following , clements and chandler led opposite factions of the kentucky democratic party . chandler claimed that clements bolted the party and supported republican candidate king swope in the general election ; clements denied this , but admitted that he gave chandler 's campaign only minimal support . clements was elected to the kentucky senate in 1941 , representing union , webster , and henderson counties . by 1944 , he had risen to the post of majority leader in that body and played a central role in writing the state 's budget that year . due to clements ' efforts , educational appropriations were increased far above what had been called for by republican governor simeon willis . clements ' face - off with willis won him popularity and helped him win a seat in the u.s. house of representatives , representing kentucky 's second district , in 1944 . he was re - elected in 1946 . a new deal democrat , clements voted to increase funding to the rural electrification administration and advocated for the 1945 national school lunch act . he supported expansion of agricultural research and reorganization of the farm security administration . he endorsed conservation and wildlife programs and additional funding to federal parks . he supported civil rights legislation , including bans on lynching and poll taxes . he opposed the taft - hartley act and voted to disband the house un - american activities committee . his service on the select house committee on food shortages gave him the chance to interact closely with president harry s. truman . governor though encouraged to run for a seat in the senate in 1946 , clements instead made the race for governor in 1947 . in the democratic primary , he faced harry lee waterfield , a former speaker of the kentucky house of representatives . not known for his oratory or personality , clements was a masterful campaign organizer . he secured the support of western kentucky democrats by allying himself with logan county political boss emerson " doc " beauchamp . he chose lexington herald - leader editor tom underwood as his campaign manager , strengthening his influence in central kentucky . he befriended lawrence wetherby of jefferson county which helped him with the urban vote and carl d. perkins of knott county which helped him in rural eastern kentucky . during the primary campaign , two major issues surfaced . first , waterfield favored a tax on parimutuel betting , while clements opposed it . second , waterfield supported the development of electric power generation through public utilities , while clements favored private development ( which won him the support of the kentucky utilities company ) . the clements campaign also attacked waterfield for being deemed physically unfit for military service . clements received a late boost when he gained the endorsement of john y. brown , sr. , garnering added support from organized labor . ultimately , clements defeated waterfield by over 30 , 000 votes . in the general election , clements faced republican state attorney general eldon s. dummit . while clements managed to keep the democrats united following the primary , dummit had fractured the republicans by attacking the administration of sitting republican governor simeon s. willis and his preferred successor during the republican primary . dummit mounted a meager challenge by citing clements ' opposition to the taft - hartley act , but this was not very effective . dummit had replaced his campaign manager from the primary election , and when the ousted manager turned against him in the general election , it sounded the death knell for his campaign . clements won the election by a vote of 387 , 795 to 287 , 756 . he resigned his seat in the u.s. house to accept the governorship . as governor , clements enjoyed a three - to - one democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature . as a result , much of his proposed legislative agenda was passed . in the 1948 legislative session , the general assembly attracted new businesses by lowering taxes on stocks and bonds and the inheritance tax , but offset these cuts by approving clements ' proposals to increase taxes on gasoline and distilled spirits . clements also reversed his campaign stance against a tax on parimutuel betting , reportedly proposing a three percent tax because he feared a higher rate would be proposed if he did not take the initiative . with this new revenue , clements authorized $ 6 million to improve and expand the state park system . the improvement program included twelve large parks and several smaller ones , with kentucky dam park being the centerpiece . to oversee the developments , he appointed henry ward as commissioner of conservation . between 1948 and 1950 , new york was the only state that spent more than kentucky on its park system . clements was one of several people who have been referred to as the " father of kentucky 's state parks " . although the park system was started in 1926 by willard rouse , clements did much to develop them during his administration . clements authorized significant road building projects . during his administration , the state funded or built 3 , 800 miles of rural roads and 4 , 000 miles of primary roads . further , he initiated construction of the kentucky turnpike and the western kentucky parkway . the state also assumed maintenance of 6 , 000 miles of county roads under clements . during clements ' tenure , only texas spent more money on developing its roads . besides improving the roadways themselves , clements replaced the kentucky highway patrol , which had become a corrupt vehicle of political patronage , with the kentucky state police . clements also used some of the revenue generated from his tax increases to raise the salaries of the state 's public school teachers . he approved a 15 % increase in funding to the minimum foundation program which provided funding for poor school districts . this was not enough , however , to stave off a 1950 protest march on his office by teachers demanding that he raise another $ 10 million for education . clements ' lieutenant governor and successor , lawrence wetherby , was able to meet this demand in 1951 by using increased tax revenue resulting from the korean war . leading national accreditation groups attempted to many of kentucky 's public colleges during clements administration in order to end longstanding political interference in the higher education system . clements worked to help these colleges maintain their accreditation and to secure re - accreditation for morehead state teachers college . in 1948 , he weakened kentucky 's day law — which enforced segregation of the state 's education system — by providing an exception for black medical personnel to take post - graduate courses in white public hospitals . he also supported a 1948 bill that allowed blacks to pursue medical training at the university of louisville . his efforts to secure a similar arrangement at the university of kentucky were not successful , despite the governor 's status as ex - officio chairman of the board of trustees . in 1949 , the federal district court in lexington granted blacks admission to programs at the university of kentucky if an equivalent program was not available at kentucky state college , the state 's historically black college . clements also created or reorganized several government agencies . in cooperation with pennsylvania governor james h. duff , he created the ohio river sanitation commission ( ) to combat pollution in the ohio river and its tributaries . he curbed fraud in the insurance industry by reorganizing the state insurance commission and hiring a national prominent expert to rewrite the state 's entire insurance code . to assist the general assembly in writing more effective and efficient legislation , clements created the non - partisan legislative research commission , stocked with professionals from various disciplines , to conduct governmental research . he created the kentucky agriculture and industrial board ( the predecessor of the current kentucky department of commerce ) , which attracted 250 new industries to the state and created 40 , 000 new jobs during its first three years . he also created the kentucky building commission to manage and plan all new state buildings . among the commission 's first projects were a new $ 6 million capitol annex and the construction of a new state fairgrounds . to retain the most qualified government employees , he supported a constitutional amendment that quadrupled the minimum annual salary for state employees from $ 5 , 000 to $ 20 , 000 . though a strong governor with many successes , clements was not able to enact his full legislative agenda . in 1948 , his proposal to create a centralized board that governed all kentucky colleges failed in the general assembly . in both the 1948 and 1950 legislative sessions , clements failed to convince the general assembly to regulate strip mining . he also failed in his attempts to establish statewide pension and civil service programs , and was unable to enact a merit system for state employees . attempts to fund a veterans ' bonus passed the two houses of the general assembly in different forms and were unable to be reconciled . senator when alben barkley resigned his senate seat to assume the office of vice president in 1948 , clements had appointed garrett l. withers to fill the vacancy . barkley 's term was to expire in 1950 , and near the end of the term , withers resigned , allowing clements to run in a special election to fill both the remainder of withers ' term and a full six - year term simultaneously . he won the election over republican charles i. dawson by a vote of 300 , 276 to 256 , 876 . on november 27 , 1950 , he resigned as governor to assume the seat . the democrats lost seats in the senate in the 1950 election cycle , and party leader ernest mcfarland removed clinton anderson as chairman of the senate democratic reelection committee , replacing him with clements for the 1952 election cycle . clements advocated better cooperation between his committee and the democratic national committee in 1952 . however , republicans won the presidency and both houses of congress in 1952 , and the democratic national committee talked openly of disbanding the reelection committee . clements instead advised that his committee 's responsibilities be expanded and that its activities become year - round rather than seasonal . in 1953 , clements was appointed democratic party whip , serving under party leader lyndon b. johnson . in addition , he retained his chairmanship of the senate democratic reelection committee for the 1954 election cycle . he and democratic national committee chair stephen mitchell agreed that the two committees should conduct separate fund - raising operations in order to maximize donations for democratic candidates . democrats regained control of the senate in 1954 , and clements instituted the practice of having his committee provide transition services for freshman senators . that practice continues today . clements remained active in state politics , leading a faction of the democratic party that opposed happy chander . as the 1955 gubernatorial election grew closer , chandler announced he would seek a second term in office , having previously served from 1935 to 1939 . with clements ' former lieutenant governor , lawrence wetherby , ineligible to succeed himself as governor , the clements faction scrambled to find a candidate to challenge chandler . the most likely choice was wetherby 's lieutenant governor , emerson " doc " beauchamp , but his uninspiring persona and ties to boss - dominated logan county made him unacceptable to clements . instead , clements threw his support to bert t. combs , a court of appeals judge nominated by wetherby . since combs had little in the way of a political record to run against , chandler focused his campaign attacks on factional leaders clements and wetherby , who he nicknamed " clementine and wetherbine " . these attacks , combined with a poorly run campaign by combs , allowed chandler to win the democratic primary by a margin of 18 , 000 votes . he went on to win the general election and a second gubernatorial term . clements began his campaign for re - election in 1956 by defeating joe bates , the candidate favored by chandler , in the democratic senatorial primary . on april 30 , 1956 , kentucky senator alben barkley died suddenly of a heart attack . with the democratic primary already over , the democratic state central committee was charged with selecting a candidate to run for barkley 's seat . they chose wetherby , clements ' former lieutenant governor . journalist john ed pearce later recorded that clements had favored chandler 's choice , joseph leary , as a candidate rather than wetherby . clements didn 't think leary had a very good chance of winning , but he felt leary 's selection would keep chandler from throwing his support to the republican candidates . republican president dwight d. eisenhower convinced john sherman cooper , a former senator and ambassador who was immensely popular in kentucky , to challenge wetherby , hoping his presence on the ticket would aid his own re - election bid . in the republican primary , voters chose thruston b. morton to challenge clements . with two of his factional enemies as candidates for the senate , governor chandler bolted the party and supported the republican candidates . further complicating clements ' campaign was the fact that senate majority leader lyndon johnson suffered a heart attack in 1956 , and as majority whip , clements had to spend much of his time in washington , d.c. covering johnson 's duties in the senate . what time he was in kentucky was usually devoted to wetherby 's campaign , since the democrats believed clements would be re - elected easily while wetherby faced much stiffer odds . these factors , combined with the landslide of support for eisenhower , the republican presidential candidate , contributed to the defeat of both wetherby and clements . cooper defeated wetherby by 65 , 000 votes , while clements lost to morton by a margin of 7 , 000 votes out of more than 1 million that were cast in the election . it was clements ' first defeat for elected office in a career that spanned thirty years . later life clements never again sought an elected office after his defeat by morton , though he remained active in state politics and continued to lead the anti - chandler faction of his party . from 1957 to 1959 , at the insistence of lyndon johnson , he served as executive director of the united states senate democratic campaign committee and helped ensure the election of a fourteen - seat democratic majority in the senate . he considered running for governor again in 1959 , but ultimately decided against it . without clements in the race , the anti - chandler faction was unable to unite behind either former candidate bert t. combs or former louisville mayor wilson wyatt . clements united the faction behind combs , making wilson wyatt their candidate for lieutenant governor and promising him support for later races . combs defeated the chandler candidate , harry lee waterfield in the democratic primary and went on to win the general election . in 1960 , combs appointed clements as state highway commissioner . some state newspapers charged that clements had demanded this post at the head of the state 's largest executive department in exchange for supporting combs , a charge combs denied . others wondered if clements took the post in order to organize the state political machinery for his friend lyndon johnson , who was rumored to be considering a run for president . still others believed that , from his powerful post , clements would be the real governor and combs only a puppet . scandal continued to plague clements as highway commissioner . in march 1960 , news broke that the highway department was about to lease 34 used dump trucks at a very favorable price from louisville ford dealer thurston cooke , who had served as finance chairman for combs ' gubernatorial campaign . some charged that this amounted to a political payoff by clements . combs , already under fire for appointing clements , canceled the lease bid on april 19 . clements was offended by this action and considered it a public rebuke . the incident caused a rift between combs and clements that never fully healed , although clements did not resign immediately . in august 1960 , clements met with combs and told him he wanted to resign to work for the vice - presidential campaign of lyndon johnson . combs called a press conference and announced that clements ' resignation would be effective september 1 and that he would be replaced by henry ward . the resignation was the end of the clements faction of the state democratic party . his split with combs was so severe that he allied with his longtime foe , happy chandler , against the new combs faction of the party . in the 1962 senatorial race , clements opposed wilson wyatt 's challenge to senator thruston morton . morton won re - election , ending wyatt 's political career . chandler again sought the democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1963 . clements appeared on stage with chandler at a rally where chandler claimed that combs had arranged the truck deal to discredit clements . chandler hoped to damage combs ' reputation and , by extension , that of his hand - picked successor edward t. breathitt . his strategy was unsuccessful ; breathitt carried the primary and went on to win the general election . clements ' waning influence was evidenced by the fact that breathitt carried union county by a vote of 2 , 528 to 1 , 913 . from 1961 to 1963 , clements was a consultant for the american merchant marine institute . he then returned to washington as a lobbyist and as an executive with the tobacco institute . in 1981 , he retired to his hometown of morganfield . after several years of illness , he died march 12 , 1985 and was buried at the odd fellows cemetery in morganfield . in 1980 , the breckinridge job corps center in morganfield was renamed the earle c. clements job corps center .