The Kentucky State Constitution provides an outstanding constitutional and historical account of the state's governing charter. In addition to an overview of Kentucky's constitutional history, it provides an in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, detailing the many significant changes that have been made since its initial drafting, including a discussion of Kentucky's previous three constitutions. This treatment, along with a table of cases, index, and bibliography provides an unsurpassed reference guide for students, scholars, and practitioners of Kentucky's constitution. As the fifteenth state admitted to the United States, Kentucky has had three previous state constitutions, each one longer than the last. To provide a context for Kentucky's vibrant constitutional history, the book first outlines the historical development and motivations behind these revised constitutions and highlights reforms and issues that might occur in future revisions. Next, each section of the modern constitution is analyzed, including its origins, general intent and purpose, and important judicial interpretations illustrating the types of situations that might involve the section. Finally, the book provides a thorough bibliographic essay reviewing the evolution of the Kentucky constitution and curating key academic sources for related reading and research. The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

In the nineteenth century, Kentucky was one of the nation's leading producers of racehorses, whiskey, tobacco -- and new counties. By 1886 the three original Kentucky counties had been carved into 119 (belated 120th was to be formed in 1912). These small divisions commanded the fierce loyalty of their citizens and for most Kentuckians formed the center of political and community life.

The County in Kentucky History shows the bitter strife of countywide feuds and the conviviality of court day, the sporadic outbreaks of ill-feeling between town and country and the high-spirited brawls that regularly accompanied elections. Robert M. Ireland traces the structural changes in county government from the days when justices of the peace made up a self-perpetuating county court to the more democratic period when the buying of votes replaced the buying of offices.

The most beneficial change that could come to local government -- consolidation into fewer units -- Ireland sees as unlikely where the tradition of county loyalties and rivalries remains as strong as it does in Kentucky.

Kentucky's counties though theoretically provinces of the state were in reality powerful semi-sovereign entities during the latter half of the 19th century. Their positive accomplishments were many. Government funds were wisely invested in internal improvements, road construction, law enforcement, tax collection, and relief of the poor. Keen competition for county offices, placed on an electoral basis by the Constitution of 1850, brought added vitality to Kentucky's uniquely intense political life, and the official day on which the county courts met continued to be the foremost social and economic day of the month. Despite these positive facets and the good intentions of the reformers of 1849-1850, however, Kentucky's counties retained a tradition of parochialism, corruption, and inefficiency. The establishment of elective offices eliminated few of the deficiencies of the county system. The railroads were the focus of rivalry and scandal. Prevailing lawlessness compounded the semi-anarchical condition of many of the counties. Rising crime rates rendered insecure the lives of many Kentuckians. Nineteenth-century Kentucky left no legacy of law and order. A grasp of this paradoxical situation is essential to an understanding of late 19th-century Kentucky history. In this probing study, Robert M. Ireland offers the first thorough examination of the impact of Kentucky's counties on the state's constitutional, political, social, and economic development during this period.

Although an important part of local government, particularly in the South, in their early years the county courts have not been thoroughly investigated. This book offers the first comprehensive examination of the county courts during the antebellum era in one southern state Kentucky, placing them in the context of its constitutional and political structure. More administrative than judicial in function, the courts were the means of providing most services of government for the people. This range of activity is fully discussed here, from road building to tax collecting to caring for the poor. Robert M. Ireland also explores the political aspects of the courts as well as their sometimes complex relationship with the state legislature and with the growing towns and cities. The courts, however, often failed in performing their duties, and the justices, being appointed, became a self-perpetuating oligarchy who seldom consulted the wishes of the people. Elected officials and the voters themselves thus grew increasingly alienated by the working of the courts. Their resentment culminated finally in a constitutional reform that in 1850 created an elective system of county government in Kentucky.