Earle C. Clements
Encyclopedia
Earle Chester Clements was a politician from the US state of Kentucky
. He represented the state 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 truck
s 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.
on October 22, 1896. He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller and Sallie Anna (Tuley) 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
.
. 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 tax
es. 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
.
, he faced Lieutenant Governor and staunch Chandler ally Harry Lee Waterfield
. 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 Jillson
, 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 disaccredit 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 (ORANSCO) 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.
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 of 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.
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 truck
s 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.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He represented the state in both the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and was its 47th Governor
Governor of Kentucky
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...
, serving from 1947 to 1950. For three decades, he was the leader of a faction of the state's Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
that stood in opposition to the faction led by two-time governor and senator A. B. "Happy" Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
.
After following his father into the local politics of his home county
Union County, Kentucky
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1811. As of 2010, the population was 15,007. Its county seat is Morganfield.-Geography:Union County is part of the Western Coal Fields region of Kentucky...
, Clements agreed to chair the gubernatorial campaign of Thomas Rhea
Thomas Rhea
Thomas Stockdale Rhea was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as Kentucky State Treasurer in 1912 and was state highway commissioner in the administration of Governor Ruby Laffoon. Known as "The Sage of Russellville" or "The Gray Fox", Rhea was a powerful Democratic...
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
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
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
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
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
Harry Lee Waterfield
Harry Lee Waterfield , a Democrat, served twice as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and unsuccessfully sought election as Governor of Kentucky....
, Chandler's preferred candidate, in the Democratic primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. 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
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
. 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
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current chair is Sen. Patty Murray, who succeeded Sen. Robert Menendez following...
and as Democratic party whip
Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate
The Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate are the second-ranking members of the party leadership of the United States Senate....
under party leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
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
Bert T. Combs
Bertram Thomas Combs was a jurist and politician from the US state of Kentucky. After serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, he was elected the 50th Governor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of...
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 truck
Dump truck
A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of...
s from a Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
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
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
, 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
Edward T. Breathitt
Edward Thompson "Ned" Breathitt, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A member of one of the state's political families, he was the 51st Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1963 to 1967...
. Clements died in his hometown of Morganfield, Kentucky
Morganfield, Kentucky
Morganfield is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County...
on March 12, 1985.
Early life
Earle C. Clements was born in Morganfield, KentuckyMorganfield, Kentucky
Morganfield is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County...
on October 22, 1896. He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller and Sallie Anna (Tuley) Clements. His father was a popular county judge
County Judge/Executive
A County Judge/Executive is an elected official in the U.S. state of Kentucky who is the head of the executive branch of a government in a county. The Judge/Executive is an ex officio member of the Fiscal Court, the county's legislature...
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
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
's College of Agriculture. In 1915 and 1916, he played center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
on the football team
Kentucky Wildcats football
The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...
, and was named to the "All-Southern
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
Team" in 1916. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
fraternity.
Clements' studies were interrupted by World War I. On July 9, 1917, he enlisted as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in Company M of the Kentucky National Guard
Kentucky National Guard
The Kentucky National Guard consists of the:*Kentucky Army National Guard*Kentucky Air National Guard-External links:** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
. The company was ordered to Camp Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
where they were mustered into the infantry of the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Clements first served as a guard at Camp Taylor and later entered the Officers Training School at Fort Benjamin Harrison
Fort Benjamin Harrison
Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. It is named for the 23rd United States President, Benjamin Harrison. Land was purchased in 1903, with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being...
near Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana. He graduated with the rank of first lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
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
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
at his high school alma mater. One of his assistant coaches, Rodes K. Myers
Rodes K. Myers
Rodes Kirby Myers was an active Kentucky Democrat and served as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky 1939-1943.Myers' hometown was Bowling Green, Kentucky. Myers was a Kentucky delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948 and 1956.In 1939 Myers ran for Lieutenant Governor...
, would go on to be lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
under Keen Johnson
Keen Johnson
Keen Johnson was the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943. He remains the only journalist to have served in that capacity. After serving in World War I, Johnson purchased and edited the Elizabethtown Mirror...
. On January 18, 1927, Clements married Sara M. Blue. Their only child, Elizabeth (Bess) Hughes Clements Abell, became social secretary to Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
and Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
.
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 judgeCounty Judge/Executive
A County Judge/Executive is an elected official in the U.S. state of Kentucky who is the head of the executive branch of a government in a county. The Judge/Executive is an ex officio member of the Fiscal Court, the county's legislature...
. 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
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
In 1935, Thomas Rhea
Thomas Rhea
Thomas Stockdale Rhea was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as Kentucky State Treasurer in 1912 and was state highway commissioner in the administration of Governor Ruby Laffoon. Known as "The Sage of Russellville" or "The Gray Fox", Rhea was a powerful Democratic...
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
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
, to fill the same position for his campaign. Chandler won the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, 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
King Swope
King Swope was a United States Representative from Kentucky. He was born in Danville, Kentucky. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky in 1914 and from the law department of the University of Kentucky at Lexington in 1916...
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
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
in 1941, representing Union, Webster
Webster County, Kentucky
Webster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Webster County was formed in 1860 from parts of the counties of Henderson, Hopkins, and Union. As of 2000, the population is 14,120. Its county seat is Dixon. The county was named for American statesman Daniel Webster...
, and Henderson
Henderson County, Kentucky
Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1799. As the latest census data update of 2010, the population was counted 46,250. The county seat is the City of Henderson. The county was named for Colonel Richard Henderson who originally purchased of land...
counties. By 1944, he had risen to the post of majority leader
Majority leader
In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
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
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, representing Kentucky's second district
Kentucky's 2nd congressional district
Kentucky's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in west central Kentucky, the district includes Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Elizabethtown. The district has not seen an incumbent defeated since 1884....
, in 1944. He was re-elected in 1946. A New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
Democrat, Clements voted to increase funding to the Rural Electrification Administration
Rural Utilities Service
is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture , one of the federal executive departments of the United States government charged with providing public utilities to rural areas in the United States via public-private partnerships...
and advocated for the 1945 National School Lunch Act
National School Lunch Act
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...
. He supported expansion of agricultural research and reorganization of the Farm Security Administration
Farm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
. He endorsed conservation and wildlife programs and additional funding to federal parks. He supported civil rights legislation, including bans on lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
and poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
es. He opposed the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
and voted to disband the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
. His service on the Select House Committee on Food Shortages gave him the chance to interact closely with President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
.
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 primaryPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, he faced Lieutenant Governor and staunch Chandler ally Harry Lee Waterfield
Harry Lee Waterfield
Harry Lee Waterfield , a Democrat, served twice as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and unsuccessfully sought election as Governor of Kentucky....
. 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
Logan County, Kentucky
Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...
political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp
Emerson Beauchamp
Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp served as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky under Governor Lawrence Wetherby."Doc" Beauchamp was from Logan County, Kentucky. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and World War II. He served in the Kentucky Senate from 1944 through 1946. He was elected Lieutenant...
. He chose Lexington Herald-Leader
Lexington Herald-Leader
The Lexington Herald-Leader is a newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and based in the U.S. city of Lexington, Kentucky. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the Herald-Leaders paid circulation is the second largest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
editor Tom Underwood as his campaign manager, strengthening his influence in central Kentucky. He befriended Lawrence Wetherby
Lawrence Wetherby
Lawerence Winchester Wetherby was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Louisville, he rose through the judicial system of Jefferson County and was elected lieutenant governor in 1947, serving under Governor Earle C. Clements...
of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
which helped him with the urban vote and Carl D. Perkins
Carl D. Perkins
Carl Dewey Perkins , a Democrat, was a politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky.-Early years:Perkins was born in Hindman, Kentucky...
of Knott County
Knott County, Kentucky
Knott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1884. As of 2000, the population was 17,649. Its county seat is Hindman. The county is named for James Proctor Knott, Governor of Kentucky . It is a prohibition or dry county. Notable inhabitants include U.S....
which helped him in rural eastern Kentucky.
During the primary campaign, two major issues surfaced. First, Waterfield favored a tax on parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
, 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
Kentucky Utilities
Kentucky Utilities is based in Lexington, Kentucky and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power. It is owned by LG&E and KU Energy, LLC, which, in turn, is owned by PPL Corporation.-History:Kentucky Utilities was...
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.
John Y. Brown, Sr.
John Young Brown, Sr. was a state representative for nearly three decades, serving one term as speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives and as majority floor leader during the term of Gov. Edward T. Breathitt. A Democrat, he was elected to one term in the U.S...
, 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
Attorney General of Kentucky
The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. . Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor , the state's chief law enforcement officer , and the state's chief law officer...
Eldon S. Dummit
Eldon S. Dummit
Eldon S. Dummit was the Republican nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 1947. Dummit was nominated to succeed Simeon S. Willis, the last Republican Governor of Kentucky since Flem D. Sampson...
. 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
Simeon S. Willis
Simeon Slavens Willis was the 46th Governor of Kentucky, United States, serving from 1943 to 1947. He was the only Republican elected governor of Kentucky between 1927 and 1967....
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
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
. 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
Inheritance tax
An inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...
, 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
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
, 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
Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park is a park located on the northern shore of Kentucky Lake in Marshall County, Kentucky. The park encompasses , and excellent accommodations make it one of Kentucky's most popular resorts....
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 Jillson
Willard Rouse Jillson
Willard Rouse Jillson was a Kentucky historian academic, and geologist who authored numerous books on Kentucky politicians and geology matters pertaining to the State....
, 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
Western Kentucky Parkway
The Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to near Eddyville, Kentucky. It intersects with Interstate 65 at its eastern terminus, and Interstate 24 at its western terminus. It is one of nine highways that are part of the...
. 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
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
, with the Kentucky State Police
Kentucky State Police
The Kentucky State Police is a department of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The department was founded in 1948 and replaced the Kentucky Highway Patrol...
. 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
Lawrence Wetherby
Lawerence Winchester Wetherby was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Louisville, he rose through the judicial system of Jefferson County and was elected lieutenant governor in 1947, serving under Governor Earle C. Clements...
, was able to meet this demand in 1951 by using increased tax revenue resulting from the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Leading national accreditation groups attempted to disaccredit 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
Morehead State University
Morehead State University is a public, co-educational university located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County, midway between Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia. The 2012 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S...
. 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
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
public hospitals. He also supported a 1948 bill that allowed blacks to pursue medical training at the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. 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
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises approximately the Eastern half of the state of Kentucky....
granted blacks admission to programs at the University of Kentucky if an equivalent program was not available at Kentucky State College
Kentucky State University
Kentucky State University is a four-year institution of higher learning, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, United States, the Commonwealth's capital. The school is an historically black university, which desegregated in 1954...
, the state's historically black college
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
.
Clements also created or reorganized several government agencies. In cooperation with Pennsylvania governor James H. Duff
James H. Duff
James Henderson Duff was an American lawyer and politician in the mid-20th century. He served as the 34th Governor of Pennsylvania and U.S...
, he created the Ohio River Sanitation Commission (ORANSCO) to combat pollution in the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
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
Legislative Research Commission
The Legislative Research Commission is an agency of Kentucky state government that supports the state legislature, the Kentucky General Assembly.The LRC was originally created in 1948 with the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky as its head....
, 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
Merit system
The merit system is the process of promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than on their political connections. It is the opposite of the spoils system.- History :...
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
Garrett L. Withers
Garrett Lee Withers , a Democrat, represented Kentucky in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives....
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
Charles I. Dawson
Charles I. Dawson was a lawyer and politician from Kentucky who ran several high profile campaigns as the nominee of the Republican party, and served for ten years as a United States federal judge....
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
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Ernest McFarland
Ernest McFarland
Ernest William McFarland was an American politician and, with Warren Atherton, is considered one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Arizonan government—two at the state level, one at the federal level...
removed Clinton Anderson as chairman of the Senate Democratic Reelection Committee
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current chair is Sen. Patty Murray, who succeeded Sen. Robert Menendez following...
, replacing him with Clements for the 1952 election cycle. Clements advocated better cooperation between his committee and the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
in 1952. However, Republicans won the presidency of 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
Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate
The Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate are the second-ranking members of the party leadership of the United States Senate....
, serving under party leader Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
. 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
Stephen A. Mitchell (Democratic activist)
Stephen A. Mitchell was an American attorney and Democratic Party official. He served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1952 to 1956, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Illinois in 1958.-Early life and career:Mitchell was born...
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
Lawrence Wetherby
Lawerence Winchester Wetherby was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. After graduating from the University of Louisville, he rose through the judicial system of Jefferson County and was elected lieutenant governor in 1947, serving under Governor Earle C. Clements...
, 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
Emerson Beauchamp
Emerson "Doc" Beauchamp served as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky under Governor Lawrence Wetherby."Doc" Beauchamp was from Logan County, Kentucky. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and World War II. He served in the Kentucky Senate from 1944 through 1946. He was elected Lieutenant...
, but his uninspiring persona and ties to boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
-dominated Logan County
Logan County, Kentucky
Logan County is a county located in the southwest area of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 26,573. Its county seat is Russellville...
made him unacceptable to Clements. Instead, Clements threw his support to Bert T. Combs
Bert T. Combs
Bertram Thomas Combs was a jurist and politician from the US state of Kentucky. After serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, he was elected the 50th Governor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of...
, a Court of Appeals
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky....
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
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
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
Thruston Ballard Morton
Thruston Ballard Morton , a Republican, represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was born in Louisville and received a B.A. with the Yale Class of 1929....
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
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
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 CommitteeDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current chair is Sen. Patty Murray, who succeeded Sen. Robert Menendez following...
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
Harry Lee Waterfield
Harry Lee Waterfield , a Democrat, served twice as Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky and unsuccessfully sought election as Governor of Kentucky....
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 truck
Dump truck
A dump truck is a truck used for transporting loose material for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with a hydraulically operated open-box bed hinged at the rear, the front of which can be lifted up to allow the contents to be deposited on the ground behind the truck at the site of...
s at a very favorable price from Louisville Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
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
Edward T. Breathitt
Edward Thompson "Ned" Breathitt, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A member of one of the state's political families, he was the 51st Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1963 to 1967...
. 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
United States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
Institute. He then returned to Washington as a lobbyist and as an executive with the Tobacco Institute
Tobacco Institute
The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry.It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.-Founding:...
. 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
Job Corps
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...
Center in Morganfield was renamed the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center.