J. Proctor Knott
He served as Missouri Attorney General from 1859 to 1861, when he resigned rather than swear an oath of allegiance to the federal government just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.[2] He was tutored by his father from an early age, and later attended public school in Marion and Shelby counties.[4] Knott resigned his seat in the legislature in August 1858 to accept Governor Robert M. Stewart's appointment to fill the unexpired term of Missouri's attorney general, Ephraim B.[2] In January 1861, Missouri called a convention to determine whether it would follow the lead of other pro-slavery states and secede from the Union.[1] As a legislator, he opposed the Reconstruction agenda of the Radical Republicans and ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.On January 27, 1871, he delivered a satirical speech ridiculing a bill that would have provided fifty-seven land grants and financial concessions to railroads to further their westward expansion.[13][14] In 1871, Knott made an unsuccessful bid to become governor of Kentucky, losing the Democratic nomination to Preston Leslie.Other prominent candidates included Congressman Thomas Laurens Jones, former Confederate general Simon Bolivar Buckner, Judge John S. Owsley, and Louisville mayor Charles Donald Jacob.[3] New legislation spelled out, often for the first time in the state's history, the duties and responsibilities of educators, administrators, and school boards.Despite the feuds that continued to rage in the state, including one that lasted several years in Rowan County, Knott refused to acknowledge lawlessness as a problem.[17] The legislature approved the construction of the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville, but it was Knott's predecessor, Luke P. Blackburn, who laid most of the groundwork for this project.[3] Knott served as a special assistant to Kentucky's attorney general in 1887 and 1888, and in 1891, he was chosen as a delegate to the state constitutional convention.
Proctor Knott (horse)Governor of KentuckyLieutenantJames R. HindmanLuke P. BlackburnSimon B. BucknerU.S. House of RepresentativesKentuckyAaron HardingWilliam B. ReadThomas B. RobertsonMissouri Attorney GeneralRobert Marcellus StewartEphraim B. EwingMissouri House of RepresentativesRaywick, KentuckyLebanonDemocraticU.S. Representative29th Governor of KentuckyMissouriCivil WarDuluth, Minnesotajudiciary committeeCentre CollegeDanville, KentuckyLebanon, KentuckyShelbyMemphis, MissouricountyScotland CountyimpeachmentGovernorRobert M. Stewartsecede from the UniondisbarredDemocratReconstructionRadical RepublicansFourteenthFifteenthsatiricalSt. Croix RiverProctor, MinnesotaPreston LeslieHouse Judiciary CommitteeSecretary of WarWilliam W. BelknapThomas Laurens JonesConfederateSimon Bolivar BucknerLouisville mayorCharles Donald JacobmajorityOwen CountyRepublicanlegislaturenormal school for blacksFrankfortRowan CountypardonKentucky State PenitentiaryEddyvillePresidentGrover ClevelandTerritorial Governor of HawaiiInterstate Commerce CommissioncivicsKnott County, KentuckyMcCullough, David G.Harrison, Lowell H.Thomas D. ClarkLowell H. HarrisonJames C. KlotterBiographical Directory of the United States CongressInternet ArchiveMissouri State Attorney GeneralU.S. House of RepresentativesKentucky's 4th congressional districtThomas A. RobertsonGovernors of KentuckyGarrardGreenupMadisonSlaughterMetcalfeJ. BreathittJ. T. MoreheadWickliffeLetcherOwsleyCrittendenPowellC. S. MoreheadMagoffinG. W. JohnsonRobinsonBramletteStevensonLeslieMcCrearyBlackburnBucknerBradleyTaylorGoebelBeckhamWillsonStanleyMorrowFieldsSampsonLaffoonChandlerK. JohnsonWillisClementsWetherbyN. BreathittCarrollBrown Jr.CollinsWilkinsonPattonFletcherS. Beshear