William O'Connell Bradley (March 18, 1847May 23, 1914) was an American politician from the state of Kentucky. He served as the 32nd governor of Kentucky and was later elected by the state legislature as a U.S. senator from that state. The first Republican to serve as governor of Kentucky, Bradley became known as the father of the Republican Party in Kentucky.Thatcher, p. xi
As a Republican in a heavily Democratic state, Bradley found little success early in his political career. He was defeated for a seat in the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Senate twice each. After rising to national prominence as a "Stalwart Republican"Bradley, William O'Connell; Thatcher, M. H. (1916). Stories and Speeches of William O. Bradley , p. XV. Google Books. Retrieved March 13, 2022. with his speech seconding the presidential nomination of Ulysses S. Grant at the 1880 Republican National Convention, he was nominated for governor in 1887. Although he lost the contest to Simon Bolivar Buckner, he reduced the usual Democratic majority substantially. He was again nominated for governor in 1895. Capitalizing on divisions in the Democratic Party over the issue of free silver, he defeated Parker Watkins Hardin in the general election. His term was marked by political struggles and violence. He was an advocate for African Americans and did much to advance their status in the state, but was unable to enact much of his pro-civil rights agenda due to a hostile Democratic majority in the state legislature.
Republican William S. Taylor was elected to succeed Bradley in the contentious 1899 gubernatorial election. When Democratic nominee William Goebel and his running mate J. C. W. Beckham challenged the election results, Bradley formed part of the legal team for the Republicans. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which found in favor of the Democrats. Despite being a member of the state's minority party, Bradley was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1907. Again, divisions within the Democratic Party played a role in his election. Bradley's opposition to Prohibition made him more palatable to some Democrats than their candidate, outgoing Governor Beckham. Beckham refused to withdraw in favor of a compromise candidate, and after two months of balloting, four Democratic legislators crossed party lines and elected Bradley. Bradley had a largely undistinguished career in the Senate. On the day he announced he would not seek re-election to his Senate seat, he was involved in a streetcar accident. He died from his injuries on May 23, 1914.
Early life William O'Connell Bradley was born near Lancaster in Garrard County, Kentucky, on March 18, 1847."Bradley, William O'Connell". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress He was the youngest child of Robert McAfee and Nancy Ellen (Totten) Bradley.Powell, p. 72 The couple also had six daughters, five of whom survived infancy, and one other son, who died as an infant.Thatcher, p. vii Bradley's sister, Catherine Virginia (Bradley) Morrow, married judge Thomas Z. Morrow, who made an unsuccessful run for the governorship of Kentucky in 1883; their son, Edwin P. Morrow, was elected the 40th governor of Kentucky in 1917.
While Bradley was still a child, the family moved to Somerset, Kentucky, where Bradley was educated by private tutors and at a private school. After the outbreak of the Civil War, he twice dropped out of school and ran away to join the Union Army, first serving as a recruiting officer in Somerset, then enlisting as a private soldier in Louisville.Perrin, Battle, and Kiffin, Kentucky: A History of the State Both times, his father removed him from the service because of his young age.E. Johnson, p. 673 Despite having only a few months of service to his credit, he was referred to as "Colonel Bradley" by many for the rest of his life.Wiltz, p. 120
In 1861, Bradley became a page in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He studied law under his father, one of Kentucky's leading criminal defense lawyers. Although Kentucky law required that anyone taking the bar examination be at least twenty-one years old, Bradley was allowed by a special provision of the state legislature to take it at age eighteen. This arrangement was contingent on Bradley's being judged competent by two circuit judges. Despite having no college education, Bradley passed the exam and was licensed in 1865, joining his father's firm in Lancaster. He later received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Kentucky University (now Transylvania University).Thatcher, p. ix
On July 13, 1867,Powell and Perrin record the date as July 11 Bradley married Margaret Robertson Duncan, and subsequently converted from Baptist Christianity to Presbyterianism, his wife's faith. The couple had two children, George Robertson Bradley and Christine (Bradley) South.Thatcher, p. viii, xix
Early political career Bradley's political career began in 1870, when he was elected prosecuting attorney of Garrard County. A Republican in the heavily Democratic Eighth District, Bradley was defeated by Milton J. Durham for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1872.Klotter in Kentucky's Governors, p. 127McAfee, p. 24Stealey, p. 68 In 1875, his party honored him with a nomination to serve in the U.S. Senate, even though he was too young to legally qualify for the office. Nevertheless, he received the vote of every Republican in the state legislature. The following year, he again lost to Durham for a seat in the House of Representatives, but received 3,000 more votes than any Republican candidate had ever received in that district. He refused his party's nomination for the Senate in 1878 and 1882, and declined a nomination for state attorney general in 1879 because of ill health.
Bradley was unanimously chosen as a delegate-at-large to six consecutive Republican National Conventions. At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago, he was unanimously chosen to second Roscoe Conkling's nomination of Ulysses S. Grant for a third term as president. His rousing oratory gained him the attention of prominent leaders of his party. At the 1884 convention, he was instrumental in defeating a motion to curtail Southern states' representation. President Chester A. Arthur chose Bradley to help recover financial damages from postal officials involved in the Star Route Frauds in 1885, but Bradley resigned from this responsibility over differences with U.S. Attorney General Benjamin H. Brewster regarding the prosecution of these cases.
Gubernatorial election of 1887 At their nominating convention in Louisville on May 11, 1887, Kentucky Republicans nominated Bradley for Governor of Kentucky to oppose Democrat Simon B. Buckner, a former Confederate general.Tapp and Klotter, pp. 229–231 In his acceptance speech, Bradley implored Kentuckians to realize that the Civil War was over and to discontinue their practice of electing ex-Confederate Democrats to public office.Tapp and Klotter, p. 231 His platform included proposals for education, implementing a high protective tariff, and developing the state's resources.Harrison, p. 112 He pointed out that, though Kentucky contained more coal than Pennsylvania, the state bought half of its coal from that state. A similar situation existed with regard to lumber. He was also critical of excessive spending during the preceding Democratic administrations. Among his cited examples of extravagance were the creation of a state bureau of agriculture and the construction of a new state penitentiary.Klotter in Kentucky's Governors, p. 128 Democratic mismanagement of the state's affairs had resulted in able, young Kentuckians leaving the state to seek their fortunes because of a lack of opportunity at home, Bradley lamented.Tapp and Klotter, p. 232
During the campaign, Buckner relied on party strength and personal popularity to give him an advantage over Bradley, a decidedly superior orator. In the only debate between the two, held at Grayson, Bradley attacked Democrats for creating "useless offices" such as railroad commissioners. He defended the Republican proposal of a highly protective tariff and advocated federal aid for education. When Buckner took the platform, he began by asking if Bradley had charged in an earlier speech that one of Buckner's speeches had been written by former governor J. Proctor Knott. Bradley acknowledged that he had heard that Knott had written the speech and that he (Bradley) had repeated this claim in one of his speeches. Buckner rebuked Bradley for circulating this "infamously false" charge, and withdrew his agreement to participate in any further joint debates. He then delivered a discourse attacking the protective tariff and federal aid for education.Tapp and Klotter, pp. 232, 234
True to his word, Buckner never again met Bradley in a joint debate.Tapp and Klotter, p. 234 Rumors began to circulate that Buckner was afraid to meet Bradley in debate again, and Bradley did little to dispel these rumors. The Democrats were not completely united throughout the campaign, with prominent members of the party, including Milton J. Durham and State Senator Albert Seaton Berry, criticizing the Democratic record in the state. The Democratic Henderson Gleaner was also critical, opining "We should be ashamed of ourselves." Throughout the state, Bradley hammered the issue of the blind trust afforded to the perennial Democratic officeholders, specifically calling for an examination of the treasury. Though Bradley lost the election by more than 16,000 votes, he made the best showing of any Republican gubernatorial candidate to that time and garnered strong support from the state's black voters. His concerns about the state treasury proved valid: when Buckner ordered an audit of the treasurer's books in 1888, Treasurer James "Honest Dick" Tate fled with $250,000 from the state treasury.Tapp and Klotter, p. 242 He was never found.Harrison in A New History of Kentucky, p. 264
In 1888, Bradley's name was again put before the General Assembly as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, but he was defeated by James B. Beck by a vote of 94–31.Tapp and Klotter, p. 245 Later that year, he received 103 of 832 votes for the Vice-Presidential nomination at the 1888 Republican National Convention, losing the nomination to Levi P. Morton.C. Johnson, p. 233 (Powell gives the number of votes for Bradley as 105.) Upon the unsolicited recommendation of Senator Beck, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Bradley as Minister to Korea in 1889, but Bradley declined the nomination, opting to remain in Kentucky and pursue future political opportunities there. He was elected to the Republican National Committee three times between 1890 and 1896. In 1896, he was the Kentucky delegation's choice for presidential nominee.
Gubernatorial election of 1895 Bradley declared his candidacy early for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1895, and no real challenger emerged before the Republicans' nominating convention. Consequently, Bradley was nominated in a relatively harmonious convention. The major issue of the campaign was whether the country should maintain a monetary system based on the gold standard or allow the coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1, commonly called the free silver position.Wiltz, p. 118 At their convention, the Republicans adopted a platform that was unequivocally in favor of the gold standard.Wiltz, p. 125