Interview with Lawrence W. Wetherby, April 25, 1980

Interview Summary

Governor Wetherby starts by discussing the National Democratic Convention and its political machine, and how his friend Vice President Alben Barkley was adamant about not being nominated for Presidency in 1952. He speaks of his support and campaigning for Adlai Stevenson for presidency in 1952, and of being the Democratic National Committeeman at the convention in 1956 when he supported Stevenson again. Wetherby goes on to describe Stevenson's personality and how it differed from his own. He concludes this topic by explaining why he supported Stevenson for presidency to run against the incumbent Dwight Eisenhower. Governor Wetherby then discusses segregation in Kentucky during his term as governor, his enforcement of the Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 Supreme Court ruling, the opposition he faced as Chairman of the Southern Governor's Organization to lead a southern state to abide by the Supreme Court decision to integrate public schools, and how before the Brown decision he supported public education integration. Education aside, Governor Wetherby discusses the process of racially integrating all other aspects of life as an effect of the Brown ruling. He expounds on his liberal positions on integration and how he implanted policies according to his beliefs before the Supreme Court ruling came down. On a different topic, Wetherby speaks of the campaign of 1955 between Bert Combs and A.B. Chandler, and recalls what made Chandler so successful that election. He remembers the night he heard Combs had been defeated by Chandler and how close the margin was. Wetherby describes the relationship between him and Chandler during the transition process and then thereafter. Governor Wetherby concludes this interview speaking about Bert Comb's reluctance to run for Governor again in 1959, but was persuaded to do so, how Combs won that campaign, and Wetherby's relationship with Combs during his time in office.

Interview LC Subject

Jefferson County (Ky.) Wetherby, Lawrence W. (Lawrence Winchester), 1908-1994 Wetherby, Lawrence W. (Lawrence Winchester), 1908-1994--Interviews

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