Thomas Andrews Hendricks was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his death in November 1885. Hendricks represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives (1851–1855) and the U.S. Senate (1863–1869). He also represented Shelby County, Indiana, in the Indiana General Assembly (1848–1850) and as a delegate to the 1851 Indiana constitutional convention. In addition, Hendricks served as commissioner of the United States General Land Office (1855–1859). Hendricks, a popular member of the Democratic Party, was a fiscal conservative. He defended the Democratic position in the U.S. Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era and voted against the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He also opposed Radical Reconstruction and President Andrew Johnson's removal from office following Johnson's impeachment in the U.S. House.
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide executive officers, who manage other state government agencies. The governor works out of the Indiana Statehouse and holds official functions at the Indiana Governor's Residence in the state capital of Indianapolis.
James Brown Ray was an Indiana politician and the only Indiana Senate president pro tempore to be elevated to governor of the state of Indiana. Ray served during a time when the state transitioned from personal politics to political parties, but never joined a party himself. Taking office one week before his 31st birthday, he became the state's youngest governor and served from 1825 to 1831, the longest period for an Indiana governor under the state constitution of 1816. During Ray's term as governor the state experienced a period of economic prosperity and a 45 percent population increase. He supported projects that encouraged the continued growth and development of the young state, most notably internal improvements, Native American removal, codification of Indiana's laws, improved county and local government, and expanded educational opportunities. Ray was known for his eccentricity and early promotion of a large-scale railroad system in the state. His support for new railroad construction and alleged involvement in several scandals caused him to lose popularity among voters. Ray's opponents who favored the creation of canals considered railroads to be an impractical, utopian idea. Following Ray's departure from political office, he continued to advocate for a statewide railroad system until his death in 1848.
Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton, commonly known as Oliver P. Morton, was a U.S. Republican Party politician from Indiana. He served as the 14th governor of Indiana during the American Civil War, and was a stalwart ally of President Abraham Lincoln. Morton worked hard to maximize Indiana's contribution to the war effort and marginalize the obstructionists. He was a principled and effective leader who fought for equality and nationalism through the use of governmental power. His forceful pursuit of civil rights and prosecution of Copperheads and white supremacists gained him lasting enemies among the antiwar elements. Morton thwarted and neutralized the Democratic-controlled Indiana General Assembly. He exceeded his constitutional authority by calling out the militia without approval, and during the period of legislative suppression he privately financed the state government through unapproved federal and private loans. He was criticized for arresting and detaining political enemies and suspected southern sympathizers. As one of President Lincoln's "war governors", Morton made significant contributions to the war effort, more than any other man in the state, and earned the lifelong gratitude of former Union soldiers for his support.
Jonathan Jennings was an American politician who was the first governor of the State of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Virginia, he studied law before migrating to the Indiana Territory in 1806. Jennings initially intended to practice law, but took jobs as an assistant at the federal land office at Vincennes and assistant to the clerk of the territorial legislature to support himself and pursued interests in land speculation and politics. Jennings became involved in a dispute with the territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, that soon led him to enter politics and set the tone for his early political career. In 1808 Jennings moved to the eastern part of the Indiana Territory and settled near Charlestown, in Clark County. He was elected as the Indiana Territory's delegate to the U.S. Congress by dividing the pro-Harrison supporters and running as an anti-Harrison candidate. By 1812 he was the leader of the anti-slavery and pro-statehood faction of the territorial government. Jennings and his political allies took control of the territorial assembly and dominated governmental affairs after the resignation of Governor Harrison in 1812. As a congressional delegate Jennings aided passage of the Enabling Act in 1816, which authorized the organization of Indiana's state government and state constitution. He was elected president of the Indiana constitutional convention, held in Corydon in June 1816, where he helped draft the state's first constitution. Jennings supported the effort to ban slavery in the state and favored a strong legislative branch of government.
William Hendricks was a Democratic-Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1822, the third governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825, and an Anti-Jacksonian member of the U.S. Senate from 1825 to 1837. He led much of his family into politics and founded one of the largest political families in Indiana. He was the uncle of Thomas Andrews Hendricks, who was also Governor of Indiana and Vice President of the United States. Hendricks County was named in his honor. His term as governor was spent repairing the state's finances to later enable large scale internal improvements. The establishment of the basic framework of the state's public school system and the transfer of the capital from Corydon to Indianapolis also occurred during his term.
Isaac Newton Blackford was the second Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, the court's longest serving Justice, and among the longest serving jurists in the history of the United States. He wrote an eight-volume work entitled Blackford's Reports recording all the early decisions of the court. The books became a staple legal source among Indiana's lawyers and received national and international acclaim for their style, accuracy, quality, and concision in dealing with common law. As a jurist, Blackford was the most influential ever to serve on Indiana's courts, according to former Chief Justice of Indiana Randall Shepard. He was nicknamed the "Indiana Blackstone" because of a comment made by Washington Irving regarding the popularity of Blackford's books. During his lifetime he was nationally renowned as one of the most prominent jurists in the United States.
The lieutenant governor of Indiana is a constitutional office in the US state of Indiana. Republican Suzanne Crouch, who assumed office January 9, 2017, is the incumbent. The office holder's constitutional roles are to serve as the president of the Indiana Senate, become acting governor during the incapacity of the governor, and become governor should the incumbent governor resign, die in office, or be impeached and removed from office. Lieutenant governors have succeeded ten governors following their deaths or resignations. The lieutenant governor holds statutory positions, serving as the head of the state agricultural and rural affairs bureaus, and as the chairman of several state committees.
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is subordinate only to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Prior to the enactment of Indiana's first state constitution and achievement of statehood in 1816, the Indiana Territory was governed by territorial law. The state's first constitution was created in 1816, after the U.S. Congress had agreed to grant statehood to the former Indiana Territory. The present-day document, which went into effect on November 1, 1851, is the state's second constitution. It supersedes Indiana's 1816 constitution and has had numerous amendments since its initial adoption.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 12 states and two territories. Of the eight Democratic and four Republican seats contested, only that of North Carolina changed party hands, giving the Republicans a net gain of one governorship. These elections coincided with the presidential election on November 6, 2012. As of 2024, this marked the last time in which a Democrat won the governorship in Missouri and the last time in which a Republican won the governorship in North Carolina.
Gayle Thornbrough was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, and grew up in Indianapolis. She joined the Indiana Historical Society in 1937 and served as its director of publications and library, an editor of historical documents, and its first executive secretary until her retirement in 1984. In addition to her work at the IHS, Thornbrough was involved in historical editing projects for the Indiana Historical Bureau from 1947 to 1966 and spent twenty months in 1967–1968 as a manuscript specialist at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Thornbrough is best known for her contributions to editing historical documents. She is named as the editor of nearly twenty publications, the most notable include The Old Northwest: Pioneer Period, 1815–1840, a Pulitzer Prize winner by R. Carlyle Buley; Journals of the General Assembly of Indiana Territory, 1805–1815; Indiana Election Returns, 1816–1851; three volumes in the governors of Indiana series ; and The Diary of Calvin Fletcher, among others. The Indiana Magazine of History's annual Thornbrough award and Indiana Association of Historians' annual fall lecture are named in honor of Thornbrough and her sister, Emma Lou.
The 1816 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 5, 1816, under the provisions of the recently ratified Constitution of Indiana. It was the first gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. Jonathan Jennings, the longtime U.S. territorial delegate from Indiana and president of the state's constitutional convention, defeated Thomas Posey, the incumbent territorial governor, with 56.9% of the vote. The election was held concurrently with elections for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
The 1819 Indiana gubernatorial election took place August 2, 1819, under the provisions of the Constitution of Indiana. It was the second gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. Jonathan Jennings, the incumbent governor, was reelected with 81.5% of the vote to 17.8% for his nearest competitor, Lieutenant Governor Christopher Harrison. The election was held concurrently with elections for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
The 1822 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 5, 1822, under the provisions of the Constitution of Indiana. It was the third gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. William Hendricks, the outgoing United States representative for Indiana's At-large congressional district, was elected without opposition, taking 100% of the vote. This remains the only uncontested gubernatorial election in the history of Indiana. The election took place concurrently with elections for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
The 1828 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 4, 1828 under the provisions of the Constitution of Indiana. It was the fifth gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. James B. Ray, the incumbent governor, was re-elected, defeating Israel T. Canby, the former state senator representing Jefferson and Jennings counties, and Harbin H. Moore, the outgoing speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, in a three-way race. The election took place concurrently with races for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
The 1831 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 1, 1831, under the provisions of the Constitution of Indiana. It was the sixth gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. Noah Noble, a former state representative from Franklin County serving since 1830 as one of the commissioners of the Michigan Road, defeated state Representative James G. Read and outgoing Lieutenant Governor Milton Stapp. The election took place concurrently with races for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
The 1849 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on August 6, 1849.
The 1846 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on August 3, 1846.
The 1834 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 4, 1834, under the provisions of the Constitution of Indiana. It was the seventh gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. The incumbent Whig governor Noah Noble defeated Democratic former state representative James G. Read. The election took place concurrently with elections for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly. This was the first gubernatorial election in Indiana contested on a partisan basis.
