The state is also known for [racing], bourbon, moonshine, coal, "My Old Kentucky Home" historic state park, automobile manufacturing, tobacco, bluegrass music, college basketball, Louisville Slugger baseball bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the Kentucky colonel. ==Etymology== In 1776 the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known to European Americans as Kentucky County, named for the Kentucky River.
31, 1776, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly, the portion of Fincastle County west of the Appalachians extending to the Mississippi River, previously known as Kentucky (or Kentucke) territory, was split off into its own county of Kentucky.
The county was subdivided into Jefferson, Lincoln and Fayette Counties in 1780, but continued to be administered as the District of Kentucky even as new counties were split off. On several occasions the region's residents petitioned the General Assembly and the Confederation Congress for separation from Virginia and statehood.
Before the passage of House Bill 1, most of these colleges were under the control of the University of Kentucky. Transylvania University, a liberal arts university located in Lexington, was founded in 1780 as the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains. Berea College, located at the extreme southern edge of the Bluegrass below the Cumberland Plateau, was the first coeducational college in the South to admit both black and white students, doing so from its very establishment in 1855.
Liberal Kentucky, 1780–1828 (1939) Tapp, Hambleton and James C.
Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville between 1784 and 1792. One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before the Confederation Congress in early July 1788.
Kentucky was originally styled as the "State of Kentucky" in the act admitting it to the union since that is how it was referred to in Kentucky's first constitution. The commonwealth term was used in citizen petitions submitted between 1786 and 1792 for the creation of the state.
Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville between 1784 and 1792. One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before the Confederation Congress in early July 1788.
In light of this development, Congress thought that it would be "unadvisable" to admit Kentucky into the Union, as it could do so "under the Articles of Confederation" only, but not "under the Constitution", and so declined to take action. On December 18, 1789, Virginia again gave its consent to Kentucky statehood.
Isaac Shelby, a military veteran from Virginia, was elected its first Governor. ===Cherokee-American Wars=== A 1790 U.S.
The United States Congress gave its approval on February 4, 1791.
Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States. Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, splitting from Virginia in the process.
Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more. Kentucky's northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River; however, the official border is based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792.
Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville between 1784 and 1792. One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before the Confederation Congress in early July 1788.
(This occurred two weeks before Congress approved Vermont's petition for statehood.) Kentucky officially became the fifteenth state in the Union on June 1, 1792.
Kentucky was originally styled as the "State of Kentucky" in the act admitting it to the union since that is how it was referred to in Kentucky's first constitution. The commonwealth term was used in citizen petitions submitted between 1786 and 1792 for the creation of the state.
Census Bureau Kentucky QuickFacts Kentucky State Databases – Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Kentucky state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association. 1792 establishments in the United States Southern United States States and territories established in 1792 States of the United States U.S.
It was the site of the first commercial winery in the United States (started in present-day Jessamine County in 1799) and due to the high calcium content of the soil in the Bluegrass region quickly became a major horse breeding (and later racing) area.
Around 1800 BCE, a gradual transition began from a hunter-gatherer economy to agriculturalism.
Road access to this small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River (populated by 18 people ) requires a trip through Tennessee. The epicenter of the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes was near this area, causing the Mississippi River to flow backwards in some places.
Religion, Race, and the Making of Confederate Kentucky, 1830–1880.
It was also used in the title of a history of the state that was published in 1834 and was used in various places within that book in references to Virginia and Kentucky.
Before the passage of House Bill 1, most of these colleges were under the control of the University of Kentucky. Transylvania University, a liberal arts university located in Lexington, was founded in 1780 as the oldest university west of the Allegheny Mountains. Berea College, located at the extreme southern edge of the Bluegrass below the Cumberland Plateau, was the first coeducational college in the South to admit both black and white students, doing so from its very establishment in 1855.
It leaned toward the Democratic Party since 1860, when the Whig Party dissolved and was considered among the Democratic Solid South, excepting three occasions when it went for the Republican candidate.
Although frequently described as never having seceded, representatives from 68 of 110 counties met at Russellville calling themselves the "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an Ordinance of Secession on November 20, 1861.
Kentucky Decades of Discord, 1865–1900 (1977) Townsend, William H.
Kentucky was also home to Mildred and Patty Hill, the Louisville sisters credited with composing the tune to the ditty Happy Birthday to You in 1893; Loretta Lynn (Johnson County), Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys, and Billy Ray Cyrus (Flatwoods). However, its depth lies in its signature soundBluegrass music.
Goebel was contesting the Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899, which William S.
Breckinridge, the 14th and youngest-ever Vice President was born in Lexington, Kentucky at Cabell's Dale Farm. On January 30, 1900, Governor William Goebel, flanked by two bodyguards, was mortally wounded by an assassin while walking to the State Capitol in downtown Frankfort.
Since 1900, rural Kentucky counties have had a net loss of more than a million people to migration, while urban areas have experienced a slight net gain. Kentucky's center of population is in Washington County, in the city of Willisburg. ===Race and ancestry=== According to U.S.
Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900–1950 (1992) Pearce, John Ed.
However, in 1908 Kentucky enacted the Day Law, "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School", which Berea College unsuccessfully challenged at the US Supreme Court in 1908; in 1948, Lyman T.
Louisville's 1914 ordinance for residential racial segregation was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1917.
Louisville's 1914 ordinance for residential racial segregation was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1917.
Hard Times and New Deal in Kentucky, 1929–1939 (1986) Coulter, E.
The highest recorded temperature was at Greensburg on July 28, 1930, while the lowest recorded temperature was at Shelbyville on January 19, 1994.
Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics, 1930–1963 (1987) Remini, Robert V.
The most notable execution in Kentucky was that of Rainey Bethea on August 14, 1936.
A History of Kentucky (many editions, 1937–1992). Collins, Lewis.
The Renfro Valley Barn Dance was where Renfro Valley's musical heritage began, in 1939, and influential country music luminaries like Red Foley, Homer & Jethro, Lily May Ledford &the Original Coon Creek Girls, Martha Carson and many others have performed as regular members of the shows there over the years.
Beer Cheese was developed in Clark County at some point in the 1940s along the Kentucky River. The residents of tiny Benton pay tribute to their favorite tuber, the sweet potato, by hosting Tater Day.
Author Thomas Merton, known as a social activist, worked to reconcile Christianity with other major religions, had converted to Catholicism as a young man, and became a Trappist monk; he lived and worked here from 1941 until his death in 1968. Louisville is home to the Cathedral of the Assumption, the third-oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
Appeals are heard in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. ===Law=== Kentucky's body of laws, known as the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), were enacted in 1942 to better organize and clarify the whole of Kentucky law.
Additionally, in 1948, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Kentucky State Police, making it the 38th state to create a force whose jurisdiction extends throughout the given state. Kentucky is one of the 32 states in the United States that sanctions the death penalty for certain murders defined as heinous.
However, in 1908 Kentucky enacted the Day Law, "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School", which Berea College unsuccessfully challenged at the US Supreme Court in 1908; in 1948, Lyman T.
Johnson filed suit for admission to the University of Kentucky; as a result in the summer of 1949, nearly thirty African American students entered UK graduate and professional programs.
, the herd had reached the project goal of 10,000 animals, making it the largest herd east of the Mississippi River. The state also stocked wild turkeys in the 1950s.
Board of Education in 1954. There are 173 school districts and 1,233 public schools in Kentucky.
Kentucky integrated its schools after the 1954 Brown v.
Willson declared martial law and deployed the Kentucky National Guard to end the wars. On October 15, 1959, a B-52 carrying two nuclear weapons collided in midair with a KC-135 tanker near Hardinsburg, Kentucky.
Despite this, a majority of the state's voters have generally elected Republican candidates for federal office since around the turn of the 21st century. From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the election for President of the United States; however, in the 2008 election the state lost its bellwether status.
Johnson (Texas) in 1964, Jimmy Carter (Georgia) in 1976, and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) in 1992 and 1996.
Board of Education verdict, later adopting the first state civil rights act in the South in 1966. The biggest day in American horse racing, the Kentucky Derby, is preceded by the two-week Derby Festival in Louisville.
Author Thomas Merton, known as a social activist, worked to reconcile Christianity with other major religions, had converted to Catholicism as a young man, and became a Trappist monk; he lived and worked here from 1941 until his death in 1968. Louisville is home to the Cathedral of the Assumption, the third-oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
Supreme Court re-instituted the practice in 1976.
Johnson (Texas) in 1964, Jimmy Carter (Georgia) in 1976, and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) in 1992 and 1996.
In 1980, before the status of ethnic American was an available option on the official census, the largest claimed ancestries in the commonwealth were English (49.6%), Irish (26.3%), and German (24.2%).
The Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR (2004–2009), Ford Escape, Ford Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Solara, Toyota Venza, and Lexus ES 350 are assembled in Kentucky. Kentucky has historically been a major coal producer, but the coal industry has been in decline since the 1980s, and the number of people employed in the coal industry there dropped by more than half between 2011 and 2015. , 24% of electricity produced in the U.S.
As of the 1980s the only counties in the United States where more than half the population cited "English" as their only ancestry group were all in the hills of eastern Kentucky (and made up virtually every county in this region). Kentucky was a slave state, and black people once comprised over one-quarter of its population; however, it lacked the cotton plantation system and never had the same high percentage of African Americans as most other slave states.
The Clarkson Honeyfest is held the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in September, and is the "Official State Honey Festival of Kentucky". ===Music=== Renfro Valley, Kentucky is home to Renfro Valley Entertainment Center and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and is known as "Kentucky's Country Music Capital", a designation given it by the Kentucky State Legislature in the late 1980s.
1988–). Well-known playwrights from Kentucky include Marsha Norman (works include 'night, Mother, 1983) and Naomi Wallace (works include One Flea Spare, 1995). ===Cuisine=== Kentucky's cuisine is generally similar to traditional southern cooking, although in some areas of the state it can blend elements of both the South and Midwest.
Run along a stretch of rail purchased from CSX in 1987, guests are served a four-course meal as they make a two-and-a-half-hour round-trip between Bardstown and Limestone Springs.
In 1989 the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the state's education system was unconstitutional.
Some mining communities in far Southeastern Kentucky have populations that are between five and 10 percent African-American. ===Language=== In 2000 96.1% of all residents five years old and older spoke only English at home, a decrease from 97.5% in 1990. Speech patterns in the state generally reflect the first settlers' Virginia and Kentucky backgrounds.
Due to a decline in the area's industrial base, Ashland has seen a sizable reduction in its population since 1990; however, the population of the area has since stabilized with the medical service industry taking a greater role in the local economy.
The Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville has hosted several editions of the PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and Ryder Cup since the 1990s. The NASCAR Cup Series has a race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which is within an hour driving distance from Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington.
Hunters officially reported a record 29,006 birds taken during the 23-day season in spring 2009. In 1991 the Land Between the Lakes partnered with the U.S.
(Before 1992 the lieutenant governor assumed power any time the governor was out of the state.) The governor and lieutenant governor usually run on a single ticket (also per a 1992 constitutional amendment) and are elected to four-year terms.
Johnson (Texas) in 1964, Jimmy Carter (Georgia) in 1976, and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) in 1992 and 1996.
The highest recorded temperature was at Greensburg on July 28, 1930, while the lowest recorded temperature was at Shelbyville on January 19, 1994.
Bowling Green, the state's third-largest city and home to the only assembly plant in the world that manufactures the Chevrolet Corvette, opened the National Corvette Museum in 1994.
1988–). Well-known playwrights from Kentucky include Marsha Norman (works include 'night, Mother, 1983) and Naomi Wallace (works include One Flea Spare, 1995). ===Cuisine=== Kentucky's cuisine is generally similar to traditional southern cooking, although in some areas of the state it can blend elements of both the South and Midwest.
Johnson (Texas) in 1964, Jimmy Carter (Georgia) in 1976, and Bill Clinton (Arkansas) in 1992 and 1996.
In the winter of 1997, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began to re-stock elk in the state's eastern counties, which had been extinct from the area for over 150 years.
London also landed a Wal-Mart distribution center in 1997, bringing thousands of jobs to the community. In northeast Kentucky, the greater Ashland area is an important transportation, manufacturing, and medical center.
The two research schools split duties related to the medical field, UK handles all medical outreach programs in the eastern half of the state while UofL does all medical outreach in the state's western half. The state's sixteen public two-year colleges have been governed by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System since the passage of the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997, commonly referred to as House Bill 1.
Those convicted of capital crimes after March 31, 1998 are always executed by lethal injection; those convicted on or before this date may opt for the electric chair.
Bourbon has been a growing marketwith production of Kentucky bourbon rising 170 percent between 1999 and 2015.
In 21st-century presidential elections, the state has become a Republican stronghold, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins from 2000 through 2016.
In the 2000 census, some 20,000 people in the state identified as Native American (0.49%).
Some mining communities in far Southeastern Kentucky have populations that are between five and 10 percent African-American. ===Language=== In 2000 96.1% of all residents five years old and older spoke only English at home, a decrease from 97.5% in 1990. Speech patterns in the state generally reflect the first settlers' Virginia and Kentucky backgrounds.
Since 2000, over one-third of the state's population growth has occurred in the Louisville CSA.
London significantly grew in population in the 2000s, from 5,692 in 2000 to 7,993 in 2010.
As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series also race there, and previously the IndyCar Series. Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville was the primary location for training and rehab for WWE professional wrestlers from 2000 until 2008, when WWE moved its contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling.
Western Kentucky, the 2002 national champion in DivisionI-AA football (now Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)), completed its transition to DivisionI FBS football in 2009. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
The latter figure is the population of the so-called "balance"the parts of Jefferson County that were either unincorporated or within the City of Louisville before the formation of the merged government in 2003.
Despite this, a majority of the state's voters have generally elected Republican candidates for federal office since around the turn of the 21st century. From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the election for President of the United States; however, in the 2008 election the state lost its bellwether status.
So government decided to create a different slogan to embrace Kentucky as a whole while also encouraging more people to visit the Bluegrass. In 2004, then Governor Ernie Fletcher launched a comprehensive branding campaign with the hope of making the state's $12–14million advertising budget more effective.
In the 2005 case of McCreary County v.
Once the primary source of state and local government revenue, property taxes now account for only about 6% of the Kentucky's annual General Fund revenues. Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky imposed a tax on intangible personal property held by a taxpayer on January1 of each year.
The parkways were originally toll roads, but on November 22, 2006, Governor Ernie Fletcher ended the toll charges on the William H.
There are also a number of regional airports scattered across the state. On August 27, 2006, Blue Grass Airport was the site of a crash that killed 47 passengers and 2crew members aboard a Bombardier CRJ designated Comair Flight 191, or Delta Air Lines Flight 5191, sometimes mistakenly identified by the press as Comair Flight 5191.
In June 2007, a law went into effect raising the speed limit on rural portions of Kentucky Interstates and parkways from . Road tunnels include the interstate Cumberland Gap Tunnel and the rural Nada Tunnel. ===Rails=== Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Ashland, South Portsmouth, Maysville and Fulton.
Louisville has also stepped onto the football scene in recent years, including winning the 2007 Orange Bowl as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and also producing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
The origin of this is unknown, but it has been suggested it has to do with the commonwealth tradition. A 2008 study found that Kentucky's Supreme Court to be the least influential high court in the nation with its decisions rarely being followed by other states. ===Politics=== Where politics are concerned, Kentucky historically has been very competitive.
Despite this, a majority of the state's voters have generally elected Republican candidates for federal office since around the turn of the 21st century. From 1964 through 2004, Kentucky voted for the eventual winner of the election for President of the United States; however, in the 2008 election the state lost its bellwether status.
Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. Hodgenville, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, hosts the annual Lincoln Days Celebration, and also hosted the kick-off for the National Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in February 2008.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series also race there, and previously the IndyCar Series. Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville was the primary location for training and rehab for WWE professional wrestlers from 2000 until 2008, when WWE moved its contracted talent to Florida Championship Wrestling.
Hunters officially reported a record 29,006 birds taken during the 23-day season in spring 2009. In 1991 the Land Between the Lakes partnered with the U.S.
Western Kentucky, the 2002 national champion in DivisionI-AA football (now Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)), completed its transition to DivisionI FBS football in 2009. The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
In May 2010, the Army Human Resource Center of Excellence, the largest office building in the state at nearly opened at Fort Knox.
London significantly grew in population in the 2000s, from 5,692 in 2000 to 7,993 in 2010.
For the 2010 to 2011 school year, there were approximately 647,827 students enrolled in public school. Kentucky has been the site of much educational reform over the past two decades.
Thus, Kentucky held gubernatorial elections in 2011, 2015 and 2019. ===Executive branch=== The executive branch is headed by the governor who serves as both [of state] and [of government].
In June 2011, Jerry "2 Feather" Thornton, a Cherokee, led a team in the Voyage of Native American Awareness 2011 canoe journey, to begin on the Green River in Rochester, Kentucky and travel through to the Ohio River at Henderson. African Americans, who were mostly enslaved at the time, made up 25% of Kentucky's population before the Civil War; they were held and worked primarily in the central Bluegrass region, an area of hemp and tobacco cultivation, as well as raising blooded livestock.
The Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR (2004–2009), Ford Escape, Ford Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Solara, Toyota Venza, and Lexus ES 350 are assembled in Kentucky. Kentucky has historically been a major coal producer, but the coal industry has been in decline since the 1980s, and the number of people employed in the coal industry there dropped by more than half between 2011 and 2015. , 24% of electricity produced in the U.S.
For the 2010 to 2011 school year, there were approximately 647,827 students enrolled in public school. Kentucky has been the site of much educational reform over the past two decades.
OVW later became the primary developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2011 to 2013. In 2014 Louisville City FC, a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the United Soccer League, was announced.
116 of Kentucky's 120 counties supported former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the 2012 election while he lost to Barack Obama nationwide. Voters in the Commonwealth supported the previous three Democratic candidates elected to the White House in the late 20th century, all from Southern states: Lyndon B.
In 2019 the state had more than fifty distilleries for bourbon production. Kentucky exports reached a record $22.1billion in 2012, with products and services going to 199 countries. According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and new investment in the state, new business investment in Kentucky in 2012 totaled nearly $2.7billion, with the creation of more than 14,000 new jobs.
Also, Georgetown College in Georgetown was the location for the Bengals' summer training camp, until it was announced in 2012 that the Bengals would no longer use the facilities. As in many states, especially those without major league professional sports teams, college athletics are prominent.
Census Bureau official statistics, the largest ancestry in 2013 was American totalling 20.2%.
Louisville has also stepped onto the football scene in recent years, including winning the 2007 Orange Bowl as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and also producing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
OVW later became the primary developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2011 to 2013. In 2014 Louisville City FC, a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the United Soccer League, was announced.
In 2014 Kentucky was found to be the most affordable U.S.
When the bridge's Indiana approach ramps opened in 2014, completing the pedestrian connection across the Ohio River, the Big Four Bridge rail trail became the second-longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world.
OVW later became the primary developmental territory for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2011 to 2013. In 2014 Louisville City FC, a professional soccer team in the league then known as USL Pro and now as the United Soccer League, was announced.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Ireland, Robert M.
Thus, Kentucky held gubernatorial elections in 2011, 2015 and 2019. ===Executive branch=== The executive branch is headed by the governor who serves as both [of state] and [of government].
The Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR (2004–2009), Ford Escape, Ford Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Solara, Toyota Venza, and Lexus ES 350 are assembled in Kentucky. Kentucky has historically been a major coal producer, but the coal industry has been in decline since the 1980s, and the number of people employed in the coal industry there dropped by more than half between 2011 and 2015. , 24% of electricity produced in the U.S.
Bourbon has been a growing marketwith production of Kentucky bourbon rising 170 percent between 1999 and 2015.
The team made its debut in 2015, playing home games at Louisville Slugger Field.
Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 2015.
In 21st-century presidential elections, the state has become a Republican stronghold, supporting that party's presidential candidates by double-digit margins from 2000 through 2016.
In 2016 the population density of the state was 110 people per square mile (42.5/km2). Kentucky's population has grown during every decade since records have been kept.
Louisville has also stepped onto the football scene in recent years, including winning the 2007 Orange Bowl as well as the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and also producing 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
Its per capita income was $25,888 in 2017.
Somewhat incongruously, when entering Lexington-Fayette the highway signs read "Fayette County" while most signs leading into Louisville-Jefferson simply read "Welcome to Louisville Metro". ===Major cities=== The Metro Louisville government area has a 2018 population of 1,298,990.
In 2018 the Louisville Combined Statistical Area (CSA) had a population of 1,569,112; including 1,209,191 in Kentucky, which means more than 25% of the state's population now lives in the Louisville CSA.
In addition, the top 28 wealthiest places in Kentucky are in Jefferson County and seven of the 15 wealthiest counties in the state are located in the Louisville CSA. The second-largest city is Lexington with a 2018 census population of 323,780, its metro had a population of 516,697, and its CSA, which includes the Frankfort and Richmond statistical areas, having a population of 746,310.
The Northern Kentucky area, which comprises the seven Kentucky counties in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, had a population of 447,457 in 2018.
Years later, Kentucky has shown progress, but most agree that further reform is needed. The West Virginia teachers' strike in 2018 inspired teachers in other states, including Kentucky, to take similar action. ==Culture== Although Kentucky's culture is generally considered to be Southern, it is unique in that it is also influenced by the Midwest and Southern Appalachia in certain areas of the state.
Thus, Kentucky held gubernatorial elections in 2011, 2015 and 2019. ===Executive branch=== The executive branch is headed by the governor who serves as both [of state] and [of government].
In 2019 the state had more than fifty distilleries for bourbon production. Kentucky exports reached a record $22.1billion in 2012, with products and services going to 199 countries. According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and new investment in the state, new business investment in Kentucky in 2012 totaled nearly $2.7billion, with the creation of more than 14,000 new jobs.
Federal Penitentiaries: USP Big Sandy (in the east in Martin County near Inez) and USP McCreary (in the south in McCreary County in the Daniel Boone National Forest). The total gross state product for 2019 Q1 was $213.313billion.
In 2019 tourism grew to $7.6billion in economic impact.
In 2019 $360million was spent on the September Yearling sale.
As of March 2020, 48.42% of the state's voters were officially registered as Democrats, and 42.75% were registered Republican, who tend to be conservative whites.
An organization called the Institute for Truth in Accounting estimated that the state government's debts exceeded its available assets by $26,300 per taxpayer , ranking the state as having the 5th highest such debt burden in the nation. As of March 2021, the state's unemployment rate is 5%.
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