Famous Kentuckian Paper - Essay Example

Young Harlan followed the footsteps of his father and entered politics. It was in the age of seventeen that he was offered the position of adjutant general of Kentucky. He opposed this idea by citing his age, however in autumn he was appointed the governor. It was a demanding position for Harlan, but keeping in mind his age he was only paid $250 annually. This contract formed the basis of his political career (John Harlan). After winning the elections, Harlan was working as a country judge before the start of the Civil War.

Harlan won the election for the country judge on the Know Nothing ticket, which was a Native party who was enjoying their esteem from the time span between downfall of the Whig Party and the rise of the Republican Party. Despite of the fact that it was a slave state, Harlan was a part of the Union at the time of the War. It was at that time that Harlan joined the American troops as lieutenant Colonel. He left the army in the year 1863 at the time of his father’s death. He was assigned the position of Attorney General of Kentucky in the year 1864, and also supported George McClellan’s campaign against Abraham Lincoln in the same year in which the Presidential Elections were being held.

In 1876 he led the Kentuckian delegation at a convention after Benjamin Bristow (his law partner) ran to be nominated for the presidential elections. The presidential elections of the year 1876 were same as the year 2000 i.e. they were fiercely contested. As a result of the election of 1876 an electoral commission came into being. Hayes was declared the winner of the elections after which he appointed a commission to figure out that which of the two Louisiana governments was more lawful than the other.

Harlan was an active member of one of these two Louisiana governments. The Louisiana commission appointed came with the result that the Democrats formed a more lawful government in Louisiana. The problem with the result of the Commission was that the board responsible for certifying the electoral victory of Hayes also announced the result of the Louisiana’s contest declaring the Republican as the winners. During his career as a Justice he struggled to remain dedicated in winning the civil rights for the colored population and tried to enforce social equality among the population.

He also worked for getting regulation of the giant industry that emerged in that century. Harlan had abiding faith on the judicial system and the Federal Government that they would equally spread the economic opportunities in the country, without any racial discrimination. His characteristic made him stand out from his colleagues and gave him his separate identity. He opposed the drawbacks of the system on several occasions, which exposed him to several passionate and dissenting opinions. He also faced rejections from several legal scholars until the mid of the 20th century when his views gained acceptance and were considered prophetic by the citizens.

Justice David Davis resigned and became the Senator of Illinois at the time of tussle concerning the electoral commission. Hayes wanted a Southerner to be appointed to this position and Harlan perfectly fitted the position. At the age of 44 he was subsequently appointed the Justice to the court. Harlan’s legacy lies in his rebellions. He took opposing side in the Lochner v New York case, where he spent the maximum working hours for the labor class in order to eradicate the institution of slavery from