Edwin P. Morrow

Edwin P. Morrow
40th Governor of Kentucky
In office December 9, 1919 – December 11, 1923
Lieutenant	Thruston Ballard
Preceded by	James D. Black
Succeeded by	William J. Fields
U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky
In office 1910–1913
Appointed by	William Howard Taft
Personal details
Born	November 28, 1877 Somerset, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	June 15, 1935(1935-06-15) (aged 57) Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Frankfort Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Katherine Hale Waddle
Relations	Son of Thomas Z. Morrow Nephew of William O. Bradley
Alma mater	University of Cincinnati Law School (LLB)
Profession	Lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	U.S. Army
Years of service	1898–1899
Rank	Second lieutenant
Unit	4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War

Edwin Porch Morrow (November 28, 1877 – June 15, 1935) was an American politician, who served as the 40th Governor of Kentucky from 1919 to 1923. He was the only Republican elected to this office between 1907 and 1927. He championed the typical Republican causes of his day, namely equal rights for African-Americans and the use of force to quell violence. Morrow had been schooled in his party's principles by his father, Thomas Z. Morrow, who was its candidate for governor in 1883, and his uncle, William O. Bradley, who was elected governor in 1895. Both men were founding members of the Republican Party in Kentucky.

After rendering non-combat service in the Spanish–American War, Morrow graduated from the University of Cincinnati Law School in 1902 and opened his practice in Lexington, Kentucky. He made a name for himself almost immediately by securing the acquittal of a black man charged with murder based on an extorted confession and perjured testimony. He was appointed U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky by President William Howard Taft in 1910 and served until he was removed from office in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1915, he ran for governor against his good friend, Augustus O. Stanley. Stanley won the election by 471 votes, making the 1915 contest the closest gubernatorial race in the state's history.

Morrow ran for governor again in 1919. His opponent, James D. Black, had ascended to the governorship earlier that year when Stanley resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. Morrow encouraged voters to "Right the Wrong of 1915" and ran on a progressive platform that included women's suffrage and quelling racial violence. He charged the Democratic administration with corruption, citing specific examples, and won the general election in a landslide. With a friendly legislature in 1920, he passed much of his agenda into law, including an anti-lynching law and reorganizing state government. He won national acclaim for preventing the lynching of a black prisoner in 1920. He was not hesitant to remove local officials who did not deter or quell mob violence. By 1922, Democrats regained control of the General Assembly, and Morrow could not accomplish much in the second half of his term. Following his term as governor, he served on the United States Railroad Labor Board and the Railway Mediation Board but never again held elected office. He died of a heart attack on June 15, 1935, while living with a cousin in Frankfort.