 of the state to quell the ongoing Black Patch Tobacco Wars . He cited constitutional reasons for his refusal , but more probably his reasons were political – the Democrats were dominant in this region and he didn 't want to challenge his own party . By collecting some old Civil War debts from the federal government , Beckham virtually eliminated the state 's debt . Encouraged by the state 's improved finances , the General Assembly voted to expand two of the state 's normal schools , Western State Teachers College in Bowling Green ( later Western Kentucky University ) and Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond ( later part of Eastern Kentucky University ) .   With a successful legislative session behind him , Beckham made a bold political move in June 1906 : he orchestrated an effort to set the Democratic gubernatorial and senatorial primaries in November – a full year before the gubernatorial election and two years before the senatorial election . Beckham wanted the Senate seat , and moving the primary up two years would allow him to secure his party 's nomination while he was still governor . It also allowed him to use his influence as governor to sway the party 's choice of his potential successor as governor . State Auditor Samuel Wilbur Hager was Beckham 's choice for governor and easily won the early primary over challenger N.B. Hays . Former governor James B. McCreary challenged Beckham for the senatorial nomination , but Beckham won by more than 11 @,@ 000 votes .   = = = U.S. Senator = = =   Beckham 's term as governor ended December 10 , 1907 . In January 1908 he faced the legislature as the Democratic nominee for a seat in the U.S. Senate by virtue of the primary held two years earlier . The Republicans nominated former governor William O. Bradley . On the first ballot Beckham secured 66 of the needed 69 votes ; Bradley received 64 votes . Seven Democrats had not voted for Beckham . Over the next six weeks , 25 more votes were taken with neither man securing a majority , even though William Jennings Bryan , the Democratic nominee for president , campaigned for Beckham . Some Democrats pressured Beckham to withdraw and allow a more palatable Democrat to run , but he refused . On the 29th ballot , taken near the end of February 1908 , Bradley finally secured a majority after four Democrats crossed party lines to vote for him .   Beckham 's ardent support of prohibition likely cost him the election . His position put him at odds with Henry Watterson , editor of the powerful Louisville Courier @-@ Journal . As governor Beckham had crossed the liquor interests and the political machinery in Louisville . When the Kentucky Court of Appeals invalidated the results of Louisville 's municipal elections due to interference by the city 's " whiskey ring " in May 1907 , Beckham appointed Robert Worth Bingham , a young lawyer and fellow prohibitionist , as interim mayor until elections could be held in November . Bingham eliminated grafting in the police department , closed gambling houses and enforced blue laws closing saloons on Sunday . Following this , the whiskey ring announced Beckham had forfeited the support of Louisville 's legislators . In the senatorial election in 1908 , three of the four Democrats who voted against Beckham were from Louisville . Following his defeat , Beckham returned to his law practice .   Six years later Beckham again attempted to win the Senate seat . Due to the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment , the senator would not be elected by the legislature , but by popular vote . In the Democratic primary Beckham defeated Augustus O. Stanley , a 12 @-@ year veteran congressman . The Republican nominee was former governor Augustus E. Willson . Bolstered by his support of President Woodrow Wilson , Beckham won the election by 32 @,@ 000 votes .   Beckham served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Labor from 1915 to 1917 and on the Senate Committee on Military Affairs . In the latter position he was influential in securing two large military training posts for Kentucky , Camp Zachary Taylor and Fort Knox . Though Camp Zachary Taylor was abandoned after World War I , Fort Knox became the home of the United States Bullion Depository . When the United States entered World War I , Beckham continued to back President Wilson and supported the League of Nations .   True to his prohibitionist stance , Beckham supported passage of the Eighteenth Amendment forbidding the import and sale of alcohol in the United States . The amendment was ratified and became effective in January 1920 . Believing women should be protected from involvement in politics , Beckham opposed the Nineteenth Amendment , which granted women 's suffrage . The amendment failed on February 10 , 1919 , but passed on June 4 , 1919 . Beckham voted against it both times .   The Democrats renominated Beckham without opposition in 1920 . His opponent in the general election was Republican Richard P. Ernst . Prohibition had destroyed the distilling industry and the saloon business in the state , and in areas where these industries were prominent Beckham received more than 5 @,@ 000 fewer votes than Democratic presidential nominee James M. Cox . He was also hurt by the women 's vote and by his support of President
Ġof Ġthe Ġstate Ġto Ġqu ell Ġthe Ġongoing ĠBlack ĠPatch ĠTobacco ĠWars Ġ. ĠHe Ġcited Ġconstitutional Ġreasons Ġfor Ġhis Ġrefusal Ġ, Ġbut Ġmore Ġprobably Ġhis Ġreasons Ġwere Ġpolitical ĠâĢĵ Ġthe ĠDemocrats Ġwere Ġdominant Ġin Ġthis Ġregion Ġand Ġhe Ġdidn Ġ' t Ġwant Ġto Ġchallenge Ġhis Ġown Ġparty Ġ. ĠBy Ġcollecting Ġsome Ġold ĠCivil ĠWar Ġdebts Ġfrom Ġthe Ġfederal Ġgovernment Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġvirtually Ġeliminated Ġthe Ġstate Ġ' s Ġdebt Ġ. ĠEnc our aged Ġby Ġthe Ġstate Ġ' s Ġimproved Ġfinances Ġ, Ġthe ĠGeneral ĠAssembly Ġvoted Ġto Ġexpand Ġtwo Ġof Ġthe Ġstate Ġ' s Ġnormal Ġschools Ġ, ĠWestern ĠState ĠTeachers ĠCollege Ġin ĠBowling ĠGreen Ġ( Ġlater ĠWestern ĠKentucky ĠUniversity Ġ) Ġand ĠEastern ĠState ĠTeachers ĠCollege Ġin ĠRichmond Ġ( Ġlater Ġpart Ġof ĠEastern ĠKentucky ĠUniversity Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠWith Ġa Ġsuccessful Ġlegislative Ġsession Ġbehind Ġhim Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġmade Ġa Ġbold Ġpolitical Ġmove Ġin ĠJune Ġ1906 Ġ: Ġhe Ġorchestrated Ġan Ġeffort Ġto Ġset Ġthe ĠDemocratic Ġgubernatorial Ġand Ġsenator ial Ġprimaries Ġin ĠNovember ĠâĢĵ Ġa Ġfull Ġyear Ġbefore Ġthe Ġgubernatorial Ġelection Ġand Ġtwo Ġyears Ġbefore Ġthe Ġsenator ial Ġelection Ġ. ĠBeckham Ġwanted Ġthe ĠSenate Ġseat Ġ, Ġand Ġmoving Ġthe Ġprimary Ġup Ġtwo Ġyears Ġwould Ġallow Ġhim Ġto Ġsecure Ġhis Ġparty Ġ' s Ġnomination Ġwhile Ġhe Ġwas Ġstill Ġgovernor Ġ. ĠIt Ġalso Ġallowed Ġhim Ġto Ġuse Ġhis Ġinfluence Ġas Ġgovernor Ġto Ġsway Ġthe Ġparty Ġ' s Ġchoice Ġof Ġhis Ġpotential Ġsuccessor Ġas Ġgovernor Ġ. ĠState ĠAuditor ĠSamuel ĠWil bur ĠH ager Ġwas ĠBeckham Ġ' s Ġchoice Ġfor Ġgovernor Ġand Ġeasily Ġwon Ġthe Ġearly Ġprimary Ġover Ġchallenger ĠN . B . ĠH ays Ġ. ĠFormer Ġgovernor ĠJames ĠB . ĠMcC re ary Ġchallenged ĠBeckham Ġfor Ġthe Ġsenator ial Ġnomination Ġ, Ġbut ĠBeckham Ġwon Ġby Ġmore Ġthan Ġ11 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġvotes Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠU . S . ĠSenator Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBeckham Ġ' s Ġterm Ġas Ġgovernor Ġended ĠDecember Ġ10 Ġ, Ġ1907 Ġ. ĠIn ĠJanuary Ġ1908 Ġhe Ġfaced Ġthe Ġlegislature Ġas Ġthe ĠDemocratic Ġnominee Ġfor Ġa Ġseat Ġin Ġthe ĠU . S . ĠSenate Ġby Ġvirtue Ġof Ġthe Ġprimary Ġheld Ġtwo Ġyears Ġearlier Ġ. ĠThe ĠRepublicans Ġnominated Ġformer Ġgovernor ĠWilliam ĠO . ĠBradley Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġfirst Ġballot ĠBeckham Ġsecured Ġ66 Ġof Ġthe Ġneeded Ġ69 Ġvotes Ġ; ĠBradley Ġreceived Ġ64 Ġvotes Ġ. ĠSeven ĠDemocrats Ġhad Ġnot Ġvoted Ġfor ĠBeckham Ġ. ĠOver Ġthe Ġnext Ġsix Ġweeks Ġ, Ġ25 Ġmore Ġvotes Ġwere Ġtaken Ġwith Ġneither Ġman Ġsecuring Ġa Ġmajority Ġ, Ġeven Ġthough ĠWilliam ĠJennings ĠBryan Ġ, Ġthe ĠDemocratic Ġnominee Ġfor Ġpresident Ġ, Ġcampaigned Ġfor ĠBeckham Ġ. ĠSome ĠDemocrats Ġpressured ĠBeckham Ġto Ġwithdraw Ġand Ġallow Ġa Ġmore Ġpal atable ĠDemocrat Ġto Ġrun Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġrefused Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġ29 th Ġballot Ġ, Ġtaken Ġnear Ġthe Ġend Ġof ĠFebruary Ġ1908 Ġ, ĠBradley Ġfinally Ġsecured Ġa Ġmajority Ġafter Ġfour ĠDemocrats Ġcrossed Ġparty Ġlines Ġto Ġvote Ġfor Ġhim Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBeckham Ġ' s Ġardent Ġsupport Ġof Ġprohibition Ġlikely Ġcost Ġhim Ġthe Ġelection Ġ. ĠHis Ġposition Ġput Ġhim Ġat Ġodds Ġwith ĠHenry ĠWat terson Ġ, Ġeditor Ġof Ġthe Ġpowerful ĠLouisville ĠCourier Ġ@ - @ ĠJournal Ġ. ĠAs Ġgovernor ĠBeckham Ġhad Ġcrossed Ġthe Ġliquor Ġinterests Ġand Ġthe Ġpolitical Ġmachinery Ġin ĠLouisville Ġ. ĠWhen Ġthe ĠKentucky ĠCourt Ġof ĠAppeals Ġinvalid ated Ġthe Ġresults Ġof ĠLouisville Ġ' s Ġmunicipal Ġelections Ġdue Ġto Ġinterference Ġby Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġ" Ġwhiskey Ġring Ġ" Ġin ĠMay Ġ1907 Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġappointed ĠRobert ĠWorth ĠBing ham Ġ, Ġa Ġyoung Ġlawyer Ġand Ġfellow Ġprohibition ist Ġ, Ġas Ġinterim Ġmayor Ġuntil Ġelections Ġcould Ġbe Ġheld Ġin ĠNovember Ġ. ĠBing ham Ġeliminated Ġgraft ing Ġin Ġthe Ġpolice Ġdepartment Ġ, Ġclosed Ġgambling Ġhouses Ġand Ġenforced Ġblue Ġlaws Ġclosing Ġsal oons Ġon ĠSunday Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthis Ġ, Ġthe Ġwhiskey Ġring Ġannounced ĠBeckham Ġhad Ġforfe ited Ġthe Ġsupport Ġof ĠLouisville Ġ' s Ġlegislators Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġsenator ial Ġelection Ġin Ġ1908 Ġ, Ġthree Ġof Ġthe Ġfour ĠDemocrats Ġwho Ġvoted Ġagainst ĠBeckham Ġwere Ġfrom ĠLouisville Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġhis Ġdefeat Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġreturned Ġto Ġhis Ġlaw Ġpractice Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSix Ġyears Ġlater ĠBeckham Ġagain Ġattempted Ġto Ġwin Ġthe ĠSenate Ġseat Ġ. ĠDue Ġto Ġthe Ġpassage Ġof Ġthe ĠSevent eenth ĠAmendment Ġ, Ġthe Ġsenator Ġwould Ġnot Ġbe Ġelected Ġby Ġthe Ġlegislature Ġ, Ġbut Ġby Ġpopular Ġvote Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠDemocratic Ġprimary ĠBeckham Ġdefeated ĠAugustus ĠO . ĠStanley Ġ, Ġa Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġveteran Ġcongressman Ġ. ĠThe ĠRepublican Ġnominee Ġwas Ġformer Ġgovernor ĠAugustus ĠE . ĠWill son Ġ. ĠBol st ered Ġby Ġhis Ġsupport Ġof ĠPresident ĠWood row ĠWilson Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġwon Ġthe Ġelection Ġby Ġ32 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġvotes Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBeckham Ġserved Ġas Ġchairman Ġof Ġthe ĠSenate ĠCommittee Ġon ĠExpend itures Ġin Ġthe ĠDepartment Ġof ĠLabor Ġfrom Ġ1915 Ġto Ġ1917 Ġand Ġon Ġthe ĠSenate ĠCommittee Ġon ĠMilitary ĠAffairs Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġlatter Ġposition Ġhe Ġwas Ġinfluential Ġin Ġsecuring Ġtwo Ġlarge Ġmilitary Ġtraining Ġposts Ġfor ĠKentucky Ġ, ĠCamp ĠZach ary ĠTaylor Ġand ĠFort ĠKnox Ġ. ĠThough ĠCamp ĠZach ary ĠTaylor Ġwas Ġabandoned Ġafter ĠWorld ĠWar ĠI Ġ, ĠFort ĠKnox Ġbecame Ġthe Ġhome Ġof Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates ĠBull ion ĠDep ository Ġ. ĠWhen Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġentered ĠWorld ĠWar ĠI Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġcontinued Ġto Ġback ĠPresident ĠWilson Ġand Ġsupported Ġthe ĠLeague Ġof ĠNations Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTrue Ġto Ġhis Ġprohibition ist Ġstance Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġsupported Ġpassage Ġof Ġthe ĠEight eenth ĠAmendment Ġforb idding Ġthe Ġimport Ġand Ġsale Ġof Ġalcohol Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ. ĠThe Ġamendment Ġwas Ġratified Ġand Ġbecame Ġeffective Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ1920 Ġ. ĠBel ieving Ġwomen Ġshould Ġbe Ġprotected Ġfrom Ġinvolvement Ġin Ġpolitics Ġ, ĠBeckham Ġopposed Ġthe ĠNin eteenth ĠAmendment Ġ, Ġwhich Ġgranted Ġwomen Ġ' s Ġsuff rage Ġ. ĠThe Ġamendment Ġfailed Ġon ĠFebruary Ġ10 Ġ, Ġ1919 Ġ, Ġbut Ġpassed Ġon ĠJune Ġ4 Ġ, Ġ1919 Ġ. ĠBeckham Ġvoted Ġagainst Ġit Ġboth Ġtimes Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠDemocrats Ġren ominated ĠBeckham Ġwithout Ġopposition Ġin Ġ1920 Ġ. ĠHis Ġopponent Ġin Ġthe Ġgeneral Ġelection Ġwas ĠRepublican ĠRichard ĠP . ĠErnst Ġ. ĠProhibition Ġhad Ġdestroyed Ġthe Ġdist illing Ġindustry Ġand Ġthe Ġsal oon Ġbusiness Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġareas Ġwhere Ġthese Ġindustries Ġwere Ġprominent ĠBeckham Ġreceived Ġmore Ġthan Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġfewer Ġvotes Ġthan ĠDemocratic Ġpresidential Ġnominee ĠJames ĠM . ĠCox Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġalso Ġhurt Ġby Ġthe Ġwomen Ġ' s Ġvote Ġand Ġby Ġhis Ġsupport Ġof ĠPresident