Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky became the 15th U.S. state when it was admitted to the U.S. in 1792. It was once believed that the name Kentucky was derived from the Native American word meaning "dark and bloody hunting ground," which is believed to be due to the fact that many Native American tribes went there to hunt in the game-rich forests and often fought each other there. However, it is now most commonly believed that the name Kentucky can be attributed to various Native American languages with several possible meanings from "land of tomorrow" to "cane and turkey lands" to "meadow lands." This last may come from the Iroquois name for the Shawnee town Eskippathiki. The name Kentucky referred originally to the Kentucky River and from that came the name of the region.

Law and government

The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort and its current governor is Ernie Fletcher (Republican). Kentucky's two U.S. Senators are Jim Bunning (Republican) and Mitch McConnell (Republican). The Kentucky Constitution provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive. Kentucky's General Assembly has two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive branch is headed by the Governor. See List of Kentucky Governors. The judicial branch of Kentucky is made up of trial courts, called District and Circuit Courts, an intermediate appellate court, called the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and a court of last resort, the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Related Topics:
Capital - Frankfort - Ernie Fletcher - Republican - U.S. Senators - Jim Bunning - Mitch McConnell - General Assembly - Senate - House of Representatives - Governor - List of Kentucky Governors - Kentucky Court of Appeals - Kentucky Supreme Court

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Historically, Kentucky has leaned towards the Democratic Party, and was included among the "Solid South." The majority of the state's voters are officially registered as Democrats, although the majority has slimmed substantially in recent election cycles. As in other areas of the South, the Republican Party dominates state government and federal government. Kentucky has voted Republican in five of the last seven presidential elections, but has supported the Democratic candidates of the South. The commonwealth supported Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Bush won the state's 8 electoral votes overwhelmingly in 2004 by a margin of 20 percentage points and 59.6% of the vote. The most solidly Democratic counties are in the mountainous eastern unionized coal mining region, especially Pike, Floyd, Knott, Menifee, and Breathitt, and the city of Louisville.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Carter - Bill Clinton - George W. Bush

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