Editing Kentucky (section)

===Statehood===
[[File:Kentucky Statehood 150th Anniversary, 3c, 1942 issue.jpg|thumb
|In 1942 the U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp [[commemorative stamp|commemorating]] the 150th anniversary of Kentucky statehood, a 3-cent 1942 issue]]
The county was subdivided into [[Jefferson County, Kentucky|Jefferson]], [[Lincoln County, Kentucky|Lincoln]] and [[Fayette County, Kentucky|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 [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] for separation from Virginia and [[U.S. state|statehood]]. Ten constitutional conventions were held in [[Danville, Kentucky|Danville]] between 1784 and 1792.
One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before the Confederation Congress in early July 1788. Unfortunately, its consideration came up a day after word of [[New Hampshire]]'s all-important ninth [[Article Seven of the United States Constitution|ratification]] of the proposed [[United States Constitution|Constitution]], thus establishing it as the new framework of governance for the United States. 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kesavan|first1=Vasan|title=When Did the Articles of Confederation Cease to Be Law|journal=Notre Dame Law Review|date=December 1, 2002|volume=78|issue=1|pages=70–71|url=http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr/vol78/iss1/3|access-date=October 31, 2015|archive-date=January 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101052616/http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr/vol78/iss1/3/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 18, 1789, Virginia again gave its consent to Kentucky statehood. The [[United States Congress]] gave its approval on February 4, 1791.<ref>{{USStat|1|189}}</ref> (This occurred two weeks before Congress approved [[Vermont]]'s petition for statehood.<ref>{{USStat|1|191}}</ref>) Kentucky officially became the fifteenth state in the Union on June 1, 1792. [[Isaac Shelby]], a military veteran from Virginia, was elected its first Governor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Constitution Square State Historic Site |publisher=Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau |url=http://www.danville-ky.com/attractions2.php?category=History%20and%20Museums |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230008/http://danville-ky.com/attractions2.php?category=History%20and%20Museums |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=November 29, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>