This move exposed him to such authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, who were associates of his older brother, poet Forceythe Willson.
After graduation, he secured a position at the law firm of future Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan.
A Republican in a primarily Democratic state, Willson suffered several defeats for public office, but was elected governor of Kentucky on his second attempt.
Due to his handling of the Black Patch Tobacco Wars and his pardoning of several individuals involved in the assassination of Democratic governor William Goebel, Willson drew the ire of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.
There, he was exposed to men of letters such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell.
[3] His brother Forceythe became terminally ill during Augustus' sophomore year, and the younger man took a brief hiatus from his studies to care for him.
[2] In 1874, Kerr wrote a letter of introduction for Willson when he applied for a position in the Louisville law firm of John Marshall Harlan.
[2] Willson's political career began when was he appointed chief clerk of the U.S. Treasury Department under Benjamin Bristow.
[1][3] On July 23, 1877, Willson married Mary Elizabeth Ekin in Louisville;[a] their only child died as an infant.
[1] A Republican in a predominantly Democratic state, Willson suffered several defeats as he ran for public office.
[5] In 1897, he was a member of the executive committee at the national monetary conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he advocated a sound money position.
[9] Using his clout as governor, Beckham ensured the selection of Samuel Wilber Hager as the party's gubernatorial nominee.
[13] Voters who favored prohibition – strong supporters of Beckham for his pro-temperance stand – also deserted Hager, who vacillated on the issue.
In contrast to Beckham's inaction, Willson immediately deployed the state militia and declared martial law in twenty western counties.
[15] Hostile Democrats in the General Assembly formed an investigative committee that found Willson guilty of violating the state's constitution by calling out the militia without a formal request by civil authorities.
[16] Willson also sent spies to infiltrate the "Night Riders" – an organization of vigilantes who perpetrated much of the violence – and determine which local officials supported them.
He may have been more effective in ending violence associated with the Reelfoot Lake uprising in 1908, also located in western Kentucky and Tennessee.
In 1911, the Supreme Court of the United States found the American Tobacco Company to be in violation of antitrust laws.
[14] Willson further alienated the legislature by issuing pardons for several individuals convicted of complicity in the assassination of Governor William Goebel (1900).
[18] In his biennial message to the legislature in 1910, Willson called for a uniform system of accounting based on legislation recently passed in the neighboring state of Indiana.
[19] Due to its hostility toward Willson, the Assembly scarcely considered the governor's agenda or other needed legislation such as tax reform and redistricting.
[19] The few accomplishments of this legislature included making electrocution the legal form of capital punishment and establishing of an eight-hour work day for public workers.
[8] Also in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt called a meeting of state governors in Washington, D.C., to discuss conservation of natural resources.
His actions to quell the violence in the Black Patch Wars and his pardons to Taylor and Powers were both unpopular with many voters.
[24] In the general election, the unpopularity of Willson's gubernatorial administration combined with the overwhelming popularity of Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, ensured that Beckham won the seat by more than 32,000 votes.