As a body, Kentucky Synod was a great deal more conservative than the Presbyterian Church as a whole — especially in its opposition to many aspects of the Second Great Awakening, a revival movement that thrived in Kentucky from about 1798 to about 1820.
Synod suspended or deposed a number of revivalist Presbyterian ministers, but these men continued to preach to their former congregations.
Following the American Civil War, Kentucky Synod divided along primarily political lines.
During the American Civil War, the majority of Kentucky Presbyterians supported the Confederate States of America.
Stuart Robinson and Bennett Young led the new "Southern" synod.