[2] Metcalfe's predecessor, Joseph Desha was so stunned by his party's loss that he threatened not to vacate the governor's mansion.

Among his proposed projects were a road connecting Shelbyville to Louisville and a canal on the Falls of the Ohio.

[2] Metcalfe received only a rudimentary education, and at age sixteen, he was apprenticed to his brother and learned the craft of stonemasonry.

[5] A number of his stone houses survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including his first home in Robertson County.

[12] He opposed the Second Bank of the United States, but favored extension of credit to purchasers of public land.

[2] In James Monroe's annual address to the legislature in December 1822, he called on Congress to report on how to best deal with the Seminoles that inhabited the recently acquired territory of Florida.

His committee found that, under the terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty that transferred control of Florida to the United States from Spain, the Seminoles were to be accorded the same privileges as U.S. citizens.

They hoped that this would help break the tribal loyalties of the Seminoles and expedite their amalgamation into white society.

While Calhoun was cleared of any wrongdoing, his friend, South Carolina Representative George McDuffie, began an exchange of correspondence with Metcalfe regarding the proceedings.

McDuffie insisted that wounds from a previous duel had left him incapable of handling a rifle, and proposed pistols as an alternative.

He disliked Metcalfe not only due to his party affiliation, but also because of his occupation as a stonemason, which he believed was too low a calling for a governor.

Metcalfe's opponents made slights on the quality of his stone work and his views on the Old Court-New Court controversy.

Despite his threats to remain in the governor's mansion until the legislature convened, Desha respected the will of the people, and left the residence on September 2, 1828.

[17] When President Andrew Jackson vetoed federal aid for a turnpike connecting Maysville and Lexington, Metcalfe continued constructing it with state funds.

)[19] Metcalfe's term also saw the commissioning of the state's first railroad and the beginning of plans for a canal at the Falls of the Ohio.

[17] At the governor's recommendation, the state legislature approved additional aid for education, and the creation of district schools.

[17] Finally, he was appointed and subsequently elected as a Whig to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John J.