Beckham refused to send troops into the western part of the state to quell the ongoing Black Patch Tobacco Wars . He cited constitutional reasons for his refusal , but more probably his reasons were political – the Democrats were dominant in this region and he didn 't want to challenge his own party . By collecting some old Civil War debts from the federal government , Beckham virtually eliminated the state 's debt . Encouraged by the state 's improved finances , the General Assembly voted to expand two of the state 's normal schools , Western State Teachers College in Bowling Green ( later Western Kentucky University ) and Eastern State Teachers College in Richmond ( later part of Eastern Kentucky University ) .