Political Career
Wickliffe's political career began when he was elected to represent Nelson County in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1812 and 1813. During his tenure, he enthusiastically supported the War of 1812. He first served as an aide-de-camp to General Joseph Winlock, and on August 24, 1813, he enlisted as a private in Martin H. Wickliffe's company. On September 2, 1813, he was chosen as aide-de-camp to General Samuel Caldwell and served in this capacity at the October 5, 1813, Battle of the Thames. In 1816, he succeeded Ben Hardin as Commonwealth's Attorney for Nelson County.
Wickliffe was returned to the Kentucky House in 1822 and 1823. During this period, a controversy known as the Old Court-New Court controversy was raging in Kentucky. Reeling from the financial Panic of 1819, many of the state's citizens demanded debt relief. When some debt relief measures passed by the legislature were declared unconstitutional by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the legislature attempted to dissolve the court and replace it with a more sympathetic one. For a time, two courts claimed to be the court of last resort in Kentucky. Wickliffe supported the "Old Court", which was the court that eventually prevailed.
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