 The Commonwealth ranked ninth in population by 1860, and was a major producer of such agricultural commodities as tobacco, corn, wheat, hemp, and flax.Geographically, Kentucky was important to the South because the Ohio River would provide a defensible boundary along the entire length of the state.Kentucky governor Beriah Magoffin believed that the rights of the Southern states had been violated and favored the right of secession, but sought all possible avenues to avoid it.