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[[image:henryclay.jpg|200px|thumb|Henry Clay]]

'''Henry Clay''' (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was one of the half-dozen most important American leaders in the 1812-1850 era, running three times for president, and losing each time. He represented the West—his state of [[Kentucky]]—in House and Senate, and founded and dominated the [[Whig Party]] during the [[Second Party System]]. Clay led the opposition to [[Andrew Jackson]], [[Martin Van Buren]], [[James Knox Polk]]  and [[Jacksonian Democracy]]. He is called the "Great Compromiser" for his leadership that prevented the slavery issue from ripping the nation apart in the [[Missouri Compromise]] in 1820, the [[Nullification Crisis]] in 1832, and the [[Compromise of 1850]]. His ideas greatly influenced [[Abraham Lincoln]] and the [[Republican Party]], which emerged after his death and promoted his ideas of national greatness through industry, banking and modernization.

|image         = henryclay.jpg

|successor6    = [[John W. Taylor (politician)|John Taylor]]

|president7    = James Monroe

|term_start7    = March 4, 1823

|party          = [[Democratic-Republican]] (1797–1825)<br />[[National Republican Party|National Republican]] (1825–1833)<br />[[Whig Party|Whig]] (1833–1852)

'''Henry Clay''' (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was one of the half-dozen most important American leaders in the 1812-1850 era, running three times for president, and losing each time. He represented the West—his state of [[Kentucky]]—in House and Senate, and founded and dominated the [[Whig Party]] during the [[Second Party System]]. Clay led the opposition to [[Andrew Jackson]], [[Martin Van Buren]], [[James Knox Polk]]  and [[Jacksonian Democracy]]. He is called the "Great Compromiser" for his leadership that prevented the slavery issue from ripping the nation apart in the [[Missouri Compromise]] in 1820, the [[Nullification Crisis]] in 1832, and the [[Compromise of 1850]]. His ideas greatly influenced [[Abraham Lincoln]] and the [[Republican Party]], which emerged after his death and promoted his ideas of national greatness through industry, banking and modernization. Clay was a leading [[nationalist]].

Clay's economic goal was the modernization of the American economy, based on cities, railroads, factories, banks, and well-educated middle class entrepreneurs, in opposition to the Jacksonians who opposed modernization and wanted instead more western farms for their yeoman farmers.  Clay opposed "[[Manifest Destiny]]", geographical expansion and the [[Mexican War]]. Clay is considered (along with [[Daniel Webster]]) the leading conservative of his age, even though he was often defeated by the [[Jacksonian Democracy|Jacksonian liberals]].  

Clay's economic goal was the modernization of the American economy, based on cities, railroads, factories, banks, and well-educated middle class entrepreneurs, in opposition to the Jacksonians who opposed modernization and wanted instead more western farms for their yeoman farmers.  Clay opposed "[[Manifest Destiny]]", geographical expansion and the [[Mexican War]]. Clay is considered (along with [[Daniel Webster]]) the leading conservative of his age, even though he was often defeated by the [[Jacksonian Democracy|Jacksonian liberals]].  

negotiated the [[Treaty of Ghent]], signed [[Christmas eve]] 1814. His shrewd surmise that the British would accept moderate terms despite their land victories, served the United States better than did [[John Quincy Adams]]' readiness to give the British free navigation of the Mississippi River in exchange for the right of New Englanders to fish in Canadian waters.

negotiated the [[Treaty of Ghent]], signed [[Christmas eve]] 1814. His shrewd surmise that the British would accept moderate terms despite their land victories, served the United States better than did [[John Quincy Adams]]' readiness to give the British free navigation of the Mississippi River in exchange for the right of New Englanders to fish in Canadian waters.

===American System===

===[[American System]]===

Clay resumed the speakership of the House of Representatives

Clay resumed the speakership of the House of Representatives

and, looking toward the presidency, began to develop his famous

and, looking toward the presidency, began to develop his famous

===Forming the Whig Party===

===Forming the Whig Party===

Clay formed the Whig Party in 1832, to support what he called "The American System," involving a National Bank, promotion of industrialization through tariffs, and support for internal improvements like canals and railroads. A rich slaveowner, he nevertheless brokered a series of North-South compromises over slavery, especially the Compromise of 1850, as well the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the "Corrupt Bargain" Compromise of 1825, the Tariff Compromise of 1833, the Slavery Compromises of 1837-39, the Texas Annexation Compromise of 1844, and his noncompromise on a protective banking system scheme in 1841.  He was the foremost advocate of modernization, and was great admired by aspiring young men like [[Abraham Lincoln]].  

Clay formed the Whig Party in 1832, to support what he called "The American System," involving a National Bank, promotion of industrialization through tariffs, and support for internal improvements like canals and railroads. A rich slaveowner, he nevertheless brokered a series of north–south compromises over slavery, especially the Compromise of 1850, as well the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the "Corrupt Bargain" Compromise of 1825, the Tariff Compromise of 1833, the Slavery Compromises of 1837–39, the Texas Annexation Compromise of 1844, and his noncompromise on a protective banking system scheme in 1841.  He was the foremost advocate of modernization, and was great admired by aspiring young men like [[Abraham Lincoln]].  

===1844 campaign; Texas===

===1844 campaign; Texas===

[[Image:Henry-clay5.jpg|thumb|420px|Clay appeals for compromise in the Senate, 1850]] In 1849 Clay returned to the Senate in a last effort to modify the influence of the increasing numbers of extremists, Northern and Southern. His [[Compromise of 1850]] was intended to satisfy both sections, brought California into the Union as a free state, ended the slave trade in Washington DC (but did not abolish slavery there), and included other provisions intended to balance Southern and Northern interests. Its most controversial provision, the [[Fugitive Slave Law]], would have guaranteed slaveholders the return of their runaways and thus presumably have done away with the root of sectional differences. Clay hoped that this, his last and greatest compromise, would forever prevent a civil war. Alongside Clay in the Senate were the other two of the great triumvirate which had dominated American politics for more than thirty years.<ref>Peterson 1987</ref> The dying [[John C. Calhoun]] demanded for the South what was in effect equality with the federal government. [[Daniel Webster]], on the other hand, joined with Clay in his famous Seventh of March address and pleaded for an end to sectional strife. Clay was unable to get his compromise passed but Democrat [[Stephen A. Douglas]] unpackaged the compromise so that each component was passed by a different coalition.  The compromise effectively postponed war for another decade, but Clay did not live to see the collapse of his Whig party after it lost the 1852 elections.

[[Image:Henry-clay5.jpg|thumb|420px|Clay appeals for compromise in the Senate, 1850]] In 1849 Clay returned to the Senate in a last effort to modify the influence of the increasing numbers of extremists, Northern and Southern. His [[Compromise of 1850]] was intended to satisfy both sections, brought California into the Union as a free state, ended the slave trade in Washington DC (but did not abolish slavery there), and included other provisions intended to balance Southern and Northern interests. Its most controversial provision, the [[Fugitive Slave Law]], would have guaranteed slaveholders the return of their runaways and thus presumably have done away with the root of sectional differences. Clay hoped that this, his last and greatest compromise, would forever prevent a civil war. Alongside Clay in the Senate were the other two of the great triumvirate which had dominated American politics for more than thirty years.<ref>Peterson 1987</ref> The dying [[John C. Calhoun]] demanded for the South what was in effect equality with the federal government. [[Daniel Webster]], on the other hand, joined with Clay in his famous Seventh of March address and pleaded for an end to sectional strife. Clay was unable to get his compromise passed but Democrat [[Stephen A. Douglas]] unpackaged the compromise so that each component was passed by a different coalition.  The compromise effectively postponed war for another decade, but Clay did not live to see the collapse of his Whig party after it lost the 1852 elections.

===Legacy===

===Legacy===

He died in Washington on June 29, 1852. Clay lacked Webster's powerful logic and learning and Calhoun's cast-iron principles, but he was equal to both men in national power and he outranked them in the affection he inspired. Although his program of compromise suffered a loss of prestige during the secessionist crisis, it was renewed in the vision of one of his admirers: Abraham Lincoln called his fellow Kentuckian "my beau ideal of a statesman, the man for whom I fought all my humble life."<ref>Mark E. Neely, Jr. "American Nationalism in the Image of Henry Clay: Abraham Lincoln's Eulogy on Henry Clay in Context." ''Register of the Kentucky Historical Society'' 1975 73(1): 31-61.</ref>

He died in Washington on June 29, 1852. Clay lacked Webster's powerful logic and learning and Calhoun's cast-iron principles, but he was equal to both men in national power and he outranked them in the affection he inspired. Although his program of compromise suffered a loss of prestige during the secessionist crisis, it was renewed in the vision of one of his admirers: [[Abraham Lincoln]] called his fellow Kentuckian "my beau ideal of a statesman, the man for whom I fought all my humble life."<ref>Mark E. Neely, Jr. "American Nationalism in the Image of Henry Clay: Abraham Lincoln's Eulogy on Henry Clay in Context." ''Register of the Kentucky Historical Society'' 1975 73(1): 31-61.</ref>

 

 

*"I always have had, and always shall have, a profound regard for Christianity, the religion of my fathers, and for its rights, its usages and observances."<ref>https://quotefancy.com/quote/1135971/Henry-Clay-I-always-have-had-and-always-shall-have-a-profound-regard-for-Christianity-the</ref>

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==

* Baxter, Maurice G. ''Henry Clay the Lawyer'' U. Press of Kentucky, 2000. 141pp

* Baxter, Maurice G. ''Henry Clay the Lawyer'' U. Press of Kentucky, 2000. 141pp

* Brown, Thomas. ''Politics and Statesmanship: Essays on the American Whig Party'' (1985) ch 5 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=35907993 online edition]

* Brown, Thomas. ''Politics and Statesmanship: Essays on the American Whig Party'' (1985) ch 5 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=35907993 online edition]

* Brown, David. "Jeffersonian Ideology and the Second Party System." ''Historian'' 1999 62(1): 17-30. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: in Swetswise and Ebsco

* Brown, David. "Jeffersonian Ideology and the Second Party System." ''Historian'' 1999 62(1): 17–30. Issn: 0018-2370 Fulltext: in Swetswise and Ebsco

* Campbell, Randolph B. "The Spanish American Aspect of Henry Clay's American System." ''Americas'' 1967 24(1): 3-17.

* Campbell, Randolph B. "The Spanish American Aspect of Henry Clay's American System." ''Americas'' 1967 24(1): 3-17.

* Eaton, Clement. ''Henry Clay and the Art of American Politics'' (1957), short  

* Eaton, Clement. ''Henry Clay and the Art of American Politics'' (1957), short  

* Gammon,  Samuel R. ''The Presidential Campaign of 1832'' (1922)] [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58576510 online version]

* Gammon,  Samuel R. ''The Presidential Campaign of 1832'' (1922)[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58576510 online version]

* Holt, Michael F. ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War'' (1999) the standard history (over 1000 pages) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99173945 online version]

* Holt, Michael F. ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War'' (1999) the standard history (over 1000 pages) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99173945 online version]

* Knupfer, Peter B. "Compromise and Statesmanship: Henry Clay’s Union." in Knupfer, ''The Union As It Is: Constitutional Unionism and Sectional Compromise, 1787-1861'' (1991), pp.&nbsp;119–57.

* Knupfer, Peter B. "Compromise and Statesmanship: Henry Clay’s Union." in Knupfer, ''The Union As It Is: Constitutional Unionism and Sectional Compromise, 1787-1861'' (1991), pp.&nbsp;119–57.

* Mayo, Bernard. ''Henry Clay, Spokesman of the West'' (1937)

* Mayo, Bernard. ''Henry Clay, Spokesman of the West'' (1937)

* Morrison, Michael A. "Westward the Curse of Empire: Texas Annexation and the American Whig Party." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' (1990) 10(2): 221-249. Issn: 0275-1275 Fulltext: in Jstor  

* Morrison, Michael A. "Westward the Curse of Empire: Texas Annexation and the American Whig Party." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' (1990) 10(2): 221–249. Issn: 0275-1275 Fulltext: in Jstor  

* Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun'' (1987)

* Peterson, Merrill D. ''The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun'' (1987)

* Poage, George Rawlings. ''Henry Clay and the Whig Party'' (1936)

* Poage, George Rawlings. ''Henry Clay and the Whig Party'' (1936)

* Remini,  Robert. ''Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union'' (1991), 818pp; the standard scholarly biography  

* Remini,  Robert. ''Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union'' (1991), 818pp; the standard scholarly biography  

* Schurz, Carl. ''Life of Henry Clay: American Statesmen''. 2 vol. (1899) [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/Life_of_Henry_Clay.pdf?vid=0qGyMNrCpXOh21xzeK&id=hrdi-qZgSdYC&output=pdf&sig=LAXdeffJ0aYktl12t29VBNb1Xlw online edition vol 1] [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/Life_of_Henry_Clay.pdf?vid=0ftV79J0aZ1FmRC6a2&id=TMS3EzxVJpMC&output=pdf&sig=-_CJroqtpWiBAssm9tM5xjXBfWw online edition vol 2]

* Schurz, Carl. ''Life of Henry Clay: American Statesmen''. 2 vol. (1899) [https://books.google.com/books/pdf/Life_of_Henry_Clay.pdf?vid=0qGyMNrCpXOh21xzeK&id=hrdi-qZgSdYC&output=pdf&sig=LAXdeffJ0aYktl12t29VBNb1Xlw online edition vol 1] [https://books.google.com/books/pdf/Life_of_Henry_Clay.pdf?vid=0ftV79J0aZ1FmRC6a2&id=TMS3EzxVJpMC&output=pdf&sig=-_CJroqtpWiBAssm9tM5xjXBfWw online edition vol 2]

* Shankman, Kimberly C.  ''Compromise and the Constitution: The Political Thought of Henry Clay.'' 1999. 129 pp.   

* Shankman, Kimberly C.  ''Compromise and the Constitution: The Political Thought of Henry Clay.'' 1999. 129 pp.   

* Strahan, Randall; Moscardelli, Vincent G.; Haspel, Moshe; and Wike, Richard S. "The Clay Speakership Revisited" ''Polity'' 2000 32(4): 561-593. ISSN 0032-3497 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0032-3497(200022)32%3A4%3C561%3ATCSR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 in JSTOR]  

* Strahan, Randall; Moscardelli, Vincent G.; Haspel, Moshe; and Wike, Richard S. "The Clay Speakership Revisited" ''Polity'' 2000 32(4): 561–593. ISSN 0032-3497 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0032-3497(200022)32%3A4%3C561%3ATCSR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 in JSTOR]  

* Strahan, Randall. ''Leading Representatives: The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House'' (2007)

* Strahan, Randall. ''Leading Representatives: The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House'' (2007)

* Van Atta, John R. "Western Lands and the Political Economy of Henry Clay's American System, 1819-1832." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 2001 21(4): 633-665. Issn: 0275-1275 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0275-1275(200124)21%3A4%3C633%3AWLATPE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X in  Jstor]  

* Van Atta, John R. "Western Lands and the Political Economy of Henry Clay's American System, 1819-1832." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 2001 21(4): 633–665. Issn: 0275-1275 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0275-1275(200124)21%3A4%3C633%3AWLATPE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X in  Jstor]  

* Van Deusen, Glyndon G. ''The Life of Henry Clay'' (1937)

* Van Deusen, Glyndon G. ''The Life of Henry Clay'' (1937)

* Watson, Harry L.  ed. ''Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay: Democracy and Development in Antebellum America'' (1998) brief collection of readings

* Watson, Harry L.  ed. ''Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay: Democracy and Development in Antebellum America'' (1998) brief collection of readings

* Zarefsky, David. "Henry Clay and the Election of 1844: the Limits of a Rhetoric of Compromise" ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' 2003 6(1): 79-96. ISSN 1094-8392 fulltext in Swetwise

* Zarefsky, David. "Henry Clay and the Election of 1844: the Limits of a Rhetoric of Compromise" ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' 2003 6(1): 79–96. ISSN 1094-8392 fulltext in Swetwise

===Primary sources===

===Primary sources===

* Clay, Henry. ''The Papers of Henry Clay'', 1797-1852. Edited by James Hopkins, Mary Hargreaves, Robert Seager II, Melba Porter Hay et al. 11 vols. University Press of Kentucky, 1959-1992.  [http://tera-3.ul.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/reader.pl?call=31007&search= vol 1 online, 1797-1814]

* Clay, Henry. ''The Papers of Henry Clay'', 1797–1852. Edited by James Hopkins, Mary Hargreaves, Robert Seager II, Melba Porter Hay et al. 11 vols. University Press of Kentucky, 1959–1992.  [http://tera-3.ul.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/reader.pl?call=31007&search= vol 1 online, 1797-1814]

* Clay, Henry. ''Works of Henry Clay'', 7 vols. (1897) [http://books.google.com/books?id=1HUDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:henry+inauthor:clay+inpublisher:henry+inpublisher:clay&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]

* Clay, Henry. ''Works of Henry Clay'', 7 vols. (1897) [https://books.google.com/books?id=1HUDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:henry+inauthor:clay+inpublisher:henry+inpublisher:clay&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition]

====Notes====

====Notes====

<references/>

<references/>

==External links==

==External links==

*[http://www.c-span.org/Events/The-Contenders-Henry-Clay/10737431071/ C-SPAN biography program on Henry Clay]

* [https://www.c-span.org/Events/The-Contenders-Henry-Clay/10737431071/ C-SPAN biography program on Henry Clay]

 

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Henry}}

 

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