Henry Clay

Henry Clay (April 12, 1777 in Hanover County, Virginia – June 29, 1852 in Washington, D.C.) was an American statesman and orator who served in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He also made five failed bids for the presidency, but was nevertheless extremely influential in U.S. politics.

Bids for the presidency

In the election of 1824, although Andrew Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral votes, no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, forcing the election to be determined by the House of Representatives. Clay redirected his supporters towards John Quincy Adams, and Adams was selected as the next president. Following Adams' inauguration, Clay was appointed Secretary of State. This event made Andrew Jackson a lifelong enemy of Henry Clay and Jackson kept Clay busy explaining and denying the allegation made by Jacksonians that the election results were due to a "corrupt bargain" between Clay and Adams.

Related Topics:
1824 - Andrew Jackson - John Quincy Adams

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1832 Clay was unanimously nominated for the presidency by the National Republicans; Jackson, by the Democrats. The main issue was the policy of continuing the Second Bank of the United States, which in 1811 Clay had originally opposed, but favored warmly from 1816 onward. A majority of the voters approved of Jackson's fight against what Clay had once denounced as a dangerous and unconstitutional monopoly. Clay made the mistake of supposing that he could arouse popular enthusiasm for a moneyed corporation against the great military hero of New Orleans.

Related Topics:
1832 - Nominated for the presidency - National Republicans - Democrats - Second Bank of the United States - New Orleans

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1839, Clay was a candidate for the Whig nomination, but his enemies defeated him in the party convention and nominated William Henry Harrison. The result threw Clay into paroxysms of rage. Clay complained that his friends always used him as their candidate when he was sure to be defeated, and betrayed him when he or anyone could have been elected.

Related Topics:
1839 - Whig - William Henry Harrison

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1844, he was nominated by the Whigs against James K. Polk, the Democratic candidate. By an audacious fraud that represented him as an enemy of protection, and Polk as its friend, Clay lost the vote of Pennsylvania. Clay then lost the vote of New York by his own letter abating the force of his previous opposition to the annexation of Texas. Even his enemies felt that his defeat by Polk was almost a national calamity.

Related Topics:
1844 - James K. Polk - Democratic - Pennsylvania - New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1848, Zachary Taylor, a Mexican War hero—and hardly even a convert to the Whig party—defeated Clay for the nomination, with even Kentucky deserting her favorite son. Clay died in Washington, D.C., four months before the next presidential election. He is buried in Lexington Cemetery (Kentucky).

Related Topics:
1848 - Zachary Taylor - Mexican War - Favorite son - Lexington Cemetery (Kentucky)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clay's home for many years was his farm and mansion, Ashland, at Lexington, Kentucky. Although rebuilt and remodeled by his heirs, it is now a museum. The museum includes about 20 acres (81,000 m²) of the original estate grounds and is located on Richmond Road in Lexington. It is open to the public (admission charged). For several years, the mansion was used as a residence for the university regent of the University of Kentucky. (Ashland was the namesake of a county in Ohio.)

Related Topics:
Lexington, Kentucky - University regent - University of Kentucky - County - Ohio

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~