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Henry Clay was born in Virginia in 1777. After earning a law license in 1797, he relocated to Lexington, Kentucky. He quickly gained a reputation as an adept trial lawyer, which led him into local politics. Elected to the state legislature in 1803, he interrupted his service to act as a defense counsel for the former vice president Aaron Burr in his trial for treason. After serving as speaker of the Kentucky House and filling out two unexpired terms in the U.S. Senate, Clay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and became its Speaker in 1811. Clay's charismatic personality and dramatic speaking style made him a natural leader. As the guiding force behind the so-called war hawks in Congress, Clay helped spur the United States into the War of 1812. He went on to serve as a peace commissioner in 1814, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent.

Clay used his leadership position in the House to advance what he called his "American System," which included protective tariffs for manufacturers and federally funded support for roads, canals, and other internal improvements. His vision for the United States emphasized unity among the regions. Though he was a slaveholder, he did not champion southern interests against national ones. His role in shaping the Missouri Compromise in 1820 strengthened his stature as a conciliator between the North and South. In addition, Clay sought to promote American ideals of democracy abroad and advocated the recognition of newly formed nations in South America.

Despite his great political skills and large national following, Clay was repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to win the presidency. In 1824 he ran for the White House for the first time, coming in last in a four-way contest that was decided ultimately in the House of Representatives. When Clay swung his support to the victorious John Quincy Adams, charges of corrupt bargaining were raised by the supporters of Andrew Jackson, the candidate who had received the most popular votes. The charges only intensified after Adams selected Clay as his secretary of state.

Adams's presidency never recovered from these charges, which damaged Clay's career as well. After Jackson defeated Adams in 1828, Clay entered the U.S. Senate and became Jackson's chief antagonist, particularly in the fight over the rechartering of the United States Bank. He lost to Jackson in the contest to become the presidential nominee of the National Republican Party in 1828. Clay's next move was to help organize the Whig Party, which soon emerged as the main opposition to Jackson's Democratic Party.

Clay declined to run against Martin Van Buren for the presidency in 1836 and then unsuccessfully sought the Whig nomination in 1840. But in 1844, with his Whigs united behind him, Clay launched another campaign for the presidency. His chances against the lesser-known Democrat James K. Polk were damaged after he seemed to hedge on the issue of annexing Texas to the Union. Clay was defeated and he retired from the Senate. After losing the 1848 Whig presidential nomination to General Zachary Taylor, Clay announced his intention to leave politics for good. He changed his mind and returned to the Senate a year later. Although he was in declining health, Clay decided to use his still-formidable influence to end the dispute over the extension of slavery into territory acquired by the United States after the Mexican-American War. Speaking for hours before packed Senate galleries, he predicted a long and bloody civil war if his compromise proposals were not adopted. After initially failing to pass as a package, the Compromise of 1850 was finally voted into law as separate bills. Clay's last act of service helped to delay the outbreak of civil war. After a long decline, Clay died in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 1852.

References:

1. Baxter, Maurice G. Henry Clay and the American System. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1995.

2. Eaton, Clement. Henry Clay and the Art of American Politics. Boston: Little, Brown, 1957.

3. Holt, Michael F. The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

4. Peterson, Merrill D. The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.

5. Remini, Robert V. Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. New York: W. W. Norton, 1991.

6. Van Deusen, Glyndon G. The Life of Henry Clay. Boston: Little, Brown, 1936.

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