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Henry Clay – by Oliver Frazer –

Top 10 Facts about Henry Clay

Henry Clay was a Statesman who represented Kentucky both in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 19th Century.

He also held public office when he was appointed as the 9th Secretary of State by President John Quincy Adams on March 7, 1825. He also served as the seventh House speaker, being the youngest individual to hold that position.  

During his tenure as speaker, he transformed the speaker position from mere parliamentarian to a more political force. He controlled the constitution of committee appointment and instituted chairmen who would push for more legislative agendas.

Let鈥檚 look at 10 additional facts about him.

1.Clay’s Father was a Reverend

Clay was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia. He was the seventh of nine children of his parents, John Clay and Elizabeth Hudson. He was brought up in a fairly wealthy family with his father being a Baptist minister and a tobacco farmer.

Unfortunately, his father passed on when he was just 4 years old. His mother went ahead to remarry and his step father was described as a kind man to him and his other siblings.

2. Henry was nicknamed “The Great Compromiser”

Henry Clay image -by Theodore Sydney Moise –

He was also nicknamed “The Great Pacificator”. He acquired these names for his ability to reconcile opposite sides of the Missouri compromise of 1850 by urging each of them to use common sense. 

He proposed elimination of slavery in regions where slavery already existed and resolved for sectional disagreement through the use of compromise.

3. Henry entered the legal profession and practiced law

He tried his hand in other careers but eventually settled for law, He was introduced to the practice while  working as a clerk for a Virginia jurist George Wythe, who was also the judge of the state chancery court in Richmond.

He was admitted to the bar in 1797 and moved to Kentucky where he went on to have a blossoming law career.

4. Clay is famously quoted as saying, 鈥淚 would rather be right than be president.鈥�

Henry Clay in the Old Senate Chamber in 1850 – Drawn by Peter F. Rothermel & engraved by Robert Whitechurch –

Clay vied for presidency in the 1840 election but lost to William Harrison. However, Harrison died and his vice president, John Tyler, took over office.

At that time, Clay clashed fiercely with Tyler over different ideals. It was during this time that he sentimentalized that he would rather be right than be president.

5. Henry resigned from the Senate in 1842

He left the senate to prepare for his presidential election in 1844 after winning the Whig presidential nomination.  He was however defeated in the general election by democrat James Polk.

In 1848, he again sought the Whig presidential nomination, but lost it to General Zachary Taylor  who won the general election and became the 12th president of the United States.

6. Clay鈥檚 Father-in-law helped him grow his clientele

Henry Clay and his wife, Lucretia Hart –

He married Lucretia Hart on April 11, 1799. Her father was a prominent businessman and one of the earliest settlers in Kentucky. His father in law helped in the growth of his clientele and establishment of his professional stature. 

Clay and Lucretia had eleven children namely; Henrietta, Theodore, Thomas,Susan, Anne, Lucretia, Henry Jr, Eliza, Laura, James and John. Their family tree grew and they had several grandchildren.

7. Henry was elected speaker of the House for the 12th Congress at 34

Clay won the election in 1811 to become amongst the youngest speakers of the house to date. He went on to get elected a record six times in the same position. 

As speaker, Clay was exceptional in his ability to control the legislative agenda through well-placed allies and the establishment of new committees and  a far cry from the norm, he frequently took part in floor debates. 

President James Madison, who deferred to Congress in most matters aided in increasing Clay鈥檚 powers as speaker of the house 

8. Henry Clay鈥檚 appointment as Secretary of State was termed as a 鈥渃orrupt bargain鈥�

President John Quincy Adams offered Clay the position of secretary of state after their agreement that would see Clay support Quincy鈥檚 presidency and in turn get a cabinet post in his administration.

These allegations were a direct contradiction of the experience that Clay had amassed in conflict resolution especially. 

In August 1814, Clay was part of an American delegation led by ambassador John Quincy Adams and a team of other commissioners that also included Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin, Senator James Bayard, ambassador Jonathan Russell, with the British negotiating support for an Anglo-American peace treaty.

9. He had a biography, 鈥�Henry Clay: The Essential American.鈥�

Henry Clay – by Political Graveyard from Ann Arbor –

David Heidler and Jeanne Heidler paid Homage to clay in his biography where they present him as as a precocious, witty, and optimistic Virginia farm boy who at the age of twenty transformed himself into an attorney. 

They describe his career in Washington, including his participation in the election of 1824 that haunted him for the rest of his career and shine new light on Clay鈥檚 marriage to his wife Lucretia Hart, a union that lasted fifty-three years and produced eleven children.

In a nutshell, they describe him as a  colorful legislator whose life mirrors the story of America from its founding until the eve of the Civil War, Speaker of the House, senator, secretary of state, five-time presidential candidate, and idol to the young Abraham Lincoln.

10. Henry was the first person honored by a funeral ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda

He died after a long battle with tuberculosis in Washington, D.C, in 1852. This came shortly after his resignation from the senate the previous year in December 1851. 

He died at the age of 75 in his room at the National Hotel. His body was placed in the Capitol’s rotunda, so that mourners could pay their respects; it marked the first time a person was “laid in state” in such a manner in the Capitol Building.

Henry Clay was one of the most important statesmen in both the 18th to 19th Century. He held many powerful positions during his lifetime and he made a point to be effective in all the roles he was assigned. He was also described as a charming and persuasive person who always had the best interests of the people at heart. Although he did not ascend to be the most powerful person in America, he was widely respected for his contributions to the country.