Henry clay anderson biography

His bid for the Presidency in the election of ended with no clear majority for any candidate. Clay lent his support to John Quincy Adams instead of Andrew Jackson, thereby violating the instructions of the Kentucky legislature. Adams was then selected as President by the House of Representatives. As a Commissioner, Clay pressed to prevent the British from gaining free navigation on the Mississippi River.

To this end, Clay achieved a number of important successes as Secretary of State. Clay oversaw the settlement of twelve commercial treaties, more than all earlier administrations, and developed economic ties with the newly independent Latin American republics. Heidler , Jeanne T. He was the Great Compromiser, a canny and 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, Henry Clay is captured in full at last in this rich and sweeping biography. He also took images related to the Civil Rights Movement, and some of the work has strong political overtones. These rediscovered black and white photographs document a virtually ignored chapter in African-American history—that of the proud dignified community of middle-class African-Americans that existed throughout the South during the Civil Rights Movement.

They intimately portray a community of black Southerners who considered themselves first-class citizens despite living in a deeply hostile America. When Adams won the presidency, he appointed Clay as his Secretary of State. The appointment came, however, at some personal cost to Clay. With neither Jackson nor Adams able to secure enough electoral votes, the election was thrown to the House of Representatives.

Clay parked his support behind Adams with the understanding that he'd have a place in his cabinet. When he received it, Clay's critics blasted him, with a cry of "bargain and sale. The attacks continued into the Adams presidency. Jackson, stung by the defeat, blocked several foreign-policy initiatives put forth by Clay, including securing a trade agreement with Great Britain over the West Indies and sending delegates to a Pan American Congress in Panama.

The backlash against his support for Adams reached its apex when Congressman John Randolph challenged Clay to a duel. Neither man was hurt. In , Jackson captured the presidency from Adams. With Clay's National Republican Party coming apart at the seams—it would eventually become absorbed by the Whig Party—Clay retired from politics and returned to Kentucky.

But Clay was unable to stay away from Washington. In , he came back to Washington, D. The following year he headed the National Republicans' bid to unseat Jackson. At the center of the presidential election was Clay's support for the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States, whose creation in Clay had fought hard for.

But the issues around it proved to be Clay's undoing. Jackson vehemently opposed the bank and the renewal of its charter. He alleged it was a corrupt institution and had helped steer the nation toward higher inflation.

Henry clay anderson biography

The voters sided with him. After the election Clay remained in the Senate, taking on Jackson and becoming the head of the Whig Party. The decade following his loss to Jackson for the presidency proved to be a frustrating period for Clay. In , he had every reason to expect to be nominated as the Whigs' candidate for the White House. He did little to hide his frustration when the party turned to General William Henry Harrison , who selected John Tyler as his running mate.

After Harrison's death just a month into his presidency, Clay tried to dominate Tyler and his administration, but his actions proved futile. In , he retired from the Senate and again returned to Kentucky.