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HENRY CLAY: THE GREAT COMPROMISER, PART I

© John S. Cooper

Only two men in our entire history hold the distinction of losing three presidential elections (losing being defined here as losing in the Electoral College as opposed to seeking their party nomination and failing). One of these men is Henry Clay, The Great Compromiser. Clay is best remembered for his leadership in passing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 that helped avert a civil war. He is also remembered for his famous statement “I would rather be right than President.” He was nominated for President three times, and came very close once, in 1844.

Clay’s father was a Baptist preacher who died in 1781 when Clay was four years old. He had little schooling until he was fourteen years old. That year, his mother remarried and the family moved to Richmond, Virginia. His new stepfather obtained for him a position as a copyist in the office of the clerk of the High Court of Chancery. The Chancellor of the High Court, George Wythe, took an interest in Clay and guided his education. After studying law in the office of Robert Brooke, the Attorney-General of Virginia, Clay was admitted to the bar.

Clay’s mother had moved to Kentucky and Clay joined her there. He soon married Lucretia Hart, a young girl from a prominent family. This fortunate marriage gained him entry into the most prominent social circles. His reputation up to the time of his marriage was that of a gambler and bon vivant. After his marriage, he seemed to settle down and quickly became known as one of the best criminal lawyers in the state.

In addition to being a great lawyer, Clay became a very able politician. As a lawyer, he developed to a very high degree the abilities that would serve him well in politics. His naturally winning personality made him popular with both male and female acquaintances. In the courtroom he honed his speaking skills, being a very dramatic speaker with a forceful presence. He could be witty, emotional, sarcastic, and was adept at eliciting the desired emotion from a jury. His first political success came easily enough, when he defeated Felix Grundy, a later political ally, in a race for the state legislature.

It was in 1803 during his first term in the legislature that Clay took his stand on slavery. He was opposed to slavery, favoring a gradual emancipation with financial compensation to the slave owners. Clay himself owned slaves, and defended the rights of the slave owners. He thought the states themselves ought to control the end of slavery, freeing slaves when they reached a certain age and paying the owners. Clay freed many of his own slaves during his lifetime, and in his will provided for the freeing of each of his slaves when they reached the age of 25.