Henry Clay
Noun | 1. | ![]() |
单词 | henry clay | |||
释义 | Henry Clay
Henry ClayClay, Henry,1777–1852, American statesman, b. Hanover co., Va.Early CareerHis father died when he was four years old, and Clay's formal schooling was limited to three years. His stepfather secured (1792) for him a clerk's position in the Virginia high court of chancery. There he gained the regard of George WytheWythe, George Moving in the same year to Lexington, Ky., he quickly gained wide reputation as a lawyer and orator. He served (1803–6) in the Kentucky legislature and was (1805–7) professor of law at Transylvania Univ. Having spent the short session of 1806–7 in the U.S. Senate, he returned (1807) to the state legislature, became (1808) speaker, and remained there until he was chosen to fill an unexpired term (1810–11) in the U.S. Senate. CongressmanIn 1810 Clay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served (1811–14) as speaker. As spokesman of Western expansionist interests and leader of the "war hawks," Clay stirred up enthusiasm for war with Great Britain and helped bring on the War of 1812. He resigned (1814) from Congress to aid in the peace negotiations leading to the Treaty of Ghent. He again served (1815–21) in the House, again was speaker (1815–20), and began to formulate his "American system," a national program that ultimately included federal aid for internal improvements and tariff protection of American industries. In 1821, Clay, to pacify sectional interests, pushed the Missouri CompromiseMissouri Compromise, Secretary of StateAs a candidate for the presidency in 1824, Clay had the fourth largest number of electoral votes, and, with no candidate having a majority, the election went to the House, where the three highest were to be voted upon. It became Clay's duty to vote for one of his rivals. Despite the Western interests of Andrew JacksonJackson, Andrew, SenatorIn 1828, Clay again supported Adams for President, and Jackson's success bitterly disappointed him. Although he intended to retire from politics, Clay was elected (1831) to the U.S. Senate and now led the National Republicans, who were beginning to call themselves Whigs (because they opposed Jackson's "tyranny"; see Whig partyWhig party, Clay's chagrin was buried in the crisis developing over the tariff. South Carolina's nullificationnullification, Clay opposed the Jackson regime at every turn, particularly on the bank issue. When Jackson had the deposits removed (1833) from the Bank of the United StatesBank of the United States, Refusing to run for President in 1836, Clay continued his opposition tactics against Van Buren's administration and fought the subtreasurysubtreasury. In 1844 he ran against James K. PolkPolk, James Knox He reentered (1849) the Senate when the country faced the slavery question in the territory newly acquired following the Mexican WarMexican War, BibliographySee his works (7 vol., 1896) and his papers (ed. by J. Hopkins et al., 11 vol., 1959–92); biographies by C. Schurz (1887, repr. 1968), G. Van Deusen (1937), B. Mayo (1937, repr. 1966), and D. S. and J. T. Heidler (2010); studies by C. Eaton (1957), R. V. Remini (2010), and F. M. Bordewich (2012). Clay, Henry(1771–1852) U.S. representative/senator; born in Hanover County, Va. With little formal education, he studied law, and, after being admitted to the bar in 1797, moved to Kentucky to practice law. Elected to the state legislature (1803–06), he was then chosen to fill unexpired terms in the U.S. Senate (1806–07; 1810–11). In 1810 he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served with brief interruptions (1811–14, 1815–21, 1823–25); such was his reputation that he was Speaker of the House for all except a few months of his years there. He became known in Congress as a nationalist and defender of western regional interests. He was a "war hawk" in the period leading into the War of 1812 and served as a member of the delegation that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 that ended that war with Britain. After the war he argued for the "American System," which sought to ensure American self-sufficiency through economic development; he favored a protective tariff, the establishment of a national bank, and internal improvements such as roads and canals. More as a firm supporter of the preservation of the Union than as an opponent of slavery, in 1820 he sponsored the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. In 1824 he was one of four who ran for the U.S. presidency; when no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, the election was sent to the House of Representatives; he threw his support to John Quincy Adams, securing his election over Andrew Jackson. When Adams appointed Clay as secretary of state, the two were accused of having made a "corrupt bargain." When Adams was defeated by Jackson in 1828, Clay returned to Kentucky, where his prosperous law practice allowed him to make his estate, Ashland, near Lexington, Ky., into a showplace, with its fine sheep and cattle and prize-winning race horses. He was back in Washington as a U.S. senator (1831–42). By then he was a leading figure in the newly organized Whig Party and became its presidential candidate in 1832 and 1844; he lost the former because of his support of high tariffs, and the latter because of his refusal to take a stand on the annexation of Texas. In the Senate he authored a compromise tariff (1833) that helped resolve the nullification crisis that had again raised the specter of disunion and war. Out of office in the mid-1840s, he returned for a final U.S. Senate term (1849–52). His last major legislative achievement again involved the issue of slavery. He submitted the Compromise Act of 1850 that, although appeasing both pro-and antislavery sides, only postponed the Civil War. He died in office, well before that event, and although his eloquent defense of the Union earned him his nickname "The Great Compromiser," that has remained the extent of his reputation.Henry Clay
Synonyms for Henry Clay
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