Early in his life, Henry Clay came to Kentucky from Illinois and was elected to Congress. He evolved into a diplomat , negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Soon after he was elected into the United States House of Representatives. With the petitioned statehood of Missouri in 1820, the nation faced its first crisis over whether or not to admit a state from the Louisiana Purchase as a free state or slave state. Henry Clay diffused this crisis by crafting the Missouri Compromise. A second time, sectional strife flared up as the post-War of 1812 Tariff brought cries of "nullification and even "succession" from South Carolina in the early 1830's. After months of the rising threats of civil war, Senator Henry Clay introduced the …show more content…
His compromises overcame regionalism and balanced state rights and national interests. He actively encouraged United State's participation in the War of 1812. As a result of the Treaty of Ghent, the United States emerged as a nation of importance and influence in the world. Henry Clay changed the role of the Speaker of the House and made it the powerful position it is today. He held that position in office longer than anyone in the history of the House of Representatives other than Sam Rayburn. Henry Clay argued before the US Supreme Court. In doing so, he introduced Amicus Brief to Supreme Court. His cases continue to be cited on a regular basis today. He was also an attorney. He won far more cases than he lost. He became the most respected breeders and farmers in America. He introduced Hereford Cattle to American and one of the most successful providers of mules in the South. Henry Clay played a major role in Lexington becoming "The Horse Capital of the World." He influenced many future political leaders with his ideology and style. Abraham Lincoln adopted much of Henry Clay's political ideology. He gave his country nearly half a century of Service as a Representative, Senator and Secretary of State. He became the most important political figures in his era. In the 1950's Henry Clay was named by a panel of historians and Senate leaders as one of the five greatest senators of all
Most people, whether for or against the decision, viewed it as a political decision and not a legal one. For the first timne since Marbury vs. Madison in 1803 (and only the second time ever) the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress [the Missouri Compromise] null and void.
Throughout the course of American political history rarely has there ever been a rivalry as fierce and contested as that of the one between Tennessee’s Andrew Jackson, and Kentucky’s Henry Clay. During their extensive political careers the two constantly seemed to cross paths differing in terms philosophically and ideologically. Simply put, these two men profoundly shaped the American Antebellum period, specifically involving the 1820’s to the 1840’s. Their notions of what was best for the country became the basis for their respective parties and consequently their differences in methodology facilitated countless battles in the American political atmosphere. The most significant issues that centered on these types of political skirmishes involved
Thomas Jefferson, in response to the Missouri Compromise, expressed, “ I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. It is hushed indeed for the moment, but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence… and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper” (Meacham 475). Jefferson explained how the Missouri Compromise led to the sectionalism between the North and South, which caused the Civil War. Western expansion and the Louisiana Purchase both led to the formation of the Missouri Compromise as more states started applying for statehood, which disrupted the balance between the slave and free states. Additionally, the division between the North and South increased rapidly because of the Missouri Compromise. It created a line that
...resentatives would choose the new president from the top three candidates (“Amendment Twelve: Election of President and Vice President”). Due to these terms, Henry Clay was eliminated as a possible choice to become the president. It was now between Jackson, Quincy Adams, and Crawford. However, just because Clay was out of the election, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t play a major role in how it eventually turned out. Clay wanted to have as much power as possible. When being president wasn’t an option anymore, he turned to the remaining candidates in hope of striking a deal that would give him the influence that he so desperately sought. The most promising candidates were obviously John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Clay openly detested Jackson. He did not believe that he was qualified to be the next leader of the country. (Gould, Lewis, Ohshinksy, and Soderlund).
In 1819, Missouri wanted to join the Union, although in the North, as a slave state. In would make the balance of power in the Congress unequal.
1817 to 1825—a period of time that oversaw the presidency of the 5th U.S. president, James Monroe, whose term in office later became known as the Era of Good Feelings. The end of the War of 1812 and the "Era of Good Feelings" are often viewed as a time of cultural, economic and political nationalism; however during the era, the tension between nationalism and sectionalism began to rise. Issues about the tariff and the bank were constantly being fought over, inevitably dividing society. Not only had that split society, but the conflicts of slavery began to greatly rise, which created the problem of sectionalism, which led to Henry Clay’s Missouri Compromise in 1820. Many areas had differing views on slavery and voting, which only strengthened the belief that sectionalism was taking over the smidgeon of nationalism that lingered.
Henry Clay was originally from Virginia but eventually moved to Lexington, Kentucky. In Kentucky, he was elected to the state legislature in 1803 and served in it until 1809. After leaving the state legislature, Clay was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1811. While in the House of Representatives, he became one of the leaders of the “War Hawks.” In 1820, Clay brought about the Missouri Compromise. Clay eventually became the Speaker of the House and had great influenced over the House and he was a slaveholder. Later in his life he became known as “The Great Pacificato...
There were many men involved in the establishment of the government, the laws regulating states and people, and individual rights in the construction of the United States of America. Two men stand out as instrumental to our founding principles: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson was an educated, articulate and accomplished man from a well-respected family. He had a great understanding of farming and of the relationship between man and his environment, working diligently to balance the two for the best interest of each. He “considered himself first and always a man of the land” (Jewett, 2005).
Additionally, the majority of states had conflicts between slavery in their territory, one of them dealt with missouri. Missouri applied for admission into the Union as a slave state; this became a problem because missouri ruined the balance for free slaves and slave states. The northern states wanted to ban slavery from occurring in missouri because the unbalanced situation it put towards the other states. In response, the southern states declared how congress doesn’t have the power to ban slavery in missouri. However, Henry Clay offers a solution, the missouri compromise of 1820. Missouri admitted as slave state and Maine becomes a free slave state. Slavery is banned in Louisiana creating a 36 30 line in missouri’s southern border; this maintained the balance in the U.S senate.
gave America the reputation of freedom, he gave a backbone and a firm ground to
Both Jackson and Clay went ran for president in 1824, besides there were John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford, and John c. Calhoun. In the end, either Jackson or Clay won the election. However, Jackson was the person who got the most popular and electoral votes1, but he did not received majority of the electoral vote. According to the Twelfth Amendment, the election would be decided by the House of Representatives in the case no candidates received a majority. At the final, John Quincy Adams became the president with the help from Clay and his supporters. The election 1824 was the only one that the candidate who received the most electoral votes and popular votes did not become president. After the election, Jacksonians “directed most of their fury at Clay”2, and the reason for choosing Adam was given later by Clay. He explained that “I have interrogated my conscience as to what I ought to do, & that faithful guide tells me that I ought to vote for Mr. Adams.”2 Right after the explanation of Clay, in the letter to Samuel, Jackson expressed drastic his dissatisfied on Clay’s decision “Mr. Clay never yet risked himself for his country, sacrificed his repose, or made an effort to repel an invading foe.”3
Thomas Jefferson was the third American President. Due to the fact that he was such an early President, he influenced our political system greatly, both in the short and long term with his seemingly quiet approach to congressional matters. During his presidency, many things happened that changed the United States as we know it. He coordinated the Louisiana Purchase, assisted in implementing the twelfth amendment, formed the character of the modern American President, and cut the U.S.’s war debt by a third.
After Thomas Jefferson, who served as president from 1801 to 1809, made the Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, the U.S. gained 828 thousand square miles of territory from France. In 1817, the Missouri territory assembly applied for statehood. Missouri was slated to be the first state, other than Louisiana, to be created from the purchase. Considering there was slaves already in Missouri territory, it was clear that Missouri was going to enter the Union as a slave state and have implications on the rest of the new territory from the Louisiana Purchase unless congress opposed it (America Past and Present). Fear began to rise due to the unbalance of free and slave states. Fortunately, the Maine territory was separating from Massachusetts and requested for statehood. Correspondly, the senate passed the Missouri Compromise on February 1820, which allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine enter as a free state, making the free and slave states balanced once again. Another amendment was passed to prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern border of Missouri. This event envisioned a possible threat on the relationship between the North and South.
There is no doubt that Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as one of the great American presidents. The general public, when asked about Lincoln, will often tell the tale of a great man. Holding their head high, they will embark on the journey of a benevolent leader, praising the man who envisioned a new America: a great country of racial equality, and the pillar of human liberty. There are some, however, who have quite the opposite view.
As the country began to grow and expand we continued to see disagreements between the North and South; the Missouri Territory applied for statehood the South wanted them admitted as a slave state and the North as a free state. Henry Clay eventually came up with the Missouri Compromise, making Missouri a slave state and making Maine it’s own state entering the union as a free state. After this compromise any state admitted to the union south of the 36° 30’ latitude would be a slave state and a state north of it would be free. The country was very much sectionalized during this time. Thomas Jefferson felt this was a threat to the Union. In 1821, he wrote, ”All, I fear, do not see the speck on our horizon which is to burst on us as a tornado, sooner or later. The line of division lately marked out between the different portions of our confederacy is such...