Yale University Library
39002014028709
w%%
f-*J
3J
¦ms.
{jhat-ttefi'-tf
s*
y
THE
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERYICES
OF
HENRY CLAY.
BY EPES SARGENT, ESQ.
NEW EDITION,
REVISED, ENLARGED, AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THE YEAR 1848,
BY THE AUTHOR.
NEW YORK: "
PUBLISHED BY GREELEY & MCELRATH,
TRIBUNE BUILDINGS, 154 NASSAU STREET.
1848. -
TO
Dr. WILLIAM TURNER,
OF NEW YORK,
At whose suggestion this Life or Henry Clay was originally written,
it is now gratefully Dedicated.
7 /¦ !>
PREFACE.
The first edition of this work appeared, during the autumn of 1842, at which time,
there was no published memoir of Mr. Clay (so far as the writer's knowledge extended)
except that by George D. Prentice, Esq., which terminates with the close of John Quincy
Adams's administration. To this eloquent biographical sketch, the Author takes pleas
ure in acknowledging his indebtedness, for a number of interesting facts.
The new and improved edition of his " Life of Clay," now offered to the public,
has been carefully revised — some errors have been corrected — several omissions have
been supplied — aud the Memoir has been brought down to the spring of 1848.
It is hardly necessary to say, that the portrait, which accompanies this edition, is
from a painting by Linen, taken some twenty years since. It was regarded as a like
ness at that time. E. s.
Roxbury, Mass., J
March, 1848. }
&i??:\-,,> l,.f-
t
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848,
By GREELEY & McELRATH,
hi the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern
District of New York.
THE LIFE
AND
PUBLIC SERVICES OF
HENRY CLAY.
CHAPTER I.
Birth and Parentage — His early days— The Mill-boy of the
Slashes— Studies Law— Hears Patrick Henry— Removes to
Kentucky— Debut at a Debating Society— Becomes a suc
cessful Practitioner— Cases in which he distinguishes himself—
He advocates the policy of gradually Emancipating the
Slaves in Kentucky—Opposes the Alien and Sedition Laws-
Is elected to tire General Assembly— Instances of his Elo
quence—Affair with Col. Daviess— Appears at the Bar for
Aaron Burr— Subsequent Interview with Burr in New-York.
Henry Clay is a native of Hanover county, Vir
ginia. He was born on the 12th of April, 1777, in a
district of country familiarly known in the neighbor
hood as the Slashes. His father, a Baptist clergy
man, died during the revolutionary war, bequeath
ing a small and much embarrassed estate and seven
children, of whom Henry was the fifth, to the care
of an affectionate mother. The surviving parent
did not possess the means to give her sons a classi
cal education; and the subject of our memoir re
ceived no other instruction than such as could be
obtained in the log-cabin school-houses, still com
mon in the lower parts of Virginia, at which spell
ing, reading, writing and arithmetic are taught.
In 1792, his mother, who had become united, in a
second marriage, with Mr. Henry Watkins, removed
to Woodford county, Kentucky, taking all her chil
dren, with the exception of Henry and his oldest
brother. It was always a subject of regret with Mr.
Clay, that he was deprived at so early an age of his
mother's counsel, conversation and care. She wa»
' woman of great strength of mind, and was tender-
1 attached to her children.
,'»> *e had been only five years old when he lost his
yaier; and, consequently, his circumstanc
^arly life, if not acfllijlly indigent, were "such as to
' ^abject him frequently to liaru Manual labofT "He
bas ploughed in cornfields, uiaUy1 U UUUimbf day,
"in cornfields', maliy It yuifi
without shoes, and with no other clothes on than a
pair of Osnaburg trowsers and a coarse shirt. He
has often gone to mill with grain to be ground into
meal or flour; and there are those who remember
his youthful visits to Mrs. Darricott's mill, on the
Pamunkey river. On such occasions he generally
rode a horse without u saddle, while a rope sup
plied the place of a bridle. But in the absence of a
more splendid equipment, a bag containing three or
four bushels of wheat or corn was generally thrown
across the horse's back, mounted upon which the
future statesman would go to mill, get the grain
ground, and return with it home.
At the age of fourteen, he was placed in a small
retail store, kept by Mr. Richard Denny, near the
market-house in the city of Richmond. He re
mained here till the next year, (1792,) when he was
transferred to the office of the Clerk of the High
Court of Chancery, Mr. Peter Tinsley. There he
became acquainted with the venerable Chancellor
Wythe, attracted his friendly attention, and enjoyed
the benefit of his instruction and conversation. The
Chancellor being unable to write well, in conse
quence of the gout or rheumatism in his right
thumb, bethought himself of employing his young
friend as an amanuensis. This was a fortunate cir
cumstance for the fatherless boy. His attention
was thus called to the structure of sentences, as he
wrote them down from the dictation of his employ
er; and a taste for the study of grammar was crea
ted which was noticed and encouraged by the
Chancellor, upon whose recommendation he read
Harris's Hermes, Tooke's Diversions of Purley,
Bishop Lowth's Grammar, and other similar works.
For his handwriting, which is still remarkably
neat and regular, Mr. Clay was chiefly indebted to
Mr. Tinsley. Chancellor Wythe was devoted to
the study of Greek. He was at one time occupied
in preparing reports ot nis decisions, and comment
ing upon those of the Court of Appeals, by which
some of his were reversed; and in this work he was
assisted by his amanuensis. After the reports were
published, he sent copies to Mr. Jefferson, John ,
Adams, Samuel Adams, and others. In these copies
he employed Henry Clay to copy particular passa
ges from Greek authors, to whom references had
been made. Not understanding a single Greek cha
racter, the young copyist had to transcribe by imi
tation letter after letter.
Life of Henry Clay.
Leaving the office of Mr. Tinsley the latter part that, notwithstanding his fine capacities, he had some
of 1796, he went to reside with the late Robert native diffidence to overcome before they were fairly
Brooke, Esq., the Attorney General, formerly Gov- tested. He had joined a debating society, and at
ernor of Virginia. His only regular study of the one of the meetings the vote was about to be taken
law was during the year 1797, that he lived with upon the question under discussion, when he re-
Mr. Brooke; but it was impossible that he should marked in a low but audible whisper, that the sub-
not, in the daily scenes he witnessed, and in the pre- ject did not appear to him to have been exhausted.
sence of the eminent men whom he so often heard i "Do not put the question yet — Mr. Clay will
and saw, be in the way of gathering much valuable speak," exclaimed a member, who had overheard
legal information. During his residence of six or
seven years in Richmond, he became acquainted
with all or most of the eminent Virginians of the pe
riod, who lived in that city, or were in the habit of
resorting to it— with Edmund Pendleton, Spencer
Roane, Chief Justice Marshall, Bushrod Washing
ton, Wickham, Call, Copcland, &c. On two occa
sions, he had the good fortune to hear Patrick Hen
ry — once, before the Circuit Court of the United
States for the Virginia District, on the question of
the payment of the British debts ; and again before
the half hesitating remark.
The chairman instantly took the hint, and nodded
to the young lawyer in token of his readiness to hear
what he had to say. With every indication of ex
treme embarrassment, he rose, and, in his confu
sion, began by saying : " Gentlemen of the Jury"—.
unconsciously addressing bis fellow-members as the
tribunal, to which he had perhaps often made ima
ginary appeals in his dreams of a successful debut
at the bar. His audience did not add to his agita
tion by seeming to notice it, and, after floundering
the House of Delegates of Virginia, on a claim of: and blushing for a moment or two, and stammering
out a repetition of the words '• Gentlemen of the
Jury," he suddenly shook off all signs of distrust
and timidity, and launched Into his subject with a
promptitude and propriety of elocution, which ex
cited general surprise.
To those familiar with the perfect self possession
of Mr. Clay's manner in after life upon all occasions,
the most trying and unexpected, this instance will
present an amusing contrast; for the evidence is
not on record of his ever having failed for an instant
in his resources of repartee or of argument in debate.
Shortly after this early esBay in public speaking,
he was admitted as a practitioner before the Fayette
Court of Quarter Sessions, a court of general juris
diction. Business soon poured in upon him, and
during the first term he had a handsome practice.
His manners and address, both in personal inter
course and before a jury, were unusually captivat
ing. Frank in avowing his sentiments, and bold
and consistent in maintaining them, he laid the foun
dation of a character for sincerity and honor, which
amid all the shocks of political changes and the
scurrility of partizan warfare, has never been shaken
or tainted. In the possession of these attributes,
beyond the reach of cavil or of question, is to be
found the secret of that inalienable attachment
among the vast body of his friends, which has fol
lowed him throughout his career.
One of the most important cases, in which Mr.
Clay was engaged during the first three or four
years of his professional life, was that in which he
was employed to defend a Mrs. Phelps, indicted for
murder. This woman was the wife of a respectablo
farmer, and until the time of the act for which she was
arraigned, had led a blameless and correct life. Or
day, in her own house, taking some offence at a Ml j
Phelps, her sister-in-law, she levelled a gun, and sh\»
her through the heart. The poor girl had only timo\
to exclaim, ' Sister, you have killed me,' and expired.'
Great interest was excited in the case, and the Court
was crowded to overflowing on the day of trial. Of
the fact of the homicide there could be no doubt.
It was committed in the presence of witnessos, and
i the only question was to what class of crimeB did
the offence belong. If it were pronounced murder
the supernumerary officers in the service of the
State during the Revolutionary War. Mr. Clay re-
members that remarkable man, his appearance and
hisTIranuerrdistinctly-. — The rrnpTTssSrnSTiiselo-
q uent-power° ¦•'""'' 'niag_jon— hje-mtnd~iB7That_ffieir
charm eorJ^fenv~rrrfti»ly-~m one ot"the finest voices
ever~Keard,7n~h"is gracln'uT'gesticulation, and the va-
riegjihd forceof expieuslon Which he exhiiul£d_m
his face.
*Henry Clay quitted Richmond in November, 1797,
his eldest brother having died while he yet resided
in that city. Bearing a license from the Judges of
the Virginia Court of Appeals to practise law, he
established himself in Lexington, Kentucky. He
was without patrons, without the countenance of in
fluential friends, and destitute of the means of pay
ing hiB weekly board. " I remember," says he, in
his speech of June, 1842, at Lexington, " how com
fortable I thought I should be, if I could make j£100
Virginia money per year; and with what delight I
received the first fifteen shilling fee. My hopes
were more than realized. I immediately rushed into
a lucrative practice."
Before assuming the active responsibilities of his
profession, he devoted himself with assiduity several
months to his legal studies. Even at that period the
bar of Lexington was eminent for its ability. Among
its members were George Nicholas, James Hughes,
John Breckenbridge, James Brown, William Mur
ray, and others, whose reputation was sufficient to
discourage the mott stout-hearted competition. But
true genius is rarely unaccompanied by a conscious
ness of its power ; and the friendless and unknown
youth from Virginia fearlessly entered the field,
which, to a Ubs intrepid spirit, would have seemed
pre-occupied. He soon commanded consideration
and respect. He waB familiar with the technicali
ties of practice ; and early habits of business and
application, enabled him to effect an easy mastery of
the cases entrusted to his charge. His subtle ap
preciation of character, knowledge of human nature,
and faculties of persuasion, rendered him peculiarly
successful in his appeals to a jury ; and he obtained
great celebrity for his adroit and careful manage
ment of criminal cases.
An anecdote is related of him about the time of in the first degree, the life of the wretched prisoner
his first entrance upon his profession, which shows would be the forfeit ; but, if manslaughter, slw
Mr. Clay as an Advocate — Slavery.
would be punished merely by confinement in the
gaol or penitentiary. The legal contest was long
and able. The efforts of the counsel for the prose
cution were strenuous and earnest; but Mr. Clay
succeeded not only in saving the life of his client,
but so moved the jury in her behalf by his eloquence,
that her punishment was made as light as the law
would allow. He gained much distinction by the
ability he displayed in this case, and thenceforth it
was considered a great object to enlist his assistance
in all criminal suits on the part of the defendant.
It is a singular fact, that in the course of a very
extensive practice in the courts of criminal jurispru
dence, and in the defence of a large number of indi
viduals arraigned for capital offences, he never had
one of his clients sentenced to death.
Another case, in which he acquired scarcely less
celebrity, was shortly afterward tried in Harrison
County. Two Germans, father and son, had been
indicted for murder. The deed of killing was proved
to the entire satisfaction of the Court, and was con
sidered an aggravated murder. Mr. Clay's efforts
were therefore directed to saving their lives. The
trial occupied five davs, and his closing appeal to
the jury was of the mos't stirring and pathetic de
scription. It proved irresistible, for they returned a
verdict of manslaughter. Not satisfied with this sig
nal triumph, he moved an arrest of judgment, and,
after another day's contest, prevailed in this also.
The consequence was, that the prisoners were dis
charged without even the punishment of the crime,
of which the jury had found them guilty.
An amusing incident occurred at the conclusion
of this trial. An old, withered, ill-favored German
woman, who was the wife of the elder prisoner, and
the mother of the younger, on being informed of the
success of the final motion for an arrest of judg
ment, and the consequent acquittal of her husband
and son, ran toward the young advocate, in the ex
cess of her gratitude and joy, and throwing her arms
about his neck, kissed him in the eyes of the crowd
ed court. Although taken wholly by surprise, and
hardly flattered by blandishments from such a
source, young Clay acquitted himself upon the oc
casion, with a grace and good humor, which won
him new applause from the spectators. All great
emotions claim respect; and in this instance so far
did the sympaties of the audience go with the old
woman as to divest of ridicule an act, which, in the
recital, may seem to have partaken principally of
the ludicrous.
Notwithstanding his extraordinary success in all
the c"riminal_suitsentrusted to him, the abilities dis
played by Mr. Clay at this period in civil cases
were no less brilliant and triumphant. In suits
growing out of the land laws of Virginia and Ken
tucky, he was especially distinguished; rapidly ac
quiring wealth and popularity by his practice. It
is related of bim, that on one occasion, in conjunc
tion with another attorney, he was employed to ar
gue, in the Fayette Circuit Court, a question of
great difficulty — one in which the interests of the
litigant parlies were deeply involved. At the open
ing of the court, something occurred to call him
away, and the whole management of the case de
volved on his associate counsel. Two days were
ppent in discussing the points of law, which were to
govern the instructions of the Court to the jury, ani
on all of these points, Mr. Clay's colleague was
foiled by his antagonist. At the end of the second
day, Mr. Clay re-entered the Court. He had not
heard a word of the testimony, and knew nothing of
the course which the discussion had taken; but, af
ter holding a very short consultation with his col
league, he drew up a statement of the form in which
he wished the instructions of the Court to be given
to the jury, and accompanied his petition with a few
observations, so entirely novel and satisfactory, that
it was granted without the least hesitation. A cor
responding verdict was instantly returned; and thus
the case, which had been on the point of being de
cided against Mr. Clay's client, resulted in his favor
in less than half an hour after the young lawyer had
entered the Court-house.
For an enumeration of the various cases in which
Mr. Clay was about this time engaged, and in which
his success was as marked as his talents were obvi
ous, we must refer the curious reader to the records
of the Courts of Kentucky, and hasten to exhibit the
subject of our memoir on that more extended fields
where his history began to be interwoven with the
history of his country, and a whole nation hailed
him as a champion worthy of the best days of the
Republic. As early as 1797, when the people of Kentucky
were about electing a Convention to form a new
Constitution for that State, Mr. Clay may be said
to have commenced his political career. Hie first
efforts were made on behalf of human liberty, and
at the risk of losing that breeze of popular favor,
which was wafting on his bark bravely toward that
haven of worldly prosperity and renown.
The most important feature in the plan for a new
Constitution, submitted to the people of Kentucky,
was a provision for the prospective eradication ot
slavery from the State by means of a gradual eman
cipation of those held in bondage. Against this
proposal a tremendous outcry was at once raised.
It was not to be questioned that the voice of the ma
jority was vehemently opposed to it. But youn?
Clay did not hesitate as to his course. In that spiritl
of self-sacrifice, which he has since displayed on sal
many occasions, in great public emergencies, with- J
out stopping to reckon the disadvantages to himself, L
he boldly arrayed himself on the side of those 1
friendly to emancipation. In the canvass, which J
preceded the election of members of the Convention,.
he exerted himself with all the energy of his nature
in behalf of that cause, which he believed to be the
cause of truth and justice. With his voice and pen
he actively labored to promote the choice of Dele
gates who were pledged to its support. He failed
in the fulfilment of his philanthropic intentions, and
incurred temporary unpopularity by his course.
Time, however, is daily making more apparent the
wisdom of his counsel.
Mr. Clay has not faltered in his views upon this
great question. They are now what they were in
1797. In maintaining the policy of this scheme ot
gradual emancipation he has ever been fearless and
consistent. Let it not be imagined, however, that
he has any sympathy with that incendiary spirit
which would seem to actuate some of the clamorers
for immediate and unconditional abolition at the
present time. His views were far-sighted, stateB^,.
S and sagacioHsr He tookeq lobe general
Life of Henry Clay.
good, not merely of his contemporaries but of pos
terity; and his plan stretched beyond the embarrass
ments of the present hour into the future. A more
just, practicable and beneficent scheme than his, for
the accomplishment of a consummation so devoutly
to be wished by humanity at large, could not have
been devised.
It resembled that adopted in Pennsylvania in the
year 1780 at the instance of Dr. Franklin, according
to which, the generation in being were to remain in
bondage, but all their offspring, born after a speci
fied day, were to be free at the age of twenty-eight,
and, in the mean time, were to receive preparatory
instruction to qualify them for the enjoyment of
freedom. Mr. Clay thought, with many others, that
as the slave States had severally the right to judge,
every one exclusively for itself, in respect to the in
stitution of domestic slavery, the proportion of
slaves to the white population in Kentucky at that
time was so inconsiderable, that a system of gradu
al emancipation might have been adopted without
any hazard to the security and interests of the com
monwealth. Recently a charge was made by the principal op
position paper at the South, that Mr. Clay had join^
ed the Abolitionists; arid the ground of the charge
was the averment that he had written a letter to Mr.
Giddings, of Ohio, approving the leading views of
that party. Upon inquiry, it appeared, however,
that the letter was written by Cassius M. Clay, a
namesake. In noticing the erroneous statement,
Mr. Clay remarked, in a letter to a friend — "I do
not write letters for different latitudes. I have but
one heart, and one mind; and all my letters are but
copies of the original, and if genuine, will be found
to conform to it, wherever they may he addressed."
Would that every candidate for the Presidency
might say this with equal sincerity and truth !
Notwithstanding the failure of his exertions in ar
resting the continuance of negro servitude in Ken
tucky, Mr. Clay has never shrunk from the avowal
of his sentiments upon the subject, nor from their
practical manifestation in his professional and poli-
-tical career. For several years, whenever a slave
^brought an action at law for his liberty, Mr. Clay
volunteered as his advocate : and he always suc
ceeded in obtaining a decision in the slave's favor.
Oppression in every shape would seem to have
moused the most ardent sympathies of his soul, and
to have enlisted his indignant eloquence in behalf of
ats unfriended object. The impulses, which urged
'him at this early day to take the part of the domes
tic bondsmen of his own State, were the same with
those, by which he was instigated, when the ques
tions of recognizing South American and Grecian In
dependence were presented to the consideration of
a tardy and calculating Congress.
During the administration of John Adams, in 1798-
9, the famous alien and sedition laws were passed.
The popular opposition with which these extraordi
nary measures were received, is still vividly remem
bered in the United States. By the " alien law,"
the President was authorized to order any alien,
whom " he should judge dangerous to the peace and
safety" of the country " to depart out of the terri
tory within such time" as he should judge proper,
upon penalty of being " imprisoned for a term not
exceeding three years." &c.
The " sedition law" was designed to punish the
abuse of speech of the press. It imposed a heavy
pecuniary fine, and imprisonment for a term of years,
upon such as should combine or conspire together
to oppose any measure of Government : upon such
as should write, print, utter, publish, &c, "any
false, scandalous and malicious writing against the
Government of the United States or the Presi
dent," &c.
Mr. Clay stood forth one of the earliest champions
of popular rights in opposition to these memoriable
laws. Kentucky was one of the first States that
launched their thunders against them ; and though
many speakers came forward to give expression to
the indignation which was swelling in the public
heart, none succeeded so well in striking the re
sponsive chord as our young lawyer. He was soon
regarded as the leading spirit of the opposition party ;
and it was about this time that the title of " The
Great Commoner" was bestowed upon him.
A gentleman, who was present at a meeting where
these obnoxious laws were discussed, describes the
effect produced by Mr. Clay's eloquence as difficult
adequately to describe. The populace had assem
bled in the fields in the vicinity of Lexington, and
were first addressed by Mr. George Nicholas, a dis
tinguished man, and a powerful speaker. The speech
of Mr. Nicholas was long and eloquent, and he was
greeted by the most enthusiastic cheers as he con
cluded. Clay being called for, promptly appeared,
and made one of the most extraordinary and impres
sive harangues ever addressed to a popular assem
bly. A striking evidence of its thrilling and effec
tive character may be found in the fact that when
he ceased, there teas no shout — no applause. So
eloquently had he interpreted the deep feelings of
the multitude, that they forgot the orator in the ab
sorbing emotions he had produced. A higher com
pliment can hardly be conceived. The theme was
a glorious one for a young and generous mind, filled
with ardor in behalf of human liberty — and he did it
justice. The people took Clay and Nicholas upon
their shoulders, and forcing tbem into a carriage,
drew them through the streets, amid shouts of ap
plause. What an incident for an orator, who had
not yet completed his twenty second year !
Four years afterwards, when Mr. Clay was absent
from the County of Fayette at the Olympian Springs,
he was brought forward, without his knowledge or
previous consent, as a candidate, and elected to the
General Assembly of Kentucky. He soon made
his influence felt in that body. In 1804, Mr. Felix
Grundy, then an adroit and well-known politician,
made an attempt in the Legislature to procure the
repeal of a law incorporating the Lexington Insu
rance Office. He was opposed at every step by Mr.
Clay; and the war of words between the youthful
debaters drew to the hall of the House tlirongs of
spectators. Grundy had managed to secure before
hand a majority in his favor in the House ; but the
members of the Senate flocked in to hear Clay speak,
and so cogently did he present to their understand
ings the impolicy and unconstitutionality of the
measure under discussion, that they refused to sanc
tion it after it had been passed by the other branch,
and a virtual triumph was thu» obtained.
It is recordedfof Mr. Clay, that, in the course of
the legislative scEsion of 1805, he made an effort to
Col. Daviess — Aaron Burr.
procure the removal of the seat of Government from
Frankfort; and his speech on the occasion is said to
have been an inimitable specimen of argument and
humor. Frankfort is peculiar in its appearance and
situation, being sunk, like a huge pit, below the sur
rounding country, and environed by rough and pre
cipitous ledges. "We have," said Mr. Clay, " the
model of an inverted hat ; Frankfort is the body of
the hat, and the lands adjacent are the brim. To
change the figure, it is nature's great penitentiary ;
and if the members of this House would know the
bodily condition of the prisoners, let him look at
those poor creatures in the gallery."
As he said this, he pointed with his finger to half a
dozen figures that chanced, at that moment, to be
moving about in the gallery, more like animated
skeletons than respectable compounds of flesh and
blood. The objects thus designated, seeing the at
tention of the whole assembly suddenly directed to
wards them, dodged, with ludicrous haste, behind
the railing, and the assembly was thrown into a con
vulsion of merriment. This argumentum ad homi
nem proved irresistible. The members of the House
agreed that it was expedient to remove the seat of
Government, but it was subsequently found impos
sible to decide upon a new location, and the Legis
lature continues to hold its sessions at Frankfort.
It was an early resolution of Mr. Clay, that no
litigants, rich or poor, should have occasion to say
that for the want of counsel they could not obtain
justice at every bar where he could appear for them.
Col. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, at that time United
States District Attorney, and a man of influence and
distinction, had committed an assault and battery
at Frankfort on Mr. Bush, a respectable citizen, and
a tavern-keeper at that place. The bar of Frank
fort declined instituting an action for the latter
against Col. D. Bush finally appealed to Henry
¦Clay, who promptly undertook the case, and
brought the suit in Lexington. In the argument of
a preliminary question, Mr. Clay felt it his duty to
animadvert with some severity upon the conduct of
Col. Daviess ; whereupon the latter, after the ad
journment of the Court, addressed a note to him,
remonstrating against his course, and expressing a
wish that it should not be persevered in. Mr. Clay
immediately replied that he had undertaken the
-cause of Mr. Bush from a sense of duty ; that he
should submit to no dictation as to his management
of it, which should be according to his own judge
ment exclusively ; but that he should hold himself
responsible for whatever he did or said, in or out of
Court. A challenge ensued; Mr. Clay accepted it,
and proceeded to Frankfort for the hostile meeting.
There, by the interposition of mutual friends, the
affair was accommodated in a manner honorable to
toth parties.
In the autumn of 1806, the celebrated Aaron Burr
was arrested in Kentucky, on a charge of being en
gaged in an illegal warlike enterprise. The saga
city and penetration of that extraordinary man were
never more clearly evinced than in his application
to Mr. Clay to defend him Mr. Clay believed, and
It was generally believed in Kentucky, that the pro
secution was ground^s, and was instituted-by-Col.
Daviess, whom we have already mentioned, who
was a great admirer of Col. Hamilton, and who dis
liked Burr because he had killed Hamilton in a
duel, and was moreover, his opponent in politics.
Mr. Clay felt a lively sympathy for Col. Burr, on
account of his being arrested in a State distantfrom
his own, on account of his misfortunes, and the dis
tinguished stations he had filled. Still he declined
appearing for him, until Burr gave him written as
surances that he was engaged in no enterprise for
bidden by law, and none that was not known and
approved by the Cabinet at Washington. On re
ceiving these assurances, Mr. Clay appeared for
him ; and thinking that Burr ought not to be dealt
with as an ordinary culprit, he declined receiving
from him any fee, although a liberal one was ten
dered. Burr was acquitted. Mr. Clay shortly after pro
ceeded to Washington, and received from Mr. Jef
ferson an account of the letter in cipher, which had
been written by Burr to General Wilkinson, to
gether with other information of the criminal designs
of Burr. Mr. Clay handed the written assurances
above mentioned to Mr. Jefferson at the request of
the latter.
On his return from Ghent, Mr. Clay made a brief
sojourn in the city of New- York, and visited, among
other places of interest, the Federal Court, then in
session, escorted by his friend, the late Mr. Smith,
then Marshall, formerly a Senator from New- York.
On entering the court-room, in the City Hall, the
eyes of the bench, bar, officers, and attendants upon
the Court, were turned upon Mr. C. who was in
vited to take a seat on the bench, which he politely
declined, and took a position in the bar. Shortly
after, a small gentleman, apparently advanced in
years, and with bushy, gray hair, whom Mr. Clay
for an instant did not recognize, approached him.
He quickly perceived it was Col. Burr, who ten
dered his hand to salute Mr. Clay. The latter de
clined receiving it. The Colonel, nevertheless, was
not repulsed, but engaged in conversation with Mr.
Clay, remarking, that he had understood that, be
sides the treaty of peace, the American Commis
sioners had negociated a good Commercial Conven
tion with Great Britain. Mr. Clay replied coldly,
that such a convention was concluded, and that its
terms would be known as soon as it was promul
gated by public authority. Col. B. expressed a
wish to have an hour's interview with him, and Mr.
C. told him where he stopped — but the Colonel
never called. Thus terminated all the intercourse
which ever took place between Henry Clay and
Aaron Burr. And yet even out of materials like
these Detraction has tried to manufacture weapons
for its assaults ! CHAPTER II.
Elected to the Senate of the United States— His first Speech, in
favor of Internal Improvements— Is chosen Speaker of the
Kentucky House of Assembly— Speeches and Reports— Reso
lutions in favor of American Manufactures — Duel with Hun*-
{mrey Marshall— His sentimeuts in regard to Dueling— Takes
lis seat a second time in the United States Senate— Speaks in
behalf of Domestic Manufactures— Lays the foundation of
the American System— Speech on the line of the Perdido —
Labors of the Session— Third Session of the Eleventh Con
gress—The United States Bank— He becomes a member of the
United States House of Representatives— Is chosen Speaker
on the first ballot— Critical state of Public Airairs— Is in favor
of a War with Great Britain— Speech on the bill for raisme;
Troops— On a Naval Establishment— Carries las Measures—
Our Naval successes.
On the twenty-ninth of December, 1806, Mr. Clay
produced his credentials, and took his seat in the
Senate of the United States. He had been elected
Life of Henry Clay.
by the Legislature of the State of Kentucky to fill
a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the Hon.
John Adair; and, from the journals of Congress, he
seems to have entered at once, actively upon the
discharge of the duties of his new and exalted
position. His first Speech was in favor of the
erection of abridge over the Potomac River; and
at this period we perceive the dawning of those
views of ' Internal Improvement,' which he after
ward carried out so ably, and his advocacy of which
should alone be sufficient to entitle him to the last
ing gratitude of the Country. He amused the
Senate on this occasion by quoting a passage from
Peter Pindar, as applicable to a Senator by whom
he had been assailed, and who was remarkable for
the expression of superior sagacity which his coun
tenance was wont to assume when he rebuked the
younger members of the body. The picture was
apt and graphic :
" Thus have I seen a magpie in the street,
A chattering bird, we often meet ;
A bird for curiosity well known,
With head awry, and cunning eye,
Peep knowingly into a marrow-bone."
This Speech was soon followed by his presenta
tion of a Resolution advocating the expediency of
appropriating a quantity of land toward the opening
of the Canal proposed to be cut at the Rapids of
the Ohio, on the Kentucky shore.
The subject of appropriations for Internal Im
provements was at that time a novelty. So far as
it related to the establishment of Post-Roads, it had,
it is true, been discussed in February, 1795; but no
formal opinion of Congress was expressed, so as to
fee a precedent for future action.
A Committee, consisting of Messrs. Clay, Giles
and Baldwin, was now appointed to consider the
new Resolution, and on the twenty-fourth of Feb
ruary, 1807, Mr. Clay made an able Report to the
Senate, in which we find the following passage : —
" How far it is the policy of the Government to aid
' in works of this kind, when it has no distinct in-
' terest ; whether, indeed, in such a case, it has the
4 Constitutional power of patronage and encourage-
' ment, it is not necessary to be decided in the present
* instance." A few days afterward, he reported a
bill providing for the appointment of Commissioners
to ascertain the practicability of removing the ob
structions in the navigation of the Ohio at the Rapids.
This bill passed the Senate by a vote of eighteen to
eight. The following resolution, presented the day of the
passage of the bill, shows that Mr. Clay thus early
in his career was deeply impressed with the impor
tance of a system of Internal Improvement. He
may truly be called the father of that system, which
has so incalculably advanced the general prosperity
of the Republic : —
" Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury
be directed to prepare and report to the Senate at
their next session, a plan for the application of such
means as are within the power of Congress, to the
purposes of opening Roads and making Canals; to
gether with a statement of undertakings of that na
ture, which, as objects of public improvement, may
require and deserve the aid of Government ; and,
also, a statement of works, of the nature mentioned,
which have been commenced, the progress which
has been made in them, and the means and prospect
*>f their being completed ; and all such information
as, in the opinion of the Secretary, shall be material
in relation to the objects of this resolution."
The resolution was passed with but three dissent
ing voices.
During this session an attempt was made to sus
pend the Habeas Corpus Act, for the purpose of
enabling the President to arrest, without going
through the forms and delays of the law, Col. Burr,
of whose evil intentions there was now sufficient
proof. Mr. Clay did not speak on the motion, but
his vote was recorded against it, not through any
tenderness towards Burr, but because of the danger
ot instituting such a precedent against the liberty oi
the citizen. The motion was, however, carried in
the Senate, but defeated in the House of Represent
atives. Mr. Clay's election to the Senate of the United
States had been but for the fraction of a term,
amounting to a single session. In the summer ol
1807, he was again chosen by the citizens of Fay
ette to represent them in the Kentucky Legislature,
and at the next session he was elected Speaker of
the Assembly. In this position he did not content
himself with faithfully discharging the ordinary du
ties of a Speaker. He entered the arena of debate,
and took an active part in most of the important
discussions before the House. A motion having <
been made to prohibit the reading in the Courts of
Kentucky of any British decision, or elementary
work on Law, he opposed it with a vigor and elo
quence that could not fail of effect. More than four-
fifths of the Members of the House had evinced a
determination to vote for the motion. It was argued
that the Americans, as an independent people, ought
not to suffer themselves to be governed, in the ad
ministration of justice, by the legal decisions of a
foreign power. Mr. Clay had to contend against a
most formidable array of popular prejudice. To
obviate one of the most potent arguments of the
friends of the motion, he ingeniously moved to
amend it by limiting the exclusion of British deci
sions from Kentucky to those only which have taken
place since the 4th of July, 1776, the date of Ameri
can Independence, and suffering all which preceded
that period to remain in force. He maintained that
before the declaration of our independence, the Brit
ish and Americans were the same nation, and the
laws of the one people were those of the other. He
then entered upon one of the most eloquent ha
rangues that ever fell from his lips. He exposed
the barbarity of a measure which would annihilate,
for all practical uses in the State, the great body of
the Common Law ; which would " wantonly make
wreck of a system fraught with the intellectual
wealth of centuries, and whelm its last fragment
beneath the wave."
Those who had the good fortune to hear Mr. Clay
on this occasion, describe his speech as one of trans
cendent power, beauty and pathos. A gentleman,
who was a partaker in the effect produced by his
eloquence, says : — " Every muscle of the orator's
' face waB in motion ; his whole body seemed agi-
' tated, as if every part were instinct with a separate
' life ; and his small, white hand, with its blue veins
' apparently distended almost to bursting, moved
' gracefully, but with all the energy of rapid and ve-
' hement gesture. The appearance of the speaker
' seemed that of a pure intellect wrought up to its
The Embargo— Duel with Humphrey Marshall.
' mightiest energies, and brightly glowing through
' the thin and transparent veil of flesh that enrobed
It is almost needless to add that Mr. Clay pre
vailed on this occasion in turning the tide in his fa
vor, and the original motion was rejected.
A report drawn up by him in 1809 upon a question
of disputed election is worthy of notice in this place.
The citizens of Hardin County, who were entitled
to two Representatives in the General Assembly,
had given 436 votes for Charles Helm, 350 for Sam
uel Haycraft, and 271 for John Thomas. The fact
being ascertained that Mr. Haycraft held an office
of profit under the Commonwealth, at the time of
the election, a constitutional disqualification attach
ed and excluded him. He was ineligible, and there
fore could not be entitled to his seat. It remained to
inquire into the pretensions of- Mr. Thomas. His
claim could, only be supported by a total rejection
of the votes given by Mr. Haycraft, as void to all
intents whatever. Mr. Clay contended that those
votes, though void and ineffectual in creating any
right in Mr. Haycraft to a seat in the House, could
not affect, in any manner, the situation of his com
petitor. Any other exposition would be subversive
of the great principle of Free Government, that the
majority shall prevail. It would operate as a fraud
upon the People ; for it could not be doubted that
the votes given to Mr. Haycraft were bestowed under
a full persuasion that he had a right to receive them.
It would, in fact, be a declaration that disqualifica
tion produced qualification — that the incapacity of
one man capacitated another to hold a seat in that
House. The Committee, therefore, unanimously
decided that neither of the gentlemen was entitled
to a seat.
Such were the principles of Mr. Clay's Report.
ilt was unanimously adopted by the House ; and its
"doctrines have ever since governed the Kentucky
Elections. In December, 1808, Mr. Clay introduced before
the Legislature of Kentucky a series of Resolutions
approving the Embargo, denouncing the British
Orders in Council, pledging the cooperation of Ken
tucky to any measures of opposition to British ex
actions, upon which the General Government might
determine, and declaring that "Thomas Jefferson
' is entitled to the thanks of his Country for the
' ability, uprightness and intelligence which he has
* displayed in the management both of our Foreign
' Relations and Domestic Concerns."
Mr. Humphrey Marshall opposed these Resolu
tions with extraordinary vehemence, and introduced
Amendatory Resolutions of a directly opposite ten
dency; but Mr. Marshall was the only one who
voted in favor of the latter. Mr. Clay's original
Resolutions were adopted by a vote of sixty-four
to one.
Soon after this event, Mr. Clay introduced a Reso
lution recommending that every Member, for the pur
pose of encouraging the Industry of the Country,
should clothe himself in garments of Domestic
Manufacture. This Resolution was at once most
emphatically denounced by Mr. Humphrey Mar
shall, who stigmatized it as the project of a dema
gogue, and applied a profusion of harsh and un
generous epithets to the mover. Mr. Clay retorted,
and the quarrel went on until it terminated in a hos
tile encounter. The parties met, and by the first
shot Mr. Marshall was slightly wounded. They
stood up a second time, and Mr. Clay received a
hardly perceptible flesh wound in the leg. The
seconds now interfered, and prevented a continuance
of the combat.
Mr. Clay was once again called upon in the course
of his political career, by the barbarous exactions of
society, to consent to a hostile encounter ; but we
are confident that no man at heart abominates the
custom more sincerely than he. The following pas
sage in relation to this subject occurs in an address,
which, in his maturer years, Be made to his constit
uents : " I owe it to the community to say, that what
ever heretofore I may have done, or by inevitable cir
cumstances might be forced to do, no man in it holds
in deeper abhorrence than I do that pernicious prac
tice. Condemned as it must be by the judgment
and philosophy, to say nothing of the religion, of ev-
ry thinking man, it is an affair of feeling about which
we cannot, although we should, reason. Its true
corrective will be found when all shall unite, as all
ought to unite, in its unqualified proscription."
When the bill to suppress duelling in the District
of Columbia came before the Senate of the United
States in the spring of 1838, Mr. Clay said, no man
would be happier than he to see the whole barbar
ous system forever eradicated. It was well known,
that in certain quarters of the country, public opin
ion was averse from duelling, and no mari could fly
in the face of that public opinion, without having his
reputation sacrificed ; but there were other portions
again which exacted obedience to the fatal custom.
The man with a high sense of honor, and nice sen
sibility, when the question is whether he shall fight
or have the finger of scorn pointed at him, is unable
to resist, and few, very few, are found willing to
adopt such an alternative. When public opinion
shall be renovated, and chastened by reason, religion
and humanity, the practice of duelling will at once
be discountenanced. It is the office of legislation to
do all it can to bring about that healthful state of the
public mind, and although it may not altogether ef
fect so desirable a result yet he had no doubt it
would do much towards it, and with these views, he
would give his vote for the bill.
In the winter session of Congress in 1809-10, Mr. I
Clay took his seat a second time in the Senate of the
United States. He had been elected by the legisla
ture by a handsome majority to supply a vacancy
occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Buckner Thrus-
ton, whose term wanted two years of its completion.
From this period the public history of Mr. Clay may
be found diffused through the annals of the Union.
The archives of the republic are the sources from-
which the materials for his biography may be hence
forth derived. When time shall have removed the
inducements for interested praise or censure, poster
ity will point to the records of his civic achievements,
glorious though bloodless, no less as furnishing a
well established title to their admiration and grati.
tude than as a perpetual monument of his fame.
The predilections which Mr. Clay had early man
ifested in behalf of American manufactures and Amer- V
ican principles, were unequivocally avowed in his
first speech before the Senate on being elected a se
cond time to that body as far back as April, 1810. A
bill was under discussion appropriating a sum o
10
Life of Henry Clay.
money for procuring munitions of war, and for other
purposes; and an amendment had been proposed,
instructing the Secretary of the Navy, to provide
supplies of cordage, sail-cloth, hemp, &c, and to give
a preference to those of American growth and man
ufacture. Mr. Lloyd of Massachusetts moved to
strike out this part of the amendment; and a discus
sion arose concerning the general policy of promo
ting domestic manufactures, in which Mr. Clay bold-
- ly declared himself its advocate.
. The fallacious course of reasoning urged by many
-against domestic manufactures, namely, the distress
and servitude produced by those of England, he said
would equally indicate the propriety of abandoning
agriculture itself. Were we to cast our eyes upon
the miserable peasantry of Poland, and revert to the
days of feudal vassalage, we might thence draw nu
merous arguments against the pursuits of the hus
bandman. In short, take the black side of the pic
ture, and every human occupation will be found
pregnant with fatal objections.
The sentiments avowed thuB early in our legisla
tive history by Mr. Clay are now current through
out our vast community; and the "American Sys
tem," as it has been called, is generally admitted to
be net only a patriotic, but a politic system. But
let it not be forgotten, that it is to the persevering
and unremitted exertions of Henry Clay, that we
are indebted for the planting and the cherishing of
that goodly tree, under the far-spreading branches of
%vhich so many find protection and plenty at the pre
sent day.
The amendments advocated by Mr. Clay on this
occasion were adopted, and the bill was passed.
The first step toward the establishment ofhis mag
nificent " system " was taken.
Another speech in which he distinguished himself
iSuringthe session, is that upon the question of the
wnight-sfthe United States to the territory lying be
tween the rivers Mississippi, and Perdido, compri
sing the greater part of Western Florida. This im
portant region, out of which the States of Alabama
^and Mississippi have since been formed, was claimed
fcy Spain as a part of her Florida domain. The Pres-
•dent, Mr. Madison, had issued a proclamation de
claring the region annexed to the Orleans Territory,
and subject to the laws of the United States. The
Federalists maintained that we had no claim to
the Territory — that it-belonged to Spain — and that
¦3-reat -Britain as her ally, would not consent to see
fcer robbed.
• Mr. Clay stepped forth as the champion of the de
mocracy and the President, and eloquently vindica
ted the title of the United States to the land. His
ifguments evince much research, ingenuity and lo-
•gical skill ; and on this as on all occasions, he man
ifested that irrepressible sympathy with the people
—the mass — his eloquent expressions of which had
gained him in Kentucky the appellation of the
of our soil and labor, navigated by our own citizeiS
and peaceably pursuing a lawful trade, were seized
on our coasts, and, at the very mouth of our own
harbors, condemned and confiscated. But it was
the ruffianly syBtem of impressment — by which
American freemen, pursuing a lawful life of hard
ship and daring on the ocean, were liable to he
seized, in violation of the rights of our flag, forced
into tho naval service of a foreign Power, and made,
perhaps, the instruments of similar oppression to
ward their own countrymen ; — it was this despotic
and barbarous system that principally roused the
warlike spirit of Congress and the Nation. And
Posterity will admit that thi3 cause of itself was an
all-sufficient justification for hostile measures. The
spirit of that People must have been debased in
deed, which could have tamely submitted to such
aggressions. The feelings of Mr. Clay on this subject seem to
have been of the intensest description. Though
coming from a State distant from the sea-board,
the wrongs and indignities practiced against our |
mariners by British arrogance and oppression, fired
his soul and stirred his whole nature to resistance.
To him, the idea of succumbing a moment to such
degrading outrages was intolerable. The Nation
had been injured and insulted. England persisted
in her injuries and insults. It was useless to tem
porise longer. He was for war, prompt,, open and
determined war. He communicated to others the
electric feelings that animated his own breast. He
wreaked all his energies on this great cause.
In appointing the Committee on Foreign Rela
tions, to whom the important question was to bo
referred, he was careful to select a majority of such
Members as partook of his own decided views.
Peter B. Porter, of New York, was the Chairman;
and, on the 29th of November, he made a Report, in
which the Committee earnestly recommended, in
the words of the President, " that the United States
' be immediately put into an armor and attitude de
' manded by the crisis, and corresponding with the
' national spirit and expectations." They submit
ted appropriate Resolutions for the carrying out o
this great object.
12
Life of Henry Clay.
On the 31st of December, the House resolved
itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Brecken-
ridge in the Chair, on a bill from the Senate, pro
viding for the raising of twenty-five thousand troops.
Of this measure, Mr. Clay was the warmest, and at
the same time most judicious, advocate. He ad
dressed the House eloquently in its behalf, and
urged it forward on all occasions with his best
energies. He contended that the real cause of British
aggression was not to distress France, as many
maintained, but to destroy a rival. " She saw,"
continued he, " in your numberless ships, which
' whitened every sea — in your hundred and twenty
* thousand gallant tars — the seeds of a naval force,
' which in thirty years would rival her on her own
1 element. " She therefore commenced the odious
' system of Impressment, of which no language
' can paint my execration ! She dared to attempt
' the subversion of the personal freedom of your
' mariners ! " J
In concluding, Mr. Clay said he trusted that he
had fully established these three positions : — That
the quantum of the force proposed by the bill was
not too great; that its nature was such aB the con
templated War called for; and that the object of
the War was justified by every consideration of
justice, of interest, of honor and love of country.
Unless that object were at once attained by peace
ful means, he hoped that war would be waged be
fore the close of the Session.
The bill passed the House on the 4th of January
succeeding ; and, on the 22d of the same month, the
Report of the Committee, to whom that part of the
President's Message relating to a Naval Establish
ment was referred, being under discussion, Mr. Clay
spoke in favor of an increase of the Navy, advo
cating the building of ten frigates.
In his remarks, on this occasion, he contended
that a description of naval force entirely within our
means was that, which would be sufficient to pre
vent any single vessel, of whatever metal, from en
dangering our whole coasting trade — blocking up
our harbors, and laying under contributions our
cities — a force competent to punish the insolence of
the commander of any Bingle ship, and to preserve
in our own jurisdiction the inviolability of our peace
and our laws.
" Is there," he asked, " a reflecting man in the
'nation who would not charge Congress with a
1 culpable neglect of its duty, if, for the want of
' such a force, a single ship were to bombard one of
' our cities 1 Would not every honorable member
' of the Committee inflict on himself the bitterest re-
' proaches, if, by failing to make an inconsiderable
* addition to our little gallant Navy, a single British
'vessel should place Jfew-York under contribution!"
On the 29th of January, 1812, the bill to Increase
the Navy passed the House by a handsome majority
To Mr. Clay's eloquent advocacy of the measure,
the Country is largely indebted for the glorious
naval successes which afterward shed a new and
undying lustre upon our history. But for the gal
lant and effective Navy, which sprang up under
such auspices, the main arm of our defence would
have been crippled. While we contemplate with
pride our achievements upon the sea — the memo
rable deeds of our Lawrences, Decaturs, Hulls,
Bainbridges and Perrys— let us Dot forget the States
man, but for whose provident sagacity and intrepid
spirit, the opportunity of performing those exploits
might never have been afforded.
CHAPTER III.
Mr. Clay prefers a seat in the House to one in the Senate— Rea
sons for making him Speaker— The President recommends an
Embargo — The measure opposed bv John Randolph and Jo-
siah Quincy— Defended by Mr. Clay— His intercourse with <
Randolph— War declared— rhe Leaders in the House— Mr.
Cheves and Mr. Gallatin— Mr. Clay appointed to confer with
President Madison— Anecdotes— Events of the War— Mo
tives— Federal Abuse— Clay's Reply to Quincy— Effects of
his Eloquence— Passage of the Army Bill— Madison re-elected
President— Mr. Clay resigTis the Speaker's Chair, being ap
pointed Commissioner to Ghent— His services during the War.
The cause of Mr. Clay's transference from the .
Senate to the House of Representatives was his •
own preference, at the time, of a seat in the popular
branch. His immediate appointment as Speaks*
was, under "ihfc circumstances, a rare honor, and
ofle*neVer, before 61* sinc5;'conterred on a new JHem-
to his
Ben — Among UltJ l]|uall/k!aLious vvlncllTS
selection for that high station was his known firm
ness, which would check any attempt to domineer
over the House ; and many Members had a special
view to a proper restraint upon Mr. John Randolph
of Virginia, who, through the fears of Mr. Vamum,
and the partiality entertained for him by Mr. Macon,
the two preceding Speakers, had exercised a con
trol which, it was believed, was injurious to the
deliberations of the body.
On the first of April, 1812, the following confiden
tial communication from the President to Congress
was received :
" Considering it as expedient, under existing cir
cumstances and prospects, that a general embargo
be laid on all vessels now in port or hereafter arri
ving, for the period of sixty days, I recommend the
immediate passage of a law to that effect.
" JAMES MADISON."
This proposition was immediately discussed in
the House in secret session, Mr. Clay took an active
part in the debate. He gave to the measure recom
mended by the President his ardent and unqualified
support. " I approve of it," said he, " because
it is To be viewed as a direct precursor to
WAR." Among the most vehement opponents of the mea
sure were John Randolph, of Virginia, and Josiah
Quincy,- <«f Massachusetts. Mr. Randolph said thas
the honorable Speaker was mistaken when he said
the message was for war. Mr. R. had " too much
' reliance on the wisdom and virtue of the President
' to believe that he would be guilty of such gross
' and unparalleled treason." He maintained that
the proposed embargo was not to be regarded as an
inital step to war — but as a subterfuge — a retreat
from battle. " What new cause of war," he asked,
" or of an embargo has arisen within the last twelve
' months 1 The affair of the Chesapeake is settled :
' no new principles of blockade have been interpola-
' ted in the laws of nations. Every man of candor
' would ask why did not, then, go to war twelve
' months ago."
" What new cause of war has been avowed !" said
Mr. Clay in reply—" The affair of the Chesapeake
is settled, to be sure, but only to paralyze the spirit
of the country. Has Great Britain abstained from
impressing our seamen— from depredating upon our
'Declaration of War with Great Britain.
13
property ? We have complete proof, in her capture
of our ships, in her exciting our frontier Indians to
hostility, and in her sending an emissary to our
cities to excite civil war. that she will do everything
to destroy us : our resolution nnd spirit are our only
dependence. Although I feel warmly upon this
subject,' continued he, "I pride myself upon those
fceiinss, and should despise myself if 1 were desti
tute of them."
Mr. Quincy expressed in strong terms his abhor
rence of the proposed measure. He said that hiB ob
jections were, that it was not what it pretended to
be; and was what it pretended not to be. That it
Was not embargo preparatory to war; but that it was
embargo as a substitute for the question of declaring
war. "I object to it," said he, " because it is no
' efficient preparation ; because it is, not a progress
' towards honorable war, but a subterfuge from the
' question. If we must perish, let us perish by any
' hand except our own. Any fate is better than self-
' slaughter." Against this storm of opposition Henry Clay pre
sented an undaunted front. As the debate was car
ried on with closed doors, no ample record of it is ir.
existence. But a member of Congress, who was
present, says : " On this occasion Mr. Clay was a
' flame of fire. He had now brought Congress to
' the verge of what he conceived to be a war for lib-
J erty and honor, and his voice rang through the cap-
' itol like a trumpet-tone sounding for the onset. On
• the subject of the policy of the embargo, his elo-
' qtience, like a Roman phalanx, bore down all op-
' position, and he put to shame those of his oppo-
' nents, who flouted the government as being unpre-
' pared for war."
The Message recommending an embargo was re
ferred to the committee on Foreign Relations, who
reported a bill for carrying it into effect, which was
adopted by the House. In the Senate it underwent
a slight alteration in the substitution of ninety for
sixty days as the term of the embargo. This amend
ment was concurred in; and on the fourth of April,
Mr. Crawford reported the presentation of the bill
to the President, and that it had received his signa
ture. Through the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Clay
and his associates, the attitude of resistance to ag
gression was now boldly assumed — the first step was
taken towards a definite declaration of war.
On assuming the duties of the Speakership, Mr.
Clay had foreseen, from the peculiar character and
constitution of mind of that remarkable and^listin-
guished man, John Randolph, that it would be ex
tremely difficult to maintain with him relations of
civility and friendship. " He, therefore, resolved to
act on the principle of never giving and never receiv
ing an insult without immediate notice, if he were
in a place where it could be noticed. Their mode of
intercourse or non-intercourse was most singular.
Sometimes weeks, months would pass without their
speaking to each other. Then, for an equal space
of time, no two gentlemen could treat each other
with more courtesy and attention. Mr. Randolph,
on entering the House in the morning, while these
better feelings prevailed, would frequently approach
the Chair, bow respectfully to the Speaker, and in
quire after his health.
Bnt Mr. Randolph was impatient of all restraints,
and could not brook those which were sometimes
applied to himself by the Speaker in the discharge
of the duties of the Chair. On one occasion he ap
pealed to his constituents, and was answered by Mr.
Clay. The case was this : Mr. Clay, in one of his
morning rides, passed through Georgetown, where
Mr. Randolph, the late Mr. J. Lewis, of Virginia,
and other members of Congress boarded. Meeting
with Mr. Lewis, that gentleman inquired of him, if
there were any news ? Mr. Clay informed him, that
on the Monday following, President Madison would
send a message to Congress, recommending a decla
ration of war against Great Britain.
The day after this meeting, Mr. Randolph came
to the House, and having addressed the Speaker in
a very rambling, desultory speech for about an hour,
he was reminded from the chair, that there was no
question pending before the House. Mr. Randolph
said he would present one. He was requested to
state it. He stated that he meant to move a resolu
tion, that it was not expedient to declare war against
Great Britain." The Speaker, according to a rule of
the House, desired him to reduce his resolution to
writing, and to send it to the chair ; which he ac
cordingly did. And thereupon the Speaker informed
him, that before he could proceed in his speech, the
House must decide that it would now consider his
resolution. Upon putting that question to the
House, it was decided by a large majority, that it
would not consider the resolution; and thus Mr.
Randolph was preventecrfrom haranguing the House
farther in its support. Of this he complained, and
published an address to his constituents.
Some expressions in this address seeming to re
quire notice, Mr. Clay addressed a communication
under his own name, to the editor of the National
Intelligencer, in which he reviews the questions at
issue between him and Mr. Randolph, and vindicates
the justice of his recent decisions in the chair.
" Two principles," he says, " are settled by these
decisions; the first is, that the House has a right
to know, through its organ, the specific motion
which a member intends making, before he under
takes to argue it at large ; and in the second place,
that it reserves to itself the exercise of the power
of determining whether it will consider it at the
particular time when offered, prior to his thus pro
ceeding to argue it." - —
Every succeeding Congress has acknowledged the
validity of the principles thus established by Mr.
Clay. They seem essential to the proper regulation
of debate in a large legislative body."
A bill from the Committee on Foreign Relations
was reported to the House on the third of June, 1812,
declaring War between Great Britain and her de
pendencies and the United States. On the eighteenth
it had passed both Houses of Congress; and the next
clay the President's proclamation was issued, declar
ing the actual existence of War. On the sixth of
July, Congress adjourned to the first Monday in No
vember. Mr. Clay, Mr. Lowndes, Mr. Cheves, and Mr. Cal
houn, were the leaders, who sustained and carried
through the declaration of War. Mr. Clay, fully im
pressed with the conviction, that the honor and the
highest interests of the country demanded the de
claration, was ardent, active and enthusiastic in its
support. To him was assigned the responsible duty
of appointing all the Committees. Mr. Madison's
Cabinet was not unanimous on the subject of war,
14
Life of Henrtf Clay.
Mr. Madison himself was in favor of it, but seemed
to go into it with much repugnance and great appre
hension. The character of his mind was one of ex
treme caution, bordering on timidity, although he
acted with vigor and firmness when his resolution
was once taken. Mr. Gallatin, the Secretary of the
Treasury, was adverse to the war.
It was the opinion and wish of Mr. Clay, Mr.
Cheves, and their friends, that financial as well as
military and naval preparations should be made for
the conduct of the war, and previous to its declara
tion. Accordingly, Mr. Gallatin was called upon
to report a system of finance appropriate to the oc
casion. He had enjoyed a high reputation for finan
cial ability; and it was hoped and anticipated, that
he would display it when he made his required re
port. But the disappointment was great when his
report appeared. Instead of indicating any new
source of revenue — instead of suggesting any great
plan calling forth the resources of the nation, he re
ported in favor of all the old odious taxes — excise,
stamp duties, &c. which had been laid during pre
vious administrations. It was believed, from the of
fensive nature of the taxes, that his object was to re
press the war spirit. But far from being discouraged,
Mr. Clay and his friends resolved to impose the du
ties recommended.
Mr. Cheves was at the head of the Committee of
Ways and Means, and went laboriously to work to
prepare numerous bills for the collection of taxes as
suggested by the Secretary. After they were pre
pared and reported, it was for the first time discov
ered that the Executive, and more especially Mr.
Gallatin, were opposed to the imposition of taxeB at
the same session during which war was declared.
This was ascertained by the active exertions of Mr.
Smiley, a leading and influential member from Penn
sylvania, and the confidential friend of Mr. Gallatin.
In circles of the members, he would urge in conver
sation the expediency of postponing the taxes to
another session, saying that the people would not
take both war and taxes together."
Mr. Clay and his friends were aware that the levy
ing of taxes, always a difficult and up-hill business,
could not be effected without the hearty concur
rence of the Executive, and therefore reluctantly
submitted to the postponement — a most Unfortunate
delay, the ill effects of which were felt throughout
the whole war. Mr. Cheves, who had plied the la
boring oar, in preparing the various revenue bills,
was highly indignant, and especially at the conduct
of Mr. Gallatin, of whom he ever afterwards thought
unfavorably. The negotiations .with Mr. Foster, the British
Charge d' Affaires at Washington, were protracted
up to the period of the Declaration of War. The Re
publican party became impatient of the delay. It
was determined that an informal deputation should
wait upon Mr. Madison to expostulate against long
er procrastination ; and it was agreed that Mr. Clay
should be the spokesman. The gentlemen of the
deputation accordingly called on the President, and
Mr. Clay stated to him, that Congress was impa
tient for action ; that further efforts at negotiation
were vain; that an accommodation was impractica
ble ; that the haughty spirit of Britain was unbend
ing and unyielding ; that submission to her arro
gant pretensions, especially that of a right to im
press our seamen, was impossible * that enough had
been done by us with a view to conciliation ; that '
the time for decisive action had arrived, and war
was inevitable.
By way of illustrating the difference between
speaking and writing, and acting, Mr. Clay related
to Mr. Madison an anecdote of two Kentucky Judges.
One talked incessantly from the Bench. Ho rea
soned every body to death. He would deliver an
opinion, and first try to convince the party that agreed
with him and then the opposite party. The conse
quence was that business lagged, the docket accu
mulated, litigants complained, and the community
were dissatisfied. He was succeeded by a Judge,
who never gave any reasons for his opinion, but de
cided the case simply, for the plaintiff or the de
fendant. His decisions were rarely reversed by the
appellate Court — the docket melted away — litigants
were no longer exposed to ruinous delay — and the
community were contented. Surely, said Mr. Clay, ,
we have exhausted the argument with Great Britain. /
Mr. Madison enjoyed the joke, but, in his good-
natured, sly way, said, he also had heard an anec
dote, of a French Judge, who after the argument of
the cause was over, put the papers of the contend
ing parties into opposite scales, and decided accor
ding to the preponderance of weight.
Speaking of the opposition of the Federal party
Mr. Clay remarked, that they were neither to be
conciliated nor silenced — " let us do what we sin-
'cerely believe to be right, and trust to God and the/
goodness of our cause." /
Mr. Madison said, that our institutions were found
ed upon the principle of the competency of man for
self-government, and that we should never be tired
of appealing to the reason and judgment of the peo*
pie. Such deference did Mr. Madison have, however,
for the opinion and advice of his friends, that shortly
after this conference, he transmitted his war mes
sage to Congress.
The second session of the twelfth Congress tooS
place at the appointed time. Events of an impor
tant character had occurred since it last met. The
war had been prosecuted; and we had sustained
some reverses. General Hull, to whom had been
assigned the defence of the Michigan frontier, hai.,
after an unsuccessful incursion into the neighboring
territory of the enemy, surrendered ingloriously the
town and fort of Detroit.
An attack was made on a post of the enemy near
Niagara, by a detachment of regular and other forces
under Major-General Van Rensselaer, and after dis
playing much gallantry had been compelled to yield,
with considerable loss, to reinforcements of Savages
and British regulars.
But though partially unsuccessful on the land, the
Americans had won imperishable trophies on the
sea. Our public ships and private cruisers had
made the enemy sensible of the difference between
a reciprocity of captures, and the long confinement
of them to their side. The frigate Constitution, com
manded by Captain Hull, after a close and short en
gagement, had completely disabled the British fri
gate Guerriere. A vast amount of properly had
been saved to the country by the course pursued by
a squadron of our frigates under the command of
Commodore Rodgers.
Defence of the War.
15-
A strong disposition to adjust existing difficulties
with Great Britain had, in the mean time, been mani-
ested by our Government. Our Charge des Af
faires at London had been authorized to accede to
certain terms, by which the war might be arrested,
without awaiting the delays of a formal and final
pacification. These terms required substantially, that the Bu-
tish orders in council should be repealed as they af
fected the United States, without a revival of block
ades violating acknowledged rules j that there should
be an immediate discharge of American seamen from
British ships. On such terms an armistice was pro
posed by our Government.
These advances were declined by Great Britain
from an avowed repugnance to a suspension of the
practice of impressment during the armistice.
Early in January, 1813, a bill from the Military
Committee of the House, for the raising of an addi
tional force, not exceeding twenty thousand men, un
derwent a long and animated discussion in commit
tee of the whole. The opposition on this occasion
rallied all their strength to denounce the measure.
Mr. Quincy, to whom we have before alluded, made
a most bitter harangue against it and its supporters.
" Since the invasion of the buccaneers," said Mr.
Q,. "there is nothing in history like this war." Al
luding to some of the friends of the administration,
he stigmatized them as "household troops, who
lounged for what they could pick up about the gov
ernment house — toad-eaters, who lived on eleemo
synary, ill-purchased courtesy, upon the palace,
who swallowed great men's spittle, got judgeships,
and wondered at the fine sights, fine rooms, and fine
company, and, most of all, wondered how they them
selves got there."
Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Jefferson came
in for no small share of the same gentleman's abuse.
On the eighth of January, Mr. Clay rose in de
fence of the new army bill, and in reply to the vio
lent and personal remarks, which had fallen from
the opposition. His effort on this occasion was one
of the most brilliant in his whole career. It is im
perfectly reported; for Mr. Clay has been always
too inattentive to the preparation of his speeches for
the press. To form an adequate idea of his eloquence
we must look to the effect it produced — to the legis
lation which it swayed.
: That portion of Mr. Clay's speech, in which he
vindicated his illustrious friend, Thomas Jefferson,
' from the aspersions of the leader of the Federalists,
has been deservedly admired as a specimen of ener
getic and indignant eloquence. It must have fallen
with crushing effect upon him who called it forth :
"Next to the notice which the opposition has
found itself called upon to bestow upon the French
Emperor, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, former-
. y President of the United States, has never for a
moment failed to receive their kindest and most
respectful attention. An honorable gentleman from
Massachusetts (of whom I am sorry to say it be
comes necessary for me, in the course of my remarks,
to take some notice,) has alluded to him in a re
markable manner. Neither his retirement from pub
lic office, his eminent services, nor his advanced age,
can exempt this patriot from the coarse assaults of
party malevolence. No, sir ; in 1801 he snatched
from the rude hands of usurpation the violated con
stitution of the country, and that is his crime. He
preserved that instrument inform and substance and
spirit, a precious inheritance for generations to come,
and for this he can never be forgiven.
"How vain and impotent is party rage, directed
against such a man! He is not more elevated by his
lofty residence upon the summit of his own favorite
mountain, than he is lifted by the serenity of his mind,
and the consciousnesss of a well-spent life, above
the indignant passions and feelings of the day. No 1
his own beloved Monticello is not less moved by
the storms that beat against its sides, than is this
illustrious man by the howlings of the whole Britten.
pack let loose from the Essex kennel !
" When the gentleman, to whom I have been com
pelled to allude, shall have mingled his dust withe
that of his abused ancestors — when he shall have
been consigned to oblivion, or, if he live at all, shall
live only in the treasonable annals of a certain jua-
to, the name of Jefferson will be hailed with grati
tude, his memory honored and cherished as the se
cond founder of the liberties of the people, and the
period of his administration will be looked back to
as one of the happiest and brightest epochs in Amer
ican history.
" But I beg the gentleman's pardon. He has ia
deed secured to himself a more imperishable fame
than I had supposed. I think it was about four years
ago that he submitted to the House of Representa
tives, an initiative proposition for an impeachment
of Mr. Jefferson. The House condescended to con
sider it. The gentleman debated it with his usual
temper, moderation and urbanity. The House de
cided upon it in the most solemn manner; and, al
though the gentleman had somehow obtained a se
cond, the final vote stood, enefor, and one hundred
aud seventeen against the proposition ! The same
historic page that transmitted to posterity the virtue
and glory of Henry the Great of France, for their
admiration and example, has preserved the infamous
name of the fanatic assassin of the excellent monarch*
The same sacred pen that portrayed the sufferings
and crucifixion of the Saviour of mankind, has re
corded for universal execration the name of him who-
was guilty — not of betraying his country — but — a
kindred crime — of betraying his God !"*
In other parts of his speech, Mr. Clay electrified
the House by his impassioned eloquence. The day
was intensely cold, and, for the only time in his life,
he found it difficult to keep himself warm by the ex
ercise of speaking. But the members crowded1.
around him in hushed admiration ; and there were
few among them who did not testify by their stream
ing tears his mastery over the passions. The sub
ject of impressment was touched upon; and the
matchless pathos with which he depicted the conse
quences of that infernal system — portraying the
situation of a supposed victim to its tyrannic outra
ges — thrilled through every heart. The reported
passage can but feebly convey a conception of the
impression produced. As well might we attempt to
form an adequate idea of one of Raphael's picture*
from a written description, as to transcribe the elo
quence of Clay on this occasion. Even were his-
glowing words fully and correctly given, how much
of the effect would be lost in the absence of that
sweet and silvery voice — that graceful and expres
sive action — those flashing eyes — which gave life-
and potency and victory to his languaage!
In conclusion, Mr. Clay said : — " My plan would
( be to call out the ample resources of the country,,
* give them a judicious direction, prosecute the waf
* with the utmost vigor, strike wherever we can reach
' the enemy, at sea or on land, and negotiate the
* When the proposition was made to impeach Thomas Jeffer-
con, Mr. Clay is said so have risen, and exclaimed in reference
to the mover, "Sir, the gentleman soils the spot lie stands upon-'
IS
Life of Henry Clay.
' terms of a peace at Quebec or at Halifax. We are
' told that England is a proud and lofty nation,
'which, disdaining to wait for danger, meets it half
¦ way. Haughty as she is, we once triumphed over
' her, and, if we do not listen to the counsels of timi-
' dity and despair, we shall again prevail. In such
' a cause, with the aid of Providence, we must come
1 out crowned widi success ; but if we fail, let us
' fail like men — lash ourselves to our gallant tara,
' and expire together in one common struggle —
'fighting for Free Tkade and Seamen's
'Rights! "
The Army Bill, thus advocated by Mr. Clay,
passed the House on the 14th of January, 1813, by
a vote of seventy-seven to forty-two.
On the tenth of February, the President of the
Senate, in the presence of both Houses of Congress,
proceeded to open the certificates of the Electors of
the several States for President and Vice President
of the United States. The vote stood : For Presi
dent, James Madison, 128 : De Witt Clinton, 89.—
For Vice President, Elbridge Gerry, 131; Jared
Ingersoll, 86. James Madison and Elbridge Gerry
were accordingly elected — the former for a second
term. The War Policy of the Administration was
triumphantly sustained by the People.
The first session of the Thirteenth Congress com
menced the twenty-fourth of May, 1813. Mr. Clay
was again chosen Speaker by a large majority, and
his voice of exhortation and encouragement con
tinued to be raised in Committee of the Whole in
vindication of the honor of the Country and the con
duct of the War. The President, in his Message,
alluded to the spirit in which the war had been
waged by the British, who " were adding to the
' savage fury of it on one frontier, a system of plun-
' der and conflagration on the other, equally forbid"
' den by respect for national character and by the
' established rules of civilized warfare."
Mr. Clay eloquently called attention to this por
tion of the Message, and declared that if the out
rages said to have been committed by the British
armies and their savage allies should be found to be
as public report had stated them, they called for the
indignation of all Christendom, and ought to be em
bodied in an authentic document, which might per
petuate them on the page of history. Upon his mo
tion, a resolution was adopted, referring this portion
of the President's Message to a Select Committee,
of which Mr. Macon was Chairman. A Report was
subsequently submitted from this Committee, in
which an abundance of testimony was brought for
ward, showing that the most inhuman outrages had
been repeatedly perpetrated upon American prison
ers by the Indian allies of British troops, and often
under the eye of British officers. The report closed
with a resolution requesting the President to lay
before the House, during the progress of the war,
all the instances of departure, by the British, from
the ordinary mode of conducting war among civil
ized nations.
The new Congress had commenced its session at
a period of general exultation among all patriotic
Americans. Several honorable victories by sea and
land had shed lusfre on our annals. Captain Law
rence, of the Hornet, with but eighteen guns, had
captured, after a brisk and gallant action of fifteen
minutes, the British sloop of war Peacock, Captain
Peake, carrying twenty-two guns and one hundred
and thirty men — the latter losing her Captain and
nine men with thirty wounded, while our loss was
but one killed and two wounded. York, the capital
of Upper Canada, had been captured by the army of
the centre, in connection with a naval force on Lake
Ontario, under Gen. Dearborn ; while the issue of
the siege of Fort Meigs, under Gen. Harrison, had
won for that officer an imperishable renown as a
brave and skilful soldier.
In September of the preceding year, the Emperor
Alexander of Russia had intimated to Mr. Adams,
our Minister at St. Petersburgh, his intention ot
tendering his services as Mediator between the Uni
ted States and Great Britain. The proposition had
been favorably received, and assurances had been
given to the Emperor of the earnest desire of our
Government that the interest of Russia might remain
entirely unaffected by the existing war between us
and England, and that no more intimate connections
with France would be formed by the United States.
With these assurances the Emperor had been highly
gratified ; and in the early part of March, 1813, the
Russian Minister at Washington, M. Daschkoff, had
formally proffered the mediation of his Government,
which was readily accepted by the President. It
was rejected, however, by the British Government,
to the great surprise of our own, on the ground that
their commercial and maritime rights would not
thereby be as effectually secured as they deemed
necessary ; but, accompanying the rejection, was an
expression of willingness to treat directly with the
United States, either at Gottenburg or at London;
and the interposition of the Emperor was requested
in favor of such an arrangement.
In conseqnence of the friendly offer of the Rus
sian Government, Messrs. Albert Gallatin and
James A. Bayard had been sent to join our resident
Minister, Mr. Adams, as Envoys Extraordinary att
St. Petersburgh. The proposal of the British'
Ministry, to treat with us at Gottenburg, was soon
after accepted, and Messrs. Clay and Jonathan
Russell were appointed, in conjunction with the
three Plenipotentiaries then in Russia, to conduct
the negotiations. On the 19th of January, 1814, f
Mr. Clay, in an appropriate Address, accordingly '
resigned his station as Speaker of the House. The
same day a Resolution was passed by that body,
thanking him for the ability and impartiality with
which he had presided. The Resolution was
adopted almost unanimously — only nine Members I
voting in opposition.
Mr. Clay had always asserted that an honorable
Peace was attainable only by an efficient War. In
Congress he had been the originator and most ar
dent supporter of nearly all those measures which
had for their object the vigorous prosecution of
hostilities against Great Britain. On every occa
sion his trumpet-voice was heard, cheering on the
House and the Country to confidence and victory.
No auguries of evil — no croakings of despondency —
no suggestions of timidity — no violence of Federal
opposition could for a moment shake his patriotic
purposes, diminish his reliance on the justice of our
cause, or induce him to hesitate ill that policy, which
be believed the honor and — what was inseparable
from the honor— the interests, of the Country de-
| tnanded.
Negotiation at Ghent.
n
Tile measure of gratitude due him from his fel
low citizens, for his exertions in this cause alone, is
not to be calculated or paid. But in that scroll
where Freedom inscribes the names of her worthiest
champions, destined to an immortal renown in her
annals, the name of Henri Clay will be found
with those of Washington, Jefferson and
Madison. Having been the most efficient leader in directing
the legislative action which originated and directed
to a prosperous termination the War with Great
Britain — a War which the voice of an impartial
Posterity must admit to have elevated and strength
ened us as a Nation— Mr. Clay was now appro
priately selected as one of the Commissioners to
arrange a Treaty of Peace.
CHAPTER IV.
Meeting of the Ghent Commissioners— Mr. Clay visits Bras-
Eels— Anecdote— Mode of transacting Business— Untoward
Event— Mr. Clay refuses to surrender to the British the Right
to Navigate the Mississippi— His Reasons— Controversy be
tween Messrs. Adams and Russell— Mr. Clay's Letter— Goes
to Paris— Is introduced to the Duke of Wellington by Madame
de Stael— Hears of the Battle of New-Orleans— Visits Eng
land—Lord Castlereagh and his First Waiter— Waterloo and
Napoleon— Mr. Clay's Reception in England— Declines going
to Court— Sir James Mackintosh— Lord Gambler, &c— Mr.
Clay's Return to New-York— Reception— Re-elected to Con-
Sess— Vindication of the War— Internal Improvements— His
ountry, his whole Country.
The Commissioners met first at Gottingen, but
their meetings were afterward transferred to Ghent.
The conferences occupied a space of time of about
five months. The American Commissioners were
in reality negotiating with the whole British Min
istry; for, whenever they addressed a Diplomatic
note of any importance to the British Commis
sioners, it was by them transmitted to London, from
which place the substance of an answer was re
turned in the form of instructions. The conse
quence was, that the American Commissioners,
after having delivered a Diplomatic note, had to
wait about a week before they received a reply.
In one of these pauses of the negotiation, Mr.
Clay made a little excursion to Brussels, and Mr.
Goulbourne went there at the same time. The Brit
ish Commissioners had been in the habit of sending
their English newspapers to the American Commis
sioners, through which the latter often derived the
first intelligence of events occurring in America.
The morning after Mr. Clay's arrival in Brussels,
upon his coming down to breakfast, his servant,
Frederick Cara, whom he had taken with him from
the City of Washington, threw some papers upon
the breakfast table, and burst into tears. " What's
the matter, Frederick ?" The British have taken
Washington, Sir, and Mr. Goulbourne has sent you
those papers, which contain the account." " Is it
possible?" exclaimed Mr. Clay. "It is too true,
Sir" returned Frederick, whining piteously.
The news was by no means agreeable to Mr. Clay;
nor was his concern diminished when he thought of
the channel through which it had beerreonveyed to
him, although fully persuaded that Mr. Goulbourne
had not been actuated by any uncourteous spirit of
exultation. Mr. Clay nevertheless resolved to avail
himself of the first favorable opportunity for friendly
retaliation ; and one fortunately soon occurred. A
point in the negotiation, which had been very much
pressed, was pacification with the Indians, which the
American Commissioners assured the British would
necessarily follow pacification with Great Britain.
The former received some recent American news
papers containing an account of the actual conclu
sion of peace with some of the Indian tribes, but
containing also an account of one of the splendid
naval victories won on Lake Champlain or Lake
Erie. Mr. Clay proposed to the American Com
missioners, that these newspapers should be sent to
the British, ostensibly for the purpose of showing
that peace was made with some of the Indians, but
in reality to afford them an opportunity of perusing
the account of that victory. With the concurrence
of his colleagues, he accordingly addressed an offi
cial note to the British Commissioners transmitting
the newspapers.
The mode of transacting business among the
American Commissioners was, upon the reception
of an official note from the other party to deliberate
fully upon its contents, and to discuss them at a
board. After that, the paper was placed in the
hands of one of the Commissioners to prepare an
answer. Upon the preparation of that answer, it
was carefully examined and considered by the board,
every member of which took it to his lodgings to
suggest in pencil such alterations as appeared to
him proper; and these were again considered and
finally adopted or rejected, and the paper handed to
the Secretary to be be copied and recorded.
In the composition of the official notes sent by the
American to the British Commissioners, the pen of
Mr. Gallatin was, perhaps, most frequently em
ployed; then that of Mr. Adams; then that of Mr.
Clay. Messrs. Bayard and Russell wrote the least.
During the progress of the negotiation and at a
very critical period of it, the official dispatches of
the American Commissioners, giving a full account
of die prospects of the negociation, and expressing
very little hope of its successful termination, having
been published by the order of the American Go
vernment, came back to the Commissioners at Ghent
in the newspapers. They arrived in the evening,
just as the American Commissioners were dressed
to go to a hall given to the Commissioners by the
authorities of Ghent. The unexpected publication
of these dispatches excited the surprise and regret
of the American Commissioners. Some of them
thought that a rupture of the negotiation would be
the consequence. Mr. Clay, on account of his open
and frank manner, was on terms of more unreserved
and free intercourse with the British Commission
ers than any of his colleagues, and he resolved that
evening to sound the former as to the effect of thi3
publication of the dispatches. He accordingly ad
dressed himself to the three Commissioners sever
ally in succession at the ball, beginning with Lord
Gambier, who was the most distinguished for ame
nity and benevolence of character, and saying:
" You perceive, my Lord, that our Government has
published our dispatches, and that now the whole
world knows what we are doing here." " Yes," re
plied his Lordship, " I have seen it with infinite sur
prise, and the proceeding is without example in the
civilized world." To which Mr. Clay mildly re
joined : " Why, my Lord, you must recollect that,
at the time of the publication of those dispatches,
our Government had every reason to suppose, from
18
Life of Henry Clay.
the nature of the pretensions and demands, which
yours brought forward, that our negotiation would
not terminate successfully, and that the publication
would not find us here together. I am quite sure,
that if our Government had anticipated the present
favorable aspect of our deliberations, the publica
tion of the dispatches would not have been ordered.
Then, your Lordship must also recollect, that if, as
you truly asserted, the publication of dispatches
pending a negotiation is not according to the cus
tom of European diplomacy, our Government itself
iB organized upon principles totally different from
those on which European Governments are consti
tuted. With us, the business in which we were here
engaged, is the people's business. We are their
servants, and they have a right to know how their
business is going on. The publication, therefore,
was to give the people information of what intimate
ly affected them."
Lord Gambler did not appear to be satisfied with
this explanation, although he was silenced by it.
Mr. Clay had a similar interview with the two other
British Commissioners ; and their feelings, in con
sequence of the publication, were marked by the
degree of excitability of their respective characters.
But the fears which were entertained by some of
the American Commissioners were not realized.
The publication was never spoken of in conference,
and the negotiation proceeded to a successful issue
as if it had not happened.
Between the American Commissioners, in the con
duct of the negotiation at Ghent, no serious difficul
ty arose, except on one point, and that related to the
subject of the Fisheries and navigation of the Mis
sissippi. By the third article of the definitive Treaty
of peace with Great Britain concluded in Septem
ber, 1783, certain rights of fishing, and of drying and
curing fish within the limits of British jurisdiction,
and upon British soil, were secured to the citizens
of the United States. And by the eighth article of
the same Treaty, it was stipulated that the right to
the navigation of the River Mississippi, from its
source to the Ocean, should remain for ever free and
open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citi
zens of the United States. The same mutual right
of navigation was recognized by Mr. Jay's treaty of
1794. When the American Commissioners were in con
sultation as to the project of a treaty to be presented
to the consideration of the British Commissioners,
it was proposed that an article should be inserted
renewing those rights of taking and curing and dry
ing fish, and of the navigation of the Mississippi.
To such a proposal, Mr. Clay was decidedly op
posed, and Mr. Russell concurred with him. The
other three Commissioners were for making the pro
posal. The argument on that question was long/
earnest and ardent. Mr. Clay contended, that the
right of catching fish in the open seas and bays, be
ing incontestible, the privilege of taking them and
curing and drying them within the exclusive juris
diction of Great Britain was of little or no impor
tance, especially as it was limited to the time that
the British Territory should remain unsettled. With
respect to the navigation of the Mississippi, he con
tended, that at the dates both of the definitive Treaty
of peace of 1783, and of Mr. Jay's Treaty of 1794,
Spain owned the whole of the right bank of the
Mississippi, in all its extent, and both banks of it
from the Mexican Gulf up to the boundary of the
United States. That at both those periods, it was
supposed that the British Dominions touched on the
Upper Mississippi, but it was now known that they
did not border at all on that river. That now the
whole Mississippi, from its uppermost source to the
gulf, was incontestibly within the limits of the
United States. He could not, therefore, conceive
the propriety of stipulating with Great Britain for a.
mutual right to the navigation of that river. It was
the largest river in the United States; so large as to
have acquired the denomination of the Father of
rivers. Why select it from among all the rivers of
the United States, and subject it to a foreign vaBsal-
age ? Why do that in respect to the Mississippi
which would not be tolerated as respects the North
River, the James, or the Potomac 1 What would
Great Britain herself think if a proposal were made
that the citizens of the United States and the sub
jects of Great Britain should have a mutual riglrs
to navigate the Thames ? To make the proposed
concession, was to admit of a British partnership
with the United States in the sovereignty of the.
Mississippi, so far as its navigation was concerned.
Then there might be a doubt and a dispute whether
the concession did not comprehend the tributaries
as well as the principal stream. If the grant of the
right to navigate the Mississippi was to be regarded
as an equivalent for the concession of the fishing
privileges, Mr. Clay denied that there was any af
finity between the two subjects. They were as dis
tant in their nature as they were remote from each
other in their localities.
On the other side, it was contended that it would
occasion regret and dissatisfaction in the United
States, if any of the fishing privileges, or other pri
vileges, which had been enjoyed before the break
ing out of the War, should not be secured by
the treaty of peace. That those fishing privileges
were very important and dear to a section of the
Union, which had been adverse to the war. That
the British right to the navigation of the Mississippi
was a merely nominal concession, which would not
result in any practical injury to the United States.
That foreigners now enjoyed the right to navigate
all the rivers up to the ports of entry established
upon them, without any prejudice to our interests.
That Great Britain had been entitled to this right of
navigating the Mississippi from the period of the
acquisition of Louisiana to the Declaration of War
in 1812, without any mischief or inconvenience ts
the United States.
To all this, Mr. Clay replied that if we lost the
fishing privileges within the exclusive jurisdiction,
we gained the total exemption of the Mississippi
from this foreign participation with us in the right
to its navigation. That the uncertainty as to the
extent of privileges which the British right to navi
gate the Mississippi comprised, far from recommend
ing the concession to him, formed an additional ob
jection to it. That the period of about eight years
between the acquisition of Louisiana and the Decla
ration of War, was too short for us to ascertain bjr
experience what practical use Great Britain was
capable of making of that right of navigation, which
might be injurious to us. We knew that a greaS
many of the Indian Tribes were situated upon me
Proceedings at Ghent— Mr. Clay at Paris.
sourceB of the Mississippi. The British right to na
vigate that river might bring her in direct contact
with them, and we had sufficient experience of the
pernicious use she might make of those Indians. —
He was as anxious as any of his colleagues to se
cure all the rights of fishing, and curing and drying
fish, which had hitherto been enjoyed; but he could
not consent to purchase of temporary and uncertain
privileges within the British limits, at the expense of
putting a foreign and degrading mark upon the no
blest of all our rivers.
After the argument, which was extended to seve
ral sessions of the consultation meetings of the
American Commissioners, was exhausted, it ap
peared that the same three Commissioners were in
clined to make the proposal. In that stage of the
proceeding, Mr. Clay said, he felt it due to his col
leagues to state to them that he would affix his sig
nature to no Treaty which should make to Great
Britain the contemplated concession. After the an
nouncement of this determination, Mr. Bayard uni
ted with Messrs. Clay and Russell, and then formed
a majority against tendering the proposal — and it
was not made.
But, at a subsequent period of the negotiation,
when the British Commissioners made their propo
sitions for a Treaty, one of the propositions was to
renew the British right to navigate the Mississippi
simply, without including the fishing privileges in
question. On examining this proposal, the Ameri
can Commissioners considered, first, whether they
Bhould accept the proposal with or without condi
tions. All united in agreeing that it ought not to
be unconditionally accepted. But the same three
Commissioners who had been originally in favor of
an article which should include both the Mississippi
and the fishing privileges within the British limits,
appeared to be now in favor of accepting the British
proposal, upon the condition that it should compre
hend those fishing privileges. Mr. Clay did not re
new the expression of his determination to sign no
Treaty which should concede to the British the right
to the navigation of the Mississippi, although he re
mained fixed in that purpose ; for he apprehended
that a repetition of the expression of his determina
tion might be misconceived by his colleagues.
It was accordingly proposed to the British Com
missioners to accept their proposal with the condi
tion just stated. In a subsequent conference be
tween the two commissions, the British declined ac
cepting the proposed conditions, and it was mutually
agreed to leave both subjects out of the Treaty. And
thus, as Mr. Clay wished from the first, the Missis
sippi River became liberated from all British preten
sions of a right to navigate it from the Ocean to its
source. A controversy having arisen between Messrs.
Adams and Russell, about the year 1823, in respect
to some points in the negotiations at Ghent, an em
bittered correspondence took place between those
two gentlemen. In the course of it, Mr. Clay
thought that Mr. Adams had unintentionally fallen
into some errors, which Mr. Clay, in a note ad
dressed to the public, stated he would at some fu
ture day correct. About the year 1828 or 1829, Mr.
Russell, without the previous consent of Mr. Clay,
published a confidential letter addressed by Mr.
Clay to him, in which Mr. C. expresses his condem-
19
nation of Mr. Russell's course in the alteration of
some of his letters, which had been charged and
proved upon him by Mr. Adams. In that same let
ter, Mr. Clay gives his explanation of some of the
transactions at Ghent, respecting which he thought
Mr. Adams was mistaken. The publication of the
confidential letter superseded the necessity of mak
ing the corrections which Mr. C. had intended. In
this letter, Mr. Clay in no instance impugns the mo
tives of Mr. Adams, nor does it contain a line from
which an unfriendly state of feeling on the part of
the writer toward Mr. Adams could be inferred.
Such was Mr. Clay's pride of country that he had
resolved not to go to England until he had heard of
the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent. After the
termination of the negotiations he went to Paris, and
accepted the invitation of Mr. Crawford, our Minis
ter, to take apartments in his hotel. Mr. Clay re
mained in Paris during upward of two months. On
the night of his arrival in that brilliant metropolis,
he found at Mr. Crawford's an invitation to a ball
given by the American banker, Mr. Hottingu*r, on
the occasion of the pacification between the United
States and Great Britain. There he met for the first
time the celebrated Madame de Stael — was intro
duced to her, and had with her a long and animated
conversation. " Ah ! " said she, " Mr. Clay, I have been in Eng
land, and have been battling your cause for you
there." — " I know it, Madame ; we heard of your
powerful interposition, and we are grateful and
thankful for it." — '' They were very much enraged
against you," Baid she : " so much so, that they at
one time thought seriously of sending the Duke
of Wellington to command their Armies against
you ! " — " I am very sorry, Madame," replied Mr.
Clay, " that they did not send his Grace." — " Why 1 "
asked she, surprised. — " Because, Madame, if he had
beaten us, we should only have been in the condition
of Europe, without disgrace. But, if we had been
so fortunate as to defeat him, we should have greatly
added to the renown of our arms."
The next time he met Madame de Stael was at a-
party, at her own house, which was attended hy the
Marshals of France, the Duke of Wellington, and
other distinguished persons. She introduced Mr..
Clay to the Duke, and at the same time related the
above anecdote. He replied, with promptness and
politeness, that if he had been sent on that service,
and had been so fortunate as to have been success
ful over a foe as gallant as the Americans, he would
have regarded it as the proudest feather in his cap.
During his stay in Paris, Mr. Clay heard of the
issue of the Battle of New-Orleans. Now," said'
he to his informant, " I can go to England without'
mortification." But he expressed himself greatly
mortified at the inglorious flight attributed, in the'
Dispatches of the American Genera], to a portion/
of the Kentucky Militia, which Mr. Clay pronouccd
must be a mistake.
Having heard of the ratification of the Treaty of
Ghent, Mr. Clay left Paris for England in March,
1315, just before the arrival of Bnnnparte in the
French Capital. He thus missed the opportunity
of seeing the Great Corsicnn. He would have re
mained in Paris for the purpose, had he supposed
the Empsror would arrive so soon. It was about
this, time that Louis XVIII. left Paris, and took op
20
Life of Henry '
Jais residence in Ghent, near the Hotel which the
American Commissioners had recently occupied.
On his arrival in England, before any of the other
American Commissioners,, Mr. Clay had an inter
view with Lord Castlereagh, who contracted for
him e high esteem, which was frequently mani
fested during his sojourn in England. Lord C.
•offered to present him to the Prince Regent. Mr.
Clay said he would go through the ceremony, if it
'Were deemed necessary or respectful. Lord Castle-
ffeagh said that, having been recognized in his public
¦character by the British Government, it was not
tiecessary, and that he might omit it or not, as he
pleased. Mr. Clay's repugnance to the parade of
Courts prevented his presentation, and he never saw
the Prince. He met, however, with most of the
other members of the Royal Family.
A few days after his interview with Lord Castle
reagh, the keeper of the house at which Mr. Clay
lodged announced a person who wished to speak
with him. Mr. Clay directed him to be admitted ;
and, on his entrance, he perceived an individual,
dressed apparently in great splendor, come forward,
whom he took to be a Peer of the Realm. He rose
and asked his visitor to be seated, but the latter
declined, and observed that he was the First Waiter
¦of my Lord Castlereagh ! " The First Waiter of
any Lord Castlereagh ! " exclaimed Mr. Clay, "well,
•what is your pleasure with me ? " — " Why, if your
Excellency pleases," said the man, " it is usual for
• a Foreign Minister, when presented to Lord Castle
reagh, to make to his First Waiter a present, or pay
Jiim the customary stipend ; " at the same time hand
ing to Mr. Clay a long list of names of Foreign Min
isters, with the sum which every one had paid affixed
vto his name.
Mr. Clay, thinking it a vile extortion, took the
paper, and, while reading it, thought how he should
repel so exceptionable a demand. He returned it
to the servant, telling him that, as it was the custom
of the country, he presumed it was all right • but
that he was not the Minister to England ; Mr. Adams
was the Minister, and was daily expected from Paris,
-and, he had no doubt, would do whatever was right.
"" But," said the servant, very promptly, " if your
* Excellency pleases, it makes no difference whether
'* the Minister presented be the Resident Minister or
¦* a Special Minister, as I understand your Excel-
'* lency to be; — it is always paid." Mr. Clay, who
had come to England to argue with the master, find
ing himself in danger of being beaten in argument
lhy the man, concluded it was best to conform to the
usage, objectionable as he thought it; and, looking
over the paper for the smallest sum paid hy any
v-other Minister, handed the fellow five guineas and
dismissed him.
Mr. Clay was in London when the Battle of
Waterloo was fought, and witnessed the illumi
nations, bonfires and rejoicings to which it gave
rise. For a day or two, it was a matter of great
uncertainty what had become of Napoleon. During
Shis interval of anxious suspense, Mr. Clay dined at
ILord Castlereagh's with the American Ministers,
Messrs. Adams and Gallatin, and the British Minis
try. Bonaparte's flight and probable place of refuge
became the topics of conversation. Among other
conjectures, it was suggested that he might have
aone to the United States ; and Lord Liverpool, ad
dressing Mr. Clay, asked :— " If he goes there, will
he not give you a good deal of trouble?" — "Not
the least, my Lord," replied Mr. Clay, with his
habitual promptitude — " we shall be very glad to
receive him; we would treat him with all hospi
tality, and very soon make of him a good Democrat."
The reply produced a very hearty peal of laughter
from the whole company.
Mr. Clay was received in the British circles, both
of the Ministry and the Opposition, with the most
friendly consideration. The late Sir James Mack
intosh was one of his first acquaintances in Lon
don ; — and of the lamented Sir Samuel Romilly and
his beautiful and accomplished lady, Mr. Clay has
been heard to remark, that they presented one of the
most beautiful examples of a happy man and wife
that he had ever seen. He passed a most agreeable
week with his Ghent friend, Lord Gambier, at Iver
Grove, near Windsor Castle. Of this pious and
excellent nobleman, Mr. Clay has ever retained a
lively and friendly recollection. He visited with
him Windsor Castle, Frogmore Lodge, the residence
of the descendant of William Penn, and saw the
wife of George III. and some of the daughters.
In September, 1815, Mr. Clay returned to his own
country, arriving in New York, which port he had
left in March, 1814. A Public Dinner was given to
him and Mr. Gallatin, soon after their disem
barkation. Every where, on his route homeward
to his adopted State, he was received with con
tinual demonstrations of public gratitude and ap
probation. In Kentucky he was hailed with every
token of affection and respect. The Board of Trus
tees of Lexington waited upon him and presented their
thanks for his eminent services in behalf of his
country. On the seventh of October, the citizens of the same
town gave him a public dinner. In reply to a toast
complimentary to the American negotiators, he
made some brief and eloquent remarks concerning
the circumstances under which the Treaty had been
concluded, and the general condition of the country,
both at the commencement and the close of the war.
At the same festival, in reply to a toast highly com
plimentary to himself, he thanked the company for
their kind and affectionate attention. His reception,
he said, had been more like that of a brother than a
common friend or acquaintance, and he was utterly
incapable of finding words to express his gratitude.
He compared his situation to that of a Swedish gen
tleman, at a festival in England, given by the Soci
ety for the Relief of Foreigners in Distress. A toast
having been given, complimentary to his country, it
was expected that he should address the company
in reply. Not understanding the English language,
he was greatly embarrassed, and said to the Chair
man : " Sir, I wish you, and this Society, to con
sider me a Foreigner in Distress." "So," said
Mr. Clay, evidently much affected, " I wish you to
( consider me a friend in distress."
In anticipation of his return home, Mr. Clay had
been unanimously re-elected a Member of Congress
from the District he formerly represented. Doubts
arising as to the legality of this election, a new one
was ordered, and the result was the same.
On the fourth of December, 1815, the Fourteenth
Congress met, in itB first session. Mr. Clay was
again elected Speaker of the House of Representa-
Discussion of the Treaty — Re-charter of the U. S. Bank.
21
tives, almoEt unanimously — receiving, upon the first
balloting, eighty-seven out of one hundred and twen
ty-two votes cast — thirteen being the highest num
ber given for any one of the five opposing candi
dates. He was, at this time, just recovering from a
serious indisposition, but accepted the office in a
brief and appropriate speech, acknowledging the
honor conferred upon him, and pledging his best ef
forts for the proper discharge of its duties.
Among the important subjects which came up,
that of the new Treaty was, of course, among the
foremost. John Randolph and the Federalists, after
having resisted the War, now took frequent occasion
to sneer at the mode of its termination. On the 29th
of January, 1816, Mr. Clay addressed the Commit
tee of the House most eloquently in reply to these
cavilers.
Mr. Clay resumed his legislative labors in the Nation
al Councils. He has lived to carry out those truly-
great and Statesman-like measures of Protection and
Internal Improvement, which even then began to
gather shape and power in a mind ever active in the
cause of his country. May he live to receive a tes
timonial of that country's gratitude and admiration
in the bestowal upon him of the highest honor in her
gift!
CHAPTER V.
Re-charter of the United States Bank— Mr. Clay's views in 1811.
and 1816— Scene in the House with Randolph— The compen
sation Bill— Canvasses his District— Skirmish with Mr. Pope —
The Old Hunter and his Rifle— The Irish Barber— Repeal of
the Compensation Bill — South American Independence— Inter
nal Improvements— Mr. Clay's Relations with Mr. Madison-
Intention of Madison at one time to appoint him Commander-
in-Chief of the Army— Election of James Monroe— Mr. Clay
., , u c ., t\ , cL carries his Measures in behalf of the South American States —
" I gave a vote, said he, " for the Declaration of •> His Eloquent Appeals-His Efforts Successful— His Speeches
\T — T *-J „11 .U~ ]:*.!.. :„a — 3 »_1 *_ ¦ PAnH ntthp Henri nf the South Americnn Armies — Letterfrorr
' War. I exerted all the little influence and talents
1 1 could command to make the War. The War
' was made. It is terminated. And I declare with
1 perfect sincerity, if it had been permitted to me to
' lift the veil of futurity, and to have foreseen the
' precise scries of events which has occurred, my
' vote would have been unchanged. We had been
' insulted, and outraged, and spoliated upon by al-
' most all Europe — by Great Britain, by France,
' Spain, Denmark, Naples, and, to cap the climax,
' by the little contemptible power of Algiers. We
' had submitted too long and too much. We had
become the scorn of foreign powers, and the deri
sion of our own citizens."
It had been objected by the Opposition that no
provision had been made in the Treaty in regard to
the impressment of our seamen by the British. On
this subject, Mr. Clay said — and his argument is as
conclusive as it is lofty : — " One of the great causes
' of the War and of its continuance was the practice
* of impressment exercised by Great Britain — and
1 if this claim had been admitted by necessary impli-
' cation or express stipulation, the rights of our sea-
* men would have been abandoned ! It is with utter
J astonishment that I hear it has been contended in
* this country that, because our right of exemption
• from the practice had not been expressly secured
* in the Treaty, it was, therefore, given up ! It is
* impossible that such an argument can be advanced
' on this floor. No Member, who regarded his repu-
' tation, would venture to advance such a doctrine !"
In conclusion, Mr. Clay declared, on this occasion
that his policy, in regard to the attitude in which the
country should now be placed, was to preserve the
present force, naval and military — to provide for the
augmentation of the Navy — to fortify the weak and
vulnerable points indicated by experience — to con
struct Military roads and canals — and, in short, " to
COMMERCE THE GREAT WORK OP INTNRNAL IM
PROVEMENT." " I would see," he said, " a chain of turnpike
roads and canals from Passamaquoddy to New-Or
leans ; and other similar roads intersecting moun
tains, to facilitate intercourse between all parts of
the country, and to bind and connect us together. I
WOULD ALSO EFFECTUALLY PROTECT, OUR MANU
FACTORIES. I would afford them protection, not so
much for the sake of the Manufacturers themselves
as for the general interest."
It wa3 in this patriotic spirit, and impelled by this
far-sighted, liberal, and truly American policy, that
Rend at the Head of the South American Armies— Letter froro
Bolivar— and Clay's Reply.
The financial condition of the United States at the
close of the War was extremely depressed. The
currency was deranged — public credit impaired —
and a heavy debt impending. In his message, at the
opening of the Session of 1815-16, President Madi
son stated the condition of public affairs, and indi
cated the establishment of a National Bank and of a
Protective Tariff as the two great measures of relief.
On the eighth of January, 1 816, Mr. Calhoun from
the committee on that part of the President's Mes
sage, relating to the Currency, reported a bill to in
corporate the subscribers to a Bank of the United
States. It will be remembered that Mr. Clay in 1811, while
a member of the Senate, had opposed the re-char-
teiing of the old Bank. His reasons for now advo
cating the bill before the House have been fully and
freely communicated to the public.
When the application was made to renew the old
charter of the Bank of the United States, such an
institution did not appear to him to be so necessary to
the fulfilment of any of the objects specifically enu
merated in the Constitution as to justify Congress ii»
assuming, by construction, power to establish it. It
was supported mainly upon the ground that it was
indispensable to the treasury operations. But the
local institutions in the several States were at that
time in prosperous existence, confided in by
the community, having confidence in one another,
and maintaining an intercourse and connection the
most intimate. Many of them were actually em
ployed by the Treasury to aid that department in a
part of its fiscal arrangements; and they appeared
to him to be fully capable of affording to it all tlie
facility that it ought to desire in all of them. They
superseded in his judgment the necessity of a Na
tional Institution.
But how stood the case in 1816, when he was called
upon again to examine the power of the General
Government to incorporate a National Bank 1 A total
ehange of circumstances was presented. Events ot
the utmost magnitude had intervened. A suspension
of specie payments bad taken place. The currency
of the country was completely vitiated. The Gov
ernment issued paper bearing an interest of six per
cent, which it pledged the faith of the country to re
deem. For this paper, guaranteed by the honor and
faith of the Government, there was obtained for tsv-
22
Life of Henry Clay.
ery one hundred dollars, eighty dollars from those
banks which suspended specie payments. The
experience of the War therefore showed the neces
sity of a Bank. The country could not get along
without it. Mr. Clay had then changed his opinion
on the subject, and he had never attempted to dis
guise the fact. In his position as Speaker of the
House, he might have locked up his opinion in his
own breast. But with that candor and fearlessness
which have ever distinguished him, he had come for
ward, as honest men ought to come forward, and
expressed his change of opinion, at the time
when President Madison and other eminent men
changed their course in relation to the Bank.
The Constitution confers on Congress the power
to coin Money and to regulate the value of Foreign
Coins : and the States are prohibited to coin money,
to emit bills of credit, or to make any thing but gold
or silver coin a tender in payment of debts. The
plain inference was, that the subject of the general
currency was intended to be submitted exclusively
to the General Government. In point of fact, how
ever, the regulation of the General Currency was in
the hands of the State Governments, or, what was the
same thing, of the Banks created by them. Their
paper had every quality of money, except that of
being made a tender, and even this was imparted to
it, by some States, in the law by which a creditor
must receive it, or submit to a ruinous suspension
of the payment of bis debt.
It was incumbent upon Congress to recover the
¦control which it had lost over the General Currency.
The remedy called for was one of caution and mo
deration, but of firmness. Whether a remedy, di
rectly acting upon the Banks and their paper thrown
into circulation, was in the power of the General
¦Government or not, neither Congress nor the com
munity were prepared for the application of such a
iffemedy. An indirect remedy of a milder character seemed
to be furnished by a National Bank. Going into
operation with the powerful aid of the Treasury of
the United States, Mr. Clay believed it would be
highly instrumental in the renewal of specie pay
ments. Coupled with the other measure adopted
hy Congress for that object, he believed the remedy
-effectual. The local Banks must follow the exam
ple, which the National Bank would set them, of re
deeming their notes by the payment of specie, or
.their notes would be discredited and put down.
If the Constitution, then, warranted the establish
ment of a Bank, other considerations, besides those
already mentioned, strongly urged it. The want of
* general medium was everywhere felt. Exchange
varied continually, not only between different parts
of the Union, but between different parts of the same
City. If the paper of a National Bank were not re
deemed in specie, it would be much better than the
•current paper, since though its value, in compari
son with specie, might fluctuate, it would afford an
uniform standard.
During this discussion of 1816, on the Bank Char
ter, a collision arose between Messrs. Clay and Ran
dolph, which produced great sensation for the mo
ment, and which it was apprehended might lead to
.serious consequences. Although Mr. Clay had
nchanged his own opinion in regard to a Bank, he
¦did not feel authorized to seek, in private inter
course, to influence that of others, and observed a
silence and reserve not usual to him, on the subject.
Mr. Randolph commented on this fact, and used
language, which might boar an offensive interpreta
tion. When he was done, Mr. Clay rose with per
fect coolness, but evidently with a firm determina
tion, and adverting to the offensive language, ob
served that it required explanation, and that he
should forbear saying what it became him to say
until he heard the explanation, if any, which tho
Member from Virginia had to make. He sat down.
Mr. Randolph rose and made an explanation. Mr.
Clay again rose, and said that the explanation was
not satisfactory. Whereupon Mr. R. again got up
and disclaimed expressly all intentional offence.
During the transaction of this scene, the most in
tense anxiety and the most perfect stillness perva
ded the House. You might have beard u pin fall
in any part of it.
The bill to re-charter the Bank was discussed for
several weeks in the House. The vote was taken,
on its third reading, on the 14th of March, 1816,
when it was passed : 80 Ayes to 71 Nays : and sent
to the Senate for concurrence. On the 2d of April,
after the bill reported by the Financial Committee
had received a full and thorough discussion, it was
finally passed in that body by a vote of 22 to 12 —
two Members only being absent. The amendments
of the Senate were speedily adopted by the House,
and on the 10th of April the bill became a law, by
the signature of the President. The wisdom of the
supporters of the measure was soon made manifest
in the fact, that the Institution more than realized
the most sanguine hopes of its friends. During the
period of its existence the United States enjoyed a
currency of unexampled purity and uniformity ; and
the bills of the Bank were as acceptable as silver in
every quarter of the Globe. In another part of this
memoir will be found an outline of such a Fiscal
Institution as Mr. Clay would be in favor of, when- ,
ever a majority of the people of the United States
might demand the establishment of a National
Bank. On the 6th of March, 1816, Col. Richard M.John- \N
son, from a Committee appointed for the purpose,
reported a bill changing the mode of compensation
to Members of Congress. The pay of Members at
that time was six dollars a day — an amount which,
from its inadequacy, threatened to place the legis
lation of the country in the hands of the wealthy
Tho new bill gave Members a salary of fifteen hun
dred dollars a year— to the presiding officer twice
that amount. It passed both houses without oppo
sition. Mr. Clay preferred the increase of the daily
compensation to the institution of a salary, but the
mojority were against him, and he acquiesced in "
their decision. ,,
He never canvassed for a seat in the House of
Representatives but on one occasion, and that was
after the passage of this unpalatable bill. It pro
duced very great dissatisfaction throughout the Uni
ted States, and extended to tiie district which he
represented. Mr. Pope, a gentleman of great abili
ties, was his competitor. They had several skir
mishes at popular meetings, with various success -
but having agreed upon a general action, they met
at Higbie, a central place and convenient of access
to tho three counties composing the district. A vast
The Compensation Bill.
multitude assembled; and the rival candidates occu
pied in their addresses the greater part of the day.
Instead of confining himself to a defence of the
Compensation Bill, which he never heartily appro
ved in the form of an annual salary to Members of
Congress, Mr. Clay carried the war into the enemy's
country. He attacked Mr. Pope's vote against the
Declaration of War with Great Britain, dwelt on the
wrongs and injuries which that power had inflicted
on the United States, pointed out his inconsistency
in opposing the War upon the ground of a want of
preparation to prosecute it, and yet having been
willing to declare War against both France and
Great Britain. Thus he put his competitor on the
defensive. The effect of the discussion was power
ful and triumphant on the side of Mr. Clay. From
that day his success was no longer doubtful, nnd,
accordingly, at the election which shortly after on-
sued, he was chosen by a majority of six or seven
-hundred votes.
During the canvass, Mr. Clay encountered an old
hunter, who had always before been his warm friend,
hut was now opposed to his election on account of
the Compensation Bill. " Have you a good rifle, my
friend 7 " asked Mr. Clay. "Yes." "Does it ever
flash!" " Once only," he replied. "What did you
do with it — throw it away ?" " No, I picked the
flint, tried it again, and brought down the game."
*" Have I ever flashed but upon the Compensation
Bill? " " No." " Will you throw me away ? " " No,
no ! " exclaimed the hunter, with enthusiasm, nearly
overpowered by his feelings : " I will pick the flint,
and try you again ! " He was afterward a warm
supporter of Mr. Clay.
This anecdote reminds us of another, which is
illustrative of that trait of boldness and self-posses
sion, in the manifestation of which Mr. Clay has
never been known to fail during his public career.
At the time that he was a candidate for election to the
Legislature of Kentucky in 1803, while passing a
few weeks at the Olympian Springs, a number of
huntsmen, old and young, assembled to hear him
make a " stump speech." When he had finished,
one of the audience, an ancient Nimrod, who had
stood leaning upon his rifle for some time, regarding
the young orator with keen attention, commenced a
¦conversation with him.
" Young man," said he, " you want to go to the
Legislature, I see 1 "
"Why, yes," replied Mr. Clay, "since I have
consented to be a candidate, I would prefer not to
he defeated."
" Are you a good shot ? "
« Try me."
" Very well ; I would like to see a specimen of
jour qualifications for the Legislature. Come : we
must see you shoot."
" But I have no rifle here."
" No matter : here is old Bess ; and she never fails
in the hands of a. marksman ; she has often sent death
through a squirrel's head at one hundred yards, and
daylight through many a red-skin twice that distance;
if you can shoot with any gun, you can shoot with
old Bess."
" Well, well : put up your mark, put up your
mark," said Mr. Clay.
The target was placed at the distance of about
«ighty yards, when, with all the coolness and stead
iness of an experienced marksman, he lifted " old
Bess" to his shoulder, fired, and pierced tho very
centre of the target.
" Oh, a chance shot ! a chance shot ! " exclaimed
several of his political opponents. " He might shoot
all day, and not hit the mark again. Let him try it
over— let him try it over."
" No ; beat that and then I will," retorted Mr. Clay.
But as no one seemed disposed to make the attempt,
it was considered that he had given satisfactory proof
of his superiority as a marksman ; and this felicitous
accident gained him the vote of every hunter in the
assembly. The most remarkable feature in the trans
action remains to be told. " I had never," said Mr.
Clay, " fired a rifle before, and never have since."
It is needless to add that the election resulted in his
favor. An Irish barber, residing in Lexington, had sup
ported Mr. Clay with great zeal at all elections,
when he was a candidate, prior to the passage of
the Compensation Bill. The fellow's unrestrained
passions had frequently involved him in scrapes
and difficulties, on which occasions Mr. Clay
generally defended him and got him out of them.
During the canvass, after the Compensation Bill,
the barber was very reserved, took no part in the
election, and seemed indifferent to its fate. He
was often importuned to state for whom he meant
to vote, but declined. At length, a few days before
the election, he was addressed by Dr. W , a gen
tleman for whom he entertained the highest respect,
and pressed to say to whom he meant to give his
suffrage. Looking at the inquirer with great earn
estness and shrewdness, he said : " I tell you what,
' docthur, I mane to vote for the man that can put
' but one hand into the Treasury." Mr. Pope had
the misfortune to lose, in early life, one of his arms,
and here lay the point of the Irishman's reply.
It is due to the memory of Jeremiah Murphy, the
barber, te state that he repented of his ingratitude to
Mr. Clay, whom he met one day in the streets of
Lexington, and, accosting him, burst into tears, and
told him that he had wronged him ; and that his
poor wife had got round him, crying and reproach
ing him for his conduct, saying : " Do n't you re-
' member, Jerry, when you were in jail, Mr. Clay
' came to you, and made that beast, William B ,
( the jailor, let you out 1 "
Having found that the sentiments of his constitu
ents were decidedly opposed to the Compensation
Bill, Mr. Clay, at the ensuing session, voted for its
repeal. A daily allowance of eight dollars to every
Member was substituted for the salary of fifteen hun
dred dollars.
During the month of February, a bill was intro
duced, setting apart and pledging as a fund for In
ternal Improvement the bonus of the United States'
share of the dividends of the National Bank. As
may be presumed, this measure received the hearty
Bupport of Mr. Clay. Without entering at length
into a discussion of the subject, he expressed a wish
only to say that " He had long thought there were
' no two subjects which could engage the attention
' of the National Legislature, more worthy of its de-
' liberate consideration than those of Internal Im-
' provements and Domestic Manufactures." For
Constitutional reasons, President Madison withheld
M
Life tf Henry Clay.
his signature from this bill, much to the surprise of
his friends.
During the administration of Mr. Madison, Mr.
Clay was, on two separate occasions, offered a seat
in his Cabinet, or the Mission to Russia, by that
distinguished Chief Magistrate. He declined them
both. Mr. Madison appears to have had the highest
estimate of his talents and worth. Indeed, so im
pressed was he with the eminent and versatile abili
ties of Mr. Clay, that he had selected him, at the
commencement of the War, to be Commander in
Chief of the Army. The nomination was not made,
solely because Mr. Clay could not be spared from
Congress, where his powerful mind and paramount
influence enabled him to render services superior to
any that could have been rendered in any other po
sition. On the fourth of March, 1817, James Monroe took
the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and entered
upon the duties of the Presidency of the United
States. The first session of the Fifteenth Congress
commenced the ensuing December. Mr. Clay was
again chosen Speaker.
It would be impossible in the brief space we have
allotted to ourselves to present even a brief abstract
of his remarks upon the many important topics which
now claimed the attention of Congress. We must
content ourselves with a succinct account of the
leading measures with which his name and bis fame
have become identified.
i In his Bpeech on the state of the Union in January,
1816, he had expressed his sympathies in behalf of
the South American Colonists, who were then strug
gling to throw off the yoke of the Mother Country.
The Supreme Congress of the Mexican Republic
afterwards voted him their thanks " for the disinter-
* estcd, manly and generous sentiments he expressed
1 on the floor of the House for the welfare of the In-
' fant Republic."
In the debate on the proposition to reduce the Di
rect Taxation of the Country, he had alluded to the
existing peaceful condition of the United States, and
had hinted the possibility of hostilities with Spain.
He had heard that the Minister of that Nation had
demanded the surrender of a portion of our soil — that
part of Florida lying west of the Perdido. Without
speaking of it as it deserved — of the impudence of
such a demand — he alluded to it as indicative of the
disposition of the Spanish Government. " Besides,"
said he, " who can tell with certainty how far it may
' be proper to aid the people of South America in the
' establishment of their Independence 1 " The sub
ject, he avowed, had made a deep impression on his
mind ; and he was not in favor of exhausting, by di
rect taxes, the country of those funds which might
be needed to vindicate its rights at home, or, if ne
cessary, to aid the cause of Liberty in South Ame
rica. These remarks aroused all the spleen of Mr. Ran
dolph. " As for South America," said he, in his re
ply to Mr. Clay, " I am not going a-tilting for the
1 liberties of her People ; they came not to our aid ;
* let us mind our own business, and not tax our Peo-
• pie for the liberties of the People of Spanish Ame-
* rica." He went on to ridicule the notion that the
People of Caraccas and Mexico were capable either
of enjoying or of understanding liberty and insinu-
tted that Mr. Clay was influenced by a desire of
conquest. " The honorable gentleman," he said?
" had been sent on a late occasion to Europe ; he
' had been near the field of Waterloo, and, he feared,
' had snuffed the carnage and caught the infection."
" What ! " said he, " increase our Standing Army in
1 time of peace, on the suggestion that we are to go
' on acrusade to South America 1 " Mr. Clay inti
mated that he had advocated no such measure. —
" Do I not understand the gentleman 1 " said Mr.
Randolph ; " I am sorry I do not ; I labor under two
' great misfortunes — one is that I can never under-
' stand the honorable Speaker — the other is that he
' can never understand me : on such terms, an argu-
( ment can never be maintained between us, and I
' shall, therefore, put an end to it." Mr. Clay sim
ply expressed his surprise that he could so have
misunderstood his remarks, and deferred the general
argument to another occasion.
Soon after, on a proposition'to " prevent our citi
zens from selling vessels of war to a foreign power,"
Mr. Clay opposed the bill, on account of its evident
bearing upon the question of South American Inde
pendence ; it would every where be understood as a
law framed expressly to prevent the offer of the
slightest aid to these Republics by our citizens. —
" With respect to the nature of their struggle," he
said, " I have not now, for the first time, to express
' my opinion and wishes. I wish them Independ-
' ence. It is the first step towards improving their
4 condition." During the summer of 1816, the President had ap
pointed Messrs. Rodney, Graham and Bland, Com
missioners to proceed to South America, to ascertain
the condition of the country. In March, 1818, the
Appropriation Bill being before the House, Mr. Clay
objected to the clause appropriating $30,000 for their
compensation, as unconstitutional. He then offered
an amendment, appropriating eighteen thousand
dollars as the outfit and one year's salary of a Min
ister, to be deputed from the United States to the
Independent Provinces of the River La Plata, in
South America. The amendment was lost ; but Mr.
Clay's speech in support of it was one of his most
memorable efforts. Both Congress and the Presi
dent were opposed to any recognition of the Inde
pendence of the South American Colonists. In
rising to promulgate views hostile to theirs, Mr.
Clay said that, much as he valued those friends, in
and out of the House, from whom he differed, he
could not hesitate when reduced to the distressing
alternative of conforming his judgment to theirs, or
pursuing the deliberate and matured dictates of his
own mind.
He maintained that an oppressed People were au
thorized, whenever they could, to rise and break
their fetters. This was the great principle of the
English Revolution. It was the great principle of
our own. Vattel, if authority were wanting, ex
pressly supports this right.
Mr. Clay said he was no propagandist. He would
not seek to force upon other nations our principles
and our liberty, if they did not want them. He
would not disturb the repose even of a detestable
despotism. But, if an abused and oppressed People
willed their freedom ; if they sought to establish it ;
if, in truth, they had established it, we had a right,
as a sovereign power, to notice the fact, and to act
as circumstances and our interest required.
South American Independence
95
The Opposition had argued that the People of
Spanish America were too ignorant and supersti
tious to appreciate and conduct an independent and
free system of Government. We believe it is Mac-
aulay, who says of this plea of ignorance as an ar
gument against emancipation, that with just as
much propriety might you argue against a person's
going into the water until he knew how to swim. —
Mr. Clay denied the alleged fact of the ignorance of
the Colonists.
With regard to their superstition, he said : " They
' worshipped the same God with us. Their prayers
' were offered up in their temples to the same Re-
* deemer, whose intercession we expected to save us.
* Nor was there anything in the Catholic religion
¦ unfavorable to freedom. All religions united with
' government were more or leBs inimical to liberty.
' All separated from government were compatible
' with liberty."
Having shown that the cause of the South Amer
ican patriots was just, Mr. Clay proceeded to inquire
what course of policy it became us to adopt. He
maintained that a recognition of their independence
was compatible with perfect neutrality and with the
most pacific relations toward old Spain. Recogni
tion alone, without aid, was no just cause of war.
With aid, it was ; not because of the recognition, but
because of the aid, as aid, without recognition, was
cause of war.
After demonstrating that the United States were
bound, on their own principles, to acknowledge the
Independence of the United Provinces of the river
Plate, he alluded to the improbability that any of
the European Monarchies would set the example of
recognition. " Are we not bound," he asked, " upon
' our own principles, to acknowledge this new repub-
' lie i. If WE do not, who will ? "
The simple words, "who will?" are said, by an
intelligent observer, who was present, to have been
uttered in a tone of such thrilling pathos as to sfj)
the deepest sensibilities of the audience. It is by
such apparently_jhnpje.apneala4ljat Mr.^CJlayTwtTh
the aid ofhis exquisitely modulated voice, often pro
duces the-most'powei-ful and lasting effects.
We-'shall" not attempt to present a summary of
this magnificent address. " No abstract," says one
who heard it, " can furnish an adequate idea of a
' speech, which, as an example of argumentative ora-
' tory, may be safely tried by the test of the most ap-
' proved models of any age or country. Rich in all
' the learning connected with the subject ; method-
' ized in an order which kept that subject constantly
' before the hearer, and enabled the meanest capac-
' ity to follow the speaker without effort, through a
' long series of topics, principal and subsidiary ; at
• once breathing sentiments of generous philanthropy
' and teaching lessons of wisdom; presenting a va-
' riety of illustrations which strengthened the doc-
' trines that they embellished ; and uttering prophe-
' cies, on which, though rejected by the infidelity of
' the day, time has stamped the Beal of truth : this
'speech will descend to the latest posterity and re-
'main embalmed in the praises of mankind, long
' after the tumults of military ambition and the plots
' of political profligacy have passed into oblivion."
After repeated efforts and repeated failures to car
ry his generous measures in behalf of South Amer
ican Liberty, Mr. Clay, on the tenth of February
1821, submitted for consideration a resolution de
claring that the House of Representatives participa
ted with the people of the United States, in the deep
interest which they felt for the success of the Span
ish Provinces of South America, which were strug
gling to establish their liberty and independence;
and that it would give its constitutional support to
the President of the United Slates, whenever he
might deem it expedient to recognize the sovereign
ty and independence of those Provinces.
On this resolution, a debate of nearly four hours
ensued, in which Mr. Clay sustained the principal
part. Only twelve Members voted against the first
clause of it; and on the second, the votes were
eighty-seven for, and sixty-eight against it. The
question was then taken on the resolution as a whole,
and carried in the affirmative ; and Mr. Clay imme
diately moved that a Committee of two Members
should be appointed, to present it to President Mon
roe. Although such a course was not very usual,
a Committee was accordingly ordered, and Mr. Clay
was appointed its Chairman. It was agreat triumph.
He had been long and ardently engaged in the cause,
and, during a greater part of the time, opposed by
the whole weight of Mr. Monroe's administration.
And when he was appointed Chairman of the Com
mittee, to present the resolution, Mr. Monroe's friends
regarded it as a personal insult, and Mr. Nelson, of
Virgina, one of the warmest of them, rehired from the
Capitol, after the adjournment of the House, de
nouncing the act in the loudest tones of his remark
able voice, on his way down the Pennsylvania Ave
nue, as an unprecedented indignity to the Chief Ma
gistrate. On the 8th day of March, 1822, the President sent
a Message to the House of Representatives, recom
mending the recognition of South American Inde
pendence. The recommendation v/aB referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations, which, on tho
19th of the same month, reported in favor of the
recommendation, and of an appropriation to carry it
into effect. The vote of recognition was finally
passed on the 28th, with but a single dissenting voice.
Such is a brief sketch of Mr. Clay's magnani-
moua efforts in beh'all 3 """ltf? .flmer'cnn Indepen .
dence^ His zeal in the cause was unalloyed by one
selfish impulse or one personal aim. He could hope
to gain no political capital by his course. He ap
pealed to no sectional interest ; sustained no party
policy ; labored for no wealthy client ; secured the
influence of no man, or set of men, in his champion
ship of a remote, unfriended and powerless people.
Congress and the President were vehemently op
posed to his proposition. But in ..the_faceLQf. dis
comfiture, heperseyered till he succeeded in making
convertejLhis^_ojorwnenfs7"aiirt~-in efffeetiHg'the
trTunrp^of.his-measure! ATmost smgle=hBtldea7*he
sustained it through discouragement and hostility,
till it was crowned with success.
The effect ofhis spirit-stirring appeals in cheering
the patriots of South America, was most gratifying
and decided. His memorable plea of March, 1818,
was, as one ofhis most embittered adversaries has
told us, read at the head of the South American Ar
mies, to exalt their enthusiasm in battle, and quick
en tho consummation of their triumphs.
The following letter from Bolivar, with Mr. Clay's
reply, belongs to this period ofhis history :
Life vf Henry Clay.
. Bogota, 31st November, 1827.
"Sir: I cannot omit availing myself of the op
portunity offers d me by the departure of Col. Watts,
Charge d'Affaires of the United States, of taking the
liberty of addressing your Excellency. This de
sire has long been entertained by me for the purpose
of expressing my admiration of your Excellency's
brilliant talents and ardent love of liberty. All
America, Columbia, andnivself owe your Excel
lency oui~TTffresir'gratitude for the incomparable
services yoit-have-rendefedjo us,, by sustaining our
course with a sublime enthusiasm. Accept, there-
Xore, this sincere— and"Cordial testimony, which
¦I hasten to offer to your excellency, and to the Go
vernment of the United States, who have so greatly
contributed to the emancipation of your Southern
brethren. " I have the honor to offer to your Excellency my
distinguished consideration.
" Your Excellency's obedient servant,
"BOLIVAR."
The following is a characteristic extract from Mr.
Clay's Reply : " Washington, 27th October, 1828.
" Sir : It is very gratifying to me to be assured
directly by your Excellency, that the course which
the Government of the United States took on this
memorable occasion, and my humble efforts, have
excited the gratitude and commanded the approba
tion of your Excellency. I am persuaded that I do
not misinterpret the feelings of the people of the
United States, as 1 certainly express my own, in
saying, that the interest which was inspired in this
country by the arduous struggles of South Ameri
ca, arose principally from the hope, that, along with
its Independence,would be established Free Institu
tions, insuring all the blessings of Civil Liberty.
To the accomplishment of that object we still anx
iously look. We are aware that great difficulties
oppose it, among which, not the least, is that which
arises out of the existence of a large military force,
raised for the purpose of resisting the power of
Spain. Standing armies, organized with the most
patriotic intentions, are dangerous instruments. —
They devour the substance, debauch the morals,
and too often destroy the liberties of the people.
nothing can be more perilous or unwise than to re
tain them after the necessity has ceased; which led
to their formation, especially if their numbers are
disproportionate to the revenues of the Stnte.
"But, notwithstanding all these difficulties, we
had fondly cherished, and still indulge the hope,
that South America would add a new triumph to
the cause of Human Liberty ; and, that Providence
would blesa her, as He had her Northern sister, with
the genius of some great and virtuous man, to con
duct her securely through all her trials. We had
even flattered ourselves, that we beheld that genius
in your excellency. But I should bo unworthy of
the consideration with which your Excellency
honors me, and deviate from the frankness which I
have ever endeavored to practice, if I did not, on
this occasion, state, that ambitious designs have
been attributed by your enemies to your Excellency
which have created in my mind great solicitude.
They have cited late events in Colombia as proofs
of these designs. But slow in the withdrawal of
confidence, which I have once given, I have been
most unwilling to credit the unfavorable ac
counts which have from time to time reached me.
I cannot allow myself to believe, that your Excel
lency will abandon the bright and glorious path
which lies plainly before you, for the bloody road
passing over the liberties of the human race, on
which the vulgar crowds of tyrants and military
despots have to often trodden. I will not doubt,
that your Excellency will, in due time, render a
satisfactory explanation to Colombia and the world,
of tho parts of your public conduct which have ex
cited any distrust ; and that, preferring the true
glorv of our immortal Washington to the ignoble
fame of the destroyers of Liberty, you have formed
the patriotic resolution of ultimately placing the
freedom of Colombia upon a firm and sure foun
dation. That your efforts to that end may be
crowned with complete success, I most fervently
pray. " I request that your Exellency will accept assu
rances of my sincere wishes for your happiness and
prosperity. H. CLAY."
The disinterestedness of Mr. Clay's motives, in his
course toward the South American Republics, was
forcibly displayed in his frank and open appeal to
Bolivar. Had his object been to acquire influence
and popularity among the people of those countries,
he would hardly have addressed such plain re
proaches and unpalatable truths to a Chief who was
all powerful with them at the time. But in a cause
where the freedom of any portion of mankind was
implicated, Mr. Clay was never known to hesitate,
to reckon his own interests, or to weigh the conse
quences to himself from an avowal of his own
opinions. On all subjects, indeed, he is far above
disguise ; and though he may sometimes incur the
charge of indiscretion by his uncalculating candor
and fearless translucency of sentiment, the trait is
one which claims for him our affection and confi
dence. Independent in his opinions as in his actions,
no suggestion of self-interest could ever interpose an
obstacle to the bold and magnanimous utterance of
the former, or to the conscientious discharge of the
latter.
CHAPTER VI.
Internal Improvement— Mr. Monroe's Constitutional Objec
tions—Mr. Clay replies to them— Congress adopts his Princi
ples—The Cumberland Road— Anecdote— Monument— Dis
cussion of General Jackson's conduct in the Seminole Cam
paign—Mr. Clay's Opinions of that Chieftain in 181*— A
Prophetic Glimpse— Mr. Adams and General Jackson— The
Father of the American System— Bill to regulate Duties,
^-&c. — Mr. Clay's Speech in behalf of the Protective Policy—
•His Great Speech of 1824— Passage of the Tariff Bill— Results
of his Policy— Voice of the Country— His unremitted Exet
tions— Randolph's Sarcasms— Anecdote.
We have seen that from an early period Mr. Clay
waB an advocate of the doctrine of Internal Improve
ment. His Speech in Congress in 1806 had been in
vindication of the policy authorizing the erection of
a bridge across the Potomac River. In the passages
we have quoted from his Speech of January, 1816,
he declared himself in favor not only of a system of
International Improvement, but of Protection to our
Manufactures. It will be remembered that the bill appropriating
for purposes of Internal Improvement the bonus
which was to be paid by the Bank of the United
Stales to the General Government, after having
been passed by Congress, had been returned by
President Madison without his signature, in conse
quence of Constitutional objections to the bill. Mr.
Clay bad been much surprised at this act ; for Mr.
Madison, in one of his Messages, had said : — " I
' particularly invite again the attention of Congress
' to the expediency of exercising their existing
' powers, and, where necessnry, of resorting to the
' prescribed mode of enlarging- them, in order to
' effectuate u comprehensive system of Roads and
' Canals, such as will have the effect of drawing
' more closely together every part of our Country,
i by promoting intercourse and improvements, and
Internal Improvements — Remarks on Gen. Jackson's Conduct in Florida.
27
' by increasing the share of every part in the com-
' mon stock of national prosperity."
Mr. Monroe, in anticipation of the action of Con
gress, had expressed an opinion in his Message
opposed to the right of Congress to establish a
system of International Improvement. Mr. Jeffer
son's authority was also cited to show that, under
the Constitution, Roads and Canals could not be
constructed by the General Government without
the consent of the State or States through which
they were to pass. Thus three successive Presi-
'dentB had opposed the proposition.
Against this weight of precedent, Mr. Clay un
dertook to persuade Congress of their power under
the Constitution to appropriate money for the con
struction of Military Roads, Post Roads and Canals.
A Resolution, embodying a clause to this effect, came
before the House in March, 1818 ; and he lent to it
his unremitting advocacy.
In regard to the Constitutionality of the proposed
measure, he contended that the power to construct
Post Roads is expressly granted in the power to
establish Post Roads. With respect to Military
Roads, the concession that they might be made
when called for by the emergency, was admitting
that the Constitution conveyed the power. " And
' we may safely appeal," said Mr. Clay, " to the
'judgment of the candid and enlightened to decide
' between the wisdom of those two constructions,
' of which one requires you to wait for the exercise
' of your power until the arrival of an emergency
' which may not allow you to exert it ; and the
'other, without denying you the power, if you can
' exercise it during the emergency, claims the right
• of providing beforehand against the emergency.'
Mr. Clay's motion, recognizing in Congress the
Constitutional power to make appropriations for
Internal Improvements, was finally carried by a
vote of 90 to 75. The victory was a most signal
one, obtained, as it was, over the transmitted preju
dices of two previous Administrations, and the
active opposition of the one in power.
From that period to his final retirement from the
Senate he was the ever-vigilant and persevering
advocate of Internal Improvements. He was the
father of the System, and has ever been its most
efficient upholder. On the 16th of January, 1824,
lie addressed the House upon a bill authorizing the
President to effect certain surveys and estimates of
Roads and Canals.
The opponents of the system, including President
Monroe, had claimed that, in respect to, post-roads,
the General Government had no other authority than
to use such as had been previously established by
the States. They asserted that to repair such roads
was not within the Constitutional power of Govern
ment. Mr. Monroe gave his direct sanction to this
doctrine, maintaining that the States were at full
liberty to alter, and of course to shut up, post-roads
at pleasure.
" Is it possible," asked Mr. Clay, " that this con-
' struction of the Constitution can be correct — a
'construction which allows a law of the United
' States, enacted for the good of the whole, to be ob-
' structed or defeated in its operation by a County
' Court in anv one of the twenty-four Sovereign-
'tiesl" To Mr. Clay's strenuous and persevering exertions
for the continuance of the great Cumberland Road
across the Alleghanies, the records of Congress will
bear ample and constantly recurring testimony. Ho
himself has said : — " We have had to beg, entreat,
' supplicate you, session after session, to grant the
' necessary appropriations to complete the Road. I
' have myself toiled until my powers have been ex
' hausted and prostrated, to prevail on you to make
( the grant." His courageous efforts were at length
rewarded ; and to him we are indebted for the most
magnificen t road in the United States.
At a dinner given to him a few years since by the
mechanics of Wheeling, Mr. Clay spoke warmly,
and with something like a parental feeling, of this
Road — expressing a wish that it might be retained,
improved and extended by the Nation. He illustra
ted its importance by observing that, before it was
made, he and his family had expended a whole day
of toilsome and fatiguing travel to pass the distance
of about nine miles, from Uniontown to Freeman's,
on the summit of Laurel Hill ; adding that eighty
miles over that and other mountains were now made
in one day by the public stage. He said that the
Road was the only comfortable pass across the
mountains, and that he would not consent to give it
up to the keeping of the States through which it
happened to run. The People ot nine States might
thus be interfered with in their communication with
the rest of the Union.
The country has not been wholly unmindful of
Mr. Clay's pre-eminent services in behalf of this be
neficent measure. On the Cumberland Road stands
a Monument of stone, surmounted by the Genius of
Liberty, and bearing as an inscription the name of
" Henry Clay."
During the second session of the Fifteenth Con
gress, in January, 1819, the subject of Gen. Andrew
Jackson's conduct in his celebrated Florida cam
paign came up for discussion. That Chieftain, after
subjecting the vanquished Indians to conditions the
most cruel and impracticable, had hung two prison
ers of war, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, and concluded
his series of outrages by lawlessly seizing the Spa
nish posts of St. Marks and Pensacola.
Committees of the Senate and of the House made
reports reprobatory of his conduct ; and resolutions
were presented, containing four propositions. The
first asserted the disapprobation of the House ef the
proceedings in the trial and execution of Arbuthnot
and Ambrister. The second contemplated the pas
sage of a law to prevent the execution hereafter of
any captive taken by the Army, without the appro
bation of the President. The third proposition was
expressive of the disapproval of the forcible seizure
of the Spanish posts, as contrary to orders, and in
violation of the Constitution. The fourth proposi
tion was that a law should pass to prohibit the march
of the Army of the United States, or any corps of it,
into any foreign territory, without the previous au
thorization of Congress, except it were in fresh pur
suit of a defeated enemy.
We will not attempt an abstract of Mr. Clay's elo
quent and argumentative Speech* in support of
these propositions. Far less disposed are we to re-
* See the " Life and Speeches of Henry Clay. Two vols. 8vo.
With Engravings. New- York : Greeley & McElratb, Tribune
Buildings." These two capacious volumes are afforded at Onl
Dollar— a miracle of cheapness
29
Life of Henry Clay.
peat the discreditable history of the wrongs and usur
pations perpetrated by Gen. Jackson. It may be
proper to state, however, that Mr. Clay, grateful for
the public services of the General, treated him with
a forbearance and kindness which rendered the sin
cerity of his animadversions the more obvious. —
" With respect to the purity of his intentions," said
Mr. Clay, " I am disposed to allow it in the most ex-
' tensive degree. Of his acts it is my duty to speak
1 with the freedom which belongs to my station."
The Speaker then proceeded to expose, in a most
forcible point of view, the dangerous and arbitrary
character of those acts, and the Constitutional vio
lations of which Gen. Jackson had been guilty. —
There are many passages in this speech which, when
we regard them in connection with the subsequent
Presidential usurpations of the same Military Chief
tain, seem truly like prophetic glimpses. Take, for
example, the concluding paragraph :
" Gentlemen may bear down all opposition ; they
may even vote the General the public thanks ¦ they
may carry him triumphantly through this House.
But, if they do, in my humble judgment it will be a
triumph of the principle of insubordination — a tri
umph of the Military over the Civil authority — a tri
umph over the powers of this House — a triumph
over the Constitution of the land. And I pray most
devoutly to Heaven that it may not prove, in its ul
timate effects, a triumph over the liberties of the
People." Even at that distant day, Mr. Clay saw in the con
duct of General Jackson the indications of that im
perious will — of that spirit of insubordination —
which, dangerous as they were in a Military Com
mander, were not less pernicious and alarming in a
Civil Chief Magistrate. With his keen, instinctive
faculty of penetration, he discovered the despotic
and impulsive character of the man. Every page of
his speech on the Seminole campaign furnishes ev
idence of this fact.
How, then, when the question was presented to
him of deciding between the qualifications of John
Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson for the Presi
dency of the United States — how could Henry Clay,
as a consistent and honorable man, hesitate for a
moment in his choice ? And yet an amount of oblo
quy and vituperation, such as never before was
heaped upon a public servant, has been lavished on
him because ofhis refusing to vote for General Jack
son on that occasion ! Had he done so, he would
have been false to his past professions and convic
tions — false to conscience, to patriotism, and the
plainest dictates of duty.
The resolutions of censure, being strenuously op
posed by Mr. Monroe and his cabinet, were lost in
the House by a small majority. The dispassionate
judgment of posterity will inevitably accord with
the views so eloquently expressed by Mr. Clay in
regard to General Jackson's conduct in Florida.
Wc come now to one of the most important epochs
in Mr. Clay's public history. In the opinion of a
large portion of the people of the United States, it
is to his long-continued, arduous and triumphant
efforts in the cause of Protection to American Indus
try and skill, that he will be indebted for his
highest and most enduring fame. We have seen
that as far back as 1810, he laid the foundation-stone
of that great and beneficent American System, of
which he waB the originator and the architect.
To specify and describe all his labors in the es
tablishment and advancement of his noble policy,
from that time to the period of his retirement from
the Senate, would alone fill more space than wc can
give to his whole life. The journals of Congress
and the political newspapers of the country for the
last thirty years will be found to be occupied to no
inconsiderable extent with the record of his effort!
and arguments and untiring appeals. We can pre
sent but a very imperfect outline of his' glorious
though peaceful achievements in the cause of human
industry, labor and prosperity.
On the twelfth of March, 1816, Mr. Lowndes, of
South Carolina, from tho Committee of Ways and
Means, introduced before the House a bill " to Reg-
ulate the Duties on Imports and Tonnage, &c." The
bill was avowedly favorable to a Tariff of Pro
tection ; and, strange as the record may seem, on«
of its most ardent supporters was John C. Calhoun.
The whole question was debated with reference to
the Protective policy. It was thoroughly discussed
in Committee of the Whole ; and, through the exer
tions of Mr. Clay, a higher duty was adopted for the
important article of woolens. The amendment, how
ever, was unfortunately lost in the House ; but the
bill, such as it was, was passed.
In the spring of 1820, the subject of a Tariff again
came before Congress ; and Mr. Clay made a most
interesting and impressive speech in favor of Pro
tective Duties. " I frankly own," said he on this
occasion, " that I feel great solicitude for the success
of this bill. The entire independence of my country'
on all foreign States, as it respects a supply of
our essential wants, has ever been with me a favor-*
ite object. The War of our Revolution effected our
political emancipation. The Last War contributed
greatly towards accomplishing our commercial free
dom. But our complete independence will only be
consummated after the policy of this bill shall be
recognized and adopted. We have indeed great
difficulties to contend with; old habits — colonial
usages — the enormous profits of a foreign trade,
prosecuted under favorable circumstances, which no
longer continue. I will not despair. The cause, I
verily believe, is the cause of the country. It may
be postponed ; it may be frustrated for the moment,
but it finally must prevail." And it was postponed }
it was frustrated for the moment; but it finally did
prevail. The Tariff was remodelled by the House, but theil
bill was rejected by the Senate.
In 1823, the health of Mr. Clay was very poor— so
much so, that his life was despaired of both by his
friends and himself. He had attended the Olympian
Springs in Kentucky, in the summer, had been
placed under a strict regimen and subjected to a long
course of medicine. In spite of. all remedies he
felt a gradual decline, and looked forward to a speedy
dissolution. In November he was to start for Wash
ington, and fully anticipated that, after reaching
that city, if he reached it at all, he should be obliged
to hasten to the South as a last resort. He procured
a small travelling carriage and a saddle-horse-
threw aside all the prescriptions of the physician,
and commenced his journey. Daily he walked on
foot, drove in his carriage and rode on horseback.
He arrived at Washington quite well, was elected
Speaker, and went through more labor than he ever
Results of the American System.
29
performed in the same Session, excepting, perhaps,
the Extra Session of 1841.
The condition of the country in 1824 was far from
prosperous. The amount of our exports had dimin
ished to an alarming degree, while our imports of
foreign goods had greatly increased. The country !
,was thus drained of its Currency ; and its Commerce :
:»vas crippled. Nor was there any home-market for
the staple productions of our soil. Both cotton-
planters and wool growers shared in the general
prostration ; and even the Farmer had to sell his
produce at a loss, or keep it on hand till it was
ruined. Labor could with difficulty find employ
ment ; and its wages were hardly Sufficient to sup
ply tho bare necessities of life. Money could only
be procured at enormous sacrifices. Distress and
pankruptcy pervaded every class of the commu
nity.
i In January, 1824, a Tariff Bill was reported by
^he Committee on Manufactures of the House : and
jin March following, Mr. Clay made his great and
prer memorable Speech in the House, in support of
American Industry. Many of our readers will vividly
femember the deplorable state of the country at
sthat time. It is impressively portrayed in his ex
ordium on this occasion.
The cause of the wide-spread distress, which ex
isted, he maintained was to be found in the fact that,
luring almost the whole existence of this Govern
ment, we had shaped our industry, our navigation
ind our commerce in reference to an extraordinary
taarket in Europe, and to foreign markets, which
:io longer existed ; in the fact that we had depended
too much upon foreign sources of supply, and ex
cited too little the native.
On this occasion, Mr. Webster, whose views upon
fhe subject afterwards underwent an entire change,
ppposed the bill with the whole powerful weight
af his talents and legal profundity. Mr. Clay took
up one by one the objections of the opposition, la
boriously examined and confuted them. ^For speci
mens of pure and strongly-linked argument, the aii-
,ials of Congress exhibit no speech superior to that
.if March, 1824. In arnplitude and variety of facts,
,n force and earnestness of languageTratTcogency
jf appeal tothe reason and patriotism of Congress
And thVpeople, it has been rarelyequalled. It would
lave been surprising indeed, if, notwithstanding the
itrongly arrayed opposition, such a speech had
ailed in overcoiping it. Experience haa_amply
iroved the validity and justice"or us arguments. Its
jfUphixies Have been all luliilleiT
' The Tariff Bill fuiallj paJPea the House, the
6th of April, 1824, by a vote of 107 to 102. It soon
fterwards became a law.
We will leave it to Mr. Clay himself to describe
le results of his policy, eight years after it had been
dopted as the policy of the country. After recall-
lg the gloomy picture he had presented in 1824, he
aid : " I have now to perform the more pleasing
task of exhibiting an imperfect sketch of the exist
ing state— of the unparalleled prosperity of the
country. On a general survey, we behold cultiva
tion extending, the arts flourishing, the face of the
country improved, our people fully and profitably
employed, and the public countenance exhibiting
tranquility, contentment and happiness. And, if we
descend into particulars we have the agreeable con-
' templation of a people out of debt ; land rising
' slowly in value, but in a secure and salutary de-
' gree ; a ready though not extravagant market for
' all the surplus productions of our industry; innu-
'merable flocks and herds browsing and gamboling
' on ten thousand hills and plains, covered with rich
' and verdant grassos ; our cities expanded, and
' whole villages springing up, as it were, by enchant-
' ment ; our exports and imports increased and in-
' creasing, our tonnage, foreign and coastwise, swcl-
' ling and fully occupied ; the rivers of our interior
' animated by the thunder and lightning of countless
' steamboats ; the currency sound and abundant ; the
'public debt of two wars nearly redeemed; and,
' to crown all, the public Treasury overflowing, em-
1 barrassing Congress, not to find subjects of taxa-
' tion, but to select the objects which shall bo re-
' lieved from the impost. If the term of seven yeara
' were to be selected of the greatest prosperity which
' this people have enjoyed since the establishment
' of their present Constitution, it would be exactly
' that period of seven years which immediately fol-
' lowed the passage of the Tariff of 1824."
Such were the consequences of the benign legisla
tion introduced and carried into operation by Henry
Clay. And though the reverse of the picture was
soon presented to us, through the violent Execu
tive measures of General Jackson, inflating and then
prostrating the Currency, and the course afterward
pursued, we have the satisfaction of knowing that
Mr. Clay has never Wavered in his course ; and that,
had his warnings been regarded and his counsebr
taken, a far different state of things would, in all
probability, have existed.
The unanimous voice of the Country has ac
corded to Mr. Clay the merit of having been the fa
ther of the system, which has been justly called the
American System. To his personal history belong
the testimonials of the various State Legislatures
and Conventions, and of the innumerable public
meetings, in all parts of the country, which awarded
him the praise, and tendered him the grateful ac -
knowledgements of the community. To his indi
vidual exertions, the manufacturing industry of tho
\United States is indebted to a degree which it is now
Hifficult to realize. By the magic power of his elo
quence, the country was raised from a state of pros
tration and distress ; cities were called into exist
ence, and the wilderness was truly made to blos
som like the rose.
Mr. Clay's zealous and laborious efforts in behalf
of the Tariff can only be appreciated by a reference
to the Journal of the House of that period. It seems
as if he had been called upon to battle for every
item of the bill, inch by inch. The whole power of
a large and able opposition was arrayed against
him ; and every weapon that argument, rhetoric and
ridicule could supply was employed. John Ran
dolph waB, as on former occasions, an active and
bitter antagonist. Once or twice he provoked Mr.
Clay into replying to his personal taunts. " Sir,"
said Mr. C, on one occasion, " the gentleman from
' Virginia was pleased to say that, in one point at
' least, he coincided with me — in an humble estimate
'of my grammatical and philological acquirements,
' I know my deficiencies. I was born to no proud
' patrimonial estate ; from my father I inherited only
'infancy, ignorance, and indigence. I feel my
30
Life of Henry Clay.
' defects ; but, so far as my situation in early life is
' concerned, I may, without presumption, say they
' are more my misfortune than my fault. But, how-
' ever I deplore my want of ability to furnish to the
* gentleman a better specimen of powers of verbal
' criticism, I will venture to say, my regret is not
' greater than the disappointment of this Committee
' as to the strength of his argument."
The following is in a different vein. After the
passage of the Tariff Bill, on the 16th of April, 1824,
when the House had adjourned and the Speaker was
stepping down from his scat, a gentleman who had
voted with the majority, said to him, " we have
done pretty well to-day." — " Yes," returned Mr.
Clay, " we made a good stand, considering we lost
both our Feet" — alluding to Mr. Foot of Connecti
cut, and Mr. Foote of New-York, who both voted
againBt the bill, though it was thought, some time
before, that they would give it their support.
CHAPTER VII.
The Missouri Question— Mr. Clay resigns the Speakership— The
Union in Danger — He resumes his sent in Congress— Unparal
leled Excitement— His compromise of the Question — Pacifica
tion of'Parties — Character of his Efforts— Proposition of John
Randolph and some of the Southern Members— Interview with
Randolph— Anecdotes— Randolph and Sheffey— Mr. Clay's Re
tirement from Congress— Derangement ofhis Private Affairs —
Return to the House — Again chosen Speaker— jeu D'esprit—
Mr. Clay's Address— Independence of Greece — His Speech-
Labors during the Session of 1824— Reception of Lafayette in
the House— Welcomed by Mr. Clay — Lafayette's Reply— La-
FaveUe's wish to see Mr. Clay President— Anecdote— Mr. Clay
and Mr. Monroe.
During the Session of 1820-'21, the " distracting
question," as it was termed, of admitting Missouri
into the Union, which had been the subject of many
angry and tedious debates, was discussed in both
branches of Congress. The controverted point was,
whether she should be admitted as a Slave State.
Slavery had been expressly excluded from Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois, by acts of Congress, on their
admission into the Union. But that restriction was,
by virtue of an ordinance of the former Congress,
under the Confederation, prohibiting the introduction
of slavery into the Northwest Territory, out of which
these States were formed. Missouri was part of the
Louisiana Territory, purchased of France in 1803.
And in various parts of that extensive Territory,
slavery then existed, and had long been established.
Louisiana had been admitted into the Union without
any restriction of thekind proposed forMissouri. The
States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Ala
bama had also been admitted as separate States pre
vious to this period ; and, as they were taken from
States in which Slavery existed, they had been made
subject to no such restriction. It was contended
that, on the same principle, Missouri should also be
received, without requiring, as a condition of ad
mission, the exclusion of Slavery. And it was also
insisted that it would be interfering with the inde
pendent character of a State to enforce any such
restriction, which was manifestly a subject of regu
lation by the State authority.
On the contrary, it was urged that in the old
States the subject was expressly settled by the Con
stitution, and Congress could not justly interfere in
those StateB ; but that it was otherwise with new
States received into the Union ; in which case Con
gress had the right to impose such restrictions and
conditions as it might choose ; that it was evidently
the intention of the old Congress not to extend
Slavery, having prohibited its introduction or exist-
ence in new States to be formed out of the North
west Territory; and that Slavery was so great an
evil, and so abhorrent to the principles of a free
Government, that it should be abolished or prohib
ited wherever it could be Constitutionally effected.
The discussion went on from month to month, and
from session to session, increasing in fierceness, and
diverging farther and farther from the prospect of an
amicable settlement. Among the prominent advo
cates for excluding Slavery from Missouri were
Rufus King from New-York, Otis of Massachusetts,
Dana of Connecticut, Sergeant and Hemphill of
Pennsylvania. Of tliOBe opposed to Restriction,
were Holmes of Massachusetts, Vandyke anil
McLanc of Delaware, Pinckney of Maryland, Ran
dolph and Barbour of Virginia, Lowndes of South
Carolina, Clay and Johnson of Kentucky.
A bill for the admission of Missouri had bees
defeated during the Session of 1818-19; and the
inflammatory subject had, during the vacation of
Congress, given rise to incessant contention. The
Press entered warmly into the controversy. The
most violent pamphlets were published on both
sides. Public meetings thundered forth their Reso
lutions ; and the Union seemed to be fearfully shaken
to its centre. It may be imagined, then, with what
interest the next Session of Congress was looked to
by the People.
Many eloquent Speeches were made in the House
upon the question. Mr. Clay spoke, at one time,
nearly four hours against the Restriction ; but there
remains no published sketch of his remarks. The
vote in the House of Representatives was several
times given for excluding Slavery; but the Senate
disagreed, and would not yield to the House.
In 1820, the People of the Territory of Missouri
proceeded to ordain and establish a Constitution of
Goverment for the contemplated Slate. Among
other provisions, it was ordained in the twenty-
sixth section of the Third Article, that it should bo
the duty of the General Assembly, " as soon »
' might be, to pass such laws as were necessary to
'prevent free Negroes and MulaUoes from coming
' to and settling in the State, under any prelerf
' whatever." Under this Constitution a State Gov
ernment was organized ai.d went into operation.
This clause, for the exclusion of free Negroes and
Mulattoes, fanned into fresh life the flame of excite
ment, which had been partially allayed. The whole
country was now thrown into commotion upon thi
question of admitting Missouri.
In the autumn of 1820, Mr. Clay, who had ex
perienced heavy pecuniary losses by endorsing fe
a friend, resolved to retire from Congress, and, i>
the practice of the law, devote himself to the repara
tion of his private affairs. Accordingly, at the meet'
ing of Congress, the 13th of November, 1820, th*
Clerk having announced that a quorum »'»'
present, said that he had received a letter from
the Hon. Henry Clay, which, with the leave of tl»
House, he read as follows :
"Lexington, (Ky.) October 28, 3889-
" Sib : I will thank you to communicate totw
House of Representatives, that, owing to imperioM
circumstances, I shall not be able to attend upon «
The Missouri Question.
31
until after the Christmas holidays : and to respect
fully ask it to allow me to resign the office of its
Speaker, which I have the honor to hold, and to
consider this as the act of my resignation. I beg the
House also to permit me to reiterate the expression
of my sincere acknowledgments and unaffected grat
itude for the distinguished consideration which it
has uniformly manifested for me. I. have the honor
to be, &.c. ' H. CLAY.
" Thos. Dougherty, Esq., Clerk H. of R."
In view of the agitating question before Congress,
Mr. Clay consented, however, to retain his seat as
a member of the House till his term of service ex
pired, although no longer its presiding officer.
Early in the session the Missouri question came up.
Those who now opposed its admission contended,
that free citizens and mulattoes were citizens of the
States of their residence; that as such, they had a
right, under the Constitution, to remove to Missouri,
or any other State of the Union, and there enjoy all
the privileges and immunities of other citizens ot
the United States emigrating to the same place;
and, therefore, that the clause in the Constitution
of Missouri, quoted above, was repugnant to that
of the United States, and she ought not to be
received into the Union.
• On the other hand, it was maintained that the
African race, whether bond or free, were not parties
to our Political Institutions; that, therefore, free
Negroes and Mulattoes were not citizens, within the
meaning of the Constitution of the United States ;
and that even if the Constitution of Missouri were
repugnant to that of the United States, the latter
was paramount, and would overrule the conflicting
provision of the former, without the interference of
Congress. Such was the perilous and portentous question
which now threatened a disruption of the Union. —
In some shape or other it was presented almost daily
and hourly to Congress ; and became, at length, a
perfect incubus upon legislation. In this state of
things, Mr. Clay arrived in Washington, and took
his seat in the House on th» sixteenth of January,
1821. On the second of February, he submitted a
motion to refer a Resolution of the Senate on the
Missouri Question to a Committee of Thirteen — a
number suggested by that of the original States of
the Union. The motion was agreed to, and the fol
lowing gentlemen were appointed a Committee ac
cordingly :
Messrs. Clay of Ky., Eustis of Mass., Smith of
Md., Sergeant of Pa., Lowndes of S. C, Ford of N.
Y., Campbell of Ohio, Archer of Va., Hackley of N.
Y., S. Moore of Pa., Cobb of Ga., Tomlinson of Ct.,
Butler of N. H.
On the tenth of the same month, Mr. Clay made
a report, concluding with an amendment to the Sen
ate's resolution, by which amendment Missouri was
admitted upon the following fundamental condition :
" It is provided that the said State shall never
pass any law preventing any description of persons
from coming to and settling in the said State, who
now are or hereafter may become citizens of any of
the States of this Union ; and provided also, that the
Legislature of the said State, by a solemn public act,
shall declare the assent of the said State to the said
fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the Pre
sident of the United States, on or before the fourth
Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the
said Act; upon the receipt whereof, the President,
by proclamation, shall announce the fact; whereup
on, and without any furtfter proceedings on the part
of Congress, the admission of the said State into the
Union shall be considered as complete : And pro
vided, further, that nothing herein contained shall be
construed to take from the State of Missouri, when
admitted into the Union, the exercise of any right or
power which can now be constitutionally exercised
by any of the original States."
In defence of his report, Mr. Clay said that, al
though those favorable to the admission of Missouri
could not succeed entirely in their particular views,
yet he was of opinion that they had, as regarded the
Report of the Committee, nothing to complain of. —
At the same time, the Report was calculated to ob
viate the objections of those who had opposed the
admission of Missouri on the ground of the objection
to her Constitution which had been avowed. Thus
consulting the opinions of both sides of the House,
in that spirit of compromise which is occasionally
necessary to the existence of all societies, he hoped
it would receive the countenance of the House ; and
he earnestly invoked the spirit of harmony and kin
dred feeling to preside over the deliberations of the
House on the subject.
The question being taken in Committee of the
Whole on the amendment proposed by Mr. Clay, it
was decided in the negative by a vote of 73 to 64. —
This decision was afterward overruled in the House.
On the question, however, of the third reading of the
Resolution, it was rejected, by a vote of 83 to 80, in
consequence of the defection of Mr. Randolph of
Virginia, who dreaded the increase of popularity
which would accrue to Mr. Clay by the success of
his proposition. A reconsideration was moved and
carried the next day, and the question of the third
reading was again brought before the House. Ano
ther protracted and bitter debate followed, and was
concluded by a speech of an hour's duration from
Mr. Clay, who is represented by the cotemporary
journals as having " reasoned, remonstrated and en
treated that the House would settle the question."
On the fourteenth of February, the two Houses of
Congress met in the hall of the House of Represent
atives, to perform the ceremony of counting the votes
for President and Vice President of the United States.
A scene of great confusion occurred when the votes
of the Electors for Missouri were announced by the
President of the Senate, and handed to the Tellers.
The Members of the Senate withdrew, and a violent
discussion sprang up. By the exertions of Mr. Clay,
order was at length restored, and, on his motion, a
Message was sent to the Senate that the House was
ready to proceed to the completion of the business
of counting the votes.
The Senate again came in. The votes of Missouri
were read, and the result of all the votes having been
read, it was announced by the President of the Sen
ate, that the total number of votes for James Monroe
as President of the United States, was 231, and, if
the votes of Missouri were not counted was 228;
that, in either event, James Monroe had a majority
of the whole number of votes given. James Monroe
was accordingly re-elected President for four years,
commencing on the ensuing fourth of March.
While the proclamation was being made, two
Members of the House claimed the floor to inquire
whether the votes of Missouri were or were not '
counted. Another scene of confusion hereupon en
sued, and the House were finally obliged to adjourn
in order to put an end to it.
32
Life of Henry Clay.
The rejection of Mr. Clay's report seemed to shut
¦ out all prospect of an amicable compromise. He was
not disheartened, however. He never despaired of
the Republic. On the twenty-second of February,
he submitted the following resolution :
" Resolved, That a Committee be appointed, on
the part of this House, jointly with such Committee
as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to
consider and report to the Senate and to the House,
respectively whether it be expedient or not to make
provision for the admission of Missouri into the Un
ion on the same footing as the original States, and for
the due execution of the laws of the United States
within Missouri; and if not, whether any other, and
what provision, adapted to her actual condition,
ought to be made by law."
This resolution was adopted in the House by a
vote of 103 to 55. The Senate acceded to it by a
large majority.
The Joint Committees of the two Houses met on
the twenty-fifth of February, 1821 ; and a plan of
accommodation, proposed by Mr. Clay, was adopted,
unanimously on the part of the Committee of the
Senate, and nearly so by that of the House. The
next day he reported to the House from the Com
mittee a resolution, which was the same in effect as
that which we have already quoted as having been
reported by the former Committee of thirteen Mem
bers. A short discussion ensued, which was checked
by a call for the Previous Question. The resolu
tion was then adopted by a vote of eighty-seven to
©ighty-onc. The Senate concurred, and the mo
mentous question, which for three Sessions had ag
itated Congress, was, at length through the labors
and influence of Henry Clay, peaceably settled.
The achievement of this vital compromise must
have been one of the most gratifying triumphs of his
¦political career. By his personal influence and abil
ities, he had saved the Republic. He deservedly
won on this occasion the appropriate title of " the
Great Pacificator; " for to his individual exertions do
we owe it, that we were saved from the prospect of a
dissolution of the Union. His efforts in and out of
Congress were uncoasing in accomplishing his ob
ject. He made direct personal appeals to those whom
he could not influence in public debate, and left no
means untried for bringing Congress to that harmo
nious state, which was essential to the safety of the
oountry. While the Missouri question was pending, and the
excitement of the contending parties was running to
a great and alarming hight, Mr. Randolph, and per
haps some other gentlemen of the South, conceived
the projetc of the whole Delegation from the Slave-
holding States, in a body, abandoning the House,
and leaving its business to be carried on, if at all, by
the Representatives from the other States. At that
time, one of those conditions of no»-intercourse,
which we have described existed between him and
Mr. Clay ; but notwithstanding that, one night when
the House was in session by candle-light, Mr. Clay
being out of the Chair, Mr. Randolph approached him
in the most courteous manner and Baid; "Mr.
' Speaker, I wish you would leave the Chair. I will
' follow you to Kentucky or any where else in the
' world." Mr. Clay replied : " That is a very serious prop
osition, Mr. Randolph; we have not time now to
discuss it; but if you will oome into the Speaker's
room to-morrow morning, before the House assem
bleB, we will consider it together."
He accordingly attended there with punctuality
They remained in earnest conversation about an
hour, Mr. Clay contending that it was wisest to com
promise the question, if it could be done without any
sacrifice of principle, and Mr. Randolph insisting
that the Slave States had the right on their sido
that matters must come to an extremity ; and that
there could be no more suitable occasion to bring
them to that issue. They maintained their respect
ive opinions firmly but amicably, without coming to
any agreement.
When they were about separating, Mr. Clay ob
served to Mr. Randolph, that he would take that op-
portunity of saying to him, that he (Mr. Randolph)
had used exceptionable language sometimes when
the Speaker was in the Chair and had no opportu
nity of replying ; and that he was often provoked
thereat. "Well, Mr. Speaker," said Randolph, "I
' think you sometimes neglect me ; you won't listen
' to me when I am addressing the chair, but turn your
' head away, and ask for a pinch of snuff."
Mr. Clay rejoined : " You are mistaken. I am
' listening when I may not seem to be ; and I can
' repeat as much of any one of your late speeches
' as you yourself can, good as I know your memory
' to be."
" Well," replied Mr. Randolph, " perhaps 1 am
' mistaken; and suppose we shake hands and be good
' good friends hereafter."
"Agreed! " said Mr. Ciay.
They shook hands accordingly ; and never spoke
with each other during the residue of the Session.
It was about the period of Commodore Decatur's
death. That event greatly excited Mr. Randolph,
and Mr. Clay was informed by two different gentle
men (the late Governor Edwards and Gen. C. F.
Mercer) about the same time, without concert, and
shortly after the interview described above, that they
knew that Mr. Randolph desired a duel, and with
him (Mr. Clay.) He thanked them for the commu
nication; which was made from friendly motives.
It naturally put him upon his guard; and on first
meeting Mr. R., thinking that he saw something un
friendly in his deportment, they passed each other
without speaking.
Shortly before the interview above-mentioned, Mr.
Randolph came to Mr. Clay with an insulting letter
containing a threat to horsewhip him (Mr. R.)
and asked what he should do with it — sfcould he
communicate it to the House as a breach of privi
lege 1 " How came the writer to address such a let
ter to you 1 " asked Mr. Clay. " Why, Sir," said he,
" I was in the vestibule of the House the other day
and he brought up a man and introduced him to me.
I asked him, what right he had to introduce that
man to me, and told him that the man had just as
much right to introduce him to me. And he said he
thought it was an act of great impertinence. It was
for that cause he has written me this threatening
letter." Mr. Clay asked him if he thought the man's
mind was perfectly sound. " Why," replied Ran
dolph, " I have some doubts about that." " If that
be the case," said Mr. Clay, " would you not better
avoid troubling the House about the affair ? And I
will give orders to the officers of the House to keep
an eye on the man, and if he should attempt to do
Anecdotes of Randolph— Mr. Clay before the Virginia House of Delegates.
33
anything improper to arrest him." Mr. Randolph
said, it was perhaps the best course; and nothing
more was heard of the matter.
On one occasion during the agitation of this same
Missouri question, Mr. Randolph told Mr. Clay, that
he had resolved, by the advice of Chief Justice Mar
shall, to abstain from the use of those powerful in
struments of irony, sarcasm and invective, which he
used with such cutting effect, and to confine himself
to the employment of pure argument, whenever he
spoke. He attempted it. He failed. His speech
possessed no attraction — commanded no attention.
He was mortified, and resumed his ancient style ;
and listening and admiring audiences returned to
him. When the House sat in what has been called the
old Capitol (the brick building at the North-East
corner of the Capitol-square,) Mr. Randolph one day
came in collision with an able colleague from Vir
ginia, Mr. Sheffey, in argument, in the course of
which Mr. Sheffey had indulged in some playful re
mark. Mr. R. replied, and concluded by offering
him some advice, which he said, he hoped would be
kindly received: and that was, that logic being
his (Mr. Sheffey's) forte, he ought to confine him
self to it, and never attempt wit, for which he pos
sessed no talent. Mr. Sheffey rejoined, answered
the argument of Mr. Randolph, thanked him for his
advice, but said he did not like to be in debt, and by
way of acquitting himself of it, he begged leave to
offer some advice in return. Nature, he said, had
been bountiful to Mr. R. in bestowing on him extra
ordinary wit, but had denied him any powers of ar
gument. Mr. S. would advise him, therefore, to con
fine himself to the regions of wit, and never attempt
¦to soar in those of logic. Mr. R. immediately followed
and handsomely remarked, that he took back what
he had said of his colleague ; for he had shown him
self to be a man of wit as well as of logic.
It was a pleasant and enlivening incident, and the
whole House and both parties appeared to enjoy the
joke. But Mr. Randolph returned to the House the
next day, and renewed the attack with great bitter
ness. The parties had various and long passes at
each other. Mr. R. was repeatedly called to order
by Mr. Clay, and finally stopped. It was on that oc
casion, that Mr. Sheffey being called to order, Mr.
Clay said that he would be out of order in replying,
-as he was, to any other Member but Mr. Randolph.
During the interval of his retirement from Con
gress in 1822, Mr. Clay was delegated, in conjunc
tion with Mr. Bibb, to attend the Virginia Legisla
ture, for the adjustment of certain land claims in
Kentucky. The House of Representatives of Vir
ginia appointed a day to receive and hear them at
the bar of the House. The subject to be discussed
was what were called the "occupying claimant
laws" of Kentucky ; in other words, laws passed in
hehalf of the early settlers, the pioneers of the new
State. The vicious system, which Virginia had
adopted, of disposing of her waste aad unappropria
ted lands, had led to the most frightful confusion and
uncertainty of title. No man was sure of his home
and lands, no matter how long he had occupied or
how greatly he had improved them. Some dormant
adverse title might spring up and evict him from his
residence. Those " occupying claimant laws" were
passed to secure to him the fruits of his toil and la-
3
bor, by compelling the successful claimant to pay the
value of all permanent improvements. In principle
these laws were right, although they were liable to
great abuse, through a sympathy with the actual set
tler, which often led the assessor to place an extrav
agant estimate upon the improvements.
The validity of these laws was contested, and the
Supreme Court of the United States had pronounced
a decision against them. Whether they were valid
or not depended upon the true interpretation of a
compact between the States of Virginia and Ken
tucky, made at the time the latter was erected into a
separate Commonwealth. The object of the mission
of Messrs. Clay and Bibb was to prevail on the pa
rent State to consent to the establishment of some
impartial tribunal other than the Supreme Court, to
be constituted by the joint consent of the two States,
to decide the question of validity. It was to accom
plish this object that the negotiators appeared before
the Legislature.
Their mission had excited much sensation and ca
riosity. The city of Richmond was crowded by
persons attracted to it by the novelty of the scene.
Mr. Clay, who had left it some twenty-five years be
fore, a poor orphan boy, and now found himself amid
the remnant of his early associates, trembled leat he
should not appear to advantage. The day for his
presenting himself before the House at length ar
rived. The hall was crowded. The Judges of the
Court of Appeals, among whom was the eminent
Spencer Roane, who in 1797 had signed Mr. Clay's
license — the members of the bar generally, and of
the Senate, with many distinguished citizens, com
posed the audience. In the presence of this intellec
tual multitude, Mr. Clay rose to address the House
of Delegates. He described the hardships and suf
ferings of the early adventurers and settlers in Ken
tucky : how they had encountered and subdued -the
savages, felled the forests', built for themselves habi
tations, and, amid the greatest privations, cultivated
the earth, with the rifle as near at band as the spade
and the plough. He painted in glowing and pathetic
terms the sacrifices they had made in abandoning the
homes of their fathers, the tombs of their ancestors,
the friends of their youth. Mr. Clay had himself re
cently been in the neighborhood of the place which
gave him birth, and the visit and his early recollec
tions probably imparted a deeper and more solemn
intensity to his feelings and language. The whole
assembly was gazing on him with fixed attention.
You could have heard a pin drop in the pauses of
his speech, such was the stillness. , Nearly all his
hearers were in tears. At this interesting juncture
Mr. Clay attempted the quotation of a passage from
the poems of Sir Walter Scott, now familiar to every
schoolboy, but then new to most of his audience.
The words had fled from his memory ! He stood
filled with emotion, and at the same time transfixed
with deep though imperceptible embarrassment at
the treacherous trick which his memory was serving
him. He threw his right hand upon his forehead as
if overwhelmed by his feelings, and remained in that
posture so long, that he has been heard to say that
he was actually meditating upon some mode of es
cape from his dilemma. Fortunately, however, the
words came to his relief, and in his fall-toned, melo
dious voice, he gave them forth :
34
Life of Henry Clay.
" Lives there the man with soul so dead,
That never to himself has said,
' This is my own, my native land !' "
The effect upon the audience was electrical and
transporting— far transcending: what it would have
been if his memory had not balked at all.
The mission of Messrs. Clay and Bibb led to the
appointment of the Hon. B. W. Leigh on the part
of Virginia ; and Mr. Clay was subsequently appoint
ed to conduct the negotiation with the latter on the
part of Kentucky. They concluded at Ashland a.
convention, which, though it was ratified by the
Legislature of Kentucky and the House of Dele
gates of Virginia, was finally rejected in the Senate
of the latter State.
By an absence of nearly three years from Con
gress, Mr. Clay was enabled, through his profession
al labors, to retrieve his private affairs ; and in the
summer of 1823, at the earnest and repeated solici
tations ofhis fellow- citizens, he accepted a renomi-
nation, and was again chosen, without opposition, to
represent hie District in the lower House at Wash
ington. The first Session of the Eighteenth Congress
opened the first Monday in December, 1823. At the
first ballot for Speaker in the House of Representa
tives, Mr. Clay was elected. Mr. Barbour, of Vir
ginia, the late Speaker, had forty-two votes — Mr.
Clay had one hundred and thirty-nine. The follow
ing neat jeu d'esprit appeared in the National Intel
ligencer shortly after the election :
"As near the Potomac's broad stream, f other day
Fair Liberty strolled in solicitous mood,
Deep pondering the future — unheeding her way-
She met Goddess Nature beside a green wood.
* Good mother,' she- cried, ' deign to help me at need !
I must make for my guardians a Speaker to-day :
The first in the world 1 would give them.' — ' Indeed !
When I made the first Speaker, I made him of Clay ! ' "
On taking the Speaker's chair, Mr. Clay made a
brief and appropriate address, in which he returned
his acknowledgments for the honor conferred. The
duties of a Speaker are happily enumerated in his
remarks on this occasion.
On the 5th of December, Mr. Webster, of Massa
chusetts, submitted a resolution providing by law
for defraying the expense incident to the appoint
ment of an agent or commissioner to Greece, when
ever the President should deem it expedient to make
such appointment. He supported this proposition
in a most able speech on the 19th of the ensuing Jan
uary. Mr. Clay stood side by side with him in de
fence of the measure. Notwithstanding the advo
cacy of these gigantic champions, however, it failed
in the House.
Mr. Clay's speech on the subject, though brief,
was fall of fire and point. "Are we," he exclaimed,
' so humbled, so low, so debased, that we dare not
* express our sympathy for suffering Greece, that we
'dare not articulate oar detestation of the brutal ex-
' cesses of which she has been the bleeding victim,
* lest we might offend some one or more of their im-
* perial and royal majesties V
Although Mr. Clay failed at the moment in pro
curing the recognition of Greece, he afterward, when
Secretary of State, accomplished his object. The
United States was the first independent power by
whom she was recognized.
Mr. Clay's labors during the Session of 1824 would
alone have been sufficient to make his name memo
rable, to the latest posterity, in the annals of the
country. The Session is signalized by the passage'
of the Tariff-bill and of his measure in behalf of
South American independence. In reference to the
former, it should not be forgotten that it was through
his vigilant and persevering efforts that the Sugar
Duty was saved. A member from Louisiana, by
his constant and bitter opposition to the protective
policy, had greatly incensed its friends. They were
provoked by his pertinacity, and, in Committee of
the Whole, struck out the item of Sugar from the
list of protected articles. Mr. Clay remonstrated
with them. He urged that the State ought not to
be injured, and that it would be cruel to punish it
for the supposed misconduct of one of its Represen
tatives. He entreated them, therefore, to restore the
protective duty on Sugar, and finally prevailed on
them, by personal appeals to individual members, to-
restore it accordingly in the House.
On the 15th of August, 1824, General La Fayette
the nation's guest, arrived at New York in the Cad
mus, accompanied by his son, George Washington
La Fayette. The following 10th of December, he
was introduced to the House of Representatives by
a select committee, appointed for the purpose. Me
Clay, as Speaker, received him with a pertinent and
elegant address. La Fayette was deeply affected
by this address, uttered, as it was, in the Speaker's
clear, musical, and genial tones ; and the hero of
two hemispheres replied to it in a manner that be
tokened much emotion.
This distinguished friend of America and of liber
ty maintained to the end of his days an unwavering
attachment for Mr. Clay ; and when the miserable
cry of " bargain and corruption" was raised against
the latter, at the time of his acceptance of the office
of Secretary of State, La Fayette gave his conclu
sive testimony in favor of the integrity, ingenuous*
ness, and public virtue, ofhis friend, and in vindica
tion of him from the charges which partizan hack*
had originated.
"THAT IS THE MAN WHOM I HOPE
TO SEE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES," said La Fayette in 1832, pointing to a
portrait of Mr. Clay, in presence of an officer of the
United States navy, who was entertained by the
great and good Frenchman at his country-seat The
anecdote here given may be found in the " Com
monwealth" newspaper published atFrankfort, Ken
tucky. We have seen that Mr. Clay was at variance with
President Monroe upon the subject of Internal Im
provements, as well as in regard to the mode of rec
ognizing the independence of the South- American
patriots. Notwithstanding these differences of opin
ion, the personal relations of the Speaker and the
Chief Magistrate were friendly. Mr. Clay was of
fered a seat in the cabinet, and a carte blanche of all
the foreign missions. Had place been his ambition
and his object, be might have attained it without any
sacrifice of independence — without any loss of po
sition as the acknowledged head of the great re-
pablican party. He saw, however, that he could be
Presidential Election of 1824 — The Kremer Calumny.
mote useful to his country in Congress. Measures
of vital importance were to be carried. The Tariff
was to be adjusted — the Missouri business to be set
tled — the constitutionality of Internal Improvements
was to be admitted — South American independence
was to be acknowledged — how could he conscien
tiously quit a post, where he wielded an influence
more potent than the President's, while such mo
mentous questions remained open'! These being
disposed of, he would be at liberty to pursue any
course which his inclinations might indicate, or
which the public interests might sanction.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Presidential Question— Nomination of Mr. Clay— His quali
fications set forth— General Harrison in favor of Henry Clay-
Slanders in the House— Kremer's Letter— Monstrous nature oi
the charges against Mr. C— His course in regard to them — Ap
pointment ofa Committee of Examination— Complete Re
futation of the Calumny— Mr. Clay's Address to his Constitu
ents—Election of John Quincy Adams by the House— Exas
peration of Gen. Jackson's Friends— Mr. Clay's independence
of spirit — Motives of his preference — Gen. Lafayette substan
tiates his Assertions— Mr. Clay appointed Secretary of State —
Views of this act— Slander temporary, Justice inevitable — His
character as Speaker— Anecdotes, &c.
As Mr. Monroe's second Piesidential term drew
to a close, the question of the next Presidency be
gan to be busily agitated. Four prominent candi
dates were presented by their friends for the suffrages
of the People : being John Quincy Adams of Mas
sachusetts, Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, Henry
Clay of Kentucky, and William H. Crawford of
Georgia. In November, 1822, Mr Clay had been nominated
as'a suitable successor to James Monroe, at a meet
ing of the Members of the Legislature of Kentucky.
The nomination soon after met with a response from
similar meetings in Louisiana, Missouri and Ohio ;
and, as the period of the election approached, he was
hailed by large bodies of his fellow citizens in all
parts of the country as their favorite candidate.
The campaign of ^ 824 was one of the most warmly
contested in our annals. Some of the more unscru
pulous of the friends of the various candidates re
sorted to manoeuvres unworthy of their cause to
advance their ends. Just as the election was com
mencing, a report was industriously circulated in
different quarters of the country that Mr. Clay had
withdrawn from the Presidential contest. In conse
quence of this report, General William H. Harrison,
and other of Mr. Clay's friends in Ohio, published a
declaration, in which it was asserted that he (Mr.
Clay) " would not be withdrawn from the contest
' but by the fiat of his Maker." Our late lamented
Chief Magistrate was at that time, and ever after,
his devoted political, as well as personal friend ; and
he has often been heard to declare his preference for
him over all other candidates.
Early in the campaign it was discovered that there
would be no election of President by the People.
By the Constitution, the House of Representatives
would, therefore, be called upon to choose from the
three highest candidates. In December, 1824, soon
after the meeting of Congress, it was known that
the three highest candidates were Jackson, Adams
and Crawford, and that Mr. Clay and his friends
would have it in their power, when the question
came before the House, of turning the balance in
favor of any one of the three.
Mr. Clay's position was now an extremely impor
tant one. Several weeks were to intervene before
the election; and, in the mean time, the partisans of
the three candidates looked with intense anxiety to
the Speaker's course. His preferences were dis
tinctly known to his personal friends, for he had
expressed them in his letters and his conversations ;
but it would have been indelicate and superfluous
for him to have electioneered in behalf of any one
of the rival candidates — to have given occasion -for
intrigues and coalitions by deciding the question in
advance. While all parties were in this state of suspense, a
gross and unprincipled attempt was made to brow
beat Mr. Clay, and drive him from what was rightly
supposed to be his position of preference for Mr.
Adams. A letter, the authorship of which was
afterward avowed by George Kremer, .a member of
the House from Pennsylvania, appeared in a Phila
delphia newspaper called the ' Columbian Observer,'
charging Mr. Clay and bis friends with the most
flagitious intentions— in short, with the design of
selling their vote to the highest bidder.
Monstrous as were these intimations, they were
calculated to carry some weight with the ignorant
and unreflecting. By such persons, it would not
be taken into consideration that Mr. Clay had al
ready declined offices of the highest grade under
Madison and Monroe — that, if either Jackson or
Crawford had been elected through his agency, the
first office in the gift of either would indubitably
have been offered to him — that, in accepting office
under Mr. Adams, it was universally understood at
Washington he was conferring rather than receiving
a favor — that he might not inaptly have been accused
of acting an ungenerous part, if, after bringing the
Adams Administration into power, he had refused it
the countenance so essential to its success — that he
would have neglected the solicitations of all who
acted with him from the West had he refused the
Secretaryship — and, in short, that in order to justify
his vote it was incumbent on him to submit to the
united voice of the friends of the new Administra
tion, and bring to it as much ofhis Western strength
as he could lend.
The ' Columbian Observer,' in which the precious
epistle we have alluded to appeared, was a print sus
tained by Mr. Eaton, the friend, biographer, and col
league in the Senate of General Jackson. The
position of the writer of the letter, as a member of
Congress, gave it a consequence which, utterly con
temptible as it is, it would not otherwise, in any de
gree, have possessed. Mr. Clay deemed it incum
bent upon him to notice it; and he published a Card
in the National Intelligencer, pronouncing the author-
of the letter, whoever he might be, " a base and in-
' famous calumniator." This was answered by a*
Card from Mr. George Kremer, in which the writeir
said he held himself ready to prove, to the satisfac
tion of unprejudiced minds, enough to satisfy them
of the accuracy of the statements in the letter, so far
as Mr. Clay was concerned.
The calumny having been thus fathered, Mr. Clay
rose in his place in the House, and demanded an in
vestigation into the affair.
A Committee was accordingly appointed by bal
lot on the 5th of February, 1835. It was composed
of some of the leading members of the House, nol
36
Life of Henry Clay.
one of whom was Mr. Clay's political friend. Al-
'though Mr. Kremer had declared to the House and
•to the public his willingness to bring forward his
proofs, and his readiness to abide the issue of the
inquiry, his feare, or other counsels tban his own,
prevailed upon him to resort finally to a miserable
subterfuge. The Committee reported that Mr.
Kremer declined appearing before them, alleging
that he could not do so without appearing either as
an accuser or a witness, both of which he pra-
•tested against ! "
And yet this same Mr. Kremer, a day or two be
fore, when the subject of appointing an Investigating
Committee came up, had risen in his seat in the
House and said : — " If, upon an investigation being
•instituted, it should appear that he had not suf-
* ficient reasons to justify the statements he had
* made, he trusted he should receive the marked
• reprobation which had been suggested by the
* Speaker. Let it fall where it might, Mr. K. said,
( he was willing to meet the inquiry, and abide the
* result" But it is not on Mr. Kremer alone that our indig
nation should be expended for this miserable attempt
to bolster up a profligate calumny just long enough
for it to operate on the approaching Election. He
was merely a tool in the hands of deeper knaves.
A thick-headed, illiterate, foolish, good-natured
man, he was ready, in his blind attachment to Gen.
Jackson, to do any servile deed that might pro
pitiate his idol. He seems to have inwardly re
pented of the act as soon as it had been committed.
He frequently declared his determination to offer an
explanation and apology to Mr. Clay; and had gone
so far as to draw up a paper for this purpose, which
was submitted to the latter. But Mr. Clay replied
-that the affair had passed from his control into that
of the House ; — and the rogues, who had taken Mr.
Kremer into their keeping, were careful not to allow
him to repeat his offer of an apology subsequently
when the House chose to let the matter drop.
In 1827-8, Mr. Clay, in an Address to his con
stituents, gave a full and interesting history of this
affair, together with the sequel, at which we shall
glance in our next Chapter, and in which General
Jackson figured conspicuously.
On the 9th of February, 1825, in the presence of
both Houses of Congress, Mr. Tazewell, from the
'Committee of Tellers, reported the votes of tho
i different States for President and Vice President of
the United States. The aggregate was as follows:
"John Quincy Adams had eighty-four votes ; Wil
liam H. Crawford, forty-one; Andrew Jackson,
ninety-nine; and Henry Clay, thirty-seven,* — the
* The vote for Mr. Clay in the primary Colleges stood :— Ohio,
.16 j Kentucky, 14 • New-York, 4; Missouri, 3. By some party
••chicanery or coalition intrigue, he was defrauded out of Electoral
"Votes in New-York and Louisiana which would have been more
than sufficient to have rendered him one of the three candidates
returned to the House. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to revive the
recollection of those frauds upon the People, by which their
favorite champion was excluded from a position, from which he
would unquestionably have been elevated to the Presidency. It
will be seen that Missouri gave her entire Vote to Mr. Clay in
1824, at which time Thomas H. Benton took the lead in his
support, as the candidate most favorable to Internal Improve
ments and the Protection of American Iudustry. The Party
calling themselves Bucktails, in New- York, were divided be
tween Crawford and Clay, the former having the majority. The
Opposition Party (Clintonians) were divided between Adams
and Clay: although by far the larger portion preferred Adams.
But on a division Clay had more strength than either of the others
and, on a fair expression of opinion, would have commanded
one-half the Electors.
The Crawford portion of the Bucktail Party was headed by
.Bit. Van Buren,— the portion which favored Mr. Clay was lea
latter having been deprived, by party intrigue
and chicanery, of the votes of New-York and
Louisiana— which would have carried him into the
House, where he would undoubtedly have been
elected President, over all other candidates.
The President of the Senate rose, and declared
that no person had received a majority of the votes
given for President of the United States ;— that
Andrew Jackson, John Q.. Adams and "William H.
Crawford were the three persons who had received
the highest number of votes, and that the remaining
duties in the choice of a President now devolved on
the House of Representatives. He farther declared,
that John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, having
received one hundred and eighty-two votes, was
duly elected Vice President of the United States, to
serve for four years from the ensuing fourth day of
March. The members of the Senate then retired.
The Constitution provides, that " from the per-
* sons having the highest numbers, not exceeding
' three, on the list voted for as President, the House
( of Representatives shall choose immediately, by
'ballot, a President."
The friends of General Jackson now, as a matter
of conrse, eagerly advanced the doctrine that a
plurality of votes for any one candidate shonld be
considered as decisive of the will of the People, and
should influence the members of the House in their
votes. As if a mere plurality, forsooth, ought to
swallow up a majority! A more dangerous doc
trine, and one more directly opposed to the spirit of
the Constitution, could not well be imagined. It
cannot be called Democratic, for it does not admit
the prevalence of the will of the majority in the
Election. It was, in fact, a dogma engendered for
the occasion by the friends of the candidate, who
happened to come into the House with a plurality
of votes.
Mr. Clay was not to be dragooned into the admis
sion of any such principle. He resolved to be guid
ed by what was plainly the letter and spirit of the
Constitution, and to give his vote to that man, whom
he believed to be the most competent to preside over
the destinies of the Republic. By a personal visit
to Mr. Crawford he had satisfied himself that that
gentleman was too broken down in health to dis
charge with fiiting energy the duties of the Chief
Magistracy. His option lay, therefore, between
Messrs. Adams and Jackson.
We have seen what were Mr. Clay's views of the
character of General Jackson as far back as 1819,
when the Seminole question was before the House.
Was it possible that he should regard those traits,
which, in the soldier, had led to conduct, at war
with the Constitution, as qualifications in the Pre
sident ? General Jackson was, furthermore, under-
by Mr. Young. To heal this division and give the united
strength of that Party to Mr. Crawford, the nommation of Gov
ernor was tendered to Mr. Young. He accepted the nomination
and from that time he and his friends abandoned Mr. C. and gavn
their support to Mr. Crawford. .
But tor this arrangement, it is certain that Mr. Clay would
have received Electoral Votes enough, from the State of New-
York, to have carried him into the House with General Jacfcsou
and Mr. Adams.
£Ir. Clay had still ninny friends in the Senate and Assembly.
who united in supporting a Ticket consisting of twenty-five
Adams men and eleven Crawford men. Of these, however.it
was understood that some preferred Mr. Clay, and would cost
their votes tor him, in the event that by so doing he could be
brought into the House. But before the vote of the Electoral
College was given, the news of the loss of Louisiana was re
ceived, winch was thought to put an end to the contingency
and the Electors friendly to Mr. Clay voted, some for Mr. Craw
toro, ami some tor Mr. Adams.
Lafayette's Testimony— Truth Triumphant.
37
stood to be hostile to those great systems of Inter
nal Improvement and protection to home manufac
tures, which Mr. Clay had spent the best part ofhis
public life in establishing. At least, the General's
views were vacillating and undecided on these points.
Could Mr. Clay be called upon to sacrifice those
important interests on the shrine of merely sectional
partiality — for the sake of having a Western rather
than an Eastern man to preside over the Union 1
No ! Henry Clay was not to be influenced by such
narrow and unworthy considerations. He has himself
said : " Had I voted for General Jackson in oppo-
' sition to the well known opinions which I enter-
' tained of him, one-tenth part of the ingenuity and
' zeal which have been employed to excite preju-
' diceB against me, would have held me up to uni-
1 versal contempt ; and, what would have been
' worse, I should have felt that I really deserved it."
According to the testimony ofhis friend, Gen. Call,
Gen. Jackson himself never expected that he would
receive the vote of Mr. Clay.
With Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay had always been on
amicable if not on intimate terms. At Ghent, they
had differed on a question of public policy, but they
both had too much liberality of soul to make their
dissimilarity of opinion a cause of personal displea
sure and variance. The Speaker saw in Mr. Adams,
a statesman highly gifted, profoundly learned, and
long and greatly experienced in public affairs at home
and abroad.
How could he in conscience hesitate when the
choice lay between two such men ? He did not he
sitate. He had never hesitated. Long before he
left Kentucky, according to the testimony of the
Hon. John J. Crittenden, six of the Kentucky dele
gation in Congress, and some hundreds of respecta
ble citizens, Mr. Clay declared that he could not
imagine the contingency in which he would vote for
General Jackson. A still more important witness,
in the person of the great and good Lafayette, came
forward to testify in Mr. Clay's behalf, as the fol
lowing extract from his letter to Mr. Clay will show :
" My remembrance concurs with your own on this
point: that in the latter end of December either be
fore or after my visit to Annapolis, you being out of
the presidential candidature, and after having ex
pressed my above-mentioned motives of forbearance,
J, by way of confidential exception, allowed myself
to put a simple, unqualified question, respecting
your electioneering guess, and your intended vote.
Your answer was, that in your opinion, the actual
state of health of Mr. Crawford had limited the con
test to a choice ¦ between Mr. Adams and General
Jackson ; that a claim founded on military achieve
ments did not meet your preference, and that you
HAD CONCLUDED TO VOTE FOR MR. ADAMS."
Notwithstanding the flagitious attempt to influ-
3nee his vote, Mr. Clay unhesitatingly gave it for
Mr. Adams, and decided the election in his favor.
He went further. When, after he was seated in the
Presidential Chair, Mr. Adams offered him the Sec
retaryship of State, he had the moral courage to ac
cept it in defiance of the storm of calumny, exasper
ation and malignant opposition, which he knew that
act would bring down upon him.
This was a critical period in Mr. Clay's public
life — a bold, intrepid and magnanimous movement.
We know that he now thinks it was a mistaken one.
In his speech of the 9th of June, 1842, at Lexington,
he aays : " My error in accepting the office arose
' out of my underrating the power of detraction and
' the force of ignorance, and abiding with too sure a
' confidence in the conscious integrity and upright-
' ness of my own motives. Of that ignorance, I had
' a remarkable and laughable example on an occa-
' sion which I will relate. I was travelling, in 1828,
1 through, I believe it was, Spottsylvania in Virgin-
' ia, on my return to Washington, in company with
' some young friends. We halted at night at a tavern,
' kept by an aged gentleman, who, I quickly per-
' ceived, from the disorder and confusion which reign-
' ed, had not the happinesss to have a wife. After
' a hurried and bad supper, the old gentleman sat
' down by me, and without hearing my name, but
'understanding that I was from Kentucky, remarked
' that he had four sons in that State, and that he was
' very sorry they were divided in politics, two being
' for Adams and two for Jackson; he wished they
' were all for Jackson. Why ? I asked him. Be-
1 cause, he said, that fellow Clay, and Adams, had
cheated Jackson out of the Presidency. Have you
'ever seen any evidence, my old friend, said I, of
' that? No, be replied none, and he wanted to see
1 none. But, I observed, looking him directly and
'steadily in the face, suppose Mr. Clay were to
1 come here and assure you, upon his honor, that it
' waB all a vile calumny, and not a word of truth in
1 it, would you believe him ? No, replied the old
' gentleman promptly and emphatically. I said to
'him, in conclusion, will you be good' enough to
' show me to bed, and bade him good night. The
1 next morning, having in the interval learnt my
' name, he came to me full of apologies, but I at
' once put him at his ease by assuring him that I
' did not feel in the slightest degree hurt or offended'
' with him."
With deference, we must express our dissent from
Mr. Clay in regarding his acceptance of office under
Mr. Adams as an " error." It may have been, so
far as his personal interests were concerned, erro
neous, and impolitic ; but, in reference to his publie
duties, it was right; it was honest; it was courage
ous. Both Madison and Monroe had offered him
the highest offices in theirgift ; but the country was
at those times in such a state, that- he thought he
could make himself more useful in Congress; and
he refused tnem. None but the ignorant and base-
minded could credit the monstrous assertion, that he
had made the promise of the Secretaryship the con
dition of giving his vote for Mr. Adams.
Mr. Clay may have been temporarily injured by
the wretched Blander ; and it will be seen, as we ad
vance in his biography, that after it had been drop
ped by Kremer, it was revived by General Jackson.
But we do not believe that there is at this time a
single person of moderate intelligence in the coun
try, who attaches the least credit to the story, tho
roughly exploded as it has been by the most abun
dant and triumphant testimony.
It is, therefore, because we have faith in the ul
timate prevalence of truth, that we do not think Mr.
Clay was in error, when he so far defied his tradu-
cers as to accept the very office which they had
previously accused him of bargaining for. The
clouds which for the moment hide Truth from our
sight only make her shine the brighter when they
are dissipated. In the words of Spenser :
33
Life of Henry Clay,
" It often falls in course of common life,
That Right long time is overborne of Wrong,
Thro' avarice, or power, or guile, or strife ;
But Justice, though her doom she do prolong,
l et at the last she will her own cause right.1 '
Mr. Clay may still abide, " with a sure confidence,
in the conscious integrity and uprightness of his
•own motives." Slander has done her worst. Ne
ver before, in the history of our government, was a
public man so bitterly assailed by every weapon
and engine that unprincipled detraction and malig
nant party hostility could invent. For years, the
opposition, in the face of the most decided and com
plete refutations of the calumny — and notwithstand
ing the original inventors had themselves confessed
its falsity— continued to thrust it before the public,
until, at length, they could find none so mean and
ignorant to credit it. The natural reaction has ta
ken place ; and every honest heart now visits with
indignation any attempt to resuscitate the crushed
and obscene lie. Mr. Clay's reputation has come
forth whiter and purer from the ordeal. The " most
fine gold" is all the more bright because of those
who would have dimmed its lustre. The stream of
time is fast bearing down to oblivion the frail and
unfounded falsehoods of his enemies ; but the pil
lars of his renown, based as they are upon inesti
mable public services, remain unshaken and unim
paired. Mr. Clay entered upon the duties of his new post
in March, 1825. In him the House of Representa
tives lost the ablest and most efficient speaker that
had ever graced the chair. The best proof of his
popularity may be found in the eloquent fact, that
from the time ofhis first entry into the House.ifl-lBll
to 1825", with the exception of two years when he was
'voluntarily absent, he was chosen to preside over
their deliberations almost without opposition. The
period of his Speakership will always be regarded
as an epoch in the history of our Federal Legisla
ture. Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic
of his Presidency over the House, was his perfect—
his unimpeachable impartiality. Both foes ana1
iriemls bore LeuUliioily lo Una Lrait without a dis
senting voice. Strong as were his party feelings,
they never could induce him, even in the very tem
pest and whirlwind of debate, to treat an opponent
with unfairness or undue neglect. His decisions
•were always prompt, yet never so hasty as to be re
versed by the House. Notwithstanding the many
momentous and agitating questions which were dis
cussed while he occupied the chair, he was never
known to lose his self-possession, or to fail in pre
serving the djgnity qflijs ^position.
During the long periodoF hisservice (some twelve
¦or thirteen years) in the chair, such was the confi
dence reposed in his impartiality and the rectitude
jof m'q jn<1gmnat1 that appeals were rarely taken
from his decision — during the last years of his in
cumbency, scarcely one.
It was under Mr. Clay's administration of the
¦duties of the chair, that the present use of the pre
vious question in terminating debate was establish
ed. In England it is employed to put by or post
pone a subject which it is deemed improper to de
bate; and then, when the House of Commons do
saot choose to hear an unacceptable debater, he is si
lenced by being shuffled or coughed down. Cer
tainly it is more orderly, and less invidious, for the
House itself to determine when a subject shall be
put to the question and all debate upon it stopped
And every deliberative body ought necessarily to
possess the power of deciding when it will ex
press its judgment or opinion upon any proposi
tion before it, and, consequently, when debate shall
close. It has been seen, that Mr. Clay's presiding in the
chair did not prevent his taking an active and lead
ing part in all the great measures that came before
the House in committee of the whole. His spirits
were always buoyant, and his manner in debate ge
nerally animated, and sometimes vehement. But
he never carried from the floor to the chair the ex
cited feelings arising in debate. There he was still
composed, dignified, authoritative^ hut' perfectly
impartial. "" His administration of its duties com-
nHficIeHlHe undivided praise of all parties.
Uniformly cheerful when on the floor, he sometimes
indulged in repartee. The late General Alexan
der Smyth of Virginia, a man of ability and re
search, was an excessively tedious speaker, worry
ing the House and probonjjng_bis-4ipeccheB bynu-
merqus quo^tatipnSi On one of these occasions, when
he bad been more than ordinarily tiresome, while
hunting up an authority, he observed to Mr. Clay,
who was sitting near him, " you, sir, speak for the
present generation; but I speak for posterity."—
" Yes," said Mr. Clay, " and you seem resolved to
speak until the arrival of your audience 1"
The late Governor Lincoln of Maine was a gentle
man of fine feelings, eloquent, but declamatory. On j
one occasion, when addressing the House of Repre- I
sentatives, of which he was a member, on the Re
volutionary Pension Bill, in answer to an argument
that it would be a serious charge upon the Treasu
ry of long continuance, as many of the officers and
soldiers would live a great while, he burst out into
the patriotic exclamation, " Soldiers of the Revolu
tion, live for ever !" Mr. Clay followed him, incul
cating moderation, and concluded by turning to Mr.
Lincoln, with an arch smile, and observing, " I hope
my worthy friend will riot insist upon the very great
duration ofthe.se pensions, which he has suggested.
Will he not consent, by way of a compromise, to a
term of 999 years instead of eternity 1"
CHAPTER IX.
Account of Mr. Clay's Intercourse with General Jackson— Bev
erley Carter's Letter— General Jackson the Accuser of M£
Clay— Mr. Buchanan— Final Refutation of the Slander— Mr-
Adams's Testimony— Repeated more strongly in 1843— Oppo
sition to Mr. Adams's Administration— Its Character— John
Randolph's Assaults— His Duel with Mr. Clay— Last Inter
view with Mr. Clay in 1833— Impaired state of Mr. Clay'a
Health— Qualifications for the Secretaryship— The Panama
Instructions — Objects proposed in the Panama Congress— Mr.
Clay's Letter to Mr. Middleton— His Negotiations while Sec
retary ot State— Treaties— Documents from his pen— Policy of
Mr. Adams's Administration — Coalition cf thJ Opposition—
Their Consistency— The Colonial Bill — Mr. Van Buren —
Modes of Attack — Federalism and Democracy — Jacksonism
and _ Federalism Identified — Presidential Election of 1828—
Choice of Andrew Jackson— Economy under Adams, Jack
son, and Van Buren— Mr. Clay's views toward the new Ad
ministration—He leaves Washington— Gross attempt to injure
Ins private credit— His Letter to R. Wickliffe, Esq.
Mr. Clay has himself given to the public a his
tory of his intercourse with General Jackson. It
may be found in his speech of 1838 in the Senate oil
the Sub-Treasury Scheme.
"My acquaintance," he says, "with that extra-
Annihilation of the Charge made by Gen.' Jackson.
39
ordinary man commenced in this city, in the Fall of
1815 or 1816. It was short, but highly respectful
and mutually oordial. 1 beheld in him the gallant
and successful General, who, by the glorious vic
tory of New-Orleans, had honorably closed the sec
ond War of our Independence, anal paid him the
homage due for that eminent service. A few years
after, it became my painful duty to animadvert, in
the House of Representatives, with the indepen
dence which belongs to the Representative charac
ter, upon some of his proceedings in the conduct of
the Seminole War, which 1 thought illegal and con
trary to the Constitution and the law of Nations. A
non intercourse between us ensued, which continued
until the Fall of 1824, when, he being a member of
the Senate, an accommodation between us was
sought to be brought about by the principal part of
the delegation from his own State. For that pur
pose, we were invited to dine with them at Clax-
ton's boarding-house on Capitol Hill, where my
venerable friend from Tennessee (Mr. White) and
his colleague on the Spanish Commission, were both
firesent. I retired early from dinner, and was fol-
Dwed to the door by General Jackson and the pre
sent Minister of the United States at the Court of
Madrid ( Mr. Eaton.) They pressed me earnestly to
take a seat with them in their carriage. My faithful
servant and friend, Charles, was standing at the door
waiting for me with my own. 1 yielded to their ur
gent politeness, directed Charles to follow with my
carriage, and they sat me down by my own door.
We afterward frequently met, with mutual respect
and cordiality : dined several times together, and
reciprocated the hospitality of our respective quar
ters. This friendly intercourse continued until the
election, in the House of Representatives, of a Pre
sident of the United States, came on in February,
1825. I gave the vote which, in the contingency
that happened, I told my colleague, (Mr. Critten
den,) who sits before me, prior to my departure from
Kentucky, in November, 1824, and told others, that
I should give. All intercourse ceased between Gen
eral Jackson and myself. We have never since, ex
cept once accidentally, exchanged salutations, nor
met, except on occasions when we were performing
the last offices toward deceased members of Con
gress, or other officers of Government. Immediate
ly after my vote, a rancorous war was commenced
against me, and all the barking dogs let loose upon
me. I shall not trace it during its ten years' bitter
continuance. But I thank my God that I stand here,
firm and erect, unbent, unbroken, unsubdued, un-
.awed, and ready to denounce the mischievous mea
sures of this Administration, and ready to denounce
this, its legitimate offspring, the most pernicious of
all." Directly after the adjournment of the 19th Con
gress, a letter, dated March 8, 1825, appeared in the
newspapers, purporting to relate a conversation of
the writer with General Jackson, in which the lat
ter said that Mr. Clay's friends in Congress pro
posed to his friends (Gen. J.'s) that if they would
promise for him, that Mr. Adams should not be con
tinued as Secretary of State, Mr. Clay and his
friends would at once elect General Jackson Presi
dent ; and that he (Gen. Jackson) indignantly re
jected the proposition. Mr. Carter Beverly, the au
thor of this letter, wrote to Gen. Jackson, soon after
its appearance, for a confirmation of its statements.
General Jackson replied, in a letter dated June 5,
1827 — more than two years after the charge was first
made ; — but just in season to operate upon approach
ing elections ; and, in his reply, directly charged the
friends of Mr. Clay with having proposed to him,
(Jackson,) through a distinguished Member of Con
gress, to vote for him, in case he would declare that
Mr. Adams should not be continued as Secretary of
State ; and insinuated that this proposition was made
by authority of Mr. Clay; and to strengthen that
insinuation, asserted that immediately after the re
jection of the proposition, Mr. Clay came out openly
for Mr. Adams.
To this proposition, according to his own account,
General Jackson returned for answer, that before he
would reach the Presidential Chair by such means
of bargain and corruption, " he would see the earth
open, and swallow both Mr. Clay and his friends
and himself with them !" — a reply, which was no
doubt literally true inasmuch as " such means "
could never have been used to elevate the Hero of
New-Orleans to the Presidency.
General Jackson gave up the name of Mr. Bu
chanan of Pennsylvania as " the distinguished Mem
ber of Congress," to whom he had alluded in his
letter to Mr. Beverly. Mr. Buchanan being thus
involved in the controversy, although a personal and
political friend of General Jackson, made a state
ment which entirely exculpated Mr. Clay and his
friends from all participation in the alleged proposi
tion. He stated, that in the month of December, a
rumor was in circulation at Washington, that Gen.
Jackson intended, if elected, to keep Mr. Adams in
as Secretary of State. Believing that such a belief
would cool his friends and inspire his opponents
with confidence, and being a supporter of General
Jackson himself, he thought that the General ought
to contradict the report. He accordingly called on
him, and made known his views ; to which General
Jackson replied, that though he thought well of Mr.
Adams, he had never said or intimated, that he
would or would not, appoint him Secretary of State.
Mr. Buchanan then asked permission to repeat this
answer to any person he thought proper, which was
granted, and here the conversation ended. And out
of such flimsy materials had General Jackson con
structed his rancorous charge against Mr. Clay !
Mr. Buchanan further stated, that he called on
General Jackson solely as his friend, and upon his
own responsibility, and not as an agent for Mr. Clay*,
or any other person, that he had never been a
friend of Mr. Clay during the Presidential contest;
and that he had not the most distant idea that Gen.
Jackson believed, or suspected that he came on be
half of Mr. Clay, or ofhis friends, until the publi
cation of the letter, making that accusation.
Nothwithstanding all grounds for the charge
were thus annihilated by the testimony of the " dis
tinguished Member of Congress" — himself a warm
partizan of General Jackson — the asinine cry ot
bargain and corruption was still kept up by the op
ponents of the Administration ; and the most auda
cious assertions were substituted for proofs.
At length, although not the slightest Bhadow of
anything resembling evidence had been produced in
support of the calumny, a body of testimony per
fectly overwhelming was produced against it. A
Circular Letter waa addressed to the Western Mem
bers (for they alone were accused of being impli
cated in the alleged transaction) who voted for Mr.
Adams in the election by Congress in 1825, request
ing to know whether there was any foundation for
the charge in the letter of General Jackson.
They all (with the exception of Mr. Cook, who
was dead) utterly disclaimed the knowledge of any
40
Life of Henry Clay.
proposition made by Mr. Clay, or his friendB, to
General Jackson, or to any other person ; and also
explicitly disclaimed any negotiation with respect
to their votes on that occasion. On the contrary,
the members from Ohio stated that they had deter
mined upon voting for Mr. Adams previous to their
being informed of Mr. Clay's intention, and with
out having ascertained his views.
The members from Kentucky, who voted with
Mr. Clay, expressed their ignorance of conditions of
any sort having been offered by his friends to any
person, on compliance with which their vote was
to depend.
The members from Louisiana and Missouri, coin
cided in these declarations, and they all professed
their belief in the falsehood of the charges against
Mr. Clay, on account ofhis conduct on that occasion.
In addition to this testimony, letters were pro
duced from well known individuals, satisfactorily
establishing the fact that Mr. Clay, previous to his
leaving his residence in Kentucky for Washington,
in the Fall of 1824, repeatedly made declarations of
his preference for Mr. Adams over General Jack
son, through the months of October, November, De
cember and January following, until he executed
that intention on the 9th of Febuary, 1825, in the
House of Representatives. We have already quo
ted from General Lafayette's letter to Mr. Clay a
passage confirming this ample testimony.
Such a mass of evidence effectually crushed the
accusation respecting a bargain, and convinced the
public, that in voting for Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay and
his friends conscientiously discharged their duty;
and that they could not have voted otherwise without
palpable inconsistency.
When, on the occasion ofhis speech of June, 1842,
at Lexington, Mr. Clay alluded to this calumny, of
which we have given a brief history, somebody cried
out, that Mr. Carter Beverly, who had been made
the organ of announcing it, had recently borne testi
mony to its being unfounded. Mr. Clay said it was
true that he had voluntarily borne such testimony.
But, with great earnestness and emphasis, Mr. Clay
said, 1" want no testimony ; here — here — HERE —
(repeatedly touching his heart, amid tremendous
cheers) — here is the best of all witnesses of my in
nocence. Soon after the close ofhis administration, Mr. Ad
ams, in reply to an address from a committee of gen
tlemen in New Jersey, spoke in the following terms
of Mr. Clay:
'• Upon him (Mr. Clay) the foulest slanders have
been showered. Long known and appreciated, as
successively a Member of both Houses of your Na
tional Legislature, as the unrivalled Speaker, and,
at the same time, most efficient leader of debates in
one of them ; as as able and successful negotiator for
your interests in war and peace, with foreign powers,
and as a powerful candidate for the highest of your
trusts — the Department of State itself was a station,
which, by its bestowal, could confer neither profit
nor honor upon him, but upon which he has shed
unfading honor, by the manner in which he has dis
charged its duties. Prejudice and passion have
charged him with obtaining that office by bargain
and corruption. Before you, my fellow-citizens, in
the presence of our country and Heaven, I pro
nounce that charge totally unfounded. This tribute
of justice is due from me to him, and I seize, with
pleasure, the opportunity afforded me by your letter,
of discharging the obligation.
" As to my motives for tendering to him the De
partment of State when I did, let that man who ques
tions them come forward. Let him look around
among Statesmen and Legislators of this Nation and
of that day. Let him then select and name the man
whom, by his pre-eminent talents, by hia splendid
services, by his ardent patriotism, by his all-embra
cing public spirit, by his fervid eloquence in behalf
of the rights and liberties of mankind, by his long
experience in the affairB of the Union, foreign and
domestic, a President of the United States, intent
only upon the honor and welfare ofhis country, ought
to have preferred to Henry Clay. Let him name
the man, and then judge you, my fellow-citizens, of
my motives."
During his visit to the West in the fall of 1843,
Mr. Adams confirmed this denial in the strongest
terms, which it is possible for the human tongue to
employ. " I thank you, sir," said he, in his speech at Mays-
ville, (Ky.) " for the opportunity you have given me
1 of speaking of the great Statesman who was asso-
' ciated with me in the administration of the General
' Government, at my earnest solicitation — who be-
' longs not to Kentucky alone, but to the whole Un-
' ion; and is not only an honor to this State and this
' Nation, but to mankind. The charges to which you
' refer, I have, after my term of service had expired,
1 and it was proper for me to speak, denied before
' the whole country ; and I here reiterate and reaf-
'firm that denial ; and as I expect shortly to appear
' before my God, to answer for the conduct of my
' whole life, should those charges have found their
' way to the Throne of Eternal Justice, I will, is
' THE PRESENCE OF OMNIPOTENCE, PRONOUNCE
' THEM FALSE."
In his address at Covington, (Ky.) Mr. Adams
said, in allusion to the hospitalities, which he had
met with : " Not only have I received invitations
' from public bodies and cities, but also from indivi-
' duals, among the first of whom was that great man,
' your own citizen, who, during a very large portion
' of my public life, and in various public capacities,
' and in several instances in matters relating to your
' interests, has been my associate and friend, and the
' recollection of whom, brings me to the acknowledg-
' ment, before this whole assembly, that in all the
' various capacities in which I have known him to
' act, whether as associate, as assistant, or acting in-
' dependently of me, in his own individual charncter
' and capacity, I have ever found him not only one of
' the ablest men with whom I have ever co-operated,
' but also of the most amiable and worthy."*
We have but imperfectly sketched the history of
the flagitious measures which were adonted to blast
* Mr. Adams, of whom it could be said, ' ' age cannot mar,.
nor custom stale his infinite variety," always retained his
exalted estimate of Mr Clay's patriotism and statesmanship,
and was his ardent supporter for the Presidency in 184S-
A Washington correspondent of that year wrote :
" Ihavefrequently observed ladies' albums circulating through
the House and Senate Chamber, with the view of collecting the
autographs of the Members. One this morning, belonging to a
young lady of attracted considerable attention. Upon ex
amination, I found it contained a page of well written poetry,
dated 23d July, 1842, m the tremulous hand-writing of John Q.
Adams. 1 his piece waB descriptive of the wild chaos at present
spread over our political affairs, and anticipated coming events
which would bring order out of disorder. The closing verse » as
as follows :
Say, for whose brow this laurel crown *
For whom this web of life is spinnmg f
I urn this, thy Album, upside down,
And take the end for the beginning.*
. '.',.T1)e "jeanine of tliis was somewhat mystical, but by tumine
to tie back oi the book, and inverting it, on its tot We a niece
was lbund with the s gnature o/H. Clay 1 " *^g P
Opposition to Mr. Adams's Administration — Mr. Clay's Labors as Secretary of State 41
the political reputation of Mr. Clav and break down
the Administration, of which he was the main orna
ment and support. To the future historian we leave
the task of commenting, in adequate terms of repro
bation, upon the conduct of those unprincipled men
who originated the slander, and continued to circu
late it long after it had been proved to be utterly
ungrounded. That it answered the purpose for
which it was intended ; that it was the most efficient
instrument employed to trammel and defeat Mr.
Adams's Administration there can now be little
doubt. The recklessness and audacity with which
it was persisted in until it had served its end, — the
conduct of Mr. Kremer, as he vacillated between
his good impulses and the party ties by which he
was fettered, — and subsequent developments, still
fresh in the remembrance of many of our readers,
showed that the promulgation of the calumny was
the result of a regularly planned conspiracy.
We refer' those who would satisfy themselves of
this fact, as well as of the sufficiency of the proofs
by which this ' measureless lie ' was overwhelmed,
to the proceedings in the House of Representatives,
instituted at Mr. Clay's instance in February, 1825; —
to the subsequent letter of Carter Beverley, detailing
a conversation at General Jackson's; — to Mr. Clay's
Letter to the Public, challenging his enemy to pro
duce his testimony; — to Gen. Jackson's surrender
of the name of Mr. Buchanan as the " distinguished
Member of Congress" upon whose authority the
charge of corruption was reiterated against Mr.
Clay; — to Mr. Buchanan's complete and decided
disclaimation of any intention on his part of ever
giving countenance to the charge ; — to Mr. Clay's
pamphlets, published in 1827-8, embodying a mass
of testimony disproving the charge ; — to Mr. Bucha
nan's statements on the floor of the House of Repre
sentatives and the Senate, avowing his disbelief of
the charge ;— and finally to Carter Beverley's letter,
published in 1841, repudiating the calumny as desti
tute of the slightest foundation in truth, and making
such atonement as he could for having given cur
rency to it in his letter of 1325.*
We might refer farther to Thomas H. Benton's
declaration, who in a letter dated December 7, 1827,
proves not only that Mr. Clay's bitterest opponents
considered him innocent of the charge, but that be
fore Congress had convened — before the Presidential
election took place in that body — Mr. Clay had dis
closed his intention to vote for Mr. Adams, not only
to Mr. B-, but to others. — See Nat. Int., Apr. 25, '44.
Rarely has an Administration been subjected to
an opposition so unrelenting, so vindictive and so
determined as that which assailed the Presidency of
John Quincy Adams. The motives of that opposi
tion appear to have been purely selfish and merce
nary ; for the policy of Mr. Adams resembled that
of his predecessor, whose Secretary of State he had
been, and it was little calculated to call down a viru
lent hostility. In his views of the powers of the
General Government he was more liberal than Mr.
Monroe. He was friendly to the American System
of Internal Improvement and Protection, which had
been so ably vindicated by Mr. Clay ; and all his
* All these documents may be found in Niles's Register. We
raerct that our limits will not permit us to expose, in its fullde-
rbrmity, the whole of this nefarious plot against Mr. Clay That
man must presume greatly upon the ignorance of the Public,
however who would at this day venture to revive the extinct he.
measures were conceived in a truly generous, re
publican and patriotic spirit.
A great clamor was most unjustly raised about
the expenses of his Administration. At this day the
iniquity of this charge is so apparent as to render it
unworthy a serious confutation. It becomes in
deed laughable when placed Bide by side with the
list of Presidential expenditures under Mr. Van Bu
ren. In the distribution of his official patronage Mr.
Adams appears to have been actuated by the purest"
and most honorable motives. Not a single removal
from office on political grounds was made by his
authority ; and in no one instance does he seem to
have been impelled by considerations of self-inter
est or with a view to ultimate personal advantage.
The circumstances under which he came into of
fice, however, were a continual source of uneasi
ness to the friends of Jackson and Crawford ; and
his Administration, able and honorable to the coun
try as it was, was constantly assailed. John Ran
dolph, who had now a seat in the Senate, was espe
cially bitter and personal in his denunciations. The
eccentricities of that extraordinary man induced
many persons to believe that he was partially de
ranged in his intellect. His long, desultory and
immethodical harangues were a serious impediment
to legislative business, while his elfish taunts and
reckless assaults upon individuals were so frequent,
that he seemed at length to have arrived at the con
clusion that he enjoyed superior immunities in de
bate — that he was, in fact, " a chartered libertine."
In one of the numerous discussions upon the Pana
ma Mission, he took occasion to animadvert in the
most offensive manner upon the conduct of Mr. Clay,-
and denounced the harmony existing between the
Secretary of State and the President as a " coali-
tior of Blifil and Black George ;" a combination of
" the Puritan with the Black-leg."
When called upon by Mr. Clay to explain or re
tract these expressions, he refused. A hostile meet
ing consequently ensued between them on the 8th
of April, 1826. After two ineffectual fires it result
ed in the reconciliation of the parties — John Ran
dolph having given additional evidence, by his con
duct and appearance on the occasion, that his eccen
tricity, if it did not border on insanity, was separa
ted from it by a very slight partition.
The last interview between Mr. Clay and Mr.
Randolph was on the 2d or 3d of March, 1833, a
few weeks befbre Mr. R's death, when he was oh
his way to Philadelphia, where he died. He came
to the Senate Chamber, unable to stand or walk
without assistance. The Senate was in session by
candle-light, and Mr. Clay had risen to make some
observations on the Compromise Act. " Help me
up," said Mr. Randolph, sitting in a chair, and
addressing his half-brother, Mr. B. Tucker ; "I
have come here to hear that voice." As soon as
Mr. Clay had concluded his remarks, he went to-
Mr. Randolph, and they cordially shook hands and
exchanged salutations.
The health of Mr. Clay during the whole period
of his residence at Washington, as Secretary of
State, was exceedingly unfavorable — so much so,
that at, one time he had fully determined to resign,
the office. He was persuaded, however, to remain j
and, notwithstanding the depressing influence upon
mental and physical exertion of bodilv infirmi.
42
Life of Henry Clay.
ty, he discharged the complicate and laborious duties
of the Secretaryship with a fidelity and efficiency
that have never been surpassed. In the records of
his labors, in his instructions to Ministers, and his nu
merous letters upon subjects of foreign and domes
tic concern, the archives of the State Department
contain a lasting monument to his transcendent
abilities as a statesman and his indefatigability as a
public officer.
One of the ablest state papers in the diplomatic
annals of the United States is the letter of instruc
tions of Mr. Clay to the Delegation to Panama. The
story of this Mission may be briefly told. A Con
gress was proposed to be held at Panama or Tacu-
baya, to be composed of Delegates from the Repub
lics of Mexico, Colombia and Central America, to
deliberate on subjects of importance to all, and in
which the welfare and interest of all might be in
volved. The threatening aspect of the Holy Alli
ance towards the free Governments of the new world
had induced the late President, Monroe, to declare
that the United States would not view with indif
ference any interference on their part in the contest
between Spain and her former Colonies; and the
Governments of the new Republics were naturally
led to suppose that our own was friendly to the ob
jects proposed in the contemplated Congress. In
the Spring of 1825, invitations were given on the
part of Colombia, Mexico and Central America to
the United States to send Commissioners to Pa
nama. In reply to this proposition, coming from the Min
isters of those powers at Washington, Mr. Clay
said, that before such a Congress met, it appeared
to him expedient to adjust, as preliminary matters,
the precise objects to which the attention of the
Congress would be directed, and the substance and
the form of the powers of the Ministers representing
the several Republics. This suggestion called forth
answers, which were not considered as sufficiently
precise ; but still to manifest the sensibility of the
United States to what concerned the welfare of Ame
rica, and to the friendly feelings of the Spanish Ame-
-rican States, the President determined to accept
their invitations, and to send Ministers with the con
sent of the Senate.
In March, 1829, a call having been mode in the
¦Senate for copies of the instructions given to our
Ministers at Panama, Mr. Adams transmitted them ,
and they were soon afterwards published, notwith
standing a rancorous attempt on the part of the op
position to prevent their appearance ; so creditable
were they to the Administration that was going out
of power, and to Mr. Clay, their author ; and so
-completely did they refute the slanders, which had
¦been propagated in connection with the Mission.
Few state papers in the arohives of the Govern
ment will compare, in point of ability, with this let
ter of instructions of Mr. Clay. It was, perhaps,
the most elaborate paper prepared by him whilst in
the Department of State. The liberal principles of
commerce and navigation, which it proposed ; the
securities for neutral and maritime rights, which it
sought; the whole system of international and Ame
rican policy, which it aimed to establish ; and the
preparatory measures, which it recommended, for
uniting the two Oceans by a Canal, constitute i
one of the boldest, most original, comprehensive and
statesman-like documents on record.
Another masterly paper from the pen of Mr Clay,
is his letter of May, 1825, to our Minister at St.
Petersburgh, Mr. Middleton, instructing him to en
gage the Russian Government to contribute its best
exertions toward terminating the contest then exist
ing between Spain and her Colonies. The appeal
was not in vain. Through Mr. Clay's exertions,
the policy of recognizing the Independence dt
Greece, and sending a Minister to that country, was
also at length acquiesced in ; and the effect of that re
cognition — the first she had experienced — in rousing
the spirit of the struggling nation, is a matter of
history. The number of Treaties negotiated by Mr. Clay
at the Seat of the General Government is greateir
than that of all which had ever been previously
concluded there from the first adoption of the Con
stitution. His Diplomatic experience — his attract
ive manners — his facile and unceremonious mode of
transacting business, rendered him a favorite with
the Foreign Ministers at Washington, and enabled
him to procure from them terms the most advan
tageous to the Country. During his incumbency
as Secretary, he concluded and signed Treaties
with Colombia, Central America, Denmark, Prussia
and the Hanseatic Republic ; and effected a nego
tiation with Russia for the settlement of the claims
of American citizens. He also concluded a Treaty
with Austria, but did not remain in office to see it
signed. His letters to Mr. Gallatin, our Minister at Lon
don, in relation to the trade between the United
States and the British Colonies, are documents of
extraordinary interest and value, which ably advo
cate a durable' and obligatory arrangement by Treaty
in preference to other modes of settlement. His let
ters to the same functionary, on the Navigation of
the St. Lawrence, and to our Charge at London,
relative to the North-Eastern Boundary, exhibit
much research, and a sagacious, enlightened and
truly American spirit. Never was the Diplomacy
of the Country so efficiently and creditably con
ducted as when under the charge of Henry Clay.
It has been justly said that no policy could be
more thoroughly anti:European, and more com
pletely American, than that of Mr. Adams's Admin
istration. He would exclude all farther European
colonization from the American Continent ; all in
terference of European Monarchs, especially those
of the miscalled Holy Alliance, in American poli
tics ; he would render his own country, essentially,
independent of European work-shops, by fostering
American Arts, Manufactures and Science, and
would strengthen her power, by rendering her force
more available through the instrmentality of Inter
nal Improvements. To these objects his efforts
were directed.
Mr. Clay had long been the acknowledged head
of the Democratic Party ; the most vigorous, elo
quent and consistent champion of their principles,
and we may add, that such he has ever continued.
In giving his vote for Mr. Adams, he believed — and
events justified his belief — that he would secure to
the Country an Administration attached to the same
leading policy that had characterized the Adminis
trations of Madison and Monroe, with this additional
The West India Trade — Who are the Federalists.
43
advantage : that it would be decidedly friendly to
those great measures of Protection and Internal
Improvement, of which he had been the early and
persevering advocate. But the elements of oppo
sition, which had remained inactive during the
eight years of Mr. Monroe's Presidency, began to
form and combine against his successor almost be
fore he was ' warm in his chair.' The character of
these elements was somewhat heterogeneous; and
the partisan managers were long puzzled to find
some principles of cohesion in their opposition.
The policy of Mr. Adams upon all important ques
tions coincided with that of the majority, and was
sanctioned by the example of his great Democratic
predecessors. At the commencement of his term
of office, he had declared his intention to follow that
example in the general outlines. He made it a rule
to remove no man from office except for official mis-
eonduct, and to regard, in the selection of candi
dates for vacancies, only their moral and intellectual
qualifications. He thus voluntarily relinquished the
support which he might have derived from Execu
tive patronage, and placed the success of his Ad
ministration simply upon the merit of its principles
and its measures. What possible ground of oppo
sition, therefore, could be discovered or invented 1
'* No matter : his Administration must be put
down; " for an army of aspirants and office-seekers
were in the field. In the words of one of the most
distinguished of General Jackson's supporters, the
Administration must be put down, " though as pure
0$ the angels at the right hand of God."
Such being the tone of feeling among the Oppo
sition, it is not a matter of surprise that the weapons
employed against Mr. Adams and his friends were
of a character directly the opposite of ' angelic'
In the first place, a gross and utterly unfounded
charge of corruplion was brought against the Presi
dent and the Secretary of State. We have seen
how utterly exploded, by the most positive and
overwhelming testimony, that miserable slander has
been. Charges of extravagance were then made
against the Government; and a paltry bill for
crockery and furniture for the White House was
magnified into an accusation against the plain,
frugal and unassuming Mr. Adams of an intention
to ape the extravagance and splendor of European
Potentates. The ordinary and established expen
ditures of the Government were examined with new
and unexampled rigor, for the purpose of producing
the belief that they originated with the Administra
tion; and an assertion on his part of the President's
Constitutional right to appoint, in the vacation of
Congress, Diplomatic Agents to transact the Foreign
business of the Country was construed into an
Usurpation of a new and unconstitutional power.
It having been discovered that the Secretary of
State had, in some ten or dozen cases, transferred
the employment of publishing the Laws from one
Printing Establishment to another, a great clamor
was raised about an attempt to corrupt the
Press. The Secretary was charged with selecting
the papers for political and personal objects ; and a
Resolution was offered, in the House of Repre
sentatives, requiring him to communicate the
changes which had been made, and his reasons
therefor. But, on its being discovered that the
House had no jurisdiction of the case, the inquiry
was dropped. By way of showing the consistency
of the Opposition, at the very time the detachment
in the House were arraigning Mr. Clay for changing
the publication of the Laws from one newspaper to
another, their brethren in the Senate, under the
guidance of Mr. Van Buren, were engaged in the
attempt to deprive the National Intelligencer of the
Printing of that body !
Shortly before the termination of the Second
Session of the Nineteenth Congress, Mr. Floyd oi
Virginia announced to the public that the ' com
binations' for effecting the elevation of General
Jackson were nearly complete. During the Ses
sion, symptoms of the coalition began to appear;
and on several questions an organized opposition
was made manifest. Of these, we need only enu
merate the Bankrupt Act, the bills for the gradual
improvement of the Navy, authorizing Dry Docks
and a Naval School, the appropriations for Surveys
and Internal Improvement, the Controversy between
Georgia and the General Government respecting the
Creek Treaty, the bills to augment the Duty on im
ported Woollens, and closing the Ports of the
United States against British vessels from the
Colonies, after a limited period.
With regard to the Colonial Bill, the conduct of
the succeeding Administration upon the subject of
the West India Trade may make a brief outline of
facts not inappropriate in this place. At the first
session of the Nineteenth Congress, a bill was intro
duced into the Senate to accept, as far as practica
ble, the terms proposed by the British Acts of 1825,
regulating the intercourse of Foreign Powers with
her West India Islands. Owing to the long and in
terminable debates for political effect in that body at
that session, the bill was not passed, and in the va
cation the British Government interdicted the trade.
The next SPBsion, measures of retaliation were pro
posed, but no definite steps were taken until the
close of the session ; and by a disagreement between
the two Houses, the bill was lost, and the Execu
tive was' compelled to close our ports abruptly with
out any conditions. The manner in which Mr. Van
Buren afterwards, when Secretary of State, availed
himself of this fact, to disparage the administration
of Mr. Adams before the British Ministry and Na
tion, is well known ; and the mendicant appeals
which, in his instructions to our Minister at the
Court of St. James, he directed to be made to the
English negotiators, remain a stigma on the diplo
macy of the United States. The West India Trade
was a fair and proper subject of convention between
the two countries, to be settled on the basis of mu
tual rights and reciprocal interests. The honor of
our country forbade any other course. If England
would not deign to treat on this subject, it was not
for us to coax her haughty Ministers into concession
by legislative enactments. Such was the elevated
and patriotic view of the subject taken by Mr. Clay.
Directly opposite were the view afterwards taken,
and the course adopted, by Mr. Van Buren.
As Mr. Adams's administration drew to a close, it
began to be apparent that it was not destined to a
second term. The strongest appeals were made to
the sectional feelings of the Western States in be
half of the candidate of the Opposition ; and these
appeals were but too successful. In the various
sections of the Union, opposite reasons were urged
44
Life of Henry Clay.
¦with effect against the Administration. New-York
and Pennsylvania were operated upon by an asser
tion, industriously circulated, that General Jackson
was the candidate of the Democracy of the country,
and this impression contributed to create a strong
party in the States of Maine and New-HampBhire.
Nothing could be more untrue than the assertion.
Many of the leaders of the old Federal party were
the most ardent personal opponents of Mr. Adams,
and became thft most effective enemies of his Admin
istration. These men might afterwards be heard
claiming to be the orthodox Democratic party, and
denouncing Henry Clay — the early opponent of the
Alien and Sedition Laws — the friend and supporter
of Jefferson's administration — the main pillar of Ma
dison's — and the most active originator and advocate
of the Last War — as a Federalist !
The truth is that it has fared with the principles
of Federalism as with its men. In the time of Mr.
Monroe there was a general blending of parties. A
new and distinct formation, on grounds at first pure
ly personal, was made during the administration of
Gen. Jackson. As soon as there was a division on
principles, the worst part of the old Federalists —
some of the most bitter and envenomed — the black
cockade gentry, who had passed their younger years
in writing pasquinades on Mr. Jefferson's breeches,
and had been in the habit of thanking Heaven that
they had " no Democratic blood in their veins" —
went over to Gen. Jackson, and carried with them a
spirit of ultraism, ay, and of ultra-Federalism, which
was developed in the Protest, and Proclamation, and
many of the leading measures of his Administration.
The more moderate, prudent and patriotic joined
with the Democratic party, and formed the great
Whig party of the country. The ultras of the old
parties coalesced, and the combination was natu
rally Tory.*
Upon the assembling of the Twentieth Congress,
it was ascertained, by the election of the Speaker,
that a majority of the House was opposed to the
Administration; and this victory was soon followed
by such an accession from those who were uncom
mitted in the Senate as to give n majority to the
same party in that body. Thenceforward the Ad
ministration was not allowed, of course, a fair trial ;
and every question was discussed with a view to
political effect.
* In one of the skirmishes between Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun,
during the Sub-Treasury discussion, Mr. Clay took up, among
other topics, this question of Federalism. Air. Calhoun had al
luded to the friends of his opponent as members of the Federal
party. " Sir," said Mr, Clay, "J am ready to go into an exami-
1 nation with the honorable Senator at any time, and then we
* shall see if there are not more members of that same old Federal
' party amongst those whom the Senator has so recently joined
' than on our side of the house. The plain truth is, that it is
' the old Federal party with whom he is now acting. For all
' the former grounds of difference which distinguished that party,
' and were the subjects of contention between them and the Re-
' publicans, have ceased, from lapse of time and change of cir-
* camstances, with the exception of one, and that is the mainte-
' nance and increase of Executive power. This was a leading
' policy of the Federal party. A strong, powerful and energetic
' Executive was its favorite tenet." * * * "I can tell the
' gentleman that he will find the true old Democratic party,
* who were for resisting the encroachments of power, and lim-
' iting Executive patronage, on this side of the Senate, and
1 not with his new allies, the Jackson-Van Buren Democratic
' party, whose leading principle is to sustain the Executive,
'and deny all power totjte Legislature: and which does not
hold a solitary principle in common with the Republican par
ti/ of 1798."
At length, in the autumn of 1828, the Presidential
Election took place, and resulted in the choice of
Andrew Jackson, by one hundred and twenty-eight
votes in the primary Electoral Colleges, given by
sixteen States, including Virginia and Georgia,
which, in the previous Election, had cast their votes
for Mr. Crawford. Mr. Adams was supported by
the six New-England States; by New-Jersey, which
had previously voted against him; by Delaware,
and sixteen votes from New -York, and six from Ma
ryland. Mr. Calhoun obtained the same vote for
Vice President that Gen. Jackson did for President,
except seven votes in Georgia, which were thrown
away upon William Smith of South Carolina. Mr.
Rush received the whole vote of the Administratioa
party for Vice President.
Thus ended the administration of John Quincy
Adams, during which our domestic, and foreign af
fairs were never more ably and prosperously con
ducted. The foreign policy of the Government had
only in view the maintenance of the dignity of the
National character, the extension of our Commercial
Relations, and the successful prosecution of the
claims of American citizens upon Foreign Govern
ments. The Domestic policy was no less liberal, active
and decided; and never was there a more ground
less political libel than mat which impeached the
integrity and economy of that Administration. As
the charge of extravagance was the argument most
vehemently urged against Mr. Adams's Administra
tion, it may be well in this place to glance at ittt
plausibility. The aggregate expenditures of the
several Administrations from 1789 to 1838, exclusive
of the Public Debt, and payments under Treaty stipu
lations, including the expenses and arrearages of the
last War with Great Britain, were :
Washington's Administration, 8 yrs. £15,890,698 55
John Adams's " 4 " 21,348,356 19
Jefferson's » 8 " 41,100,788 88
Madison's " 8 " 144,684,944 86
Monroe's " 8 » 99,363,509 64
J. Q,. Adams's « 4 '< 49,725,721 26
Jackson's » 8 " 144,579,847 72
Total $516,693,867 10
From this statement it appears that the reforming,
retrenching, economical, Democratic Administration
of General Jackson, that expressed such a holy hor
ror at Mr. Adams's extravagance, cost the country
as much as the Administration of Mr. Madison, in
cluding the outlays of an expensive War with Great
Britain. Mr. Van Buren retrenched in the same
ratio with his predecessor. The first year of his
Administration cost the People §33,554,341 — about
three times the average annual expenditure of Mr.
Adams! During the remainder of his term the
public expenses were in a like proportion. What
measure of condemnation should be bestowed upon
the political hypocrites whose promised reforms and
retrenchments resulted in such gross profligacy and
neglect of the public interests !
In March, 1829, General Jackson entered upon
the discharge ofhis official duties as President. On
the 14th of the same month, Mr. Clay left Washing
ton for his residence in Kentucky. Before quitting
that city, some of the principal residents, as a part
ing tribute of respect, gave bim a Public Dinner.
In his speech on the occasion, he briefly reviewea
the events, in which he had been an actor, during
Return to Kentucky — Remarks on Slavery.
45
the preceding four years. He alluded to the serious
charge against him, which had been brought by
General Jackson, who, after summoning his friend
and only witness (Mr. Buchanan) to establish it, and
hearing that witness promptly and unequivocally
deny all knowledge whatever of any transaction
that could throw the slightest shade upon the
eharacter of the accused, maintained a stubborn
and persevering silence upon the subject, instead of
magnanimously acknowledging his error and atoning
for the gross injustice of which he had been guilty.
"But," said Mr. Clay, "my relations to that citi-
1 zen, by a recent event, are now changed. He is
* the Chief Magistrate of my Country, invested with
1 large and extensive powers, the administration of
' which may conduce to its prosperity, or occasion
' its adversity. Patriotism enjoins, as a duty, that
' while he is in that exalted station, he should be
* treated with decorum, and his official acts be judged
' of in a spirit of candor."
Such was the patriotic spirit with which Mr. Clay
regarded the elevation of General Jackson, and in
which he was prepared to judge of the acts of the
new Administration.
The political enemies of Mr. Clay were not, how
ever, content with misrepresenting his public course.
They lifted, with a rude and ruffianly hand, the veil
from his private affairs, and attempted to destroy his
private credit by charging him with bankruptcy.
The consequence was the publication of a letter
from Mr. Clay to Robert Wickliffe, Esq. dated May
24, 1828, in which the falsehoods of his assailants
were fully confuted. He admitted that he had
incurred a heavy responsibility, about ten years
before, as endorser for his friends, to which cause
his temporary retirement from public life and the
renewal of his professional labors were to be
attributed. The mortgages upon his Estate did not
amount to ten thousand dollars, and before the ex
piration' of the year he hoped there would not remain
one-fifth of that sum.
"I have hitherto," says Mr. Clay, in this letter,
" met all my engagements by the simplest of pro
cesses, that of living within my income, punctually
paying interest when I could not pay principal, and
carefully preserving my credit. I am not tree, ab
solutely, from debt. I am not rich. I never coveted
riches. But my estate would, even now, be estima
ted at not much less than one hundred thousand dol
lars. Whatever it may be worth, it is a gratification
for me to know that it is the produce of my own hon
est labor— no part of it being hereditary, except one
slave, who would oblige me very much if he would
accept his freedom. It is sufficient, after paying all
my debts, to leave my family above want, if I should
be separated from them. It is a matter also of conso
lation to me to know, that this wanton exposure of
my private affairs can do me no pecuniary prejudice.
My few creditors will not allow their confidence in me
to be shaken by it. It has indeed led to one incident,
which was at the same time a source of pleasure and
of pain. A friend lately called on me at the instance
of other friends, and informed me, that they were ap
prehensive that rav private affairs were embarrassed,
and that I allowed their embarrassment to prey upon
-my mind. He came, therefore, with their authority
to tell me, that they would contribute any sum that
I might want to relieve me. The emotions which
such a proposition excited can be conceived only by
honorable men. I felt most happy to be able to un
deceive them, and to decline their benevolent prop
osition."
CHAPTER X.
Mr. Clay's Return to Kentucky— Triumphant Reception—Pub
lie Dinners— Speeches— Mr. Clay and the Colonization Socie
ty—His sentiments on Slavery— Abolition Petitions— Visit to
New-Orleans— Natchez— Complimentary Reception by the
Louisiana House of Representatives— Visit to Ohio — Dines with
the Mechanics at Columbus— His Election to the U. S. Senate
in 1831— Nomination to the Presidency— The Tariff— Defence
of the, American System— Mr. Clay's estimate of the Irish
character— Reduction of Duties— Letter of T. H. Benton.
There are few men, who can bear defeat more
gracefully, or with more unaffected good humor,
than Mr. Clay. Relieved from his official toils as
Secretary of State, his health rapidly improved, and
his fine spirits expanded unchecked. On his journey
from the seat of Government, previous to his arrival
at Uniontown in Pennsylvania, the roads being ex
tremely bad, he sent his private vehicles ahead and
took the stage-coach. Finding it disagreeable with
in, however, he removed to an outside seat next the
driver, and, in that situation, entered Uniontown.
The good people of the place expressed a great deal
of surprise at seeing the ex-Secretary in that lofty,
and yet humble position. " Gentlemen," replied Mr.
Clay, " although I am with the outs, yet I can as
sure you that the ins behind me have much the worst
of it."
On his way to Kentucky, Mr. Clay received con
tinual testimonials of the attachment and esteem of
the people. He was invited to innumerable public din
ners, but was able to appear only at a few. At Fred
erick in Maryland, he made an admirable speech at
one of these complimentary festivals on the eight
eenth of March, 1829. On the thirty-first of the same
month he dined with the mechanics at Wheeling,
whom he addressed principally in relation to the
American System — Manufactures and Internal Im
provements. He reached his home at Ashland, with
his family, the sixth of April, having been met at
some distance from Lexington by a large number of
friends, by whom he was mostaffectionatelyreceived.
On the 16th of May, a great public dinner was
given to him at Fowler's Garden by his fellow-
townsmen. Three thousand sat down at the table ;
and Mr. Clay spoke for the space of one hour and
thirty-five minutes ; the following appropriate toast
having been previously given : "Our distinguished
' guest, friend and neighbor, Henry Clay — with in-
' creased proofs of his worth, we delight to renew
' the assurance of our confidence in his patriotism,
' talents and incorruptibility — may health and happi-
' ness attend him in retirement, and a grateful ua-
' tion do justice to his virtues."
Mr. Clay's speech on this occasion is one of the ,
choicest specimens of his eloquence, being pervaded
by some of the finest characteristics of his style, al- ,
though there is, of course, an absence of those im
passioned appeals, which would have been out of
place. The exordium is full of pathos and beauty.
He had been separated for four years from his friends
and neighbors. After devoting the best energies of
bis prime to the service ofhis country, he had been
grossly traduced and injured, and his most conspic
uous traducer had been elevated to the Presidency.
He had returned home once more ; and now saw.be-
fore him, gathered together to do him honor, to re
new their assurances of attachment and confidence,
sires with whom, for more than thirty years, he had
interchanged friendly offices—their sons, grown up
44
Life of Henry Clay.
during his absence in the public councils, accompa
nying them— and all prompted by ardent attach
ment, surrounding and saluting him as if he belong
ed to their own household.
After alluding in the happiest manner to some of
these circumstances, Mr. Clay reviewed briefly the
course of the past Administration— referred to the
clamor which had been raised against Mr. Adams
for proscription— when the fact was, that not a soli
tary officer of the Government, from Maine to Lou
isiana, was dismissed on account of his political
opinions, during the whole of Mr. Adams's Admin
istration—contrasted this course with that which
President Jackson commenced so soon after his in
stallation—and eloquently pointed out the evil con
sequences of the introduction of a tenure of public
office, which depended upon personal attachment
to the Chief Magistrate.
In concluding his remarks, Mr. Clay touchingly
expressed his gratitude to his fellow-citizens of Ken
tucky, who had "constantly poured upon him a
bold and unabated stream of innumerable favors."
The closing sentences of the speech are in the
genuine language of the heart which cannot be coun
terfeited, and which none can so eloquently employ
as Henry Clay. " When," said he, " I felt as if I
' should sink beneath the storm of abuse and detrac-
1 tion, which was violently raging around me, I have
'found myBelf upheld and sustained by your encour-
' aging voice and your approving smiles. I have
' doubtless committed many faults and indiscretions,
' over which you have thrown the broad mantle of
' your charity. But I can say, and in the presence
' of my God and of this assembled multitude I will
' say, that I have honestly and faithfully served my
' country ; that I have never wronged it ; and that,
' however unprepared I lament that I am to appear
' in the Divine Presence on other accounts, I invoke
' the stern Justice of his judgment on my public
' conduct, without the smallest apprehension of his
' displeasure." During the Summer and Autumn of 1829 Mr.
Clay visited several parts of the State of his adop
tion, and everywhere he was hailed as a friend and
public benefactor. On the 17th of December he ad
dressed the Kentucky Colonization Society at Frank
fort in a speech, in which he eloquently vindicated
the policy and character of that benevolent institu
tion. He had been an early and constant advocate
of the system of Colonization. In his speech before
the American Colonization Society, delivered the
20th of January, 1827, in the Hall of the House of
Representatives at Washington, we find the follow
ing impressive passage :
" It is now a little upwards of ten years since a
religious, amiable and benevojent resident of this
city I Mr. Caldwell) first conceived the idea of plant
ing a Colony, from the United States, of free people
of color, on the Western shores of Africa. He is no
more, and the noblest eulogy which could be pro
nounced on him would be to inscribe upon his tomb,
the merited epitaph — ' Here lies the projector of the
American Colonization Society.' Amongst others,
to whom he communicated the project, was the per
son who now has the honor of addressing you. My
first impressions, like those of all who have not
fully investigated the subject, were against it. They
yielded to his earnest persuasions and my own re
flections, and I finally agreed with him that the ex
periment was worthy of a fair trial.
After presenting in a clear and forcible light tho
project of the Society for the gradual extinction ol
Slavery, Mr. Clay remarked in regard to it : " AIL
' or any one, of the States which tolerate Slavery
'may adopt and execute it, by co-operation or se
' parate exertion. If I could be instrumental in era-
' dicating this deepest stain upon the character of our
' country, and removing all cause of reproach on
' account of it by foreign nations — If I could only
' be instrumental in ridding of this foul blot that re-
' vered State that gave me birth, or that not less be-
' loved state which kindly adopted me as her son, I
' would not exchange the proud satisfaction which I
' should enjoy for the honor of all the triumphs ever
' decreed to the most successful conqueror."
To the system of colonization, we believe, Mr,
Clay yet looks as a means for diminishing the pro
portion of the black population to the white in the
Slave States until emancipation would be compati
ble with the security and interests of the latter.
In January, 1830, Mr. Clay made a visit to one of
his married daughters at New- Orleans. Although
appearing there as a private citizen, he found it im
possible to escape those attentions, which the public
gratitude suggested. He was daily visited by
crowds of persons, including Members of the Legis
lature and Judges of the different Courts. The ship
masters, who were in port, waited in a body upon
him as the champion of Free Trade and Sailors'
Rights. Declining an invitation to a public dinner,
he left New-Orleans for Natchez, on his way home,
the 9th of March. As the boat, in which he had
embarked, quitted the pier, the scene was of the.
most animated description. The Levee and the tops
of the steamboats, a great number of which were in
port, exhibited a crowded and almost unbroken mass
of spectators, collected to see him and do him honor.
The shouting multitude, the elevation of flags, and
the roar of cannons, which burst from the crowd of
surrounding vessels, as the boat moved off, present
ed altogether one of the most imposing spectacles
that could be imagined. It was a grand civic ova
tion, as honorable to the subject of it as any triumph
which ever greeted a military conqueror.
At Natchez, persons from all parts of Mississippi
were waiting to meet him. The press of the crowd
into the steamboat containing the illustrious visitor
was so great as to excite alarm; and the mass col
lected on the wharf was so dense that much time
and exertion were required to make way through it.
Soon after his arrival he accepted a pressing invita
tion to a public dinner. A vast concourse assem
bled on the occasion. His speech is described as
unusually felicitous. He was several times obliged
to stop speaking for some minutes — while the en
thusiasm ofhis hearers exhausted itself in repeated
rounds of applause. In the course of his remarks,
having occasion to allude to the battle of New-Or
leans, he paid a generous tribute to Gen. Jackson.
Henry Clay never was the man to detract from the
merits of even his most unrelenting opponents.
On the twenty-seventh of March, Mr. Clay readi
ed Lexington, having declined numerous invitations-
to public dinners on his route. He had stopped on*
I his way unpremeditatedly at Donaldsonville, (the
Speech in Cincinnati in 183P.
47
new Seat of Government of Louisiana,) to see the
public buildings, and pay his respects to some ofhis
old friends and acquaintances. Unexpectedly enter
ing the hall of the House of Representatives, he was
immediately recognized, and the whole body, inclu
ding the Speaker and Members of all parties, simul
taneously rose to receive him.
In the summer of 1830, having business in the
Circuit and District Courts of Ohio, he visited Co
lumbus, where he was cordially welcomed by the
Mechanics, at whose Celebration the following ap
propriate Toast was given :
" Our inestimable guest, Henry Clay. An effi
cient laborer in support of the Industry of the Coun
try. Farmers ana Mechanics know how to appre
ciate his services."
His entry into Cincinnati was quite imposing. —
All classes assembled to welcome his approach.
He here dined with the Mechanics, and his Speech
upon the occasion is an eloquent vindication of the
American System, and a just rebuke of the odious
doctrine of Nullification, which was then beginning
to be preached in South Carolina and Georgia.
In the autumn of 1831, Mr. Clay was elected to
the Senate of the United States by the Legislature
of Kentucky, by the following vote : — In the Senate,
Henry Clay, 18; Richard M. Johnson, 19; Warden
Pope, 1. In the House of Delegates, Clay, 55;
Johnson, 45. — At the first session of the Twenty-
Second Congress, he presented his credentials, and
took his seat once more in a body where, twenty-five
years before, he had made his influence felt and his
talents respected.
Contemporaneous with his re-appearance in the
Senate, was the meeting of the National Republican
Convention, which assembled at Baltimore on the
twelfth of December, 1831, and unanimously nomi
nated Henry Clay to the office of President of the
United States, and J ohn Sergeant to that of Vice
President. The subject of the Tariff began to be vehemently
agitated in Congress early in the session of 1831-32.
The discontent of the South was assuming an alarm
ing aspect; and the system of Protection, which Mr.
Clay had labored so long and incessantly to estab
lish, was threatened with material qualifications, if
not a complete overthrow. In that conciliatory
spirit, which he had manifested on many critical oc
casions, he now approached this exciting topic. On
the ninth of January, 1832, he introduced a Resolu
tion providing that the existing Duties upon articles
imported from foreign countries, and not coming
into competition with similar articles made or pro
duced within the United States, ought to be forth
with abolished, except the Duties upon Wines and
Silks, and that they ought to be reduced ; and that
the Committee on Finance be instructed to report a
bill accordingly. This Resolution he sustained in
an admirable Speech of about two hours' duration,
in which he spoke warmly in favor of the mainte
nance of the Protective Policy and that of Internal
Improvement. Mr. Hayne followed in reply; and on the second
of February, the subject being still under discussion
before the Senate, Mr. Clay commenced his ever-
memorable Speech in defence of the American Sys
tem against the British Colonial System. It was
continued on the next day, and finally completed on
the sixth of the same month. Such a chain of irre
fragable argument as it presents, interlinked with.
facts the most cogent and appropriate, has rarely
been forged by human ingenuity. It will be refer
red to by future statesmen as their political text
book, when the Protective Policy is called in quefr>
tion. After an impressive exordium, he alluded to the
distress of the country after the War. The period
of greatest distress was seven years previous to the
year 1824 : the period of greatest prosperity the seven
years following that act. He then gave a picture of
the flourishing condition of the country. He main
tained that all the predictions of the enemies of the
Tariff in 1824 had been falsified by experience — that
all the benefits which he had anticipated had been
realized. He alluded to all the interests now pro
tected — all Mechanic Arts — Navigation — Agricul
ture — and Manufactures. He argued that the TariflT
began in 1792, which established the great principle
of Protection. It was the second act of the First
Congress — sanctioned by the Father of his Country,
and most of the eminent Statesmen of that day. Mr.
Clay then traced the history of the subject down to
1816; commented on the Tariff of that year, its ob
ject, extent and policy ; then the Tariff of 1824 ; the
amendment of the Bystem in 1828 — the Bill of which
year was framed on principles directly adverse to
the declared wishes of the friends of the policy of
Protection, although the error then perpetrated was
corrected by subsequent legislation.
After a graphic description of the beneficial effecta
of the policy, which they were now called upon to-
subvert, Mr. Clay asked what was the substitute pro
posed by those whose design was the immediate or
gradual destruction of the American System? The-
reply is as appropriate to the enemies of the System
now as it was ten years ago. " Free Trade ! —
' Free Trade ! The call for Free Trade is as una-
• vailing as the cry of a spoiled child, in his nurse's
' arms, for the moon or the stars that glitter in the
' firmament of heaven. It never haB existed. It
' never will exist. Trade implies at least two par-
' ties. To be free, it should be fair, equal and reci-
' procal. But if we throw our ports wide open to
' the admission of foreigrl productions, free of all
' duty, what ports, of any other foreign nations, shall
' we find open to the free admission of our surplus
' produce 1. We may break down all barriers to
' Free Trade, on our part, but they will not be com-
'plete until Foreign Powers shall have removed
' theirs. There would be freedom on one side, and
' restrictions, prohibitions and exclusions on the
' other. The bolts and the bars and the chains of
' all other nations will remain undisturbed." * *
* * " Gentlemen deceive themselves. It is not
' Free Trade that they are recommending to our ac-
' ceptance. It is, in effect, the British Colonial
' System that we are invited to adopt; and, if their
' policy prevail, it will lead, substantially, to the re-
' colonization of these States, under the commercial
' dominion of Great Britain."
* " Fair Trade and Sailors' Rights." was the Toast given by
the late Mr. Gilmer, the day of the fatal accident on board the
Princeton. The substitution of a single word illuminates the
whole subject. A " Fair Trade" l£ what Mr. Clay haj always
aimed to secure for hiB country.
48
Life of Henry Clay.
In the course of his Speech, Mr. Clay had occa
sion to introduce the following remarks upon ihe
Irish character. They show his high appreciation
of the worth of an important class of our adopted
fellow citizens :
" Of all foreigners, none amalgamate themselves
so quickly with our people as tho natives of the
Emerald Isle. In some of the visions which have
passed through my imagination, I have supposed
that Ireland was, originally, part and parcel of this
Continent,' and that, by some extraordinary con
vulsion of nature, it was torn from America, and,
drifting across the ocean, was placed in the un
fortunate vicinity of Great Britain. The same
open-heartedness ; the same generous hospitality ;
the same careless and uncalculating indifference
about human life, characterize the inhabitants of
both countries. Kentucky has been sometimes
called the Ireland of America. And I have no
¦doubt that, if the current of emigration were re
versed, and set from America upon the shores of
Europe, instead of bearing from Europe to America,
every American emigrant to Ireland would there
find, as every Irish emigrant here finds, a hearty
welcome and a happy home ! "
On the 13th of March Mr. Dickerson, from the
Committee on Manufactures, reported, in conformity
with Mr. Clay's resolution, a bill for repealing the
duties upon certain specified articles of import. The
bill was opposed at the threshold because it did not
embrace the whole subject of the Tariff; because it
made no reduction of duties upon protected articles.
An animated debate ensued, and the bill was laid
upon the table. After undergoing numerous modi
fications in both Houses, it was finally passed by
Congress in July, 1832. By this new law, the prin
ciples for which Mr. Clay and the rest of the friends
of Domestic Industry had contended, were pre
served. The Revenue was greatly reduced, but
the Protective System remained unimpaired. Of
Mr. Clay's efforts in the establishment of that Sys
tem no one has more impressively spoken than
Thomas Hart Benton, Senator in Congress from
Missouri, who, in a Circular signed by him and first
published in the ' Missouri Intelligencer,' October
22, 1824, gives utterance to these just and eloquent
sentiments :
" The principles which would govern Mr. Clay's
Administration, if elected, are well known to the
Nation. They have been displayed upon the floor
of Congress for the last seventeen years. They
constitute a System of American Policy, based
on the Agriculture and Manufactures of his own
country — upon Interior as well as Foreign Com
merce — upon Internal as well as Sea-Board Im
provement — upon the independence of the New
World, and close Commercial alliances with Mexico
and South America. If it is said that others would
pursue the same system ; we answer, that ihe
founder of a System is the natural executor of his
own work ; that the most efficient protector of
American Iron, Lead, Hemp, Wool and Cotton
would be the triumphant champion of the New
Tariff; the safest friend to Interior Commerce would
be the Statesman who has proclaimed the Mississippi
to be the Sea of the West ; the most zealous pro
moter of Internal Improvements would be the Presi
dent, who has triumphed over the President who
opposed the construction of National Roads and
Canals ; the most successful applicant for Treaties
with Mexico and South America would be the elo
quent advocate of their own Independence.
"THOMAS HART BENTON."
CHAPTER XI.
Reception of the Amended Tariff at the South-Progress of
Nullification— Re-election of General Jackson— Proclama
tion— The Protective System in donger-l he Lntorcement
Bill— Perilous state of Affairs— Henry Clay comes forward
with his Plan for a Compromise— Origin ot that Measure-
Particulars in regard to it-Mr. Clayton of Delaware— Anec
dote— Leading Motives of Mr. Clay-Statement of Hon.
H. A. S. Dearborn— Passage of the Compromise Bill— Public
Gratitude— Characteristics of Mr. Clay's Public Career— Hii
Visit to New-England— Triumphal Reception— Honors paid
to him on his route.
The amended Tariff was received with little favot
by the South. Nullification grew daily bolder in its
denunciations and menaces ; and the Union seemed
to be greatly in danger. On the 24th of November,
1832, the South Carolina Convention passed their
ordinance, declaring the Revenue Laws of the
United States null and void; and soon afterward
the Legislature of the State met, ratified the pro
ceedings of the Convention, and passed laws for the
organization of the Militia and the purchase of
munition and ordnance.
In the midst of these troubles, the Presidential
Contest took place, and resulted in the reelection ol
General Jackson over the opposing candidates.
Henry Clay, John Floyd of Virginia, and William
Wirt. On the 10th of December, 1832, soon after the
meeting of Congress, President Jackson issued his
Proclamation, announcing his determination to en
force the Revenue Laws, and exhorting the citizen)
of South Carolina to pause in their disorganizing
career. This remonstrance produced little effect.
It was followed, on the 20th of the same month, by
a counter Proclamation from Governor Hayne,
warning the citizens of South Carolina against, the
attempt of the President to seduce them from their
allegiance, and exhorting them, in disregard of his
threats, to be prepared to sustain the State against
the arbitrary measures of the Federal Executive.
The Protective System was at this moment in im
minent hazard of being destroyed. General Jack
son's Administration was always inimical to that
policy, originated and principally supported as it
had been by a hated rival. The Tariff became the
great question of the session. It was referred to the
Committee of Ways and Means, where it was re
modeled ; and on the 27th of December, a bill was
reported, which was understood to embody the viewa
of the Administration. It proposed a diminution ot
the duties on all the protected articles, to take effect
immediately, and a further diminution on the 2nd ot
March, 1834. The subject was discussed from the
8th to the ,16th of January, 1833, when a message
was received from the President, communicating the
South Carolina ordinance and nullifying laws, to
gether with his own views as to what should be done
under the existing state of affairs. On the twenty-
first of the same month, the Judiciary Committee ot
the Senate reported a bill to enforce the collection
of the revenue, where any obstructions were offered
to the officers employed in that duty.
The aspect of affairs was now alarming in the ex
treme. The administration party in the House had
shown itself utterly incapable of devising a tariff
likely to be accepted by a majority of that body.
The session was rapidly drawing to a close. South
Carolina had deferred the period of its collision with
the General Government in the hope that some tnea-
The Compromise Act — Mr. Clay's Exertions — Mr. Clayton.
49
sure of adjustment would be adopted by Congress.
This hope seemed to be daily growing fainter.
Should the enforcing bill not be carried into effect
against the Nullifiers, the Tariff was still menaced
by the Federal administration, avowedly hostile to
the protective system.
At this juncture, Henry Clay, deeply impressed
with the importance of the crisis, stepped forward
to reconcile conflicting interests, and to avert the
direful consequences which would result from the
farther delay of an adjustment. On the eleventh of
February he introduced his celebrated Compromise
Bill, providing for a gradual reduction of duties
until 1842, when 20 per cent, at a home valuation
should be the rate, " until otherwise regulated by
'law." Mr. Clay introduced this bill with some pertinent
and impressive remarks, in which he deplored the
distracted and portentous condition of the country,
and appealed strongly to the patriotism and good
sense of Congress to apply a remedy. The bill
underwent a long and vehement discussion. None
could deny the purity and loftiness of the motives
which had led to its presentation; but it was vehe
mently opposed by many. Mr. Smith, of Maryland,
opposed it, because " it contained nothing but pro-
4 tection from beginning to end." Mr. Forsyth ex
ulted over the admission, which had been made by
Mr. Clay, that " the Tariff was in danger." " It is,"
said Mr. F., "at its last gasp— no hellebore can cure
'it." The Southern members opposed the bill mainly
because it provided for a home valuation.
Towards the close of the debate, a personal dif
ficulty arose between Mr. Poindexer, of Mississippi,
and Mr. Webster. The former, in the course of his
reply to a very powerful attack from Mr. Webster
upon the Compromise Bill of Mr. Clay, made refer
ence to the course of Mr. W., during the war of
1812. Mr. Webster declined all explanation, and
Mr. Poindexter immediately declared that he " felt
'the most perfect contempt for the Senator from
'Massachusetts." Mr. Clay interfered, with his
usual generosity, and in a few remarks, complimen
tary alike to both Senators, effected a mutually sat
isfactory explanation.
Mr. Clay had conceived the idea of the Compro
mise in Philadelphia in December, 1832, when he
was passing a few weeks with his brother-in-law,
the late James Brown, Esq. who had fixed his res
idence in that city, after his mission to France. The
reelection of Gen. Jackson to the Presidency had
been made known the month before, and Mr. Clay
had commenced his journey from Ashland to Wash
ington not in the best spirits but resolved to do his
duty. Jackson's power was then at its zenith. He
had vetoed the charter of the Bank of the United
States. He was triumphantly reelected. His pow
er seemed resistless. Nevertheless, Mr. Clay was
resolved to fight on, and to fight to the last.
He believed the President insincere in his profes
sions of attachment to the Protective policy ; that,
under the delusive name of a judicious Tariff, he
concealed the most deadly and determined hostility
to the Protection of American Industry. Mr. Clay
saw the partisans of "free trade" supporting Gen.
Jackson, with the greatest zeal ; and knew that some
of them counted upon subverting the whole system
through the power and influence of that arbitrary
chief magistrate. He saw many of the members of
Congress from States known to be friendly to the
preservation of that policy, yet willing to go secret
ly, if not openly, as far as they dared go in asserting
the overthrow of that policy
In the mean time Nullification had assumed a
threatening aspect. The supporters of that heresy
had gone so far that, if no change in the Tariff took
place, they must fight or be forever disgraced. Mr.
Clay thought that if a Civil War were once begun
it might extend itself to all the Southern States,
which, although they did not approve of Nullifica
tion, would probably not be willing to stand by and
see South Carolina crushed for extreme zeal in a
cause, which was common to them all.
Such were the circumstances, under which, dur
ing the leisure Mr. Clay enjoyed with his friend,
Mr. Brown, in Philadelphia, he directed his mind
to the consideration of some healing scheme for the
existing public troubles.
The terms of the Compromise Act substantially
as it passed, were the result of Mr. Clay's reflec
tions at that time. He communicated them to his
friend, the lamented Senator Johnston, from Louis
iana, who concurred with him heartily. A Com
mittee of Manufacturers, consisting of Messrs. Bo-
vie, Dupont, Richards and others, waited on Mr. Clay
in Philadelphia, to consult with him on the impend
ing dangers to the Protective policy. To them he
broached his scheme, and they approved it. He
mentioned it to Mr. Webster in Philadelphia, but
that distinguished Senator did not agree with him.
On leaching Washington, Mr. Clay communicated
it to many practical Manufacturers, * to Hezekiah
Niles, Mr. Simmons of the Senate, from Rhode Is
land, and others. They agreed with him ; and every
practical Manufacturer of that day with whom he
conversed (except Mr. Ellicott, of Maryland,) assent
ed to the project. Most of their friends in Congress,
especially in the Senate, followod their example.
The chief opposition, it was thought, was to be
traced to Mr. Webster and gentlemen who had a
great deference for the opinion of the Massachusetts
Senator. Mr. Clay's own convictions being thus strength
ened by the opinions of practical men, he resolved
to proceed. He had no interviews with Southern
Members on the subject of the contemplated propo
sal, until he had prepared and was about to submit
the bill ; at which time, he had one or two inter
views with Mr. Calhoun, at Mr. Clay's lodgings.
But through his friend, Governor Letcher of Ken
tucky, who was intimate with Mr. McDuffie and
other Southern gentlemen, Mr. Clay ascertained
their views. He found one highly favorable state
of feeling — that they were so indignant with Gen
eral Jackson for his Proclamation, and his determi
nation to put down the Nullifiers by force if neces
sary, that they greatly preferred the difficulty should
be settled ratlier by Mr. Clay Uian by the Adminis
tration. Mr. J. M. Clayton of Delaware entered with great
zeal into the views of Mr. Clay, and seconded his
exertions with untiring, able, constant and strenu
ous endeavors, Often he would say to him, look
ing at Mr. Calhoun and other members from South
Carolina, " Well, Clay, these are clever fellows, and
it won't do to let old Jackson hang them. We must
50
Life of Henry Clay.
save them if possible." Mr. Clayton belonged to a
mess of seven or eight Senators, every one of whom
was interested in the preservation of the protective
policy. Without their votes, it was impossible that
the Compromise should pass. They, through Mr.
Clayton, insisted upon the home valuation, as a
sine qua non, from which they would never depart.
Mr. Clay told them that he v> ould not give it up ;
and the Compromise Bill never could have 'passed
without that feature of it.
The Southern Senators had declared that they
would be content with whatever would satisfy the
South Carolina Senators. Mr. Calhoun had mani
fested strong objections to the home valuation. Mr.
Clay told him that he must concur in it, or the
measure would be defeated. Mr. Calhoun appeared
very reluctant to do so; and Mr. Clay went to the
Senate on the day when the Bill was to be decided,
uncertain as to what its fate would be. When the
biil was taken up, Mr. Calhoun rose in his place
and agreed to the home valuation, evidently, how
ever, with reluctance.
Two great leading motives operated with Mr. Clay
in bringing forward and supporting his measure of
Compromise. The first was, that he believed the
whole protective policy to be in the most imminent
peril from the influence of Gen. Jackson and the
dominion of his party. He believed that it could not
possibly survive that session of Congress or the next,
which would open with avast increase of that influ
ence and power. He had seen the gradual but in
sidious efforts to undermine the policy, sometimes
openly avowed, frequently craftily concealed. He
had seen that a bill was actually introduced by Mr.
Verplanck, and then pending in the House of Repre
sentatives, which would have utterly subverted the
whole policy. He knew, or believed, that there
was a majority in the House, willing, although afraid
to pass the bill. Witnessing the progress of that
party, he did not doubt, that at the next session at
least, they would acquire strength and courage suf
ficient to pass the bill. He could not contemplate
the ruin, distress and destruction, which would en
sue from its passage, without feelings of horror.
He believed that the Compromise would avert these
disasters, and secure adequate protection until the
30th June, 1842. And he hoped, that in the mean
time the public mind would beeome enlightened, and
reconciled to a policy, which he had ever believed
essential to the national prosperity. But for tlie
partial experiments* ickich vere made upon the cur
rency of ihe country, leading to the utmost disorder
inthe exchanges, and the business of society, it is yet
the belief of Mr, Clay and his friends, that the mea
sure of Protection secured by the Compromise Act
up to the 31.si December, 1841, uould have enabled
our Manufacturers to have flourished and pros
pered. Another leading motive wiih Mr. Clay, in pro
posing the Compromise, was to restore harmony,
and preserve the Union from danger ; to arrest a
civil war, which, beginning with South Carolina^
he feared might spread throughout all the Southern
States. It may ad
dition to those we have alluded to, during the ses
sion of 1834-5; on the motion to admit the Senators
from Michigan on the floor, and the recognition of
that clause in the Constitution of Michigan, which
he conceived to give to aliens the right to vote ; on
the resolution of Mr. Calhoun to inquire into the
expediency of such a reduction of duties as would
not affect the Manufacturing interest ; on the Forti
fication Bill, &,c. Congress adjourned the fourth of
July, 1836. »
On his return to Kentucky a dinner was given to
Mr. Clay by his fellow-citizens of Woodford County.
During his absence from hour ,?, he had experienced
heavy afflictions in the death of a beloved daughter
and of his only sister. On rising to speak, he was
so overcome by the recollection of these losses, ad
ded to an allusion which had been made to the re
mains ofhis mother being buried in Woodford, that
he was obliged to resume his seat. He soon rallied,
however, and addressed the company for about two
hours in an animated and powerful strain. He re
viewed the recent acts of the Administration— their
constant tampering with the currency— the Trea-
S4
Life of Henry Clay.
Gold and silver were in free circulation, and there
was at all times an abundant supply of the smaller
coins. Millions on millions of exchanges were
negotiated in every quarter of the country, and at
an average rate of one-half or one per cent. — a
charge merely nominal in comparison with the sub
sequent rates. The whole machinery of Society,
Government, Trade and Currency was in a state as
nearly approaching perfection as human wisdom
and ingenuity could compass.
Such was the condition of the Republic in 1829.
Then the destroyer came — and all was blasted.
For eight years he managed the affairs of the
country in his own way ; and His will was the
LAW OF THE LAND.
During those eight years, what a change came
over our affairs ! The whole machinery of Cur
rency, Trade and Government was deranged. The
land was flooded with three or four hundred millions
of irredeemable paper. The smaller coins disap
peared. Specie payments were universally sus
pended ; and gold and silver were no more a cur
rency than amethysts and diamonds. In trade,
eveTy thing ran into speculation. Banks sprang
up like mushrooms on every side. Any two men
who could write their names so as to sign and
endorse a piece of paper, were enabled to procure
' facilities,' which generally turned out to be facili
ties for their own destruction. Brokers, usurers,
money-lenders, speculators multiplied till their
name was Legion. Every thing was unnaturally
distended, until, at length, trade came to a dead
stand. No one wanted to buy, and every body wa3
afraid to sell. There was an utter stagnation,
paralysis, extinction, of business. Thousands on
thousands declared themselves individually bank
rupt. As a nation, we were notoriously and
miserably bankrupt — and we had hardly foreign
credit enough to make it either safe or decent for
any American to cross the Atlantic.
In Government, a revolution no less pernicious
was accomplished. Congress became a mere step
ping-stone to lucrative appointments, and the
session was merely a convenient reunion of its
Members for the better arrangement of their land
speculations, and the more convenient distribution
of the Government Deposits among the most ac
commodating Banks. The heart of our Govern
ment was rotten to its core— and, like our Currency
and our Trade, it presented but a miserable contrast
to the condition of 1829. And all these revolutions
were brought about by the uncontrolled ascendency
of Jacksonism, and by no other agency under heaven !
Notwithstanding these deplorable issues, the end
was not yet. The Jackson dynasty was to be per
petuated still another term in the hands of him who
was proud to follow in the footsteps of his " illus
trious predecessor." The Presidential Election of
1836 terminated in the choice of Martin Van Buren.
But we are anticipating matters. We have yet the
short Session of Congress of 1836-7 to review, be
fore we take leave of the " Hero of New-Orleans."
The Administration had now a majority in the
Senate. That noble phalanx of Whigs, who had
so undauntedly withstood the usurpations of the
Executive, could now only operate as a minority.
One of the first acts of Mr. Clay was to reintroduce
his Land Bill. On the 19th of December, in pur
suance of previous notice, he presented it witfc
modifications suited to the changes in Public Affaire
It was read twice and referred to the Committee oi
Public Lands,— at the head of which was Mr
Walker of Mississippi, who, on the 3d of January,
gave notice that he was instructed by the Commit
tee to move for the indefinite postponement of the
bill, when it should come up for consideration.
Some days afterward, Mr. Walker introduced his
bill to limit the sales of the Public Lands, except
to actual settlers, and in limited quantities; and o»
the 9th of February, 1837, Mr. Calhoun's extraor
dinary bill, nominally selling, but in reality gwing
to the new States all the Public Domain, came
before the Senate.
Mr. Clay took ground at once against this scheme.
He said that four or five years before, contrary to his
earnest desire, this subject of the Public Lands was
forced upon him, and he had, with great labor,
devised a plan fraught with equity to all the States.
It received the votes of a majority of both Houses,
and was rejected by the President. He had always
considered the Public Domain a sacred trust for the
country and for posterity. He was opposed to any
measure giving away this property for the benefit of
speculators ; and he was therefore opposed to this
bill, as well as to the other (Mr. Walker's) before
the Senate. He had hitherto labored in vain— but
he should continue to oppose all these schemes for
robbing the old States of their rightful possessions.
He besought the Senate to abstain from these ap
peals to the cupidity of the new States from party
inducements ; and he appealed to the Senator from
South Carolina whether, if he offered them higher
and better boons than the party in power, he did not
risk the imputation of being actuated by such iu-
ducements. Fortunately for the country, the rash project of
Mr. Calhoun did not reach the maturity of a third
reading. On the 25th of February, the bill from the Com
mittee on Finance to alter and amend the several
acts imposing duties on imposts being before the
Senate, Mr. Clay spoke against the measure at
some length. His principal objection arose from
what he conceived to be the interference of some of
the provisions of the bill with the Compromise Act
of 1833. In the course of his remarks, he gave an
interesting account of his own connection with that
important measure.
He then went on to draw a striking parallel be
tween the Compromise Act of 1833 as to the Pro
tective System, and that other Compromise Act
which settled the much agitated Missouri Question,
and by which the latitude of 36 degrees 30 minutes
was established as the extreme boundary for tha
existence of Slavery in that State. Had not Con
gress a right to repeal that law ? But what would
those Southern gentlemen, who now so strenuously
urged a violation of our implied faith in regard t»
the act of '33, say if a measure like that should be
attempted ?
Mr. Clay concluded with a motion to re-commit
the bill foi the reduction of duties to the Committee
on Finance, with instructions to strike out all those
articles comprised in the bill, which then paid a duty
of 20 per cent, and upwards, embraced in the Com
promise Act. The motion was lost— 25 Nays to 24
The Expunging Resolution — Mr. Van Buren Elected President.
65
Yeas; and the bill was the same day passed by a
a vote of 27 to 18.
Early in the Session, Mr. Ewinghad introduced a
Joint Resolution rescinding the Treasury order by
which all paymentB for Public Lands were to be
made in specie. On the 11th of January, Mr. Clay
addressed the Senate in a speech replete with argu
ment and facts in support of the Resolution, and in
opposition to an amendment, which had been offered
by Mr. Rives. The Resolution was referred to the
Committee on Public Lands, who instructed their
Chairman to lay it on the table when it should come
up. On the 18th of January, a bill rescinding the
Specie Circular was reported by Mr. Walker. It
subsequently passed the Senate, with some slight
amendments, by a vote of 41 to 5 ; and received the
sanction of the other House ; but notwithstanding
this fact, and the additional well-known fact, that the
order had been originally promulgated in defiance of
the opinion of Congress and the wishes of the people,
the bill, " instead of being returned to the House in
which it originated, according to the requirement of
the Constitution, was sent to one of the pigeon-holes
of the Department of State, to be filed away with an
opinion of a convenient Attorney-General, always
ready to prepare one in support of Executive en
croachment." Mr. Van Buren manifested the same contempt for
the will of the people, expressed by Congress, as
had been shown by his " illustrious predecessor,"
and refused to interfere until the Specie Circular re
pealed itself in the catastrophe of an universal sus
pension. On the 12th of January, a Resolution, offered by
Mr. Benton, to expunge from the journals of the Sen
ate for 1833-4, Mr. Clay's Resolution censuring
President Jackson for his unauthorized Removal of
the Public Deposits came before the Senate for con
sideration; and on the 16th Mr. Clay discussed the
question at considerable length. His speech was in
a strain of mingled sarcasm and indignant invective,
which made the subservient majority writhe under
its scorching power. Never was a measure placed
in a more .contemptible light than was the expung
ing proposal by Mr. Clay. Those who heard him,
can never forget the look and tone, varying from an
expression of majestic scorn to one of good-humored
«atire, with which he gave utterance to the following
eloquent passages :
" What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished
by this expunging Resolution ? Can you make that
not to be which has been ? Can you eradicate from
memory and from history the fact that in March, 1834,
a majority of the Senate of the United States passed
the Resolution which excites your enmity ? Is it
your vain and wicked object to arrogate to yourself
that power of annihilating the past which has been
denied to Omnipotence itself! Do you intend to
thrust your hands into our hearts and to P1"0^ out
the deeply-rooted convictions which are there 1 Or
is it your design merely to stigmatize us? You can
not stigmatize US :
" ' Ne'er yet did base dishonor blur our name.
" Standing securely upon our conscious rectitude,
and bearing aloft the shield of the Constitution of
our Country, your puny efforts are impotent, and we
¦defy all your power. Put the majority of 1834 in
one scale, and that by which this Expunging Reso-
tion is to be carried in the other, and let Truth and
Justice, in Heaven above, and on earth below, and
liberty and patriotism, decide the preponderance.
" What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by
this expunging resolution? Is it to appease the
wrath and to heal the wounded pride of the Chief
Magistrate ? If he be really the hero thathiB friends
represent him he must despise all mean condescen
sion, all grovelling sycophancy, all self-degradation,
and self-abasement. He would reject, with scorn
and contempt as unworthy of his fame, your black
scratches, and your baby lines in the fair records of
his country."
The Expunging Resolution was passed ; but no
one will envy the immortality, to which the " knights
of the black lines " have been consigned.
Mr. Clay addressed the Senate upon several other
important questions during the session of 1836-7.—
Among them were that upon the Fortification Bill,
which was returned to the Senate after the House
had insisted on the clause for a second Distribution
of the Surplus Revenue ; and the Resolution from
the Committee on Foreign Relations, on tie subject
of our affairs with Mexico.
CHAPTER XVI.
Presidential Campaign of 1836— Mr. Clay declines being a Can
didate— Result— Mr. Van Buren's Policy— A Retrospect— De
mocratic Doctrine — Issue of the " Experiment"— The Extra
Session Mr. Van Buren's Message The Sub-Treasury
Scheme — Indications of a Split in the House — Discussion ofthe
Sub-Treasury Bill— Mr. Clay's Speeches— His Resolution in
relation to a Bank— Treasury Notes— Session of 1837-8— Defeat
of the Sub-Treasury Measure— Mr. Clay's Review of the Fj
noncial Projects of the Administration — Various subjects — Hie
outline of a plan for a National Bank — Mr. Clay's course on
the Abolition Question— His visit to New- York in the Summer
of 1839— Cordial Reception, by the People, ofthe " Man ofthe
People." Mr. Clat had uniformly discouraged the attempts
of his friends to induce him to become a candidate
for the Presidency in the campaign of 1836. He
saw the unhappy diversity in the ranks of the Oppo
sition ; and he saw, perhaps, the inevitable ability of
the Jackson dynasty to perpetuate itself in the ele
vation of Mr. Van Buren. So potent had the Execu
tive become, through usurpation and the abuse of
patronage !
On the eighth of February, that being the day ap
pointed by statute for opening the Electoral Returns
for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Uni
ted States, the result was proclaimed in the presence
of both Houses of Congress. The following was
ascertained to be the state of the vote :
Jhr President.
Van Buren 170
Harrison 73
White 26
Webster 14
Mangum 11
294
Vice President.
Johnson 147
Granger 77
Tyler 47
Smith 83
294
It was then declared that it appeared that Martin
Van Buren had been duly elected President of the
United States, for four years from the 4th of March,
1837 ; and that no person had a majority of all the
votes for the Vice Presidency, and that Mr. Johnson
and Mr. Granger had the largest number of votes of
all the candidates. Mr. Johnson was afterward duly
chosen. It had been hoped by many that under Mr. Van
Buren a less destructive policy would be adopted
than that which had signalized the reign of the
'• Hero of New-Orleans." For the last eight years
the country had been governed by Executive edicts.
Congress had always been disposed to do right, but
it had been thwarted by a domineering and usurping
Executive. The will of the People, constitutionally
reers at the time of the Force Bill and the Compro
mise Act, Mr. Calhoun said that the gentleman from
Kentucky was flat on his back at that time, and was
compelled to the Compromise — and that he (Mr.
Calhoun) was then his master.
72
Life of Henry Clay.
In reply, Mr. Clay, in the ardor of his feelings,
remarked :—" The gentleman has said that I was
* flat on my back — that he was my master on that
'occasion. He my master! Sir, I would not own
1 him for my slave ! "*
The principal questions on which he spoke during
this session were — on the Abolition of Slavery ; on
the Bankrupt Bill; the Maine Boundary Line; Mr.
Calhoun's Bill to cede the Public Lands to the
States in which they lie ; the Navy Appropriation
Bill ; the Independent Treasury Bill ; on the Branch
Mints ; the Expenditures of Government; the Cum
berland Road; Repeal of the Salt Tax; and the
Bankrupt Bill. His opinions on nearly all these
subjects are so well known as to render a recapitu
lation unnecessary.
Notwithstanding the indications of public hostility,
and " in spite of the lamentations" in Congress " and
elsewhere," Mr. Van Buren and his friends contin
ued to press their odious Sub-Treasury project, now
newly christened under the name ofthe " Independ
ent Treasury Bill." Against this measure Mr. Clay
battled with undiminished vigor and zeal. On the
twentieth of January, 1840, he addressed the Senate
in one ofhis most spirited speeches, in opposition to
the bill, which he truly designated as a Government
Bank in disguise, demonstrating the assertion by
proofs the most convincing.
" A Government Bank," said Mr. Clay, " may not
* suddenly burst upon us, but there it is, embodied
( in this bill. Let the reelection of the present Chief
1 Magistrate be secured, and you will soon see the
1 Bank disclosing its ge nuine character. But, thanks
* be to God ! there is a day of reckoning at hand. —
* All the signs of the times clearly indicate its ap-
* proach. And on the fourth day of March, in the
' year of our Lord 1841,1 trust that the long account
*of the abuses and corruptions of this Administra-
* tion, in which this measure will be a conspicuous
* item, will be finally and for ever adjusted."
He introduced, on this occasion, a bill for the Re
peal ofthe Sub-Treasury System, but it was not
acted upon until the will of the People was so per
emptorily spoken that longer resistance to it, on the
part of Mr. Van Buren and his friends, was impos
sible. During the summer of 1840, Mr. Clay visited his
native County of Hanover, and was every where
hailed with enthusiasm and reverence. At a public
dinner given to him at Taylorsville, June 27th, 1840,
he addressed a vast assemblage of his friends in a
speech, which may be referred to as a text book of
his political faith. It is probably in the hands of too
many of our readers to render an abstract of it use
ful in this place. Although his opinions on all pub
lic questions of importance have been always frankly
* Mr. Clay is not the man to harbor the harsh feelings some
times engendered In animated debate. After his farewell speech,
on resigning his seat in the Senate, as he was about to leave the
Chamber, he encountered Mr. Calhoun. They had not spoken
to each other for five years ; but they now simultaneously ex
tended their hands, and cordially greeted each other, while the
tears sprang to their eyes. They had almost spent their lives to
gether in Congress ; and during the War, and at various times
subsequently , had stood shoulder to shoulder, animated by the
name patriotic impulses and aspirations. Time had passed over
both, and the young men had become old. For a minute or
more, they could not speak, so overcome were both with emo
tion. At length Mr.Claysaid, on parting, "Givemy bestre-
jjards to Mrs. Calhoun ;" and they bade each othe* farewell.
avowed, he defines his position in this speech wins
unusual minuteness and precision. With a view to
the fundamental character of the Government itself,
and especially of the Executive branch, he main
tains, that there should be — either by amendments
of the Constitution, when they were necessary, or
by remedial legislation, when the object fell within
the scope ofthe powers of Congress —
1st. A provision to render a person ineligible to the
office of President ofthe United States after a ser
vice of one term.
2d. That the Veto power should be more precisely
defined, and be subjected to further limitations anil
qualifications. 3d. That the power of dismission from office should
be restricted, and the exercise of it rendered respon
sible. 4th. That the control over the Treasury of the
United States should be confided and confined ex
clusively to Congress ; and all authority of the Pres
ident over it, by means of dismissing the Secretary
ofthe Treasury, or other persons having the imme
diate charge of it, be rigorously precluded.
5th. That the appointment of Membere of Con
gress to any office, or any but a few specific offices,.
during their continuance in office, and for one year
thereafter, be prohibited.
Mr. Clay was among the most active of those, who
took part in the campaign of 1840, which terminated
in the complete triumph ofthe Whigs. On the 17th
of August, 1840, he addressed the Harrison Conven
tion at Nashville, Tennessee, in an interesting and
eloquent speech. In allusion to the professions of
the Van Buren party to be Democrats par excellence^
he very happily said — " Of all their usurpations, I
know of none more absurd than the usurpation of
this name."
" I was born a Democrat," said he, subsequent
ly in a speech delivered in Indiana — " rocked in
the cradle of the Revolution — and at the darkest
period of that ever memorable struggle for Free
dom. I recollect, in 1781 or '82, a visit made by
Tarleton's troops to the house of my mother, and
of their running their swords into the new-made
graves of my father and grand-father, thinking they,
contained hidden treasures. Though then not more
than four or five years of age, the circumstance of
that visit is vividly remembered, and it will be to
the last moment of my life. I was born a Demo
crat — was raised and nurtured a Republican — and
shall die a Republican, in the faith and principles
of my fathers." CHAPTER XIX
Election of General Harrison— He visits Mr. Clay— Second Ses
sion of the Twenty-Sixth Congress— Inauguration and death
of General Harrison— The Extra Session— Mr. Clay's Labors-
John Tyler's Veto of the Bank Hill— Mr. Clay's eloquent
Speech in Reply to Mr. Rives— The Van Buren men in Con
gress cnll to congratulate John Tyler on his Veto— Mr. Clay's
fanciful description of the Scene — Events succeeding the
Veto— More Vetoes— The Tariff— Mr. Clay resigns hia seat in
the Senate— Impressive Farewell.
The election of General Harrison to the Presi
dency in the autumn of 1840, by an immense ma
jority, was hailed by the Whigs as the triumphant
consummation of their long and arduous twelve
years' struggle against the disorganizing principles
and measures which had prevailed during the ascen
dency of Jackson and Van Buren. A majority of
the People had at length passed their solemn ver
dict against uiose measures, and in favor ofthe legia-
Death of President Harrison — Mr. Tyler's Vetoes — A Scene Described.
73
lation for which Mr. Clay and the Whigs in Con
gress had been so unanimously contending. Be
fore commencing his journey to the Seat of Govern
ment, General Harrison visited Mr. Clay, and per
sonally tendered him any office in the President's
gift. Mr. Clay respectfully declined all invitations
of this kind, and announced his intention of retiring
from the Senate as soon as the objects for which he
and his friends had been laboring so strenuously,
were placed in a train of accomplishment.
The Session of Congress preceding the new Presi
dent's installation found Mr. Clay at his post, still
prompt and active in the service of his country. On
the Land Bill — the Repeal ofthe Sub-Treasury — the
Bill to establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy —
the Treasury Note Bill— the Preemption and Dis
tribution project — and other important questions, on
which his views are familiar to our readers, he ad
dressed the Senate with his accustomed eloquence
and energy. In his Speech ofthe 28th of January,
1841, on the Land Bill, he entered into an able vin
dication of Whig principles and measures as con
trasted with those of the expiring Administration.
There being still a Van Buren majority, Mr. Clay's
Resolutions, repealing the Sub-Treasury, after
affording occasion for some eloquent debates, were
laid on the table the 19th of February. Some
remarkB being made in the Senate by Mr. Cuthbert,
toward the close of the Session, of a. character
prejudicial to Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay eloquently
vindicated that distinguished Senator, and bore tes
timony to his exalted merits.
The Second Session of the Twenty-Sixth Con
gress terminated on the night of the 3d of March —
the Van Buren men having refused to pass a Bank
rupt Bill and other important measures. The day
after the adjournment, General Harrison was inaugu
rated President of the United States ; and, on the 18th
of March, he issued his Proclamation for an Extra
Session of Congress, to commence on the last Mon
day in May.' Before that period arrived, and pre
cisely a month after his inauguration, the venerable
President departed this life ; and, by a provision of
the Constitution, John Tyler of Virginia, the Vice
President, was invested with the authority of Presi
dent of the United States.
The Extraordinary Session of Congress, convened
by the Proclamation of the lamented Harrison, took
place at the appointed time, the last Monday in May,
1841. Never Was there a body of Representatives
who came together with a more patriotic and honor
able desire faithfully to execute the will of their con
stituents, the majority of the People of the United
States, than the Whigs, who composed the Twenty-
Seventh Congress. Mr. Clay at once took active
and decided measures for the prompt dispatch of
the public business. The subjects which he pro
posed to the Senate, as proper exclusively to engage
Iheir deliberations during the Extra Session, were :
1st. The repeal of the Sub-Treasury Law.
3d. The incorporation of a Bank adapted to the
wants of the People and the Government.
3H. The provision of an adequate Revenue by the
imposition of Duties, and including an authority to
contract a temporary Loan to cover the Public Debt
created by the last Administration.
4th. The prospective Distribution of the proceeds
of the Public Lands.
5th. Thepassage of necessary Appropriation Bills.
6th. Sime modi ficu lion in the Banking System of
the District of Columbia for the benefit of the Peo
ple of the District.
In the formation of Committees, Mr. Clay was
placed at the head of that on Finance ; and, on his
motion, a Select Committee on the Currency for the
consideration of the Bank question was appointed.
Of this Committee he was made Chairman. Early
in June he presented hia admirable Report of a Plan
for a National Bank ; and, after a thorough discus
sion, the bill was passed, which, on the 16th of
August, called forth a Veto from President Tyler.
On the 19th of the same month, Mr. Clay addressed
the Senate on the subject of this Veto. His remarks,
although apparently made " more in sorrow than in
anger," are pervaded by the spirit of unanswerable-
truth; and, in his rejoinder to Mr. Rives, on the
same day, he rises to a bight of eloquence never
surpassed on the floor of Congress. In the opinion
of many of his hearers, it was one of the most bril
liant Speeches of his whole Senatorial career. On
this occasion he showed, by irresistible proofs, that
the question of a Bank was the great issue made
before the People at the late Election. " Wherever
' I was," said he — " in the great Valley of the
' Mississppi — in Kentucky — in Tennessee — in Mary-
' land — in all the circles in which I moved, every
' where, Bank or No Bank was the great, the lead-
' ing, the vital question."
Not long after the Veto, as Mr. Clay, with two or
three friends, was passing the Treasury Buildings,
along the road leading to the Pennsylvania Avenue,
he noticed a procession of gentlemen walking two
by two, toward the White House. " In the name
of wonder, what have we here?" exclaimed Mr.
Clay, while his features lighted up with one of those
mischievous smiles, which are so contagious, seen
on his countenance. It was a procession of the
Van Buren Members of Congress, going person
ally to congratulate John Tyler on his Veto !
The incident was not forgotten by Mr. Clay. The
scene was too rich and piquant to pass unnoticed.
On the 2d of September, a suitable opportunity pre
sented itself in the Senate for a commentary on the
occurrence; and he availed himself of it in a man
ner, w-hich entirely overcame the gravity of all par
ties present. He gave an imaginary description of
the scene at the White House, and the congratu
lations lavished upon the President by his new
friends. He pictured to the Senate the honorable
member from Pennsylvania (Mr. Buchanan) ap
proaching the Throne, and contributing his words
of encouragement and praise to those, which had
been offered by the rest. The imaginary speech,
which he put into the lips of this gentleman on this
occasion, was so characteristic, that Mr. Buchanan
subsequently complained in the Senate, that it had
been gravely attributed to him by several journals
as having been actually delivered, and that he could
not divest many of his worthy constituents in Penn
sylvania of the idea.
The figure of Mr. Benton was qne of too much
importance not to be introduced by Mr Clay into
this fancy sketch.
" I can tell the gentleman from Kentucky, that 1
was not at the V/hite House on the occasion Up
which he alludes," said the Missouri Senator inter
rupting him. «
74
Life of Henry Clay.
" Then I will suppose what the gentleman would
"have said if he had been present," continued Mr.
Clay, without suffering his imagination to be check
ed in its flight. And he then represented the wordy
and pompous Missourian bowing at the Executive
footstool, and tendering his congratulations.
The space to which we have been restricted, will
not allow us to present even an imperfect sketch ojf
the whole scene. We can only refer the reader to
it as one of the most felicitous of those legitimate
presentations of the ludicrous, made to illustrate
the true, which sometimes occur to enliven the bar
renness of legislative debate.
The events which succeeded the Veto are too re
cent in the minds of the People to render a minute
enumeration necessary here. They are forcibly
summed up in Mr. Adams's excellent Report on the
President's Veto of the Revenue Bill. A second
Bank Bill, shaped to meet the avowed views of the
President, was prepared, passed, and then vetoed.
The Cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Webster,
resigned ; and the great purpose for which the Spe
cial Session of Congress had been called was defeat
ed by the will of one man, who owed his influential
position to his professed attachment to Whig princi
ples, and his declared preference for Mr. Clay as a
candidate for the Presidency.
Mr. Clay was unremittted in his application to the
public business during the Extra Session. He spoke
on a great variety of questions, and, being at the
head of two important Committees, performed a great
amount of hard work. Although his principal mea
sure for the public relief was defeated by the unlook
ed-for defection of John Tyler, he had the satisfac
tion of aiding in the Repeal ofthe odious Sub-Trea
sury System — in the passage of the Bankrupt Law
— and in the final triumph of his favorite measure,
often baffled but still persevered in, the Distribution
of the Sales of the Public Lands. By the provisions
of this last law, Distribution was to cease whenever
the average rate of Duties on Imports should exceed
20 per cent.
A Revision of the Tariff, rendered necessary by
the expiration of the Compromise Act, was also un
dertaken. This was the most important subject
which engaged the attention of the Twenty-Seventh
Congress, at its first regular session. To meet the
exigency of the occasion, a Provisional Bill, sus
pending the operation of the Distribution Bill for one
month, as well in consequence of a lack of funds in
the Treasury, as of a desire on the part of Congress
"to give more mature consideration to the subject of
a Tariff, was passed. But it encountered still ano
ther and another Veto from the President.
It has been asserted that Mr. Clay and his friends
did not desire an adjustment of the Tariff question,
during the Session of 1841-2. Nothing could be
more unfounded than this charge. In spite of dis
comfiture and mortification, they persevered in their
efforts for the relief of the country, and eventually
surrendered the Distribution clause to meet the views
ofthe President; and the Tariff Bill finally became
a law, through the patriotic endeavors ofthe friends
of Mr. Clay, notwithstanding the attempt of Mr. Ty
ler to crush their energies and arouse their opposi
tion. On the thirty-first of March, 1842, after one ofthe
Jongest Congressional careers known in our annals,
Mr. Clay resigned his seat in the Senate ofthe Uni
ted States. It having been previously understood
that he would take occasion, in presenting the cre
dentials of his successor, Mr. Crittenden, to make
some valedictory remarks, the. Senate Chamber was,
at an early hour, crowded to its utmost capacity, by
Members ofthe other House, and by a large assem
blage of citizens and ladies. Some of Mr. Clay's
best friends had looked forward with apprehension
to this event — wearing the aspect, as it did, of a for
mal and appointed leave-taking. They remembered
that there was but one step from the sublime to tha
ridiculous, and they dreaded lest the truly impress
ive character ofthe occasion might be marred, or di
vested of its dignity, by any farewell words. But
Mr. Clay had hardly risen to speak before their ap
prehensions were lost and forgotten in a deep and
absorbing interest in the language that flowed calm
ly, smoothly and majestically from his lips. He re
ferred to the period of his first entrance into the Sen
ate, in 1806. He paid a merited compliment to the
high character of that body, and to the ability of its
individual Members ; but added that, full of attrac
tion as was a seat in that Chamber, to fill the aspi
rations of the most ambitious heart, he had long de
termined to forego it, and to seek repose among the
calm pleasures of " home."
It had been his purpose, he said, to terminate his
connection with the Senate in November, 1840. Had
President Harrison lived, and the measures devised
at the Extra Session been fully carried out, he
would have then resigned his seat. But the hope
that at the Regular Session the measures left un
done might be still perfected, induced him to post
pone his determination ; and events, which arose af
ter the Extra Session, resulting from the failure of
those measures which had been proposed at that
Session, and which appeared to throw on his politi
cal friends a temporary show of defeat, confirmed
him in the resolution to attend the present Session
also — and, whether in prosperity or adversity, to
share the fortune of his friends. But he resolved, at
the same time, to retire as soon as he could do so
with propriety and decency. Mr* Clay then con
tinued as follows :
" From 1806, the period of my entry on this noble
theatre, with short intervals, to the present time, I
have been engaged in the public councils, at home
and abroad. Ofthe nature or the value of the ser
vices rendered during that long and arduous period
of my life, it does not become me to speak ; history,
if she deigns to notice me, or posterity, if the recol
lections of my humble actions shall be transmitted
to posterity, are the best, the truest, the most im
partial judges. When death has closed the scene,
their sentence will be pronounced, and to that I ap
peal and refer myself. My acts and public conduct
are a fair subject for the criticism and judgment of
my fellow-men ; but the private motives by which
they have been prompted — they are known only to
the great Searcher of the human heart and to my
self; and I trust I may be pardoned for repeating a
declaration made some thirteen years ago, that,
whatever errors — and doubtless they have been
many — may be discovered in a review of my public
service to the country, I can with unshaken confi
dence appeal to the Divine Arbiter for the truth of
the declaration, that I have been influenced by
no impure purposes, no personal motive — have
sought no personal aggrandisement; but that in all
my public acts I have had a sole and single eye,
and a warm and devoted heart, directed and dedica-
Retiracy from the Senate — Return to Kentucky — Remarks on Slavery.
75
ted to what, in my judgment, I believed to be the
true interest of my country."
Mr. Clay then alluded to the fact, that in common
with other public men he had not enjoyed an immuni
ty from censure and detraction. But he had not been
unsustained. And here the allusion to the persecu
tions of his assailants led to the mention of Ken
tucky, the State ofhis adoption — noble Kentucky —
who, when the storm of calumny raged the fiercest,
and he seemed to be forsaken by all the rest of the
world, threw her broad and impenetrable shield
around him, and bearing him up aloft in her coura
geous arms repelled the poisoned shafts aimed for
his destruction. As Mr. Clay uttered the name of
Kentucky, his feelings overpowered him — the strong
man was bowed with emotion — he passed his fin
gers before his eyes for a moment — then rallied, and
proceeded with his remarks. To the charge of
Dictatorship, which was so often in the mouths of
his opponents at that time, Mr. Clay replied tem
perately and happily. We can quote but a fragment
of this portion of his Valedictory Address :
"That my nature is warm, my temper ardent, my
disposition, especially in relation to the public ser
vice, enthusiastic, I am fully ready to own; and
those who supposed that I have been assuming the
Dictatorship, have only mistaken for arrogance or
assumption that fervent ardor and devotion which
is naturaj, to my constitution, and which I may have
displayed with no little regard to cold, calculating
and cautious prudence, in sustaining and zealous
ly supporting important National measures of policy
which I have presented and proposed."
The truly generous qualities of Mr. Clay's na
ture shine forth from every line of the following pas
sage :
" During a long and arduous career of service in
the public councils of my countr}', especially dur
ing the last eleven years I have held a seat in the
Senate, from the same ardor and enthusiasm of
character, I have no doubt, in the heat of debate,
and in an honest endeavor to maintain my opinions
against adverse opinions equally honestly enter
tained, as to the best course to be adopted for the
public welfare, I may have often inadvertently or
unintentionally, in moments of excited debate, made
use of language that has been offensive, and sus
ceptible of injurious interpretation toward my brother
Senators. If there be any here who retain wound
ed feelings of injury or dissatisfaction produced on
such occasion, I beg to assure them that I now of
fer the«"' ,.-.s'. apology for any departure on my part
f'"' o established rules of parliamentary deco-
.:, and courtesy. On the other hand, I assure the
senators, one and all, without exception and with
out reserve, that I retire from this Senate Chamber
without carrying with me a single feeling of resent
ment or dissatisfaction towards the Senate or any of
its members."
Mr. Clay concluded this memorable address by
invoking, in a tone which thrilled through every
heart, the blessings of Heaven upon the whole Sen
ate and every member of it. The hushed suspense
of intense feeling and attention pervaded the crowd
ed assemblage as he sat down. For nearly half a
minute after he had finished no one spoke— no one
moved. There was not a dry eye in the Senate
Chamber. Men of all parties seemed equally over
come by the pathos and majesty of that farewell.—
At length Mr. Preston, of South Carolina, rose and
remarked, that what had just taken place was an
epoch in their legislative history ; and, from the feel
ing which was evinced, he plainly saw that there
was little disposition to attend to business. He
would therefore move that the Senate adjourn.
The motion was unanimously agreed to; but
even then the whole audience seemed to remain
spell-bound by the effect of those parting tones of
Mr. Clay. For several seconds no one stirred. " In
all probability we should have remained there to
this hour," said an honorable Senator to us recent
ly, in describing the scene, " had not Mr. Clay him
self risen, and moved towards the area." And then
at length, slowly and reluctantly, the assemblage
dispersed. Shortly after the adjournment, as Mr. Calhoun
was crossing the Senate Chamber, he and Mr. Clay
encountered. For five years they had been estran
ged ; and the only words which had passed between
them had been those harshly spoken in debate. But
now, as they thus inadvertently met, the old times
came over them. They remembered only their po
litical companionship of twenty years' standing. —
The intervening differences,, which had chilled their
hearts towards each other, were forgotten. The tears
sprang to their eyes. They shook each other cor
dially by the hand — interchanged a "God bless
you!" and parted. We have alluded elsewhere
briefly to this scene. It was a happy sequel to the
leading events of the day.
CHAPTER XX.
Return to Kentucky— Speech at Lexington — Visits Indiana-
Scene with Mr. Mendenhall — Remarks on Slavery— Person
al Matters— Slanders Refuted— The Dayton Convention—
"Visit to the South- West— Triumphal Progress— Return Home
—Contemplated Visit to the South-East— Letters on the
Tariff— Letter to the Whigs of Fayette County, Va., in re
gard to John Tyler— Again Visits New-Orleans— Addresses
the Whig Convention— Leaves New-Orleans on his way to
North-Carolina. On his return to Kentucky, after retiring from
public life, Mr. Clay was received with all those
manifestations of enthusiastic affection which it is
possible for a grateful constituency to exhibit. On
the 9th of June, 1842, he partook of a public enter
tainment or Barbecue, given in his honor near Lex
ington. The speech which he delivered on this occasion
is probably fresh in the recollection of many of our
readers. Containing as it does many personal re
miniscences of his past career, and a review of those
leading questions of poliey upon which we have al
ready given his opinions, it is one of the most inter
esting ofhis numerous addresses to popular assem
blies. Early in October, 1842, being on a visit to Rich
mond, in the State of Indiana, the occasion of
his meeting a large concourse of his fellow citizens
was seized upon by a number of his politioal oppo
nents to present him with a petition praying him to
emancipate his slaves in Kentucky. It was thought
that even Henry Clay would be nonplussed and
embarrassed by so inopportune and unexpected an
appeal. A Mr. Mendenhall was selected to present
him with the petition, and expectation was raised to
the highest pitch among the few who were in the se
cret, and who were far from being Mr. Clay's well-
wishers, to hear what he would say. Never did he
acquit himself more felicitously than on this occa
sion.
76
Life of Henry Clay.
The indignation was great among the assembly
when they learned the object with which Mr. Men
denhall had made his way through their midst to
the spot where Mr. Clay stood. They regarded it
as an insult to him and his friends ; and the proba
bility is, that Mr. Mendenhall would have had some
palpable proof of their sense of his impertinence,
had not Mr. Clay instantly appealed to the assem
bly in the following terms :
"I hope that Mr. Mendenhall maybe treated with
the greatest forbearance and respect. I assure my
fellow citizens, here collected, that the presentation
ofthe petition has not occasioned the slightest pain,
nor excited one solitary disagreeable emotion. If
it were to be presented to mc, I prefer that it
should be done in the face of this vast assemblage.
I think I can give it such an answer as becomes me
and the subject of which it treats. At all events, I
entreat and beseech my fellow citizens for their
sake, for my sake, to offer no disrespect, no indig
nity, no violence, in word or deed, to Mr.Mendenhall."
Then, turning to Mr. Mendenhall : " Allow me to
' say," said Mr. C., " that I think you have not con-
1 formed to the independent character of an Ameri-
' can citizen in presenting a petition to me. A
' petition, as the term implies, generally proceeds
' from an inferior in power or station to a superior;
' but between us there is entire equality,"
Mr. Clay remarked, in continuation, that he de
sired no concealment of his opinions in regard to
the institution of Slavery. He looked upon it as a
great evil, and deeply lamented that we had derived
it from the Parental Government and from our ances
tors. But, without any knowledge of the relation in
which he stood to his Slaves, or their individual con
dition, Mr. Mendenhall and his associates had pre
sented a petition calling upon him forthwith to
liberate the whole of them.
" Now let me tell you," said Mr. C. " that some half
a dozen of them, from age, decrepitude or infirmity,
are wholly- unable to gain a livelihood for them
selves, and are a heavy charge upon me. Do you
think that I should conform to the dictates of hu
manity by ridding myself of that charge, and send
ing them forth into the world, with the boon of
liberty, to end a wretclied existence in starvation^"
In conclusion, Mr. Clay admirably exposed the
hypocrasy of the petitioners by the following pro
position, in regard to which they have never taken
any steps :
" I shall, Mr. Mendenhall, take your petition into
respectful and deliberate consideration ; but before
1 come to a final decision, I should like to lenow
what you and your associates arc willing to do for
the Slaves in my possession, if I should think pro
per to liberate them. I own about fifty, who are
probably worth fifteen thousand dollars. To turn
them loose upon society without any means of sub
sistence or support would be an act of cruelty. Are
you willing to raise and secure the payment of fif
teen thousand dollars for their benefit, if I should
be induced to free them 1 The security of the pay
ment of that sum would materially lessen the ob
stacle in the way of their emancipation."
Mr. Clay finished his remarks with some friendly
advice to Mr. Mendenhall, which it is probable that
individual will never forget. The tables were com
pletely turned upon those who had thought to annoy
and embarrass the great Kentuckian. The bearer
of the petition and his associates were suffered to
slink away unnoticed and unheeded by the crowd.
As the period for a new Presidential election ap
proaches, the enemies of Mr. Clay are circulating
the grossest misrepresentations in regard to his con
duct as a slave-holder and his opinions upon the
subject ofthe institution of Slavery. A Mr. James
Channing Fuller, who according to his own showing,
smuggled himself into the kitchen at Ashland and
interrogated the slaves, in the absence of Mr. Clay
from home, has published a statement in relation to
Mr. Clay's domestic affairs, full of the most ridicu
lous falsehoods. One ofthe slaves, named Darkey,
who seems to have been very communicative in
" humbugging" the fellow, on being asked why she
had told him such big stories, replied : " Why, the
man came sneaking about the house like a fool, and
I thought I would make a bigger fool of him."
A Mr. Abel Brown, who was indicted not long
since for libel by the Grand Jury of Albany, has
also been busy in propagating the vilest slanders in
regard to Mr. Clay's connection with the slave-
holding interest. We need only stamp them as de
liberate and malicious falsehoods, wholly unsustain
ed by the slightest shadow of proof.
The Lexington Intelligencer says :
" Mr. Clay owns about fifty slaves. Several ol
them, from age and infirmity, are an absolute charge
upon him. His allowance of food to them, is a
pound of bacon per day for adult men, and in that
proportion for women and children — free access to
the meal-tub for bread, and plenty of vegetables.
Most of them raise fowls. They are well clothed
and housed, and the tasks given them are very light,
insomuch, that during the season of breaking" hemp,
some of the men can earn their dollar per day.
Their attachment to Mr. Clay is strong. Charles
has travelled with him through the greater part of
the United States and both the Canadas. When at
the Falls of Niagara, three years ago, Mr. Clay was
asked by a friend if he was sure ot Charles's fidelity ;
for that some Abolitionists had been attempting to
seduce him from his service. Mr. Clay replied that
they were welcome to get him off if they could. He
might go if he pleased ; he would be only anticipating
his freedom a few days. In Canada, Charles was
again importuned and teased, until excessively
vexed, he turned upon his tormentors and told them
that he would not leave his master for both of the
Queen's Provinces. Charles's wife, a free woman
and her children, all live upon Mr. Clay's place and
are chiefly supported by him, without rendering any
equivalent." There has never been any concealment on Mr.
Clay's part of his opinions on the subject of Slavery.
Through the whole course of this Memoir they will
be found scattered, from the period when he first
advocated the gradual eradication of Slavery from
Kentucky in 1797 to the present moment. In his
speech before the Colonization Society in 1827, (see
Chapter X. of the present work,) nothing can be
more explicit than the language he employs. We
refer those who would be enlightened further in re
gard to his views, to that eloquent address.
On the 29th of September, 1842, Mr. Clay attended
the great Whig Convention at Dayton, Ohio, where
One Hundred Thousand Whigs are believed to
have been assembled.
" At 8 o'clock," says one of the actors in the
scene, " when every street in the city was filled,
' and there seemed no resting-place for anv, the pro-
' cession was formed. This occupied a long time.
' When done, the order, ' March! ' was given; and,
Visit to the Soulh-West—The Tariff of 1812— Letters on the Tariff.
77
'in solid mass, we moved to welcome the great
' Statesman, Henry Clay, into the city. He was
'met near the city, and, at half-past 9 o'clock,
'reached the neighborhood of the National Hotel.
' Here a beautiful sight was witnessed. One hun-
' dred and twenty -five children, as the honest patriot
'approached, welcomed him with songs! Their
sweet voices rang out in merry peals, and the mul
titude responded to it with the heartiest enthusiasm.
"¦ After this, Mr. Clay occupied a stand for some time,
' as the procession passed by, welcoming him to Ohio,
and in return receiving his salutations.
" When the procession had passed, Mr. Clay re-
< tired into the Hotel. Governor Metcalf then ap-
'peared at the window, and delivered a Speech —
' returning the thanks of Kentucky for the warm-
' hearted reception they had met with, and bid-
' ding all who loved the name of American to rally
' together in defence of American Liberty and Ameri-
' can Labor.
" Mr. Schenck read Resolutions, prepared by the
'Committee, nominating Henry Clay and John
' Davis for the Whig candidates for 1844. At this
* time Mr. Clay was seen in the crowd, and then, as
' if there had been one voice only, the shout' went
1 forth for the Statesman of the Nation. He answered
1 if and, in a Speech of two hours, plain, yet elo-
4 quent, he spoke, concealing no opinion, disguising
'no wish, the multitude all the while listening with
' eager attention and breathless silence. And such
'a Speech! It was a master-effort of a master-
' spirit." Of this tremendous meeting Mr. Clay afterward
remarked, that of all the crowds in Europe or else
where he never saw one so great. A vast sea of
human heads surrounded the platform, covering
many acres.
In the month of December, 1842, Mr. Clay, having
private business in- New-Orleans, where some of
his near relations reside, visited tliat city, stop
ping at Natchez and other places on his route. He
was every where received by the People with such
¦enthusiastic demonstrations of popular affection as
had never before been bestowed upon any American
except Washington.
On his return homeward from Louisiana, about
the middle of February, 1843, his progress was
continually impeded by. vast assemblages of the
people to meet and welcome him. At Mobile, on
the 2d of February, and at Vicksburg, on the 20th
of February, an immense concourse of citizens col
lected to offer, the tribute of their gratitude and
respect. The Hon. S. S. Prentiss addressed him,
on the latter occasion, in that strain of fluent and
impassioned eloquence for which that young and
gifted orator is distirisuished.
At Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, Mr. Clay
was met and welcomed by the largest concourse
ever assembled in the State. At Memphis, Ten-
neseee, crowds, of citizens from the surrounding
region assembled to tender him their affectionate
respects, to look on and listen to the greatest living
champion of their Country's honor and interests.
Thus felicitated and welcomed on his route, Mr.
Clay, with more than a conqueror's trophies, re
turned, in fine health and spirits, to Ashland, just
as Spring was beginning to fringe with green the
old oaks that waved around his homestead.
Early in April he addressed a large body of his
fellow citizens in the Court-House yard at Lcxing
ton; and, in the course of his remarks, acknow
ledged, in appropriate language, the atteutions
which had been paid to him and the honors which
had been showered upon him by all parties during
his late trip to the South-west.
It having been understood that Mr. Clay would
make a tour to the South-east during the autumn of
1843, innumerable letters from Committees in all
sections ofthe country were poured in upon him,
requesting him to visit a multitude of places, both
on his route and aside from it. The task of reply
ing to these letters must alone have been exceeding
ly laborious. North Carolina was, we believe, the
first to claim from him a visit. In his reply to a
Committee of citizens of Raleigh, dated 10th July,
1843, he consents to pay a visit, some time in the
course ofthe next spring to that State, which was
" the first to declare the Independence of the Colo-
' nies, and will be among the last to abandon the
' support of the Union."
Several letters from Mr. Clay on the subject of the
Tariff appeared, during the Summer of 1843. No
thing could be more explicit and undisguised than
the expression ofhis views. In his reply, dated 13th
September, 1843, to a letter from F. S. Branson,
Esq., of Georgia, asking his opinions in regard to
the Protective policy of 1832, he writes :
" The sum and substance of what I conceive to be
the true policy of the United States, in respect to a
Tariff, may be briefly stated. In conformity with
the principle announced in the Compromise Act, I
think, that whatever revenue is necessary to an eco
nomical and honest administration of the General
Government, ought to be derived from duties, impo
sed on Foreign imports. And I believe that, in es
tablishing a Tariff of those duties, such a discrimi
nation ought to be made, as will incidentally afford
reasonable protection to our national interests.
" I think there is no danger of a high Tariff being
ever established; that of 1828 was eminently de
serving that denomination. I was not in Congress
when it passed, and did not vote for it; but with its
history and with the circumstances which gave birth
to it, I am well acquainted. They were highly dis
creditable to American legislation and I hope, for
its honor, will never be again repeated.
" After my return to Congress in 1831, my efforts
were directed to the modification and reduction of
the rates of duty contained in the act of 1828. The
act of 1832 greatly reduced and modified them; and
the act of 1833, commonly called the Compromise
Act, still farther reduced and modified them. The
act which passed at the Extra Session of 1841,
which I supported, was confined to the free articles.
I had resigned my seat in the Senate when tho act
of 1842 passed. Generally, the duties which it im
poses are lower than those in the act of 1832. And,
without intending to express any opinion upon eve
ry item of this last Tariff, I would say that I think
the provisions, in the main, are wise and proper. If
there be any excesses or defects in it, (of which I
have not the means here of judging,) they ought to
be corrected.
" My opinion, that there is no danger hereafter of
a high Tariff, is founded on the gratifying fact that
our manufactures have now taken a deep root. In
their infancy, they needed a greater measure of pro
tection ; but, as they grow and advance, they ac
quire strength and stability, and, consequently, will
require less protection. Even now, some branches
of them are able to maintain, in distant markets,
successful competition with rival foreign manufac
tures."
78
Lift of Henry Clay,
By this it will be seen that Mr. Clay, so far from
contemplating the expediency of higher. and higher
duties, believes that the rapid and constant progress
of our manufactures tends ever to diminish instead
of to increase the necessity of decidedly protective
duties. He never was in favor of a high tariff. In
"his own language, he believes that "the revenue
1 from the General Government should be derived
' from the foreign imports, to the exclusion of direct
' taxes, and the proceeds of the sales of public lands ;
' and that no more revenue should be levied than is
* necessary to an economical administration of the
' Government ; but that, in levying it, such discrimi-
* nations ought to be made as will afford moderate
' and reasonable protection to American interests
' against the rival and prohibitory policy of foreign
' powers." Notwithstanding these clear and unequivocal dec
larations, the attempt is frequently made to misrep
resent Mr. Clay's views in regard to the Tariff.
Surely there is no longer any excuse for ignorance
upon this subject among persons claiming to be in
telligent. The "Whigs of Fayette county, Virginia, some
time in September, 1843, wrote to Mr. Clay, re
questing him to favor them with a visit on his way
to or return from North Carolina. By the following
extracts from his reply, it will be seen that he is far
from disguising his sentiments in regard to Mr.
Tyler :
" The treachery, gentlemen, of the acting Presi
dent, to which yon allude in terms of just indigna
tion, is mortifying to us as Americans.
" Considering the youth of our republic, and the
virtuous and illustrious men who have filled the of
fice of Chief Magistrate of the Union, it is painful
in the extreme to behold such an example of utter
abandonment of all the obligations of honor, of duty,
and of fidelity. But, far from allowing that degra
ding fact to throw ue into a state of apathy and de
spondency, it ought to stimulate every American
freeman to redouble his energies in rescuing his gov
ernment from the impure hands into which it has ac
cidentally fallen.
" Against Mr. Tyler no exertion is necessary. He
will soon retire with the contempt and amidst the
scoffs of all honorable men. Our efforts should be
directed against those who first seduced and then
profited by him ; those who, after having won him
to their uses, now affect to shrink from the contami
nating association; those who, after his complete
identification with them, and at the moment when
he is appropriating to their exclusive advantage the
whole patronage of the government, unjustly upbraid
us with the failure of measures, the adoption of which
was prevented by his perfidy and their countenance
and support of him."
In December, 1843, Mr. Clay's private affairs again
required his presence in New-Orleans. He was
welcomed on his route to that city by the same tes
timonials of popular attachment that bad signalized
his journey of the preceding year ; and, during his
residence in the great southern metropolis, citizens
of all parties seemed to unite in doing him honor.
Before his departure, the State Convention of the
Democratic Whigs of Louisiana, which was holding
its session at the time, formed in procession, the 23d
of February, 1844, and marched to the St. Charles
hotel, where he was staying, to tender their respects.
On the 25th of February, he reached Mobile, on his
way to North Carolina. Although it was the sabbath,
and of course no civic ceremonies denoted the wel
come which was swelling in every bosom, yet the
wharves were lined with a dense and innumerable
throng, eager to catch a glimpse of him as he disem
barked. On the 5th of March, he left Mobile for
Montgomery, Columbus (Georgia), Macon, and other
intermediate cities on his route, followed by the best
hopes of the people.
A letter from him to the Whigs of Philadelphia,
bearing date the 10th of February, 1844, is worthy
of mention in this place for the sentiments it expres
ses in regard to Washington. Mr. Clay had been
invited to unite iD the celebration of the anniversary
of the birth of the hero of Mount Vernon. Distance
and unavoidable engagements prevented his accept
ance of the invitation. In his reply he says : " The
' birth of no man that ever lived is so well entitled to
' perpetual commemoration as a rare blessing be-
' stowed on mankind by the goodness of Providence.
' In contemplating his career and character, we be-
' hold displayed and concentrated in him, calmness,
' dignity, moderation, firmness, fidelity, disinterest-
' edness, wisdom — all the virtues that adorn the war-
' rior, the patriot, the statesman, and the honest man.
' Most justly has he acquired the title of the Father
' of bis Country. During the Revolution, and since,
' many good men have arisen in the United States;
' but Washington stands at an immeasurable height,
' elevated far above them all."
On the 1st of April, 1844, Mr. Clay reached Co
lumbia, South Carolina, where he was the guest of
the Hon. William C. Preston. On the 6th, he viH-
ited Charleston ; and here all sorts of honors and
gratulations were heaped upon him by the enthusi
astic Whigs of that hospitable city. He was re
ceived by an immense concourse of citizens in the
theatre, and being addressed by the venerable Dr.
William Read, one of the few surviving officers of
the Revolution, he replied in a speech of nearly two
hours' duration, which commanded and repaid the
closest attention. As the Tariff was the subject
which most intimately affected the interests of his
hearers, he reiterated, with his accustomed frank
ness, his views in regard to it. He declared himself
in favor of a system of protection, moderate, reason
able, certain, and durable — yielding no more revenue
than is necessary for an honest and economical ad
ministration of the government, and, within that
limit, discriminating in the imposition of duties be
tween those articles which do and those which do
not enter into competition with domestic industry-
throwing the heavier duty on the former and the
lighter duty on the latter. Peace could only be
found by taking the middle path. Neither interest
nor section could expect to have it all its own way.
The matter must be adjusted by concession, com
promise, conciliation — such concession, compromise,
and conciliation, as led to the adoption of the Fede
ral Constitution, and under the influence of which
our political union would continue to fulfil its sacred
trust, and move forward in its high career a blessing
to our race.
At Raleigh on the 12th, Mr. Clay met with a re
ception every way worthy the " Old North State."
His friend and former fellow-laborer, B. W. Leigh,
of Virginia, made the journey to Raleigh to meet
him, and addressed the multitude from the porch of
the capitol with great animation and effect. Mr.
Clay was escorted by an immense throng of citizens
A Retrospect — The Harrisburgh Convention — Wrongful Proceedings.
79
to the residence of the Governor of the State, Mr.
Morehead, where he remained during his stay in
Baleigh. At Wilmington he addressed the people, and one
paragraph ofhis speech commends him to the confi
dence of his countrymen of all parties. He said, ' ' I
' am a Whig : I am so because I believe the princi-
' pies of the Whig party are best adapted to promote
' the prosperity of the country. I seek to change no
1 man's allegiance to his party, be it what it may.
' A life of great length and experience has satisfied
' me that all parties aim at the common good of the
* country. The great body of the Democrats, as
1 well as the Whigs, are so from a conviction that
' their policy is patriotic. I take the hand of one as
' cordially as that of another, for all are Americans.
' I place country far above all parties. Look aside
from that, and parties are no longer worthy of be-
'ing cherished."
On the 18th of April, he passed on to Petersburg,
Virginia, and, the Saturday following, embarked for
Norfolk, where he did not arrive till Sunday morn
ing, owing to the detention of the boat by fog. His
progress was a series of ovations. On the 26th, he
arrived in Washington. He was now approaching
one ofthe most interesting epochs of his eventful
life. By acclamation the Whigs of the country
seemed to call upon him to stand forth once more,
the worthiest embodiment of their principles, the
candidate of their choice and affections. In every
State there were spontaneous movements of the peo
ple, which precluded all doubt as to the result of the
deliberations of a Whig National Convention for the
nomination of President. We must here indulge in
a brief retrospect of public events connected with
Mr. Clay's recent career ; and it is with no wish to
revive old griefs that we shall touch upon topics, in
their views upon which good Whigs may differ.
Our object is to present such facts as should guard
us for the future against errors, which all experience
calls out upon us to shun.
CHAPTER XXI.
A Retrospect — The Harrisburgh Convention — A Mistake
committed— Mr. Clay's Relations toward General Har
rison—Anecdotes—Mr. Clay and John Tyler.
The Whig Convention of 1839 deserves further
notice as the parent cause of all the disasters which
have since attended the Whig party. If Mr. Clay
had been then nominated, as he ought to have been
—if the will of those who constituted the convention
had prevailed, there can be no doubt that he would
have been elected by a majority as great, if not
greater, than General Harrison subsequently re
ceived. Being elected, all those measures and re
forms, of which the country stood so much in need,
and which its welfare required, would have been
successfully carried out. The pages in our annals
on which the treachery of John Tyler cast a stain,
would have presented a far different aspect. The
party, which was prostrated and overwhelmed by the
signal victory of 1840, would never again have risen
into power, and we should have had no annexation
of Texas, no war with Mexico, no anti-protective
attacks upon domestic industry, no public debt, and
none of those other fatal measures, under which the
country is suffering, or from which it is destined to
suffer. That Convention violated a great principle. The
only principle which can justify a Convention is,
that it should truly collect and represent the public
sentiment of those by whom it has been delegated.
If it may disregard the will of its constituents, and
substitute in the place of it its own will, it ceases to
be a representative body, and becomes, in effect, an
electoral college. Placed in that position, what com
pass has it, or what guide ? And what a field is at
once opened for artful intrigue and for corrupt prac
tices !
That Mr. Clay was the choice of an immense ma
jority of those who created the Convention, was in
contestable. So great, indeed, was that majority,
that a leading and influential member of the Con
vention, who had largely contributed to bring about
the nomination of General Harrison, remarked, a few
days afterward, in Washington city, to Mr. Clay :
' You, sir, were the choice of ninety-nine out of every
hundred of the Whig party in the United States, bat
we were afraid that you could not get the hundredth
man, and therefore we nominated General Harri
son." And how could the Convention have known tbat
General Harrison would not lose some dozen or
more of that ninety-nine ? Not only did the great
body ofthe Whig party desire and expect Mr. Clay's
nomination, but a great majority of the delegates to-
the Convention themselves left home with the inten
tion of voting for it. A member of the Maine dele
gation, at a public dinner given in the city of Wash
ington to the delegates who had assembled there
shortly after the adjournment of the Convention, de
clared such to have been the intention of his delega
tion—and yet they voted otherwise. The delega
tion from Michigan was instructed to vote for Mr
Clay ; and they voted against him. Several of the
delegates from New York, who were instructed to
vote for him. cast their vote for General Harrison.
Many of the delegates from Massachusetts, Vermont,
and New-Jersey, started from their homes with the
same intention to vote for Mr. Ciay, and they voted
for General Harrison.
This change of purpose was wrought on the jour
ney to the Convention through New- York, by the
active intrigues of a few busy politicians of that
State and city. The vote of the State of New- York,.
always important, was an object of deep solicitude
in the approaching election ; and it is remarkable
that some of the delegates from that State asserted,
in the early stage of the proceedings of the Conven
tion, that General Scott alone could secure the vote
of the State ; that the prospects of Mr. Clay were the
next best, and tbat General Harrison stood no chance
of gaining it. Yet those very delegates finally voted
for General Harrison against Mr. Clay. So shocked
was an illustrious and venerable delegate from New-
York (Peter B. Livingston) at the wrongful proceed
ings of the Convention, that he had his foot to the
floor to rise and denounce them, and break it up ;
and he was only restrained by the pleadings of some
gentlemen who sat near him.
Throughout the whole United States, when the
decision of the Convention was known, one general
feeling of disappointment and disapprobation per
vaded the ranks of the entire Whig party; and
80
Life of Henry Clay.
¦many , who afterward supported the nominee, resolved
in their chagrin that they would not sustain him : their
change of intention was brought about by the disin
terested and magnanimous course of Mr. Clay. We
have already seen that he addressed a letter to a
delegate, which was read to the Convention ; but
that was not all. Mr. Clay was not the man to dis
turb the harmony ofthe great movement then about
to be made, by pressing upon the country any pre
tensions, however just, of his own. He well knew
the wrong which had been done him ; but he felt
that it was much more important to the republic to
secure a better administration of its affairs than to
elevate him to the Presidency. He therefore nobly
suppressed his keen sense of the injustice which had
been done him, and threw the whole of his zeal,
ability, and influence, into the canvass in support of
the nominee for whom he had been so injuriously
supplanted. He attended the dinner already men
tioned, given to the delegates assembled at Wash
ington city, gave in his adhesion, and addressed the
assembly in behalf of General Harrison. From the
moment that this patriotic, self forgetting course was
known throughout the Union, concord and harmony
were the result ; and the great Whig party awoke
to urge on the good cause with zeal and enthusiasm.
The triumphant result stands recorded in history.
All were sensible of the noble disinterestedness
of Mr. Clay's course, but no one appreciated it more
highly, or felt more grateful for it toward him, than
General Harrison himself. »On the 15th of January,
1840, the General addressed a letter from North Bend
to Mr. Clay at Washington city, from which we have
been permitted to make the following extract :
"My Dear Sir: The generosity of your nature
will not permit you to doubt that my feelings of
gratitude toward you for the magnanimity of your
conduct toward me, in relation to the nomination for
the Presidency, are such as they ought to be, al
though I have so long delayed to express them di
rectly to you. I must beg you also to believe that
if the claims derived from your superior talents and
experience (so universally acknowledged by my
.supporters) had prevailed over those which acci
dental circumstances had conferred upon me, and
enabled the Convention to name you as the candi
date, that you would have had no more zealous
supporter in the Union than I should have been."
Since the unfortunate nomination at Harrisburgh
in December, 1839, or rather, since the unfortunate
events which ensued, the party of the Opposition, at
their Convention at Baltimore in 1844, have commit
ted a similar mistake. Disregarding public senti
ment and the popular sympathy, they selected for
the Presidency a gentleman but little known, and
who. perhaps, had not been thought of for that office
by a solitary being in the United States. The inju
rious, the fatal consequences of that selection are
now, and will be, for a long time to cotne, every
where felt and deplored. It is in the order of Provi
dence, however, to chastise deviations from correct
principle ; and, as the result was in the case of the
Whig party in 1844, so will it probably be in that of
its opponents at the next election, a signal and over
whelming overthrow. Heaven grant that the Whigs
may not, by a repetition of their old blunder, offset
the effects upon his party of the nomination of Mr.
Polk, of Tennessee !
During the whole canvass of 1840, and up to the
time of General Harrison's death, he and Mr. Clay
were upon terms of the most confidential intimacy.
The first time they met after the election was at the
house of Governor Letcher in Frankfort, Kentucky;
and Mr. Clay afterward entertained the President
elect at Ashland. During their interviews on those
occasions, they had long, full, and interesting conver
sations, on the state of public affairs. In their first
interview, General Harrison offered, and Mr. Clay
promptly declined, any place in the new administra-'
tion. He was then resolved to retire from the Sen
ate to private life. Both of them concurred in the
expediency of a call of an extra session of Congress,
agreeing that the benefit of those measures of public
policy which the people, in the great event that had
just transpired, had signified their wish to bring
about, ought not to be deferred to the ordinary pe
riod for the assembling of Congress. Indeed, the
bankrupt condition in which Mr. Van Buren had
left the treasury was of itself an evil which rendered
an early convening of Congress indispensable. It
was at their first interview at the Governor's, that
Mr. Clay, after having declined the offer of any offi
cial station, suggested to General Harrison that he
ought not, in his official arrangements, to overlook
Mr. Webster, and that if he bad himself been elect
ed, he should have felt bound, from the high estima
tion in which that gentleman was then held by the
Whig party, to tender him some distinguished place.
He did not designate any particular station to which
he thought Mr. Webster ought to be appointed. Mr.
Clay was induced to make this suggestion, because the
ground had been taken in several leading Whig jour
nals that if he did not go into the cabinet, Mr. Webster
ought not. The suggestion of Mr. Clay appeared to
remove a burden from the mind of General Harrison ;
and the next day, the latter, in conversation with
several gentlemen at Frankfort, indulged in exces
sive praise of Mr. Clay for his great disinterestedness
and magnanimity.
After the return of General -Harrison from Ken
tucky to North Bend, he and Mr. Clay did not meet
until the arrival ofthe former at Washington to en
ter upon the duties of the high office to which he had
been elected. Their friendly intimacy was again
renewed. General Harrison placed his inaugural
address in the hands of Mr. Clay, with the request
that he would examine it, and intimate any altera
tions that might occur to him as being necessary. He
at the same time informed him that a member ofhis
projected cabinet had prepared an inaugural for him,
which he wished him to adopt, but that he would
not substitute it for his own for fifty thousand dol
lars. Several of the intended members of the cabi
net apprehended that General Harrison's composi
tion would not be well received by the public, and
they applied to Mr. Clay to induce him to modify it.
In compliance with their request, Mr. Clay carefully
examined- the document, and proposed a number of
inconsiderable alterations, some having reference to
the phraseolpgy, and some to the sentiment; and
most of these the new President promptly and thank
fully adopted. But there was one alteration, longer
than any of the others, which he proposed, and
against this the General set his face. The pro
posed alteration was, to expunge the clauses rela
ting to the Greeks and Romans, which may now be
Mr. Clay's Relations toward General Harrison — Anecdote — Mr. Clay and John Tyler. 81
eeen in the early part of his address. This was
touching the General on a tender point ; and, in de
clining to adopt it, he remarked that he was partic
ularly attached to allusions and illustrations drawn
from Greek and Roman history ; and apropos to this
remark he related the following anecdote of himself:
When a member of the House of Representatives,
he was one day addressing the Speaker in a speech
of considerable vehemence and length. During its
delivery he made frequent citations from Greek and
Roman history. The galleries were excessively
thronged, and a man was endeavoring to push his
way through the crowd to a position wbere he
could see as well as hear. He could not reach one ;
but hearing the references to the Greeks and the
Romans, he exclaimed, with the most emphatic of
oaths, " That's General Harrison ! Though I can't
see him, I know him by what he says of the Greeks
and Romans!"
Mr. Ciay's great anxiety, after General Harrison's
entrance upon his official duties, was, to secure the
adoption of those public measures which, by his
election, and through his administration, the people
wished to establish. This was the absorbing desire
¦ of Mr. Clay's heart. He knew that if he interfered'
in the disposal of the patronage of the Government,
he would excite jealousies against himself, to which
he was aware there existed a predisposition, and
impair his just influence in the establishment of wise
systems of policy. Painful, therefore, as it was for
him to abstain from promoting the wishes of friends
whom he would gladly have served, he abstained
from all interference in public appointments further
than to endeavor to prevent the adoption of one or
two, which he regarded as injudicious and bad.
' If General Harrison had lived, there is reason to
believe that all the great and leading measures of
the Whig party would have been successfully car
ried out. But it pleased Providence to decree oth
erwise. The nation had to deplore the untimely
death of General Harrison in one short month after
his installation, and John Tyler, as the Vice-Presi
dent, succeeded him.
Mr. Clay had known this latter gentleman a num
ber of years, although he had had no hand in his
nomination to the office from which he was trans
ferred to the Presidency. Mr. Tyler was affable,
polite, and agreeable, in company and conversation.
He had made no great figure in any of the various
offices which he had filled, was not considered firm
of purpose, yet always acquitted himself respecta
bly, and was supposed to be at least honest. His
inaugural address, through the medium of the press
at Washington, created hopes — but hopes, which, in
the sequel, were sadly disappointed. Shortly after
the death of General Harrison, Mr. Clay received
two remarkable letters from Virginia, which deserve
a passing notice. One of them was from a distin
guished citizen of the city of Richmond, and bears
date the 4th of April, 1841, the very day on which
President Harrison expired. To the letter, the great
er part of which was on business, was appended a
postscript to the following effect: "We have very
bad accounts from Washington as to the state of
General Harrison's health. His death is seriously
apprehended. Your friend, Judge B , was just
now with me, and says that Harrison will certainly
die ; tliat Tyler luck will kill him. Should that event
6
happen, and Tyler come in, he will play the devil ; —
how, 1 don't know : but I am sure he will play tile
devil /"
The other letter, also from an eminent citizen,
was dated the 7th of April, 1841, at Williamsburgh,
the place of Mr. Tyler's residence, and to it was ap
pended a postscript substantially as follows : " We
have just heard ofthe death of President Harrison,
and I have just seen Mr. Tyler, who is to succeed
him. I told him that it was a great event, and shifted
on him an immense responsibility ; but that if, upon
going to Washington, he would embrace some suit
able occasion to announce to the public that he did
hot mean to be a candidate for the succession, he
would have an easy and probably a successful ad
ministration. He remarked, in reply, that he had
just been thinking of that ; but," adds the writer,
" it was manifest to me that he had not been thinking
favorably of it."
Notwithstanding these predictions and expres
sions of distrust, Mr. Clay, in May, 1841, proceeded
to Washington to attend the extra session, with a
firm determination faithfully to perform his own duty,
and to conciliate Vice-President Tyler as far as he
could, and engage him to concur and co-operate in
the adoption of the public measures demanded by
the public welfare, and of which an expectation was
authorized by the ascendency of the Whigs in the
national councils.
Upon Mr. Clay's arrival at the seat of government,
he promptly called on Mr. Tyler, dined with him,
frequently visited him at tea in the evening, and, on
these occasions, conversed with him in the most
frank, friendly, and confidential manner. During
those visits, the subject of a B ank of the United States
frequently formed the topic of conversation ; and Mr.
Tyler declared that he had formed no opinion against
one; that he would form none on the subject till a
bill should be matured, passed, and presented to
him ; and that no mortal, in the meantime, should
know what was to be his final determination. And
yet, notwithstanding these posititive declarations,
Mr. Clay had abundant reasons afterward to believe
that Mr. Tyler, before the passage of the Bank-bill,
bad stated to others that he would approve no Bank-
bill that could be presented to him !
In his evening visits at the White-House, Mr. Clay
often met suspicious persons, who created in his
mind some apprehension and alarm. He, however,
continued his visits until the levee of the 4th of July,
which was the last time he ever entered the presi
dential mansion. While the Bank-bill was pending
in the Senate, he reluctantly consented to the intro
duction into it of the clause relating to the branches
of the Bank, providing for the contingencies of the
assent or dissent of the States in which it might be
proposed to establish them. He yielded to it from
two considerations : the first was, that he had reason
to believe, from communications received from mem
bers ofthe cabinet of Mr. Tyler, that he would cer
tainly approve the bill with that clause inserted ; the
second was, that without it, the votes of two Sena
tors could not be obtained which were indispensable
to the passage of the bill through the Senate.
The measures which Mr. Clay regarded as impor
tant to occupy the attention of the extra session were
indicated by him in a series of resolutions proposed
in the early part of the session. It will be seen, upon
82
Life of Henry Clay.
an examination of them, that the Bankrupt-bill was
not one of those measures. He thought that the con
sideration of it ought to be postponed to the ordinary
session. But, owing to the perseverance of Senator
Tallmadge, of New York, it was finally agreed to
act upon it. But it cannot be regarded as one of
Mr. Clay's measures, although he cheerfully shares
the responsibility of its passage, believes that it was
rendered necessary to individuals by the ruinous
measures of the two previous administrations, and
that its operation, upon the whole, was beneficial to
the public.
Never did Mr. Clay, and never, perhaps, did any
other man perform the same amount of hard labor
in the same space of time, that he did during that
extra session. His whole soul seemed engrossed
with the duty of fulfilling the promises which the
Whig party had made to the country. He declined
almost all invitations to dinners and entertainments.
His habit was to rise as early as five o'clock every
morning, dash on horseback into the country six or
seven miles, and return to an early breakfast. From
that time until ten or eleven o'clock at night he was
constantly engaged, either in the preparation of busi
ness for the Senate, in attendance upon committees
or the Senate itself, or in consultation with his politi
cal friends. During the arduous debate on the Bank-
bill, which was continued several weeks, he was
left almost alone to struggle with a host of opponents.
On one occasion he had to rise and answer seven
of them, who had assailed the bill. He sometimes
felt as if he were deserted by his friends, not being
aware of what he afterward learned, that they had,
upon a conference among themselves, deemed it
best to leave the subject to his exclusive manage
ment. We have alluded to the visit of Mr. Clay, in the
summer of 1840, to the humble spot in Hanover
county, Virginia, which gave him birth. On this
occasion he was surprised to find the total change
which all the scenes of his boyhood had undergone.
He had not been there for upward of forty-five years,
and everything was so altered, that he would not
have recognized the spot had he not been told it
was the same. Small pine-trees, not higher than
his head when he left it, in which the " old fields,"
as they are called in that part of Virginia, abound,
had grown up into tall forest-trees. Orchards had
disappeared, and others been planted in their places.
The graves of his father, grandfather, and grand-
, mother, had been levelled and obliterated by the
plough, and the only guide to the spot where they
reposed was an old stump of a pear-tree, whose po
sition he recollected. Peace to their spirits! It
matters little to them whether the ploughshare cut
the turf above their poor mortal dust, or a stately
monument mark the place of its interment.
The dwelling-house alone remained without any
essential change ; and tradition had carefullv pre
served a recollection of the room in which Mr. Clay
was born. He was anxious to find a hickory-tree,
remarkable for the excellence of its fruit, which
stood near by the spring that supplied his father's
family with water. It no longer stood there — it was
gone ! Upon inquiry after it of a friend in the neigh
borhood, who was possessed of a somewhat poetical
imagination, he replied that when General Jackson
was elected President, the tree withered ; and when
he removed the deposits from the Bank ofthe United
States, it fell decayed to the earth. Mr. Clay, of
course, laughed heartily at this fanciful account of
the fate of his favorite tree.
We turn from these desultory retrospections to the
stirring political events which preceded and attended
the presidential canvass of 1844.
CHAPTER XXII.
Mr, Clay ia nominated for the Presidency— He returns to
Kentucky — The Texas Question, and his Views upon
it — Their Fulfilment — The Annexation Scheme— The
Whig Conventions at Baltimore— Mr. Clay accepts the
Nomination for the Presidency— The Democratic Con
vention — Party Preparations — Old Slanders revived—
The Election and the Result.
Mr. Clay's sojourn in Washington during the
spring of 1844 was one of respite from the fatigues
of travel and public receptions. On the 1st of May,
he was nominated for the Presidency by the Whig
National Convention at Baltimore, and on the 13th
ofthe same month he set out for Ashland, attended
only by his son, and arrived at Lexington the even
ing of Saturday the 18th, in fine health and spirits.
Here he was enthusiastically welcomed by an im
mense collection of his fellow -citizens. In vain did
he attempt to escape from the pageant of a public re
ception. He was compelled to listen to an address
of salutation and compliment. His reply was can
did, good-humored, and to the point. He told the
multitude that he was happy to see them— happy to
see every one of them — " but there was an excellent
old lady in the neighborhood, whom he would rather
see than any one else" — so, begging tbem to allow
him to return to Ashland, he bade them good-night!
This irresistible appeal was received in the spirit in
which it was made ; and amid the blaze of torches
and the cheerB of the people, he was escorted to his
home. Events of interest to the country and to himself
had transpired during the interval of bis absence.
The question of the annexation of Texas, that fer
tile source of many woes, had come up ; and he had
written a most statesmanlike letter on the subject
Discussions in regard to him had been started in Con
gress with the view of affecting his political pros
pects; and a Whig Convention, assembled at Balti
more, had, on the 1st of May, 1844, nominated Hen
ry Clay for President ofthe United States, and The
odore Frelinghuysen for Vice-President.
Mr. Clay's letter on the Texas question was writ
ten while he was partaking the hospitalities of Gov
ernor Morehead at Raleigh, the 17th of April. In
this letter he states the fact that, during his sojourn
in New-Orleans, be had been greatly surprised by
information received from Texas, that" in the course
of the autumn of 1843, a voluntary overture had pro
ceeded from the Executive of the United States to
the authorities of Texas, to conclude a treaty of an
nexation. To the astonishment of the whole nation,
we were now informed that a treaty of annexation
had been actually concluded, and was to be submit
ted to the Senate for its consideration. If, without
the loss of national character, without the hazard of
foreign war, with the general concurrence of the na
tion, without any danger to the integrity of the
Union, and without an unreasonable price, the ques-
'The Texas Question, and Mr. Clay's Views upon it — Mr. Anson Jones.
83
tion of annexation were presented, it would appear
in quite a different light. Mr. Clay then enters upon
a review of our past negotiations in regard to the
territory of Texas, and of the relations of Texas
toward Mexico. And the conclusion at which he
arrives is, that if the Government of the United
States were to acquire Texas, it would acquire
along with it all the incumbrances which Texas is
under, and among them the actual or suspended war
between Mexico and Texas.
'* And here the language of Mr. Clay has the em
phasis of prophecy : " Of that consequence," he says,
" there cannot be a doubt. Annexation and war with
Mexico are identical." In conclusion he remarks :
" I consider the annexation of Texas, at this time,
without the assent of Mexico, as a measure compro
mising the national character, involving us certainly
in war with Mexico, probably with other foreign
powers, dangerous to the integrity of the Union, in
expedient in the present financial condition of the
country, and not called for by any general expres
sion of public opinion." \\ In a subsequent letter,
dated Ashland, July 27, 1844, and addressed to two
gentlemen of Alabama, Mr. Clay says unhesitatingly,
that, far from having any personal objection to the
annexation of Texas, he should be glad to see it,
without dishonor ; but, at the same time, he expres
ses the conviction that annexation at that time, and
under existing circumstances, would compromit the
honor ofthe country ; involve us in a war, in which
the sympathies of all Christendom would be against
us ; and endanger the integrity of the Union. Na
tional dishonor, foreign war, and distraction and di
vision at home, were too great sacrifices to make
for the acquisition of Texas. He remarks in this
letter : " I do not think that the subject of slavery
' ought to affect the question one way or the other.
' Whether Texas be independent, or incorporated
' in the United States, I do not believe it will pro-
* long or shorten the duration of that institution. It
' is destined to become extinct at some distant day,
' in my opinion, by the operation of the inevitable
' laws of population."
As the period for the nomination of presidential
candidates approached, it became more and more
apparent that the Texas question was destined to
override all others in the coming contest. The B ank,
the, Tariff, and all subordinate matters, were merged
in the one great issue of the immediate Annexation
of Texas. Among the Whigs there was a general
acquiescence in the views of Mr. Clay on the sub
ject. Some persons, who entertained extreme opin
ions as to the feasibility of the immediate abolition
of slavery, thought him too tolerant; and others,
whose interests inclined them a different way, saw,
in his opposition to annexation, hostility to the ex
tension of an institution which, it was well known,
he had always regarded as an evil. But the great
body ofthe Whigs of the Union responded heartily
to his sentiments, and recognized the wisdom of his
policy and the patriotism of his motives.
Soon after the withdrawal of Mr. Webster from the
cabinet, it began to be rumored that our Government
had made overtures inviting application from the
authorities of Texas for its annexation to the United
States. These overtures, it was said, were at first
coolly received by President Houston ; but " being
again approached, not to say importuned, by the Ex
ecutive of the United States, he coyly assented to
listen to proposals." In the meantime, sedulous ef
forts were made to bring about that state of public
opinion in this country that should favor the move
ments of the friends of annexation. Insidious ap
peals were multiplied throughout nearly all the Dem
ocratic journals, intended to arouse the jealousy of
our people in regard to the designs of foreign pow
ers. It was boldly asserted that England was in
triguing with the view of establishing Texas as an
independent power, and that there was great danger
that the young republic would yield to the allure
ments which were held out. The slaveholding States
were called upon to protect themselves against the
danger of so formidable a rivsl as Texas would be
under the protection of Great Britain. And then
there was the pet phrase, to which, we believe, Mr.
Bancroft first gave currency, of " extending the area
of freedom !"
It now appears, from the confessions of President
Houston and his Secretary of State, Mr. Anson Jones,
that our Government was not a match for that of
Texas in diplomacy. Mr. Tyler and his advisers
were completely duped by the finesse of Messrs.
Houston and Jones. The bugbear of English inter
ference was the most unsubstantial of chimeras, and(
the arguments and assertions based upon it and used
for operating on the minds of the people of the Uni
ted States, were false and empty. Mr. Anson Jones,
in a series of letters recently published in the Gal
veston Civilian, claims that it was his diplomacy in
bringing about the needful state of feeling in this
country, which precipitated the annexation move
ment ; that it was the adroitness of Texas policy
which accomplished an object tbat might have been
delayed for years. He at the same time denies that
there was any intrigue with foreign powers injuri
ous to the interests of the United States or really ad
verse to ultimate annexation. He also makes a dec
laration which throws light upon the effect which'
the mode of annexation had upon the orjgin of the-
war. He is of opinion that the selection by Messrs.
Tyler and Calhoun ofthe House resolutions instead'
of the Senate amendment was extremely injudicious,
and he expresses his surprise that tbat alternative ¦
should have been presented to Texas instead of the-
ofher and more peaceful mode presented in the prop
osition for negotiation. He says that this decision
of the Government of the United States produced
surprise in that of Texas, from the belief that war
would immediately follow ; whereas, by the Senate's
mode of proceeding, annexation could have been
effected without war : but he says that Texas had-:
no option but to accept the mode selected by Presi
dent Tyler. The joint resolution of the House pro
vided for the admission of Texas into the Union, ora
certain conditions. The amendment of the Senate",
which Mr. Tyler chose to set aside, provided for
missions and negotiations, for the arrangement of
terms of admission and cession.
The appeals and misrepresentations of the pro-
annexation party undoubtedly had a great effect
upon that large portion of the people who had nei
ther leisure nor opportunity to look behind the cur
tain- and witness the questionable means and mo
tives at work for the accomplishment of a measure
big with portents of war, and death, and slavery.
Could they have seen the springs which set the
$4
Life of Henry Clay.
pageant in motion, they might have been disenchant
ed. The personal ambition of Mr. John Tyler to
associate his name with an important movement,
and to place himself, perhaps, as a prominent can
didate for a second presidential term before the peo
ple, was the insignificant origin of that train of na
tional sins and evils which led to the war with
.Mexico. The Democratic Convention and Mr. Polk
' did but steal Mr. Tylers thunder, and take up the
: thread ofhis policy. The issue which they chose to
; make with the opposite party and the people was
one which Mr. Tyler had provided for bis own ends,
but which was now remorselessly adopted by those
who saw in it an instrument for operating upon the
cupidity, the prejudices, and the fears, of a large
number of their countrymen.
The Mexican authorities had emphatically de
clared that annexation would be regarded as an act
of war on our part. Mr. Clay had expressed his be
lief that war would inevitably follow the measure.
Mr. Van Buren, escaping for once from the trammels
of non-committalism, had written a long letter in de
cided opposition to the project of immediate annex
ation ; and for this he was thrown overboard by the
Democratic Convention of May, 1844, who in their
resolutions recommended the "re-annexation of Tex
as, at the earliest practicable period, to the cordial
support ofthe democracy ofthe Union." The sound
ness of Mr. Clay's views on this question has been
abundantly verified in the course of events, though
i bis predictions were decried as chimerical at the
^ime. Annexation was the primary, if not the proxi
mate cause, of the war with Mexico.
It was while this annexation scheme was matu
ring, and all the arts and devices which chicanery
could invent to reconcile public opinion were being
actively employed, that the Conventions of the two
great parties ofthe Union for the nomination of can
didates for the presidential term commencing in
March, 1845, met at Baltimore. The Whig Conven
tion met first. On the 1st of May, 1844, the city of
.Baltimore presented an extraordinary spectacle.
The whole population seemed astir, while a new
• one, that was almost to outnumber it, was pouring
. in on all sides. At every avenue, railroad- depot, and
¦' wharf, wherever coaches, cars, and steamboats, could
¦ disengage their passengers, there was a scene of ani-
Mxation exhibited that bespoke the anticipation of
some great event. There were to be three Conven
tions during the week : the National Convention for
the nomination of a President and Vice-President ;
the Ratification Convention of Whig young men
from all parts of the Union ; and the Maryland Gu
bernatorial Convention.
The hospitality of Baltimore was satisfactorily
tested on this occasion. An eye-witness of the scene
which the city presented described it thus : " The
' whole place resembles a fair. Every street is alive
* with people, hurrying to and fro from the depots,
( crowding the sidewalks, clustering round the ho-
* tels, chattering, laughing, singing, huzzaing. From
' time to time, as new delegations arrive, music
1 sounds, banners wave, and the Whigs, with eager
' looks and hope and triumph in their eyes, continue
1 to pour in by thousands from the remotest quarters
' of the Union. Clay badges hang conspicuously at
( all buttonholes ; Clay portraits, Clay banners, Clay
' ribands, Clay songs, Clay quicksteps, Clay marches,
' Clay caricatures, meet the eye in all directions. Oh,
' the rushing, the driving, the noise, the excitement !
1 To see, and hear, and feel, is glory enough for one
'day. Not only are hotels and boarding-houses of
' all grades and calibers already filled aud overflow-
' ing, but private dwellings are thrown open with
' that warm-hearted hospitality which has ever char-
' acterized this ardent and excitable population. Ev-
• erybody is talking : some about who is to be Vice-
' President, but more in anticipation of Thursday's
' gala. The procession will surpass anything wit-
' nessed in this country."
On Wednesday, the 1st of May, 1844, the Whig
National Convention for the nomination of President
and Vice-President of the United States was held in
the Universalist church in Calvert street. On cal
ling the list of delegates, it was found tbat there were
only two who did not answer to their names, and
they were from the State of Mississippi. The promp
titude and unanimity shown in this full attendance
was regarded as a happy augury. The Hon. Am
brose Spencer of New York was appointed Presi
dent of the Convention, assisted by Vice-Presidents
from all the States of the Union.
For months there had been no doabt or difference
among the Whigs as to the nominee. The task of
the Convention was not, therefore, an embarrassing
one. Mr. Leigh, of Virginia, rose and remarked that
the voice of the Whig party of the country ¦was so
decidedly in favor of a certain individual for the
Presidency, that it would be unnecessary to go
through the usual forms of a nomination. He then
offered a resolution, declaring Henry Clay, of Ken-
tacky, to be unanimously chosen as the Whig can
didate for the Presidency of the United States, and
that he be recommended to the people as such. This
resolution was adopted by acclamation amid loud
and prolonged tokens of enthusiasm and applause.
A committee, composed of Messrs. Berrien of Geor
gia, Barnett of Ohio, Archer of Virginia, Lawrence
of Massachusetts, and Erastus Root of New York,
was appointed to wait on Mr. Clay and inform him
of his nomination. On a proposition being made
that Mr. Clay, who was in Washington, should ap
pear in Baltimore the next day, " before the count
less thousands who would then be assembled to rat
ify the nomination," a letter was read from Mr. Clay,
in which he briefly said that he could not reconcile
it with his sense of delicacy and propriety to attend
either of the Whig Conventions that week in Balti
more. The choice of the Convention for Vice-President
fell upon the Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, of
New Jersey. The result of the first ballot taken,
showed 275 votes, of which 138 were necessary to a
choice. John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, had 38 ;
Millard Fillmore, of New-York, 53 ; John Davis, of
Massachusetts, 83 ; Theodore Frelinghuysen, 101.
The result of the second vote was — for John Ser
geant, 32; Millard Fillmore, 57; John Davis, 74;
Theodore Frelingbuysea, 118. The result of the
third vote was — for John Davis, 76 ; for Millard Fill
more, 40 ; for Theodore Frelinghuysen, 155. So it
was announced that Theodore Frelinghuysen,
having received a majority of all the votes given, was
the candidate of the Convention for the office of Vice-
President of the United States.
Mr. Frelinghuysen had been in the Senate of the
The Conventions at Baltimore-— Mr. Clay nominated — Mr. Van Buren overthrown, 85
United States, and he deservedly possessed the es
teem and confidence of the Wbigs to the fullest ex
tent. He had, however, become identified with an
important religious sect, at whose Bible anniversa
ries and missionary meetings he was frequently an
active and influential attendant. He was known to
belong to the Presbyterian denomination of Chris
tians; and this circumstance, while it brought over
few additions to the Whig ranks, was destined to
be used with great effect in prejudicing the minds
of Roman Catholics and foreigners generally against
the Whig presidential ticket.
On the 2d of May, the day after the Whig nom
inations had been made, the " Ratification Conven
tion," composed principally of Whig young men
from all parts of the country, had their procession
and their meetings. " This was, beyond doubt,"
says an eye-witness, " the largest and most imposing
political assemblage that ever convened in the Uni
ted States. Every State of the Union was repre
sented, and several of them by thousands of dele
gates; an assemblage of distinguished statesmen from
one extreme of the Union to the other was congre
gated, not of young men only, but veterans in their
country's service. The venerable Ambrose Spen
cer, the associate of Jefferson in his most ardent po
litical struggle, was greeted by others of the same
school from the east, west*, north, and south, Web
ster and Berrien were there ; Crittenden and Clay
ton, George Evans from Maine, Thomas Ewing
from Ohio, Morehead from Kentucky. Eleven ex-
Governors ofthe States attended the Convention."
We must refer the curious reader to the newspa
pers of the period for a full description of the great
political pageant of the ratification. The procession
through the principal streets of Baltimore was as re
markable for its numbers as for the enthusiasm of
which it was the index. "It would be in vain,"
writes one who witnessed it, " to attempt an enu
meration ofthe banners or their devices : this, I sup
pose, will all be minutely recorded by some modern
Froissart. Some of them were splendid in the high
est degree, especially the grand national prize ban
ner, which was placed upon a high, tasteful car,
drawn by four white horses. There were numer
ous likenesses of Henry Clay, some of them very
exquisitely painted, and in various degrees approxi
mating a resemblance of the original, whose true
face, however, has never yet been presented, save
to those who have looked upon the living original.
The truth is, that Mr. Clay's countenance varies so
exceedingly in its expression, according to the cir
cumstances in which he is placed, tbat could it be
struck into marble at any one moment, those who
had seen him only when in a different mood, would
find fault with it as no likeness. The favorite was
here shpwn up in various phases : sometimes as a
statesman, seated, and surrounded by books and pa
pers ; sometimes as the farmer of Ashland, in a rural
scene, with cattle, plough, and instruments of hus
bandry ; again as ' Father of the American System,'
with emblems of home industry round him ; often
under the protection of the eagle of his country ; and
oftener between allegorical figures of Wisdom, Jus
tice, and all manner of virtues ; and in several cases
as the favored ofhis countrymen, who lean upon his
portrait with smiles, or point to him as their bene
factor. Had Mr. Clay been present, he might be
said, parodying the line of Gray, to read his history
in a nation's banners."
At this second Convention the Hon. Jphn M. Clay
ton, of Delaware, presided. Judge Berrien, from
the committee appointed at the nominating conven
tion to communicate to Mr. Clay the intelligence of
their choice, read the letter of the committee, and
Mr. Clay's reply. " Confidently believing," says Mr.
Clay, " that this nomination is in conformity with the
desire of a majority of the people of the United States,
I accept it, from a high sense of duty, and with feel
ings of profound gratitude." Mr. Webster, having
been called for, addressed the meeting eloquently in,
behalf of the nominations, remarking that all the in
dications of public sentiment, in all quarters, had pro
claimed that Mr. Clay, of all the rest, was the man-
on whom, upon this occasion, the voice ofthe coun
try had concentrated. The Ratification Convention,
after the adoption of appropriate resolutions, ad
journed sine die.
The day after their adjournment, a letter from Mr.
Clay, dated Washington, May 3, 1844, was addressed
to the National Intelligencer, in which, by way of
reply to the numerous invitations poured in upors
him to visit his fellow -citizens at various points of
the Union, he says : " Hereafter, and until the pend
ing presidential election is decided, I cannot accept
nor attend any public meeting of my fellow- citizens,
assembled in reference to that object, to which I may
have been or shall be invited. It is my wish and in
tention, when I leave this city, to return home as
quietly and quickly as possible, and, employing my
self in my private business and affairs, there to await
the decision of the presidential election, acquiescing
in it, whatever it may be, with the most perfect sub
mission." Twenty-six days after the adjournment of the
Convention which nominated Mr. Clay, there were
two more political Conventions in Baltimore for the
purpose of nominating presidential candidates. One
of these met on the 27th of May in the Odd-Fellows'
Hall, North Gay street ; and, after a rather stormy
session of three days, nominated, to the surprise of
everybody, Mr. James K. Polk, of Tennessee, for the
Presidency. The next day, Mr. George M. Dallas,
of Pennsylvania, was nominated by the same body
for the Vice-Presidency ; Silas Wright, of New-
York, having declined the nomination. The other
presidential Convention to which we have referred
met in another part of the city, also on the 27tb, and,.
with extraordinary unanimity, nominated Mr. John
Tyler for the Presidency.
At an early stage in the proceedings of the Dem
ocratic Convention, a proposition was brought for
ward by Mr. Saunders, of North Carolina, requiring
a two-third vote to make a nomination. This was
a fatal blow at the prospects of Mr. Van Buren, and
his friends vehemently opposed the proposition. Mr.
Benjamin F. Butler, of New- York, the most active
of Mr. Van Buren's adherents, declared that he knew
well that in voting by simple majority, the friend he
was pledged to support would receive a majority of
from ten to fifteen, and consequently the nomination.
If two thirds should be required to make a choice,
that friend muBt inevitably be defeated, and tbat de
feat caused by the action of States that could not be
claimed as democratic. But, notwithstanding the
remonstrances of Mr. Butler and others, the two-
36
Life of Henry Clay.
third system of nomination was agreed upon by a
vote of 148 to 118. After seven ballotings, in which
Messrs. Van Buren and Cass received the greater
number of votes out of seven candidates, it began to
be apparent that the friends ofthe annexation policy
were destined to carry the day. Mr. Young, of
New-York, remarked that " a firebrand had been
thrown into their camp by the mongrel Administra
tion at Washington, and this was the motive seized
upon as a pretext for a change on the part of some
gentlemen. That firebrand was the abominable
Texas question ; — but that question, like a fever,
would wear itself out, or thill the patient:'
In his letter of April 23, 1844, to a committee in
Cincinnati, Mr. Polk had remarked : " I have no
hesitation in declaring that I am in favor of the im
mediate re-annexation of Texas to the territory and
government of the United States." There could not
be a doubt that it was for their views on this ques
tion, henceforth to be made the predominant one, that
Mr. Van Buren was abandoned and Mr. Polk adopt
ed as the candidate. " Let Texas be the watch
word," said General Jackson subsequently in his let
ter of June 14, 1844, " and victory is certain."
As for the Tyler Convention, it was never regard
ed in any other light than as a joke by the intelligent.
The Democratic party, thinking they could use Mr.
Tyler for their own peculiar ends, tried to preserve
their gravity upon the subject and look serious ; they
succeeded pretty well in this until they had no fur
ther use for the renegade, and then their laughter,
long suppressed, burst forth : and they have ever
since extended no other notice than that of derision
¦to Mr. Tyler and his friends. This Convention was
composed in a great measure of men with little po
litical or any other character to boast of. Its re
sults were impotent and abortive. After affording
amusement to paragraphists and newspaper readers ;
after Mr. Tyler had been nominated and had ac
cepted the nomination, the farce ended with the
formal withdrawal of his name from the list of candi
dates before the people.
And now the war of calumny, misrepresentation,
and abuse, which had been waged in years past
against Mr. Clay, was revived ia all its virulence.
That staple article of electioneering slander, the old
coalition story, was manufactured anew for the mar
ket, with variations to suit the taste of a new gener
ation. Shortly before the meeting of the Whig Con
vention, Mr. Linn Boyd, of Kentucky, had intro
duced the subject on the floor of the House of Rep
resentatives. It would be tedious to quote his cita
tions of exploded calumnies, and show- how and
when their utter falsehood was proved. The con
clusion at which Mr. Boyd arrives, after taking it
for granted that all the nailed slanders against Mr.
-Clay are established verities, is simply this: "Al
though," he says, " impartial men may believe, as I
do myself, that there was no technical bargain en
tered into between Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay in their
own proper persons, yet it does seem to me that no
one, free from prejudice, can carefully examine the
circumstances and evidences in the case, without
the most thorough conviction that it was understood
by the parties that Mr. Clay's appointment to the
office of Secretary of State would result from the
election of Mr. Adams." Truly, a lame and impo
tent conclusion ! As lame and impotent — if we may
borrow an illustration applied to a different case —
as it would be should some political adversary ac
cuse Mr. Boyd of murder, and, on being called on
for an explanation, should say : ¦' Although impar
tial men may believe, as I do myself, tbat there was
no technical murder committed by Mr. Boyd iu his
own proper person, yet it does seem to me that he
has made a slaughterous attempt upon the king's
English." By his own admission Mr. Boyd fully
exculpates Mr. Clay.
'• Sir," said Mr. Webster, in his speech of Janua
ry, 1830, on Mr. Foot's resolution, "this charge of a
' coalition in reference to the late administration is
' not original with the honorable member. It did
' not spring up in the Senate. Whether as a fact,
' as an argument, or as an embellishment, it is all
' borrowed. He adopts it, indeed, from a very low
' origin, and a still lower present condition. It is
' one of the thousand calumnies with which the press
* teemed during an excited political canvass. It was
' a charge, of which there was not only no proof or
' probability, but which was, in itself, wholly iropos-
' sible to be true- No man of common information
' ever believed a syllable of it. Yet it was of that
' class of falsehoods which, by continued repetition,
' through all the organs of detraction and abuse, are
' capable of misleading those who are already far
' misled; and of further fanning passions already kin-
( died into flame. Doubtless it served in its day, and
' in a greater or less degree, the end designed by it.
' Having done that, it has sunk into the mass of stale
' and loathsome calumnies. It is the very cast-off
' slough of a polluted and shameless press. Incapa-
' ble of further mischief, it lies in the sewer, lifeless
1 and despised. It is not now, sir, in the power of
' the honorable member to give it dignity or decency,
' by attempting to elevate it, and to introduce it into
' the Senate. He cannot change it from what it is
' — an object of general disgust and scorn. On the
' contrary, the contact, if he choose to touch it, is
' more likely to drag him down, down to the place
' where it lies itself."
In the autumn of 1844, an interesting communica
tion was made to the public by Mr. B. W. Leigh,
of Virginia, on the subject of this old galvanized
slander. For some twenty years the traducers of
Mr. Clay in that State had made frequent mysterious
allusions to a correspondence, the publication of
which they loudly demanded. Mr. Clay's reluc
tance to consent to the publication, originating solely
in motives of delicacy the most honorable, was pub
licly attributed by those who well knew every syl
lable of that correspondence, to fears of exposure,
and referred to as an admission of guilt. The very
men who dreaded the publication, lest it should ex
pose the hollowness and insincerity of their accusa
tions, clamored for it in the reliance, which for many
years proved not unfounded, that Mr. Clay would
never consent to vindicate himself by the simple
means which they defied him to adopt.
Some time during the summer of 1844, Mr. Clay
scut copies of theso letters, which his enemies made
the basis of their vague and unprincipled charges,
to Mr. Leigh; and, in giving them to the world,
that gentleman remarks: " If I am rightly informed,
no application has ever been made directly to Mr.
Clay by Mr. Blair or Mr. Linn Boyd, or by any
other of that party, to consent to the publication of
Old Slanders Revived — Published Correspondence of Mr. Clay — The Election.
87
these letters Overcome by the earnest en
treaties of Lis friends in Virginia, Mr. Clay has re
luctantly consented to the publication (if they think
it proper) of these letters, private and confidential as
they are, and even playful and sportive in their char
acter Knowing, as he must have known,
that the publication could only be beneficial to him,
he has yet patiently endured all the calumnies which
have been founded on the letters. I now publish
them, in order to pot down, effectually and for ever,
a vile charge, which has been revived after having
been completely refuted, and which has been re
vived here in Virginia, in the hope that the letters,
after so long a delay, would not be published."
From one of these letters, dated January 29, 1825,
we quote a few passages, to show that even in the
informal freedom of familiar correspondence, Mr.
Clay's objections to the elevation of a military chief
tain, with purely military claims, to the Chief Mag
istracy, would break forth with spontaneous earnest
ness and force :
* * # i< rp^g knaVes cannot comprehend how a
man can be honest. They cannot conceive that I
should have solemnly interrogated my conscience,
and asked it to tell me seriously what I ought to do !
— that it should have enjoined me not to establish
the dangerous precedent of elevating, in this early
'stage ofthe republic, a military chieftain merely be
cause he has won a great victory I I am afraid that
you will think me moved by these abuses. Be not
deceived. I assure yon that I never, in my whole
life, felt more perfect composure, more entire confi
dence in the resolutions of my judgment, and a more
unshaken determination to march up to my duty.
And, my dear sir, is there an intelligent and unbi
ased man, who must not, sooner or later, concur with
me 1 Mr. Adams, you know well, I should never
have selected, if at liberty to draw from the whole
mass of our citizens for a President. But there is
no danger in his elevation now. or in time to come.
Not so of his competitor, of whom I cannot believe
that killing twenty-five hundred Englishmen at New
Orleans qualifies him for the various, difficult, and
complicated duties of the Chief Magistracy. I per
ceive that I am unconsciously writing a sort of de
fence, which you may probably think implies guilt.
' What will be the result V you will ask with curi
osity, if not anxiety. I think Mr. Adams must be
elected ; such is the prevailing opinion. Still I shall
not consider the matter as certain, until the election
is over." In a card, which bears date the 3d of May, 1844,
General Jackson reaffirmed the charge of " bargain
and corruption" in a manner which showed that age
had not blunted the vindictive asperities of his na
ture. General James Hamilton, in a letter growing
out of this card, dated the 26th of the same month,
remarks : " It would, in my humble opinion, have
been an act of supererogation on the part of Mr.
Clay to have made a bargain for what, by the force
and gravity of political causes and geographical con
siderations, was inevitable without either his crime
or his^ participation — an offer of a seat in Mr. Ad
ams's cabinet I sincerely believe that Mr.
Clay's acceptance of the office that subjected him
to such obloquy was the result of a sense of the duty
which he owed to the country, to aid by his counsels
him whom he had assisted to place in power."
The pertinacious industry with which this putrid
calumny has been raked up by political chiffoniers
from the kennel where it has been repeatedly cast,
"like a dead dog despised," can only be accounted
for by the fact that Mr. Clay's whole career, public
and private, will bear the strictest scrutiny of honor
and patiiotism. He was never one of those accom ¦
modating statesmen, who, starting with the assump
tion that " all is fair in politics." have one conscience
for their public and another for their private acts ;
who look upon deceptions and intrigues that would
be contemptible in the man of business or of society
as very venial in the politician. In the lack of other
points, therefore, for attack in his public history, this
miserable suspicion — for, in its most specious state,
the slander could never rise above the dignity of a
suspicion — was selected as the one vulnerable spot.
It has been truly remarked tbat " there is no ex
ample in the records of detraction and calumny of
such persevering, rancorous, and malignant attacks,
as those which have been constantly directed against
Mr. Clay during the last twenty years, because of
the fact that he did not deem it his duty, acting ei
ther upon his own judgment or in conformity with
the wishes of his constituents, whom he represented
in the House of Representatives, to cast his vote for
General Jackson as President of the United States."
Nor were these attacks confined to his public char
acter and life. The domestic fireside was invaded.
The social circle was not held sacred. Mr. Clay
was denounced as a gambler, a sabbath-breaker,
and a profaue swearer. Stories the most unfound
ed, charges the most imaginary, were busily circu
lated by the Opposition, in newspapers and pamph
lets, holding him up as a man to be distrusted by the
religious portion of the community. It is unneces
sary to recapitulate and refute these libels. They
served their purpose, doubtless ; and any exposure
of their utter falsehood, however thorough and irre
sistible it might be, would not prevent their revival,
whenever it might answer the ends of the profligate
and the designing to give them currency. " False
hood," said Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, in a speech
delivered some six weeks before the presidential
election — " falsehood is now the order of the day.
Perhaps the world never before exhibited more dis
graceful spectacles of reckless mendacity for politi
cal purposes."*
Mr. Clay's professional labors were not interrupt
ed in consequence of his nomination. Soon after his
return to Kentucky he engaged in an important law
case, in which he displayed as much zeal and watch
fulness in behalf of the interests ofhis client as if he
had just entered upon the practice of the law, and
was struggling to gain his first suit.
But now the eventful moment that was to influ
ence the fate of the country for years— perhaps for
centuries — was at hand. Never before were vast
bodies of the American people so intensely interest
ed in a political result as in that of the presidential
election of November, 1844. It came at last, and
with crushing effect, to thousands and hundreds of
thousands, who had hoped and wished well for the
* While we write, one of the newspapers of the day
falls under our eye, containing the following paragraph :
"A Locofoco paper says Henry Clay will be the Whig
candidate for President (in 1848), and very hoDestly adds,
' All the old lies will of course be revamped.' - To be sure
they will I Mr. Clay has had the misfortune to be lied
about more than any other public man living : and if he
should be nominated again for office, nothing less can be
expected than that the old lies will be brought out again,
with as many new ones added as Locofoco ingenuity and
villany can invent"
Life of Henry Clay.
republic. Mr. Clay was defeated — but defeated un
der circumstances far less mortifying to him than
such a triumph as that achieved by his opponent,
Mr. Polk, would have been. He was defeated by
the grossest and most reckless frauds that were ever
perpetrated by the practical enemies of republican
liberty. These frauds were alone sufficient to pre
vent the true verdict of the people from being ren
dered ; but, conjoined with other impositions, they
lead us irresistibly to the conclusion that, could an
honest expression of the public will have been ob
tained, it would have been in favor of Mr. Clay by
a vast preponderance, not only of the intelligence,
but of the legal voters of the country. Indeed, had
the illegal votes that were polled in the State of
New- York alone been cast aside, Mr. Clay would
have been the President ofthe United States. We
shall have more to say hereafter of the means by
which the legitimate expression of the popular- will
was rendered null and void.
The effect of this great defeat upon the Whig
party was disheartening in the extreme. You would
have thought some stupendous public calamity had
occurred, to have seen the signs of deep, sincere
grief written upon the majority of honest, intelligent
faces. Manifestations of sorrow and of attachment
the most touching were offered to Mr. Clay. A pro
found sigh seemed to be wrung from the nation's
heart. Tears, such as Cato might have wept, were
shed from manly eyes; and many of its truest friends
began to despair ofthe republic. Innumerable were
the letters from all parts of the country, filled with
patriotic regrets, that found their way to Ashland.
Most of these were from personal strangers ; some
from acquaintances.
" I have sustained many severe losses of dear
friends," writes one ; " but nothing has hurt me like
this. Oh, God ! is there no constitutional provision
by which illegal votes can be purged out, and the
legally-elected President restored to this nation V
" I have thought for three or four days," says an
other correspondent, ¦'¦' that I would write you ; but,
really, I am unmanned. All is gone ! I see noth
ing but despair depicted in every countenance. I
confess that nothing has happened to shake my con
fidence in our ability to sustain afree government so
much as this. A. cloud of gloom hangs over the fu<
ture. May God save the countiy !"
Another writes : " What a wound has been in
flicted upon the honor and interests of the country !
I pray God that truth may yet prevail, and our re
publican institutions be saved."
'fc-I write with an aching heart," is the language
of another letter, " and ache it must. God Almighty
save us! Although our hearts are broken and bleed
ing, and our bright hopes are crushed, we feel proud
of our candidate. God bless you ! Your country
men do bless you. All know how to appreciate the
man who has stood in the first rank of American pa
triots. Though unknown to you, you are by no
means a stranger to me."
An American in London writes, under date of
November 27, 1844: "I will not lose a moment in
conveying to you the heartfelt emotion, amazement,
and grief, with which I received the news, just ar
rived, of the result of the presidential election. Great
God ! is it possible ? Have our people given this
astonishing, this alarming proof, of the madness to
which party frenzy can carry them ? The hopes-
of the wise and the good, in the New and the Old
World, rested upon you. But my heart is sick. May
God for ever bless you !"
These extracts will convey to the future reader
but a feeble impression of that general feeling of
chagrin and despondency which was manifested
throughout the United States at the result of the
election of 1844. It was not a feeling, the offspring
of selfish disappointment, of wounded pride, or de
feated partizansbip ; but one arising from regrets
the most purely patriotic and disinterested that our
fallible nature can cherish — regrets springing from
the most devoted love of country, the most single-
hearted attachment to our system of government,
the most entire faith in the goodness and worth of
republican liberty. Letters without number from
the mothers and daughters ofthe land were also ad
dressed to Mr. Clay, indicative of the widespread
affliction which had been produced by his defeat.
Numerous testimonials ofthe unabated affection and
admiration with which he was regarded were pre
sented. The ladies of Virginia held meetings and
formed an association, at the head of which was Mrs.
Lucy Barbour, for procuring by voluntary subscrip
tions a statue to his honor. Their efforts were
crowned with the most prompt and complete suc
cess. Addresses from large bodies of his fellow-citi
zens in every State of the Union bore to him the
fullest assurance that he was still first in their es
teem, and that the untoward result of the contest had
not affected their convictions of the fact that a large
majority ofthe legal voters of the United States were
in favor of him and his policy.
The presidential electors of Kentucky, having dis
charged the duty intrusted to them by the people,
determined, before separating, to wait upon Mr.
Clay in a body, and tender him a. declaration of
their high esteem for him as a private citizen, and
their undiminished confidence in his exalted patri
otism and superior statesmanship. No public no
tice had been given of their intention to visit Ash
land, and Mr. Clay himself was not made acquaint
ed with it until a few hours before their arrival. He
meLthem at his door, and, after an exchange of greet
ings, Judge Underwood, on behalf of the electors,
addressed him in a brief and eloquent speech, to
which Mr. Clay responded. Both the address and
the reply possess such intrinsic and enduring inter
est, that we copy them entire :
" Mr. Clay — I have been selected by the mem
bers of our electoral college to say to you, for each
one of us, that we have come to offer you the hom
age of our personal regard and profound respect.
In this work of the heart, many of your neighbors
h?ve likewise come to unite with us. On yester
day, at Frankfort, we performed our official duty in
obedience to the will of the people of Kentucky, by
voting unanimously for yourself and Theodore Fre
linghuysen to fill the offices of President and Vice-
President of the United States.
" The machinations of your enemies, their frauds
upon the elective franchise, and their duplicity with
the people, in promulgating opposite principles in
different sections, have defeated your election.
" We have no hope of preferment at your hands,
which can tempt us to flatter, nor can the pen of
proscription intimidate us in speaking the truth. Un
der existing circumstances it gratifies us to take you
by the hand, and to unite, as we do most cordially,.
in expressing the sentiments of our hearts and of
Visit and Address of- the Kentucky Electors to Mr. Clay — His Reply.
89
those we represent in regard to your personal char
acter and political principles.
" Your past services are so interwoven with the
history of our country for the last forty years, that
malice and envy cannot prevent succeeding genera
tions from dwelling on your name with admiration
and gratitude. Your example will illuminate the
path of future statesmen, when those who hate and
revile you are forgotten, or are only remembered,
like the incendiary who burnt the temple, for the
evil they have done.
" To you the election has terminated without per
sonal loss ; but to the nation, in our judgment, the in
jury is incalculable. God grant that the Confedera
cy may not hereafter mourn over the result in dis
membered fragments !
" While your enemies have not attempted to de
tract from your intellectual character, they have with
untiring malice attacked your moral reputation and
endeavored to destroy it. The verbal slanders and
printed libels employed as means to accomplish po
litical objects, have stained the character of our
country and its institutions more than they have in
jured yours.
" In your high personal character, in your political
principles, and unrivalled zeal and ability to carry
them out, may be found the strong motives for our
anxious efforts to secure your election. The protec
tion of American labor, a national currency connect
ed with a fiscal agent for the government, the distri
bution among the States of the proceeds ofthe pub
lic lands, further constitutional restrictions upon ex
ecutive power and patronage, and a limitation upon
the eligibility of the President for a second term,
were measures which, under your administration, we
hoped to mature and bring into practical operation.
By your defeat they have been endangered, if not
for ever lost.
" But we will not speculate on coming events. If
things work well, we shall find consolation in the
general prosperity. If apprehended evils come, we
are not responsible ; and, retaining our principles, we
shall enjoy the happy reflection of having done our
duty. " In the shades of Ashland may you long continue
to enjoy peace, quiet, and the possession of those
great faculties which have rendered you the admi
ration of your friends and the benefactor of your
country. And when at last death shall demand its
victim, while Kentucky will contain your ashes, rest
assured that old and faithful friends — those who
knowing you longest, loved you best — will cherish
your memory and defend your reputation."
The reply of Mr. Clay, as it appears in the Lex
ington Observer of December 10, 1844, was as fol
lows: " Lam greatly obliged, gentlemen, by the kindness
toward me, which has prompted this visit from the
Governor, the presidential electors of Kentucky, and
some of my fellow-citizens in private life. And I
thank you, sir (Mr: Underwood), their organ on this
occasion, for the feeling and eloquent address which
you have just done me the honor to deliver. I am
under the greatest obligations to the people of Ken
tucky. During more than forty years of my life
they have demonstrated their confidence and affec
tion toward me in every variety of form. This last
and crowning evidence of their long and faithful at
tachment, exhibited in the vote which, in their behalf,
you gave yesterday at the seat of the state govern
ments the electoral college of Kentucky .fills me with
overflowing gratitude. But I should fail to express
the feelings of my heart if I did not also offer my
profound and grateful acknowledgments to the other
States which have united with Kentucky in the en-
deavor to elect me to the Chief Magistracy of the
Union, and to the million and a quarter of freemen,
embracing so much virtr/e, intelligence, and patriot
ism, who, wherever residing,. have directed strenu
ous and enthusiastic exertions to the same object.
" Their effort has been unavailing, and the issue
ofthe election has not corresponded with their anx
ious hopes and confident expectations. You have,
sir, assigned some of the causes which you suppose
have occasioned the result. I will not trust myself
to speak of them. My duty is that of perfect sub
mission to an event which is now irrevocable.
" I will not affect indifference to the personal con
cern I had in the political contest just terminated ;
but, unless I am greatly self-deceived, the principal
attraction to me of the office of President of the Uni
ted States arose out of the cherished hope that I
might be an humble instrument in the hands of
Providence to accomplish public good. I desired
to see the former purity of the General Government
restored, and to see dangers and evils which I sincere
ly believed encompassed it averted and remedied. I
was anxious that the policy of the country, espe
cially in the great department of domestic labor and
industry, should be fixed and stable, that all might
know how to regulate and accommodate their con
duct. And, fully convinced of the wisdom of the
public measures which you have enumerated, I
hoped to live to witness, and to contribute to, their
adoption and establishment.
" So far as respects auy official agency of mine, it
has been otherwise decreed, and I bow respectfully
to the decree. The future course of the Government
is altogether unknown, and wrapped in painful un
certainty. I shall not do the new Administration the
injustice of condemning it in advance. On the con
trary, I earnestly desire that, enlightened by its own
reflections, and by a deliberate review of all the
great interests of the country, and prompted by pub
lic opinion, the benefit may yet be secured of the
practical execution of those principles and measures
for which -we have honestly contended ; that peace
and honor may be preserved ; and that this young
but great nation may be rendered harmonious, pros
perous, and powerful.
" We are not without consolationsunder the event
which has happened. The Whig party has fully
and fairly exhibited to the country the principles and
measures which it believed best adapted to secure
our liberties and promote the common welfare. It
has made, in their support, constant and urgent ap
peals to the reason and judgment of the people. For
myself, I have the satisfaction to know that I have
escaped a great and fearful responsibility; and that,
during the whole canvass, I have done nothing in
consistent with the dictates of the purest honor. No
mortal man is authorized to say that I held out to
him the promise of any office Or appointment what
ever. " What now is the duty of the Whig party 1 I
venture to express an opinion with the greatest dif
fidence. The future is enveloped in a veil impene
trable by human eyes. I cannot contemplate it with
out feelings of great discouragement. But I know of
only one safe rule in all the vicissitudes of human life,
public and private, and that is, conscientiously to
satisfy ourselves of what is right, and firmly and uu-
deviatingly to pursue it under all trials and circum
stances, confiding in the Great Ruler of the Universe
for ultimate success. The Whigs are deliberately
convinced of the truth and wisdom of the principles
and measures which they have espoused. It seems,
therefore, to me that they should persevere in con
tending for them ; and that, adhering to their sepa
rate and distinct organization, they should treat all
who have the good of their country in view with
respect and sympathy, and invite their co-operation
in securing the patriotic objects which it has been
their aim and purpose to accomplish.
" I heartily thank you, sir, for your friendly wishes
for my happiness, in the retirement which hencefor
ward best becomes me, Here I hope to enjoy peace
and tranquillity, seeking faithfully to perform, in the
walks of private life, whatever duties may yet ap
pertain to me. And I shall never cease, while life
remains, to look with lively interest and deep solici-
90
Life of Henry Clay.
tode, upon the movement and operations of our free
system of government, and to hope that, under the
smiles of an AU-wise Providence, our republic may
be ever just, honorable, prosperous, and great."
We learn from an eye-witness that the scene, du
ring the delivery of these remarks, was at once pain
ful and interesting. While Mr. Clay was expres
sing his grateful regards for his friends, who had
stood up to shield hioi from the malignant calumnies
ofhis enemies, and the patriotic hope that the result
of the election, in the hands of an All-wise Provi
dence, might be overruled for good to the country,
every eye was suffused with manly tears. The old
men, who had known him in his earlier career, and
bad seen him come forth unharmed from amid the
arrows of calumny and detraction which had been
unsparingly aimed at him, and the unceasing though
puerile efforts which had been made to arrest his
progress — the young men, who had been taught in
infancy to lisp his name, and to revere him as his
country's benefactor — wept together. " During Mr.
Clay's remarks we occupied a position immediately
in front of him ; and as we watched his expressive
countenance, and saw the deep emotion which at
times almost overpowered him, and well nigh choked
-his utterance as he gave expression to the sentiments
which have ever filled his bosom to the exclusion of
every selfish feeling, we felt a conviction of his great
ness, which, with all our former admiration of the
-man, we had never before realized."
The following was the numerical result ofthe elec
tion of 1844 : For Clay — Massachusetts, 12 ; Rhode
Island, 4 ; Connecticut, 6 ; Vermont, 6 ; New-Jersey,
7 ; Delaware, 3 ; Maryland, 8 ; North Carolina, 11 ;
Tennessee, 13 ; Kentucky, 12 ; Ohio, 23.— Total, 105.
For Polk — Maine, 9 ; New-Hampshire, 6 ; New-
York, 36 ; Pennsylvania, 26 ; Virginia, 17 ; South
Carolina, 9 ; Georgia, 10 ; Alabama, 9 ; Mississippi, 6 ;
Louisiana, 6; Indiana, 12; Illinois, 9 ; Missouri, 6;
Michigan, 5 ; Arkansas, 3. — Total, 170.
The official popular vote showed for Clay, 1,297,-
912 ; for Polk, 1,336,196 ; for BiRN£Y, the candidate
of the " Liberty party" (sad misnomer !) as they called
themselves, 62,127. Mr. Polk's majority over Mr.
Clay, exclusive of South Carolina, where the presi
dential electors were chosen by the Legislature, was
38,284. If to this be added 20,000 as the majority
of Mr. Polk in South Carolina, his aggregate majori
ty over Mr. Clay was 58,284. Place the Birney vote
(62,127) by the side of this, and it will be seen that
Mr. Polk did not receive the votes of a majority of
ihe people. Mr. Clay received more votes by upward
of twenty thousand than General Harrison, with all
bis popularity and the immense efforts of the Whigs,
received in 1840. Take into the account the large
abstraction from the Whig ranks in the State of
New- York by Birney, the alienations produced by
the " Native" party, and other causes, to which we
shall more particularly allude, and it will be seen
that the Whigs had abundant cause to confide in
the strength of their candidate with the people, and
to feel assured that but for the frauds, treacheries,
and deceits, that were practised, their triumph would
have been as complete as their cause was just.
CHAPTER XXIIL
How the Whigs were defeated— The Foreign Vote — Na
tive Americanism — The Liberty Party and Mr. Birney
— False and contradictory Issues— Misrepresentations
—Frauds— Opposition to a Registry Law presumptive
Proof— Public Confidence in Mr. Clay.
The causes of the defeat of the Whigs in the pres
idential election of 1 844 can be distinctly traced with
out the aid of hypothesis and speculation. Foremost
among them we may cite the foreign influence —
which, operating principally in the State of New-
York, was also powerfully felt in Pennsylvania and
other States. Early in the canvass, Mr. Brownson,
a recent convert to the Roman Catholic religion, the
editor of a Quarterly Review published in Boston,
and a writer of no mean abilities, gave the key-note
for misrepresentations, which were echoed, with
most malignant effect, from Maine to Louisiana. Of
Mr. Frelinghuysen he wrote in the following terms :
" Mr. Frelinghuysen is not only a Whig in the
' worst sense of the term, but he is also the very im-
'personation of narrow-minded, ignorant, conceited
' bigotry — a man who boldly attacks religious liber-
' ty, demands the unhallowed union of church and
1 state, and contends that the Government should le-
' gaily recognize the religion of the majority, and de-
' clare whatever goes counter to that to be contra
' bonos mores. He concentrates in himself the whole
' spirit of ' Native Americanism' and ' No Popery,'
' which displayed itself so brilliantly in the recent
' burnings of the Catholic dwellings, seminaries, and
' churches, in the city of Philadelphia."
Invectives like this, false and flagrant, carried
with them still some speciousness. Mr. Frelinghuy
sen was well understood to be identified with a sect
more earnest, perhaps, than any other in their de
nunciations of popery and its dangers. We all know
the potency of religious prejudices, and how high
above mere secular interests a believer will place
the interests ofthe church. The Roman Catholics,
embracing probably nearly nine tenths of our adopt
ed citizens and foreign immigrants, were jealously
alive to suspicions and apprehensions such as Mr.
Brownson and others, who had their confidence,
saw fit to instil. The recollection of General Harri
son's death a month after his installation, and the con
sequent elevation of the Vice-President to his seat,
were fresh in everybody's mind. " Why may not
Mr. Frelinghuysen become your President, and, in
his Presbyterian zeal, burn your churches and drive
away your priests V was the question asked of thou
sands of foreigners, legal and illegal voters, with ir
resistible effect.
A Native American party, too, had suddenly sprung
into consequence about this time. The assiduous at
tempts of the Locofocos to secure by any means,
however disorganizing, the foreign vote — the repeat
ed frauds perpetrated by foreigners, falsely claiming
to be naturalized, at the polls — the gregarious and
anti-American attitude assumed by bodies of them,
here and there — the consideration that hordes of im
migrants, utterly ignorant of our political system, its
workings, and its wants, unable perhaps even to read
and write, had it in their power, after a brief resi
dence, to vote, while the intelligent American, with
sympathies all awake to his country's interests, well
versed in her history, and having a deep stake in her
welfare, but who had not passed the age of twenty,
The Foreign Vote — Native Americanism — The Liberty Party — False Issues.
91
was debarred from the same privilege — facts and
considerations like these had produced a powerful
reaction in the minds of native citizens ; and, in the
States of New- York and Pennsylvania, had given
rise to a party, undisciplined, badly organized, and
deficient in influential leaders, but exercising great
capacities of mischief. All the odium produced in
the minds of adopted citizens and foreign illegal vo
ters by the acts and denunciations of this party was
transferred, most unjustly, to the Whigs and Mr.
Clay, while at the same time no measure of support
web rendered to them by the new organization. Mr.
Clay had never identified himself in any degree with
the principles of this party. His course toward for
eigners and adopted citizens had always been one
z of extreme liberality. The Irish and Germans had
always found in him a ready champion and a true
friend. In his speeches in regard to the recognition
of South American independence he had manifested
a spirit the most magnanimous and tolerant toward
the professors#of the Roman Catholic belief ; and yet
now, through the insidious manoeuvres of his oppo
nents, were all the errors and all the prospective
acts, threatened and imaginary, of " Nativism,'' con
verted to his injury !
The apprehension was studiously inculcated by
the partizans of Mr. Polk, that the success of this
faction was involved in that of Mr. Clay ; that the
consequence would be an immediate abolition or
modification of the naturalization laws, greatly re-
^ etricting the facilities of aliens for becoming voters.
This apprehension had its effect even upon goodly
numbers of adopted citizens, who had heretofore
voted the Whig ticket. It also precipitated the nat
uralizing of thousands with the express purpose of
opposing Nativism, and sent other thousands to the
polls whose votes were in direct violation of the
laws of the land. On a banner borne by the Irish
of the sixth ward in the city of New- York, at one
of their musters previous to the election, was the in
scription, " Americans Bha'n't rule us !"
These facts, it may be said, prove that a reform in
our naturalization laws is much needed. On this
subject we concur in the views of Mr. Webster, who
declared that the preservation of the Government,
and consequently the interests of all parties, clearly
and strongly demand a thorough reformation of these
laws. But in regard to the question of remedying
the evil, Mr. Clay and the Whig party stood, and
continue to stand, no more committed than their op
ponents. The Native American faction was com
posed of members of both parties ; and the attempt
to make the Whigs responsible for their crude pol
icy, their abortive intrigues, and their spasmodic
movements, was the basest injustice, while at the
same time it was but too effectual in spreading alarm
and misconception among our foreign population.
Everywhere pains were taken by the opposite party
to produce the impression that the Whig and Native
American parties were identical.
Another obvious cause of the disastrous result of
the election was the conduct of the Abolition or Lib
erty party, which derived nine tenths of its strength
from the Whig ranks. There was » time when
Mr. James G- Birney might have secured the elec
tion of Mr. Clay, and prevented the long train of
predicted calamities and crimes, accompanied by
"bloodshed and affliction, which succeeded the an
nexation of Texas. But Mr. Birney, the friend of
" liberty" and enemy of annexation, after coyly play
ing fast and loose with both parties, threw his influ
ence into the scale for Mr. Polk, and accepted a nom
ination for the Presidency, with the undented object
of aiming a blow at the Whigs.
It seemed to be by a fatal perversity that while at the
north Mr. Clay was represented as an ultra supporter
of the institution of slavery, at the south he should be
described as an abolitionist ; although, to use his own
language, he was " neither one nor the other." In a
private letter, which was purloined and published,
bearing date September 18th, 1844, and addressed to
Cassius M. Clay, he says : " As we have the same
surname, and are, moreover, related, great use is
made at the south against me, of whatever falls from
you. There, you are even represented as being my
son ; hence the necessity ofthe greatest circumspec
tion, and especially that you avoid committing me.
You are watched wherever you go, and every word
you publicly express will be tortured and perverted
as my own are. After all, I am afraid you are too
sanguine in supposing that any considerable num
ber of the Liberty men can be induced to support
me." The event proved that Mr. Clay's sagacity
was not at fault in this apprehension. We have al
ready shown that the Whig votes thrown away up
on Mr. Birney were more than sufficient to have
prevented the election of Mr. Polk. There is a class
of impracticable theorists who, while they are ready
enough to claim and to partake all the benefits of our
confederate system of government, would yet tram
ple upon those principles of compromise on which it
was established and must rest. There is some con
sistency in the conduct of the disorganizes who ad
vocate the dissolution of this noble confederacy be
cause they cannot at once remould to their taste the
character of our people and our institutions ; but the
men who profess a love of the Union and a desire
for its perpetuity, and at the same time pursue a
course practically fatal to its honor and its interests,
because their own political ideal is unattainable, are
the most dangerous foes of the republic. It was by
the recreancy of such men, professing Whig princi
ples, and following Locofoco practice, thatMr. Clay's
elevation to the Presidency was prevented. Alas!
they cannot give us back the gallant lives and the
untarnished honor which their error has cost the
country. Calumny did its worst in regard to the private
and public character of Mr. Clay, as we have al
ready seen ;* but the political duplicity resorted to
by the partizans of Mr. Polk was productive of far
greater mischief. Everywhere at the south, Mr.
Polk's claims were based upon the ground of his op
position to a protective Tariff, and his pledges in fa
vor of the immediate annexation of Texas. At the
north he was represented as a better friend to the
Tariff than Mr. Clay ; while the issue of annexation
was repudiated wherever its unpopularity rendered
such a course expedient. Silas Wright, a decided
opponent of the Texas project in the Senate of the
United States, was made the Locofoco candidate for
* The course ofthe Whigs toward Mr. Polk presented
a most remarkable contrast to that practised by their op
ponents toward Mr. Clay. The public acts of the former
were alone criticised and canvassed. There was no at
tempt to hunt up small personalities and scurrilous slan
ders against him.
92
Life of Henry Clay,
Governor in New-York, by which the people were
blinded, and the friends and enemies of annexation
in the party driven to unite in support of Mr. Polk.
Thus, while annexation was the party cry in some
sections, and, in fact, the great question of the elec
tion, care was taken to disclaim it so far in other
sections that the people should be utterly deceived
as to the imminence of the measure.
In the resolutions of the Convention which nomi
nated Mr. Polk, there was no allusion, save a very
equivocal one, to the Tariff. This simply declared
that "justice and sound policy forbid the Federal
Government to foster one branch of industry to the
detriment of another, or to cherish the interests of
one portion to the injury of another portion of our
common country" — one of those axiomatic declara
tion's, which, it is obvious, any party might safely
adopt. The example of disingenuousness thus given
at the Convention was faithfully copied and improved
upon by political managers everywhere. At the
south, the declaration was made to mean everything ;
at the north, nothing. Mr. Polk was quoted as the
most strenuous free-trade philosopher in one place,
while in another he was depicted on banners and in
wood-cuts, surrounded by emblems of domestic in
dustry, and extending a most paternal measure of
protection to American products and manufactures.
In the slaveholding States, he was represented as
the enemy of all tariffs ; while, in the wool-growing
and manufacturing States, it was promised that he
would favor the protective policy, and, if he did not
extend still more protection to domestic industry,
would at least leave the existing Tariff untouched.
The success of these contrary manoeuvres fully an
swered the expectations of their authors. In Penn
sylvania they were especially effectual in deceiving
the people. Mr. Polk received large majorities in
counties the most extensively opposed to any dis
turbance of the Tariff. Indeed, throughout the
States of Pennsylvania,* New- York, and New-Jer
sey, wherever the majority was supposed to be fa
vorable to the policy, the Locofoco banner bore the
inscription of " Protection." By such acts of chi
canery were the people swindled out of their votes !
The great and sufficient cause, however, of the
defeat of Mr. Clay, were the gross, the undeniable
frauds practised by agents of the opposite party at
the polls. We have spoken ofthe assiduous attempts
made to excite the alarm and the prejudices of for
eigners against the Whigs. The effect was to en
list them almost to a man in opposition to Mr. Clay.
* When certain documents, proving Mr. Polk's opposi
tion to the Tariff of 1842, were about being circulated in
Pennsylvania, the Lycoming Gazette of October 19, 1844,
published at Williamsport, Lycoming county, denounced
them in these terms : " Burn the vile slanders, the prod
uct of British gold. Warn your neighbors of the imposi
tion ; and, when the day of election arrives, teach these
hirelings that the Democracy of Lycoming are too intel
ligent to be gulled, and too independent to be bought.
By voting for James K. Polk and Georgo M. Dallas, you
oppose the creation of another national bank, and insure
the continuance of the present Tariff." Mr. Polk himself
set a most anti-democratic example of disingenuousness.
When waited upon shortly before the election, by a com
mittee, who wished to know whether he was in favor of
modifying the Tariff, he declined making any reply. In
a letter dated June 19, 1844, to J. K. Kane, of Philadel
phia, he had favored the opinion that he was, in the words
of the Harrisburg Union (Locofoco), "in favor of a judi
cious revenue Tariff, affording the amplest incidental pro
tection to American industry."
The month before the presidential election there was
an election for Governor and other State officers in
Maryland. The result in the city of Baltimore
showed an increase of votes far beyond any previ
ous ratio. Within a few weeks of the election not
fewer than a thousand naturalization papers had
been issued. And it was ascertained that not over
forty of the whole number of persons for whom they
were procured would vote the Whig ticket I Sev
eral convictions for frauds upon the ballot-box took
place in the courts, all the culprits being of one po
litical complexion. A poor woman confessed that
she had loaned the naturalization papers of her de
ceased husband to seventeen different persons, re
ceiving a dollar in every instance for the use of
them. Here were seventeen fraudulent votes ac
counted for ! What a farce seems the elective fran
chise where such profanations of the freeman's right
can be practised — by persons, too, just landed on
our shores, having no stake in our institutions, no
patriotic associations with the past history of the
country, no knowledge of our public men and pub
lic interests, and hardly able to explain the differ
ence between a monarchical and republican form of
government !
A salutary restraint was put upon these fraudu
lent voters by the conviction and punishment of a
few of the offenders ; and there was consequently
the remarkable falling off of 722 votes in the Loco
foco vote at the municipal election, which immedi
ately followed, while the Whig vote exhibited a
diminution of only three. The Whig vote at the
gubernatorial election was 7,968; the Locofoco vote,
9,190: the latter showing an increase of 1,892 over
the election for mayor of the preceding year, when
the largest vote ever thrown was polled, while the
Whig increase was only 368 !
In Pennsylvania there were evidences of fraud
no less conclusive. At Pittsburg, after the presiden
tial election, twenty-four bills of indictment for per
jury and subornation of perjury in taking out natu
ralization papers, to be used for the benefit of Mr.
Polk, were found. There were twenty-five prose
cutions, in only one of which was there deficiency
of proofs. A number of counties polled more votes
than they contained male inhabitants according to
the census of 1840. If that census was correct, Pike
county had but 848 male inhabitants : it polled 920
votes; Monroe county, with 2,034, polled 2,220; Ti
oga, with 3,342, polled 3,367; Perry, with 3,500,
polled 3,671; Columbia, with 5,033, polled 5,108;
and Potter, with 732, polled 794 votes. It is a little
remarkable that in no one of the strong Whig coun
ties of the State, was any such ratio of increase ex
hibited. This marvellous multiplication of votersex-
cited naturally no little surprise ; for it seemed quite
unaccountable that in some of the Locofoco counties
there should be more voters than adult males, while
in all the Whig counties the reverse should be inva
riably the case !
In Georgia, from the tax-list and the census, it was
estimated that the number of legal voters at the elec
tion of 1844 was 78,611. What was the result ? The
number of votes cast was 86,247, leaving 7,636 which
can only be accounted for by the supposition of fraud.
An examination of details will show that this pre
sumptive unlawful increase is, in every instance, on
the side ofthe Locofocos. The lawful vote of For-
Slupendous Frauds upon the Elective Franchise — Scene in New-York — Registry Law. 93
syth, Lumpkin, Habersham, and Franklin counties,
was estimated at 3,202 ; but tbey actually returned
1,821 for Clay and 4,014 for Polk— in all, 5,835 ! In
the four Whig counties of Madison, Elbert, Lincoln,
and Columbia, the lawful vote was 3,105 : the votes
returned were 3,123 — of which Clay received 2,124,
and Polk 999. The Locofocos directed all their ef
forts to throwing an overwhelming vote in those
counties where they already had the ascendency.
Elbert, the strongest Whig county in the State, gave
five votes less than it was entitled to, according to
the estimate to which we have referred.
The total vote of Louisiana in the exciting con
test of 1840 was 18,912. In that of 1844 it was 26,-
295 ! The frauds here were monstrous and palpa
ble. In the single parish of Plaquemines, the vote
for Mr. Polk exceeded the whole number of white
males of all ages in the parish in 1840, notwithstand
ing the property qualification exacted of voters. At
the investigations afterward instituted, the steward
of the steamboat " Agnes," John Gibney, swore that
the boat went down from New-Orleans with a foil
load of passengers, under the charge of Judge Leon
ard (the great man of Plaquemines) ; that he himself,
a minor, not residing in Plaquemines, being persua
ded by the captain, voted three times at different
polls in that parish — every time for Polk and Dallas.
Dr. J. B. Wilkinson, a voter of Plaquemines, swore
that he noticed that the polls were opened before the
legal hour, and were then surrounded by a crowd
of strangers, one of whom he ventured to challenge ;
but, as the clerk reached out the book, the sheriff
pulled it away, declaring that nobody should be
sworn ! After this the foreign votes went in pell-
mell. Alfred Vail, a passenger, and E. Seymour
Austin, pilot of the " Agnes," swore to a state of
facts within their knowledge similar to tbat sworn
to by John Gibney. Albert Savage, engineer of the
steamboat " Planter," swore that his boat went down
with one hundred and forty Locofocos from New-
Orleans, who- voted after the fashion above de
scribed ; but when he offered a vote — it being a Clay
one — it was refused, the sheriff saying he would
swear him ! Paul Cormen testified that he went
with other Whigs to vote, but they were deterred
by seeing Charles Bruland driven out of the voting-
room, wounded, bloody, and without his hat, having
been beaten hy the sheriff for offering a Whig vote.
There being a large Locofoco mob about the polls,
threatening the few Whigs who approached, the
latter were obliged to leave, save in a few instances,
without voting, so that the recorded vote of Plaque
mines stood— for Clay, 37; for Polk, 1,007! The
Locofoco majority in the State was 699 ; and if the
vote ofthe Plaquemines precinct had been admitted
to be as at the election of 1843, Mr. Clay would have
carried the State.
In his remarks at Faneuil Hall on the result of the
election, Mr. Webster said : " I believe it to be an
unquestionable fact that masters of vessels, having
brought over emigrants from Europe, have, within
thirty days of their arrival, seen those very persons
carried up to the polls, and give their votes for the
highest offices in the national and state governments.
Such voters of course exercise no intelligence, and,
indeed, no volition of their own. They can know
nothing, either of the question at issue, or of the can
didates proposed. They are mere instruments, used
by unprincipled men — and made competent instru
ments only by the accumulation of crime upon crime.
Now it seems to me impossible that every honest
man, and every good citizen, every true lover of lib
erty and the constitution, every real friend of the
country, would not desire to see an end put to these
enormous abuses." A reform, Mr. Webster added,
was just as important to the rights of foreigners,
regularly and fairly naturalized among us, as it is to
the rights of native-born American citizens.
The total vote in the State of New-York, in the
presidential election of 1844, was— for Clay, 232,473 ;
for Polk, 237,588 ; for Birney, 15,812 : in all, 485,808.
The majority for Polk over Clay was 5,115 ; the ma
jority for Clay and Birney over Polk, 10,632. In
the city of New- York, and the counties of Erie and
St. Lawrence, the most remarkable increase in the
Locofoco vote was exhibited, and here the largest
amount of fraud was perpetrated. For weeks be
fore the election the courts in the city of New- York
were crowded by the applicants for naturalization,
sent there by the industrious Locofoco committees.
One of the daily papers gave the following account
of a scene presented the day before the election :
" Yesterday noon, more than three hundred aliens
had crowded about the doors of the Common Pleas
in the City Hall, when the room having been emp
tied through the windows, and the doors reopened
for fresh admissions, such a scene was witnessed as
has rarely been exhibited in an American court
room. The doors were violently thrust in, and the
avalanche of human beings came onward with such
impetuosity as to overthrow everything in its course.
Coats were torn off, hats were trodden under foot,
men were crowded and jammed until almost lifeless,
and, in two or three cases, half an hour elapsed be
fore they had recovered themselves sufficiently to
speak. Outside of the court-room the crowd of for
eigners was clamorous for admission, and it required
the physical force of six officers to make au opening
for one of the judges. The court-room was filled
and emptied not less than four times during the day,
and among the crowd were a number of Irish wom
en." In the city of New- York, notwithstanding an
admitted defection from the Locofoco ranks to the
Whig of at least 5,000, the Locofoco increase from
1840 was 6,361 ; in St. Lawrence county, it was
1,126, while the Whig vote was diminished 131 ; in
Erie, it was 1,359, while the Whig increase was
only 122.
All the convictions for fraud at the polls in this
election were upon one political side, as was all the
presumptive evidence of fraud. In the city of New-
York, the conspiracy for swindling, the people bore
the marks of deliberate trickery and systematic cor
ruption. There is one plain fact which is a conclu
sive answer to those who, in their ignorance, might
question the assertion that the Locofocos are the
party which alone avails itself of these infamous out
rages on the elective franchise. There is a simple
remedy for the evil — a registry law. In the cities
of Massachusetts this law is found to operate as an
efficient check to all illegal voting ; and in Massachu
setts we see none of that inordinate increase in the
Locofoco vote that was exhibited in other places,
where no such restrictions are established. The fa
cilities for illegal voting in the city of New-York are
enormous. A single individual, by dint of hard
Life of Henry Clay.
94
swearing and adroit management, can vote at all the
voting-booths in the city, numbering upward of six
ty ! A well-drilled band of a hundred men might ea
sily cast upward of a thousand votes in one day ! A
registry law is the only sufficient means of prevent
ing the evil. Compel every legal voter in every
ward to have his name enrolled on a printed list of
voters some days- previous to the election, so tbat
time may be given to the ward officers to compare
the lists, and satisfy themselves of their correctness,
and you provide a safeguard against the profana
tion of the ballot-box. Which party lias solicitously
asked for such a safeguard, and which has repudi
ated it? Which party, after repeated exertions,
procured a registry law, and which party, the mo
ment they came into power, abrogated it with an
indecent haste 1 The replies to these questions fix
the stigma of fraud and corruption where it belongs.
The Locofoco party of New- York have ever shown
themselves the reckless and inveterate opponents
of a registry law. They denounce it as anti-dem
ocratic. And why ? Because it takes the poor
man from his work to go and register his name, and
presupposes a certain amount of information on his
part as to the requisitions of the law, for the ab
sence of which information he ought not to be dis
franchised. This is the sum and substance of Loco-
jbco argumeut against a registry law ; as if it were
less democratic to secure the majority, by the only
efficient safeguard, from being cheated, than to re
quire voters to go through the simple form of regis
tering their names a fitting time before the opening
of the polls ! Although Locofocoism may arrive at
its conclusions by logic like this, it is obviously at
war with sound democracy. The opposition which
the party has always maintained in New- York to a
registry law, is proof presumptive that the charges
of fraud brought by the Whigs are not unfounded.
The system of betting on elections, always objec
tionable, invariably operates in favor of the least
scrupulous party. The money wagered is fore
stalled and parcelled out among political hacks,
whose pay depending on the successful result of
their services, they are incited to exertions the most
reckless to compass their ends. Let the Whigs al
ways beware of betting with their antagonists. " It
is naught, and it cannot come to good." The money
foolishly lost in this way by Whigs at the election
of 1844 went to requite the services of thousands of
those mercenary politicians who are ever ready to
attach themselves to the party which pays the best.
In the State of New- York alone there were cast
spurious votes enough to defeat the election of Mr.
Clay. In Louisiana, Georgia, and Pennsylvania,
similar frauds were perpetrated on a smaller scale.
Had the true voice ofthe majority of legal yoters in
those States been heard, the result would have been
favorable to the Whigs. But misrepresentation,
brute force, and political immorality, prevailed. The
subject is an ungracious one to dwell upon. The
history of the frauds of 1844 is a dark chapter in our
annals. Party profligacy then exhausted its re
sources in the attainment of its ends.
We have already described with what renewed
confidence and attachment the country turned to
Mr. Clay after that defeat. " I have been," he
writes, the 25th of April, 1845, " in spite of unex
pected discomfitures, the object of honors and of
compliments usually rendered only to those who
are successful and victorious in the great enterprises
of mankind. To say nothing of other demonstra
tions, the addresses and communications which I
have received since the election from every quar
ter, from collective bodies and individuals, and from
both sexes, conveying sentiments and feelings of the
warmest regard and strongest friendship, and de
ploring the issue of the election, would fill a volume.
I have been quite as much, if not more, affected by
them than I was by any disappointment of personal
interests of my own in the event of the contest."
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Consequences of the Election — The War — How com
menced — Mr. Gallatin's Statement — Mr. Clay on the ^
War — Comparison with the Last War — The Twenty-
Ninth Congress — State ofthe Country — The Tariff aud
the Sub-Treasury, &c.
The public acts of Mr. Clay exhibit unequivocally
the principles by which be would have been gaided
and the policy he would have pursued in the event
of his election. They are the principles and the pol
icy to which the Whig party owed, and continues
to owe, all its cohesion and all its power. A tri
umph without them would not be a Whig triumph.
It might benefit a few office-seekers and professional
politicians here and there, but it would be barren
of all good to the people at large.
In the opinion of Mr. Clay, the policy of the coun
try in regard to the protection of American industry
seemed, previous to the election of 1844, to be rap-'
idly acquiring a permanent and fixed character.
Yielding to the joint influence of their own reflec
tions and experience, the slave States were fast sub
scribing to the justice and expediency of a Tariff"
for revenue, with discriminations for protection. At
such an auspicious momeut, beguiled by the misrep
resentations which proclaimed Mr. Polk as equally
a friend to the Tariff with Mr. Clay, the great States
of Pennsylvania and New-York, both friendly to the
protective policy, allowed it to be periled and im
paired by the ascendency of a hostile administra
tion. The distribution of the proceeds of the Bales of
the public lands was another measure which tb*
triumph of the Whigs would have secured ; and if
the great national inheritance of those lands is not
wasted in a few years by graduation and other proj
ects of alienation, it must be through the adoption of
a system kindred to that which Mr. Clay has con
sistently advocated. Internal improvements, the
removal of obstructions from our rivers and harbors,
the enlargement of all those facilities which contrib
ute to the comfort, the prosperity, and the dignity of
mankind, would have been embraced in that compre
hensive and generous policy which has always found
a ready champion in Mr. Clay. Instead of a barren
and unproductive war, the pernicious consequences
of which will be felt to a remote posterity, we should
have had the money of the nation expended upon
objects which would have been permanently produc
tive and beneficent. In return for all the money and
blood lavished in the unrighteous war with Mexico,
what can we show? Territory, which we could
have acquired by peaceful means at a tenth part of
the expenditure ! But what amount of unrequired
territory, or of opulent spoils, could requite the deso-
Texas — The War — How commenced — Mr. Gallatin's Statement — Mr. Clay on the War. 95-
lation inflicted upon thousands of hearts by the rav
ages of war 'I —
" Why praise we, prodigal of fame,
The rage that sets the world on flame ?
The future Muse his brow shall bind,
Whose godlike bounty spares mankind.
For those whom bloody garlands crown,
The brass may breathe, the marble frown ;
To him, through every rescued land,
Ten thousand living trophies stand."
Had the true wish of the country prevailed, we
should have had no war with Mexico, no national
debt, no repeal ofthe Tariff of 1842, no Sub-Treas
ury, no imputation against us, by the united voice
of all the nations of the earth, of a spirit of aggres
sion and inordinate territorial aggrandizement.
At the commencement of the second session of
the twenty-eighth Congress (December, 1844), the
acting President, Mr. Tyler, officially announced to
the two houses that " a controlling majority of the peo
ple, and a large majority of the States," had declared
in favor of the immediate annexation of Texas. " In
structions," he added, " have thus come to both
branches of Congress from their respective constitu
ents, in terms the most emphatic. It is the will of
both the people and the States, that Texas shall be
annexed to the Union, promptly and immediately."
He remarked farther : " The two Governments hav
ing already agreed, through their respective organs,
on the terms of annexation, I would recommend
their adoption by Congress, in the form of a joint
resolution, or act, to be perfected and made binding
on the two countries, when adopted in like manner
by the Government of Texas."
The subject of annexation was soon taken up in
Congress and discussed with great zeal on both
sides ; and finally, after the public mind had been
intensely agitated in regard to it, the recommenda
tion of Mr. Tyler was adopted; and early in March,
1845, a joint resolution for annexing Texas was
passed and approved. The proposition was accept
ed by Texas, through her Congress and a Conven
tion ; and the annexation project was complete. The
incidents which followed may be briefly summed
up. Mr. Polk was no sooner seated in the presiden
tial chair, than the consequences, which Mr. Clay
had predicted, and Mexico had threatened, began
to develop themselves. The Texas we annexed
was "revolutionary Texas." There was, moreo
ver, a disputed boundary between her and Mexico.
In anticipation of the refusal of Mexico to receive
our Minister, Mr, Slidell, the administration gave di
rections to General Taylor to take position on the
west bank of the Rio Grande. Congress was in ses
sion at the time ; but Mr. Polk did not see fit to con
sult Congress in regard to measures which must
necessarily lead to a collision between the two coun
tries. It was only by rumors and reports that our
Representatives knew that those measures were ma
turing until the war burst forth, and the work of
blood commenced in earnest. The territory into
which the President, of his own caprice, had thus
ordered our troops, was one to which neither Texas
nor the United States had any just claim — a territory
in possession of a nation with which we were at
peace ! In the language of the octogenarian Albert
Gallatin, " the republic of Texas had not a shadow
of right to the territory adjacent to the left bank of
the lower portion of the Rio del Norte. Though
she claimed, she never had actually exercised juris
diction over any portion of it. The Mexicans were
the sole inhabitants, and in actual possession of that
district. Its forcible occupation, therefore, by the
army ofthe United States, was, according to the ac
knowledged law of nations, as well as in fact, an act
of open hostility and war. The resistance ofthe Mex
icans to that invasion was legitimate ; and therefore
the war was unprovoked by them, and commenced
by the United States."
The story is lucidly told by Mr. Clay in his speech
at Lexington, the 13th of November, 1847 — a speech
to which we shall have occasion to allude again. In
this he says : *
" How did we unhappily get involved in this war ?
It was predicted as the consequence of the annexa
tion of Texas to the United States. If we had not
Texas, we should have no war. The people were
told that if that event happened, war would ensue.
They were told that the war between Texas and
Mexico had not been terminated by a treaty of
peace ; that Mexico still claimed Texas as a revolt
ed province ; and that, if we received Texas in our
Union, we took along with her the war existing be
tween her and Mexico. And the minister of Mexi
co formally announced to the Government at Wash
ington that his nation would consider the annexation
of Texas to the United States as producing a state
of war. But all this was denied by the partizansof
annexation. They insisted that we should have no
war, and even imputed to those who foretold it sin
ister motives for their groundless prediction. ~~ %
" But, notwithstanding a state of virtual war ne
cessarily resulted from the fact of annexation of one
of the belligerents to the United States, actual hos
tilities might have been probably averted by pru
dence, moderation, and wise statesmanship. If Gen
eral Taylor had been permitted to remain, where his
own good sense prompted him to believe he ought
to remain, at the point of Corpus Christi ; and if a
negotiation had been opened with Mexico, in a truer
spirit of amity End conciliation, war possibly might
have been prevented. But, instead of this pacific
and moderate course, while Mr. Slidell was bending;
his way to Mexico with his diplomatic credentials.
General Taylor was ordered to transport his cannon
and to plant them in a warlike attitude opposite to
Matamoras, on the east bank of the Rio Bravo, with
in the very disputed territory the adjustment of which
was to be the object of Mr. Slidell' s mission. What
else could have transpired but a conflict of arms ?
''Thus the war commenced; and the President,
after having produced it, appealed to Congress. A
bill was proposed to raise fifty thousand volunteers,
and, in order to commit all who should vote for it, a
preamble was inserted, falsely attributing the com
mencement of the war to the act of Mexico. I have1
no doubt ofthe patriotic motives of those who, after
struggling to divest the bill of tbat flagrant error,
found themselves constrained to vote for it. But I
must say that no earthly consideration would have
ever tempted or provoked me to vote for a bill with
a palpable falsehood stamped on its face. Almost
idolizing truth as I do, I never, never could have
voted for that bill."
Our last war with Great Britain Mr. Clay charac
terizes as " a just war. Its great object, announced
at the time, was free trade and sailors' rights against
the intolerable and oppressive acts of British power
on the ocean." He continues :
" How totally variant is the present war ! This
is no war of defence, but one unnecessary and of
offensive aggression. It is Mexico that is defending
her firesides, her castles, and her altars, not we.
And how different also is the conduct of the Whig"*
party of the present day from tbat of the major part
of the Federal party during the war of 1812 ! Far
96
Life of Henry Clay.
from interposing any obstacles to the prosecution of
the war, if the Whigs in office are reproachable at
all, it is for having lent too ready a facility to it,
without careful examination into the objects of the
¦war. And, out of office, who have rushed to the
prosecution of the war with more ardor and alacrity
than the Whigs? Whose hearts have bled more
freely than those of the Whigs? Who have more
occasion to mourn the loss of sons, husbands, broth
ers, fathers, than Whig parents, Whig wives, and
Whig brothers, in this deadly and unprofitable
strife ?"
The twenty-ninth Congress, the first which met
under the administration of Mr. Polk, found the coun
try prosperous and contented. Under the equitable
Tariff of 1842, domestic industry, in all its branches,
received a wholesome measure of protection and
encouragement. Our exports and imports exhibit
ed neither an undue expansion, nor a contraction in
dicative of a public financial decline. The revenue
ofthe country was steady, ample, and reliable ; and
the public debt, which Mr. Van Buren's administra
tion had originated and fostered, was diminishing at
the rate of millions annually. At length it seemed that
the fluctuations to which the trade and industrial enter
prise had been subjected, in consequence of Locofoco
assaults upon the Tariff, were at an end ; and that
commerce and manufactures were about to be es
tablished on a stable basis. The bitter hostility of
the south to the protective system was fast abating ;
and in the States of Georgia and Virginia factories
were going up and new resources developing them
selves, as if to strengthen, by the ties of interest, the
sympathies of different sections of the country upon
a subject which had been rife with portents of fra
ternal discord and disunion.
Undeterred by this spectacle of prosperity and
harmony, the Admirjistration laid its profane hands
upon the Tariff of 1842. In its stead they gave us
that of 1846. By this substitute, there is actual dis
crimination against the labor of the United States,
and in favor of that of foreign countries. Owing to
extraordinary causes, among which the famine in
Europe and the war with Mexico are prominent,
we have not yet fully realized the legitimate conse
quences of this disastrous retrograde movement in
the policy of the country. But the utter failure of
the Tariff of 1846 as a revenue measure has been
conclusively shown on the floor of Congress. Not
withstanding the assurances of the President and
the Secretary of the Treasury to the contrary, that
Tariff, so far from augmenting the revenue of the
country, exhibits a falling off from what the revenue
would have been, under the Tariff of 1842, of
$12,284,954.* If the imports had remained at the
average of the three preceding years, the revenue
under the present Tariff would have amounted to
only $17,624,575; or $9,283,531 less than the aver
age of the three years under the Whig Tariff.
The extraordinary exportations made during the
famine in Europe were attributed by the friends of
the administration to the new Tariff*; but " the sim
ple fact that our increased export consisted almost
entirely of provisions, shows us the true cause of our
augmented imports and exports ; and, unless the
Tariff of 1846 had power over the seasons, and ac
tually scattered blight, mildew, and famine, from its
* According to toe computation of Mr. Hudson, of Mas
sachusetts.
wings, it had but little to do with our increased ex
port for the year 1847." The export of cotton has
been less by four millions of dollars during the year
1847 than the average exports of the last ten years ;
and tobacco a million and a half. If this reduction
ofthe Tariff has caused an increase of exports, why,
it is asked, has it not extended to some other articles
than breadstuffs ?
In a letter bearing date the 5th of June, 1846, Mr.
Clay explained the whole practical philosophy of
the protective principle in the following luminous
remarks :
" The manufactures of Great Britain have reached
a very high degree of perfection by means of her
great capital, her improving skill and machinery,
her cheap labor, and under a system of protection
long, perseveringly, and vigorously enforced. She,
moreover, possesses an immense advantage for the
sale and distribution of her numerous manufactures,
in her vast colonial possessions, from which those of
foreign powers are either entirely excluded, or ad
mitted on terms very unequally with her own. I am
not therefore surprised that, under these favorable
circumstances. Great Britain should herself be desi
rous to adopt, and to prevail on other nations to
adopt, the principle of free trade. I shall be mista
ken if any of the great nationsof the continent should
follow an example the practical effects of which will
be so beneficial to her and so injurious to them. The
propriety of affording protection to domestic manu
factures, its degree, and its duration, depends upon
the national condition and the actual progress which
they have made. Each nation, of right, ought to
judge for itself. I believe that history records no in
stance of any great and prosperous nation, which
did not draw its essential supplies of food and rai
ment from within its own limits. If all nations were
just commencing their career, or if their manufac
tures had all made equal progress, it might perhaps
be wise to throw open the markets of the world to
the freest and most unrestricted competition. But
it is manifest that while the manufactures of some
have acquired all the maturity and perfection 6f
which they are susceptible, and those of others are
yet in their infancy, struggling hard for existence, a
free competition, between them must redound to the
advantage ofthe experienced and skilful, and to the
injury of those who are just beginning to naturalize
and establish the arts.
" No earthly gratification to the heart of a states
man can be greater than that of having contributed
to the adoption of a great system of national policy,
and of afterward witnessing its complete success m
its practical operation. That gratification can be
enjoyed by those who were instrumental in estab
lishing the policy of protecting our domestic manu
factures. Every promise which they made has been
fulfilled. Every prediction which they hazarded as
to the quality and quantity of the domestic supply,.
as to the reduction of prices, as to the. effect of com.
petition at home, and as to the abundance ofthe pub
lic revenue, has been fully realized. And it is no
less remarkable that every counter prediction with
out exception of the opponents of the policy has, in
the sequel, been entirely falsified.
" Without tracing particularly the operation of our
earlier tariffs, adjusted both to the objects of revenue
and protection, and coming down to the last, it seems
to me that if there were ever a beneficial effect from
any public measure fully demonstrated, it is, that the
Tariff of 1842, beyond all controversy, relieved both
the Government aud the people of the United States
from a state of pecuniary embarrassment bordering
on bankruptcy. Entertaining these views and opin
ions, I should deeply regret any abandonment ofthe
policy of protection, or any material alteration ofthe
Tariff of 1842, which has worked so well. If its op
eration had been even doubtful, would it not be wiser.
The Sub-Treasury — The War — Testimonials in Honor of Mr. Clay.
97
to await further developments from experience, be
fore wc plunge into a now and unexplored theory ?
Scarcely any misfortune is so great to the business
and pursuits of a people as that of perpetual change."
In a letter of September 10, 1846, written subse
quent to the abolition of the Tariff of '42, Mr. Clay
remarked : " I believe the system of protection, not
withstanding the opposition which it has often en
countered, has pushed the nation forward half a
century in advance of where it would have been if
the doctrines of free trade had always prevailed in
our public councils. Whether it will be pushed
back again to the same or any other extent by the
Tariff recently established, which has sought to sub-
vert the* previous system, and to embody those doc
trines, remains to be seen. I confess that I seriously
apprehend great injury to the general business of
the country, and ultunately to the revenue of the
Government." The Sub-Treasury system, adopted August, 1846,
has been found injurious to the public interests, un
wieldy, expensive, and liable to the grossest abused.
But the war and the Tariff have diverted public at
tention from its practical operation. In his Message
of December, 1847, the President says : " The con
stitutional treasury created by this act went into op
eration on the 1st of January last. Under the system
established by it, the public moneys have been col
lected, safely kept, and disbursed, by the direct agen
cy of officers of the Government, in gold and silver ;
and transfers of large amounts have been made from
points of collection to points of disbursement, with
out loss to the treasury, or injury or inconvenience
to the trade ofthe country." With treasury-notes
below par, as they were about the time of the pro
mulgation of these assertions, it may easily be seen
why there should have been great facilities of trans
fer; but there have been repeated instances of great
losses to the country in consequence of the defects
and evils of the Sab-Treasury system. The only
class benefited by its operation are the officeholders
and the favored financiers of the Government. Ac
cording to Mr. Polk's own confession, " in some of
its details, not involving its general principles, the
system is defective, and will require modification."
We have thus glanced briefly at some of the meas
ures of Mr. Polk's administration. To enumerate
all that it has left undone, which it ought to have
done, had the best interests of the country been con
sulted, would be but to recapitulate many of those
objects of policy which the public career of Mr. Clay
exhibit him as contending for.
The consequences of his non-election to the Pres
idency have been — an unrighteous and demoralizing
war ; the abrogation of a tariff under which the coun
try was thriving beyond all precedent ; and the es
tablishment of a sub-treasury : for all which, in the
language of the " Ancient Mariner' of Coleridge,
we— " Penance much have done,
And penance more must do."
" Atthe commencement ofthe war," says Mr. Hud
son, in his speech before the House, February 5th,
1848, " our finances were in the most prosperous con
dition, there being a surplus of ten millions of dollars
in the treasury. And now, after the war has been
prosecuted twenty months, we are on the verge of
bankruptcy. We have consumed the ordinary rev
enue, exhausted the ten millions surplus, together
with' a loan on treasury-notes to the amount of thirty-
three millions, and are now called upon for a grant
of sixteen millions more, to supply the wants of the
Government during the present fiscal year; and this
sum, I am persuaded, will be found too small by
eight or ten millions. So that, when the war shall
have continued twenty-five months, we shall have
expended, in addition to the accruing revenue, some
sixty-eight millions of dollars. This is but a part of
the burdens brought upon us by this unnecessary war.
Our munitions of war, which have been accumula
ting for years in our arsenals, some fifteen millions
of dollars' worth of our public domain given, or to
be given, in bounty to our soldiers, and long lists of
pensions and private claims growing out ofthe war
— these should be taken into the account, and will
go far in increasing the sum. TheBe are some of
the pecuniary burdens which a weak and wicked
administration have wantonly brought upon the peo
ple."
CHAPTER XXV.
Testimonials in honor of Mr. Clay — Instance of the De
votion of liia Friends — His Address on receiving: a Vase
from Ladies of Tennessee — A Visiter's Description of
Mr. Clay at Ashland— Mr. Clay visits New-Orleans and
Pt. Louis — A Misrepresentation noticed — His Appeal in
behalf of famishing Ireland.
We have seen that neither the untoward issne of
the Presidential contest of 1844 nor the shades of
Ashland could remove Mr. Clay less prominently
from before the public eye. Though not President
of the United States, though dispensing no patron
age, and holding no power of promotion, he yet ex
ercised a moral sway over his countrymen which
station could never give, nor the removal of it take
away. Though not Chief Magistrate, he was still
chief citizen of the republic ; and though he could
not bestow lucrative posts and profitable jobs, he
could communicate what was far better — high con
victions of public duty, generous views of public
policy, and great truths, which his past acts and pres
ent opinions commended to every patriotic mind.
Allusion has already been made to the testimony
in his honor which the Whig ladies of Virginia re
solved upon soon after his defeat. Their proceed
ings were denounced by some loyal Locofoco as a
'• movement conceived in a spirit of rebellion to pub
lic sentiment." Bather were they a token of sym
pathy with the beatings of the public heart. These
ladies determined to procure a statue of Henry Clay
to adorn the metropolis of his native State, and liber
ally have they carried out their plan ; employing a
native artist, Mr. Joel T. Hart, to execute the work,
and munificently providing the means for its accom
plishment. Mr. Hart, haviug modelled the statue,
goes to Europe to cut it in marble. A competent
critic thus describes the model :
" Mr. Hart has blended the idea and spirit of ac-
' tion with the actual presence and exhibition of re-
. pose— the latter always so essential to the highest
* and most agreeable effect of the sculptor's art. Mr.
' Clay is represented resting the weight of his body
' principally upon his right foot, the left being thrown
' a little forward and the toes turned out. The head
' is sufficiently erect to give dignity and spirit to the
98
Life of Henry Clay,
' general bearing, without approaching the offensive
' and vulgar line of arrogance and self-esteem, and
' the face is turned slightly to the right, in the direc-
' tion of the corresponding arm. The fingers of the
' left hand rest lightfuily and gracefully upon a ped-
' estal. appropriately placed, while his right arm,
'just fallen from an uplifted position, is sufficiently
1 extended from the elbow to show, with the open
' and forward-looking palm, action just finished in-
' stead of continuous and habitual repose. The face
'is full of lofty animation, self possession, and the
' rest of conscious power. %
" The costume is a simple citizen's dress, such as
' Mr. Clay usually wears. The coat, unbuttoned,
• is loose enough not to be stiff and formal ; shoes are
1 worn instead of boots, according to Mr. Clay's in-
' variable custom ; and the shirt-collar is turned down,
' not accordiug to his custom, but as a matter of great
* convenience if not necessity to the artist, in the ex-
' hibition of the neck and throat."
During his visit to Washington in the winter of
1848, an excellent full-length likeness of Mr. Clay
was taken by Chester Harding, of Massachusetts.
It was procured by the voluntary subscription of the
people of "Washington, in testimony of their appre
ciation of the noble qualities and public services of
one who had spent so long a portion of his life in
their midst, during which he had so completely won
their esteem and affection.
,Few public men ever had such troops of devoted
friends as Mr. Clay. It is not by professions only
that their devotion is manifested. In the spring of
1845, he met with a substantial, and, at the same
time, a most touching and signal proof of the estima
tion in which he is held. A number of friends, resi
ding in the eastern States, having learned indirectly
that a considerable portion of Mr. Clay's entire prop
erty was about to be swept away to pay the notes
of one of his family connexions, on which he was
endorser, quietly raised the sum of fifty thousand
dollars, and paid the notes at the bank in which they
were deposited. The first intimation which he had
of the movement was the reception of his cancelled
obligation ; and not a name was disclosed ofthe in
dividuals who had had any agency in the transac
tion. The artizans and mechanics of the country have,
in instances too numerous to mention, sliown their
sense ofthe efficient support which Mr. Clay has al
ways rendered to the cause of American industry
and skill. In the autumn of 1845, the working gold
and silver artificers of the city of New-York present
ed him a silvervase three feet high, neatly and elab
orately chased, and bearing a complimentary in
scription. Its value was a thousand dollars. Mr.
Clay has more reason than people are generally
aware of to feel a sympathy with the mechanic clas
ses. His only surviving full brother was once a very
skilful cabinet-maker, and several specimens of his
handy work remain among the furniture at Ashland.
In November, 1846, a magnificent vase was pre
sented to Mr. Clay by the ladies of Tennessee. His
address upon the occasion of receiving the donation
contains so much of public interest, that wo quote it
entire :
" Dr. M'Nairy : It is no ordinary occurrence nor
any common mission that honors me by your pres
ence. To bo deputed, as you have been, by a large
circle of Tennessee ladies to bear the flattering sen
timents toward me which you have just so eloquently
expressed, and to deliver to me the precious testimo
nials of their inestimable respect and regard which
you have brought, is a proud incident in my life, ever
to be remembered with feelings of profound grati
tude and delight.
" My obligation to those ladies is not the less, for
the high opinion of me which they do me the honor
to entertain ; because I feel entirely conscious that I
owe it more to their generous partiality than to any
merits 1 possess, or to the value of any public ser
vices which I have ever been able to render.
" If, indeed, their kind wishes in relation to the is
sue of the last presidential election had been grati
fied, I have no doubt that we should have avoided
some of those public measures, so pregnant with the
evils to our country, to which you have adverted.
We should have preserved, undisturbed and with
out hazard, peace with all the world, have had no
unhappy war with a neighboring sister republic,
and consequently no deplorable waste of human life,
of which that which has been sacrificed or impaired
in an insalubrious climate is far greater and more
lamentable than what has been lost in the glorious
achievements of a brave army, commanded by a skil
ful and gallant general.
" We should have saved the millions of treasure
which that unnecessary war has and will cost — an
immense amount — sufficient to improve every use
ful harbor on the lakes, on the ocean, on the gulf of
Mexico, and in the interior, and to remove obstruc
tions to navigation in all the great rivers in the Uni
ted States.
" We should not have subverted a patriotic sys
tem of domestic protection, fostering the industry of
our own people and the interests of our own coun
try, the great benefits which have been practically
demonstrated by experience, for the visionary prom
ises of an alien policy of free trade, fostering the in
dustry of foreign people and the interests of foreign
countries,, which has brought in its train disaster
and ruin'to every nation that has had the temerity
to try it. The beneficial tariff of 1842, which raised
both the people and the government of the United
States out of a condition of distress and embarrass
ment borderiug on bankruptcy, to a state of high
financial and general prosperity, would Dot be stand
ing unimpaired, in the statute-book, instead of tho
fatal tariff of 1846, whose calamitous effects will, I
apprehend, sooner or later, be certainly realized.
" All this, and more of what has since occurred in
the public councils, was foretold prior to that elec
tion. It was denied, disbelieved, or unheeded ; and
we now realize the unfortunate consequences. But
both philosophy and patriotism enjoin that we should
not indulge in unavailing regrets as to the incurable
past. As a part of history in which it is embodied.
we may derive from it instructive lessons for our fu
ture guidance, and we ought to redouble our exer
tions to prevent their being unprofitably lost.
" I receive with the greatest pleasure the splendid
and magnificent vase of silver which the ladies of
Tennessee, whom you represent, have charged you
to present to me. Wrought by American artists,
tendered by my fair countrywomen, and brought to
me by an ever-faithful, ardent, and distinguished
friend, it comes with a triple title to my grateful ac
ceptance. I request you to convey to those ladies
respectful and cordial assurances of my warm and
heartfelt thanks and acknowledgments. Tell them
I will carefully preserve, during life, and transmit to
my descendants, an unfading recollection of their
signal and generous manifestations of attachment
and confidence. And toll them also that my fervent
prayers shall be offered up for their happiness and
prosperity, and shall be united with theirs that they
may live to behold our country emerged from the
dark clouds which encompass it, and once moro:
as in better times, standing out, a bright and cheer
ing example, the moral and political model and
Description of a Visit to Ashland — Mr. Clay's Residence — Lord Morpeth, $c.
99
guide, the hope, and the admiration, of the nations
of the earth.
'¦• I should entirely fail, Dr. M'Nairy, on this inter
esting occasion, to give utterance to my feelings, if
I did not eagerly seize it to express to you. my good
friend, my great obligations for the faithful and un
interrupted friendship "which, in prosperous and ad
verse fortune, and amid all the vicissitudes of my
chequered life, you have constantly, zealously, and
fearlessly displayed. May you yet long live, in
health, happiness, and prosperity, and enjoy the
choicest blessings of a merciful and bountiful Provi
dence." Engaged in legal and agricultural pursuits, re
ceiving continued testimonials of the esteem and
gratitude ofhis countrymen, and making occasional
excursions, Mr. Clay passed the greater portion of
the two years which succeeded the contest of 1844.
A letter, which bears the date of Lexington, May
25, 1845, gives a pleasing picture of the genial sim
plicity and hospitality to be found at Ashland : " I
1 have at last realized one of my dearest wishes — tbat
' of seeing Mr. Clay at Ashland. I called on him with
1 a friend this morning, but he was absent on his
'farm, and Charles, his freed slave, told us he would
' not be at home till afternoon ; so we returned to
* Lexington, and, at five, P.M., retraced our steps to
1 Ashland. Mr. Clay had returned ; and meeting us
' at the door, took hold of our hands before T could
'even present a letter of introduction, and made us
•welcome to his house. His manners completely
'overcame all the ceremonies of speech I had pre-
' ' pared. We were soon perfectly at home, as ev-
' ery one must be with Henry Clay, and, in a half-
' hour's time, we had talked about the various sec-
' tions of the country I had visited the past year, Mr.
' Clay occasionally giving us incidents and recollec-
' tions of his own life ; and I felt as though I had
' known him personally for years.
" Mr. Clay has lived at Ashland forty years. The
'place bore the name when he came to it, as he
1 says, probably on account of the ash timber, with
'which it abounds; and he has made it the most de-
'lightfnl retreat in all the West. The estate is
' about six hundred acres large, all under the highest
'cultivation, except some two hundred acres of park,
• ' which is entirely cleared of underbrush and small
' trees, and is, to use the words of Lord Morpeth,
' who stayed at Ashland nearly a week, the nearest
' approach to an English park of any in this country.
' It serves also for a noble pasture, and here I saw
'some of Mr. Clay's fine horses and Durham cattle.
'He is said to have some ofthe finest stock in all
' Kentucky, which is to say, the finest in America ;
' and, if I am able to judge, I confirm that report.
' The larger part of his farm is devoted to wheat,
'rye, hemp, &c., and his crops look most splendidly.
'He has also paid great attention to ornamenting his
•lands with beautiful shade-trees, shrubs, flowers,
' and fruit-orchards. From the road, which passes
'his place on the northwest side, a carriage-road
'leads up to the house, lined with locust, cypress,
'cedar, and other rare trees, and the rose, jasmine,
' and ivy, were clambering about them, and peeping
'through the grass and the boughs like so many
' twinkling fairies as we drove up.
"Ashland is about a mile from Lexington, easter-
'ly, on the road leading out of Main street, and is
'one ofthe loveliest situations around this delightful
' town. Mr. Clay's mansion is nearly hidden from
• the road by the trees surrounding it, and is as quiet
' and secluded, save to the throng of pilgrims contin-
' ually pouring up there to greet its more than royal
' possessor, as though it were in the wilderness.
' Some parts of it are now undergoing repairs, and
' Mr. Clay took us about to see his contemplated im-
' provements. The houses ofhis slaves are all very
' neat, and surrounded by better gardens and more
' flowers and shrubbery than one half the farmhouses
' in the country, and all the inmates are as happy as
' human beings can be. ' Charles,' of whom so much
' has been said, is a kind of second master of the
' household to Mr. Clay, and enjoys the greatest
' trust and confidence. To him can the keys of the
' wine-cellar be given without fear, and on all occa-
' sions wheu help was needed, Mr. Clay would call
'for Charles. It was Charles who brought us wine,
' Charles was at the door, at the carriage, at the
' gate, everywhere, in fact, and as polite and civil as
' a man asking for office. He is a fine-looking, mid-
' die-sized negro, about thirty years old, and I do not
' believe he could be drawn from Mr. Clay except
' by absolute animal force, so great is his devotion to
1 him. As I said, Mr. Clay has lived at Ashland for-
' ty years. He said he had seen Cincinnati grow
' from a small village to its present size, and had
' witnessed the growth of much of the west at the
' same time. Beside the six hundred acres, he has
' about two hundred acres at a distance, in the rear
' of Ashland, and these two lots form his estate.
" As it was nearly night when we called on Mr.
Clay, we had hardly time to see things properly,
and he urged me to come up again. I went up the
day following in company with the ' Swiss Bell-
Ringers,' who were also on a visit to Ashland. Mr.
Clay received the band and myself warmly at the
door, and, after a few civilities, put on his white
hat and walked through the grounds with us, talk
ing freely and familiarly to all. He is the most
easy and affable man I have ever seen. He picked
a rose for each of us : mine I have most carefully
pressed, and shall give it to my lady-love, when I
find one, and she may consider it a prize ! He
told me, while we were walking, about Lord Mor
peth's early rising at Ashland, and said that his
lordship used to go on foot a mile down to the post-
office, and bring up the mail before he was out of
bed. Of Morpeth, Mr. Clay spoke in the highest
terms. " After an hour spent in the park and garden, the
bell-ringers proposed giving Mr. Clay and his fam
ily a specimen of their music, and we of course ad
journed to the house. Here, for the first time, I
saw Mrs. Clay, and a son, Mr. John Clay. Mr. Clay
was expecting the bell-ringers, and had invited for
the occasion a few friends. They performed be
fore him to his very great delight. On this occa
sion Mr. Clay sent for some ofhis homemade wine;
pressed at Ashland from the Catawba grape. IS
was most delicious ; something like sparkling hock
in flavor, but of a richer taste. After performing
several pieces in the house, the bell-ringers went
' out into the park, and rang the chimes on a peal of
twelve bells, their auditors remaining in the house.
I never heard anything so bewitching as the sound
1 of the bells during that chime. Mr. Clay said he
' would be glad to have a chapel in the park, if be
100
Life of Henry Clay.
* could always hear such voices from it. It was to
* me a rare treat.
" On Sunday, the day following my last visit to
' Ashland, I could not resist the inclination to see
'once more a place to me so very hallowed. On
• * my way up I passed Mr. Clay, who, with his wife,
"had started for church. 'Alas!' thought I, as I
- ' looked upon his high calm brow for the last time,
4 'can this be the gambler, sabbath-breaker, blas-
**phemer, all these vile characters combined, which
4 have been ascribed to him, and cried abroad by
4 men whose lips were too foul to speak as great a
* name as he will bear when they and their memo-
* ries are less than ashes V One hour with Mr. Clay
* at home stamps libel on all these execrable lies, and
' he who enjoys that hour says in his heart, ' That is
4 the simplest and noblest man I ever looked upon." "
Mr. Clay passed a good part of the winter and
spring of 1846 in New-Orleans, whither he had been
called by professional business. It would be but a
repetition of past scenes to describe with what a
warmth of welcome he was received. He took oc
casion, on his departure, to visit St. Louis, where he
arrived on the 4th of April, and met with a most en
thusiastic reception. He reached his residence at
Ashland on the 20d of that month, with his health
much benefited by the travel and relaxation he had
enjoyed. An attempt was made the succeeding winter to
induce Mr. Clay to accept an election to the United
States Senate, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
retirement of Mr. Morehead, whose term was to ex
pire the next 4th of March ; but Mr. Clay perempto
rily declined the honor. He was again in New-
Orleans the succeeding winter. He was present at
the celebration of the anniversary of the landing of
the Pilgrims, the 22d of December ; and is reported
by one of the newspapers of the day to have re
marked, on being called upon to reply to a compli
mentary toast : "Although leading a life of retire
ment, I am not wholly unobservant of the proceed
ings relating to the condition, welfare, and prospects,
of our country. And when I saw around me to-night
General Brooke and other old friends, I felt half in
clined to ask for some nook or corner in the army,
in which I might serve, to avenge the wrongs done
to my countiy. I have thought that I might yet be
able to capture or slay a Mexican. I shall not be
able to do so, however, this year, but hope that suc
cess will still crown our gallant arms, and the war
terminate in an honorable peace." These remarks
have been the subject of some ridiculously severe
animadversions. If they are correctly reported
(which is very doubtful), who that knows Mr. Clay
does not recognize the half-sportive, ironical spirit,
in which they were intended ? At the social table,
,»ot dreaming, probably, that there were "ehiels"
about him " takin' notes," a ludicrous image starts
into his mind, and he gives it utterance. The idea
that he would be so far inflamed with martial ardor,
and catch the warlike infection, as to shoulder a mus
ket, presents itself to his mind and drops from his
lips in a purely jocose, conversational tone. But it
is at once taken up and misrepresented by his op
ponents. While in New-Orleans, early in 1847, the wail of
famishing Ireland fell on the ears of Mr. Clay, and
at once aroused the warmest sympathies of his heart,
Being invited to attend a meeting held in aid of the
sufferers, he went ; and being loudly called for by
those present, addressed them as follows :
"Mr. President and Fellow-Citizens :
" I hesitated to accept the invitation which has
brought me here. Being a mere sojourner and not a
member of this community, I doubted the propriety
of my presence and participation in the proceedings
of this meeting, and apprehended that my motive
might be misunderstood. But — on consulting my
pillow, and considering that the humanity ofthe ob
ject of this assembly is bounded by no latitude nor
locality, and ought to be co-extensive with the
whole human family — it seemed to me that all con
siderations of fastidious delicacy and etiquette should
be waived and merged in a generous and magnan
imous effort to contribute to the relief of the suffer
ings which have excited our feelings. If I should
be misconceived or misrepresented, the experience
of a long life has taught me, that the best response
to misconception and misrepresentation is the fear
less and faithful discharge of duty, in all the condi
tions of life in which we may be placed ; and the
answer to traduction and calumny, is conscious
rectitude and the approbation of one's own heart.
"Mr. President — If we were to hear that large
numbers of the inhabitants of Asia, or Africa, or
Australia, or the remotest part of the globe, were
daily dying with hunger andfamine — no matter what
their color, what their religion, or what their civiliza
tion — we should deeply lament their condition, and
be irresistibly prompted, if possible, to mitigate
their sufferings. But it is not the distresses of any
such distant regions that have summoned us together
on this occasion. The appalling and heart-rending
distresses of Ireland and Irishmen form the object
of our present consultation. That Ireland, which
has been in all the vicissitudes of our national exist
ence our friend, and has ever extended to us her
warmest sympathy — those Irishmen, who, in every
war in which we have been engaged, on every
battle-field, from Gtuebec to Monterey, have stood
by us, shoulder to shoulder, and shared iu all the
perils and fortunes of the conflict.
" The imploring appeal conies to us from the Irish
nation, which is so identified with our own as to be
almost part and parcel of ours — bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh. Nor is it any ordinary case
of human misery, or a few isolated cases of death
by starvation, that we are called upon to consider.
Famine is stalking abroad throughout Ireland —
whole towns, counties — countless human beings,
of every age and of both sexes, at this very moment,
are starving, or in danger of starving^ to death for
bread. Of all the forms of dissolution of human
life, the nangs and agony of that which proceeds
from famine are the most dreadful. If one dies fight
ing gloriously for his country, he is cheered in his
expiring moments by the patriotic nature of his sac
rifice. He knows that his surviving relations and
friends, while lamenting his loss, will be gratified
and honored by his devotion to his country. Poets,
painters, sculptors, historians — will record his deeds
of valor and perpetuate his renown. If he dies by
the sudden explosion of the boilers of a steamboat,
or by a storm at sea, death is quiet and easy, and
soon performs his mission. A few piercing shrieks
are uttered, he sinks beneath the surface, and all is
still and silent. But a death by starvation comes
slow, lingering and excruciating. From day to day
the wretched victim feels his flesh dwindling, his
speech sinking, his friends falling around him, and
he finely expires in horrible agony.
"Behold the wretched Irish mother — with hag
gard looks and streaming eyes — her famished chil
dren clinging to her tattered garments, and gazing
piteously in her face, begging for food 1 And see
the distracted husband -father, with pallid cheeks,
standing by, horror and despair depicted in his
countenance — tortured with the reflection that he
Speech in Aid of Ireland — Successes of our Army in Mexico — Buena Vista.
10!
can afford no succor or relief to the dearest objects
of his heart, about to be snatched forever from him
by the most cruel of all deaths.
" This is no fancy picture ; but. if we are to credit
the terrible accounts which reach us from that theatre
of misery and wretchedness, is one of daily occur
rence. Indeed, no imagination can conceive — no
tongue express — no pencil paint — the horrors of the
scenes which are there daily exhibited. Ireland,
in respect to food, is differently situated from all the
countries of the world. Asia has her abundant
supply of rice; Africa, her dates, yams and rice;
Europe, her bread of wheat, rye and oats ; Ameri
ca, a double resource in the small grains, and a nev
er failing and abundant supply of Indian corn —
that great supporter of animal life, for which we are
not half grateful enough to a bountiful and merciful
Providence. But the staple food of large parts of
poor Ireland is the potato, and when it fails, pinch
ing want and famine follow. It is among the in
scrutable dispensations of Providence, that the crop
has been blighted the two last years ; and hence the
privation of food, and this appeal to the sympathy
of American hearts.
"Shall it be in vain? Shall starving Ireland —
the young and the old — dying women and children
— stretch out their hands to us for bread, and find no
relief? Will not this great city, the world's store
house of an exhaustless supply of all kinds of food,
bome to its overflowing warehouses by the Father
of Waters, act on this occasion in a manner worthy
of its high destiny, and obey the noble impulses of
the generous hearts of its blessed inhabitants ? We
are commanded, by the common Savior of Ireland
and of us, to love one another as ourselves ; and on
this, together with one higher obligation, hang all
the law and prophets of our holy religion. We
know, that of all the forms of humanity and benevo
lence, none is more acceptable, in the sight of God,
than the practice of charity. Let ns demonstrate
our love, our duty and our gratitude to Him, by a
liberal contribution to the relief of His suffering
Irish children.
" Fellow-citizens, no ordinary purpose has brought
us together. This is no political gathering. If it
had been, you would not have seen me here. I
have not come to make a speech. When the heart
is full and agitated by its own feeling emotions, the
paralyzed tongue finds utterance difficult. It is not
fervid eloquence, not gilded words, that Ireland
needs — but substantial food. Let us rise to the
magnitude of the duty which is before us, and by a
generous supply from the magnitude of our means,
evince the genuineness and cordiality of our sym
pathy and commiseration."
At the conclusion of this speech, one loud and
unanimous shout of approval was raised, in which
officers and audience participated. The effect of
the speech is well told in a letter addressed to Mr.
Clay by two Irishmen of New York, and accom
panied with an elegant gift of cutlery. " It was the
good fortune of one of us," they say, " to bear your
speech in behalf of the famishing millions of our
native land, when in New Orleans on business dur
ing that dreadful winter of 1846-'7 ; it has since been
the fortune of the other to hear and to witness in
Ireland and elsewhere in Europe the admiration
and gratitude which that speech has excited ; it is
the pleasing duty of both to thank God that your
thrilling appeal to the best feelings of our common
humanity was the means, by stimulating the ener
gies of ever-blessed charity among the American
people, of saving thousands of our countrymen from
a death of agony and horror. It must be an abiding
joy to your generous heart to know that American
benevolence is devoutly blessed in parishes and
cabins where even your name, illustrious as ii is,
had hardly been heard before the famine ; and that
thousands have been impelled by their deliverance
from the worst effects of that dire calamity to invoke
blessings on the head of Henry Clay.
" You have often, and most appropriately, received
at the hands of your countrymen by birth, fitting-
acknowledgments of your services, in the shape of
rare products of their unsurpassed mechanical in
genuity and skill. Our humble offering is the work
of foreign artisans, in grateful acknowledgment of
your powerful aid to an oppressed and suffering
race on the other side of the Atlantic. We trust
it may not on that account be unacceptable, but
that, among your many tokens of American esteem
and thankfulness, a single remembrance ofthe tears
of gratitude which at the mention of your name
have bedewed the cheek of suffering Ireland may
not be unwelcome."
" I must have had a heart colder than stone," says
Mr. Clay in reply, " if I had been capable of listen
ing to the sad account of Irish distress without the
deepest emotions. My regret was, that I could do
little or nothing to mitigate the sufferings of a gen
erous and gallant people. Nor did my own coun
trymen, I am fully persuaded, require any stimulus
from me, to prompt them to extend all practicable;
succors, to those with whom we are intimately con
nected by so many pleasing ties."
CHAPTER, XXVI.
Successes of our Army in Mexico — Buena Vista — Mr. Clay
receives news of his Son's Death — Letter of General
Tnylor, announcing the Event — Mr. Clay joins the
Church — His Visit to Cape May — Address of the New-
York Delegates, and his Reply.
The war with Mexico was, in its results, as hon
orable to the army of the United States, as, in its
origin, it was disgraceful to the administrations of
Messrs. Tyler and Polk. The series of brilliant suc
cesses achieved under Generals Taylor and Scott —
the rapidly-succeeding victories of Palo Alto, Resaca
de la Palma, Monterey, Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo,
Churubusco, and Chepultepec— are unparalleled in
the history of modern warfare, in the numerical infe
riority of the forces by which vast numbers were
overcome. It wa3 with heavy forebodings that Mr. Clay left
New-Orleans. Our gallant army under Taylor was
known to be in a situation of great peril, surrounded
by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, and depen
dent solely upon the personal'courage ofthe officers
and men, united to the intrepidity and sagacity of
their revered General, for its safety. Mr. Clay's
son Henry had quitted the practice of the law, and
hastened to join the standard of hisjionntry in Mexi
co early in the contest, and was now with Taylor at
Buena Vista. This generous-spirited young man
was born in 1811. Having graduated with high
honors at West Point Academy, he had studied law,
married, travelled a while in Europe, and returned
to Kentucky, to serve his country on the battle-field
when the occasion invited.
As Mr. Clay was leaving Frankfort for Ashland,
he received the melancholy intelligence of the death
of his son. The paper containing the news was
handed to him by a friend, and he carefully read it
until he came to the sad announcement. Then h&
102
Life of Henry Clay,
trembled like an aspen, but uttered no word, save a
command to the driver to move on. " Amid all the
clustering honors ofhis elevated career," says a wri
ter of the day, " Mr. Clay has been a. man of sor
rows. The affections of his home have been great
as his own heart, and have yearned over his children
with an intensity of love which only noble natures
know. But —
" Affliction seemed enamored of his parts ;"
death has been busy about his hearthstone ; and one
by one he has seen many of those who so proudly
claimed him as father or grandsire, taken from him.
Their heritage of love devolved upon the survivors ;
and his eon, who bore his name and shared his vir- I
tues, was the pride and glory of his honored old age.
But his country demanded that son. The struggle
of the father's heart must have been a mighty one ;
but he devoted him — as he had devoted his own lus
trous life — to his country. The heroism of Colonel
Clay rendered it certain that his career would be
brilliant, but probable that it would also be brief.
Mr. Clay seemed to feel a parental presentiment that
such would be the fact. We rejoice that the unhap
py tidings found him at home and among his kindred
(though all the land is his home, and every heart his
kindred), where his tears can mingle with those of
the stricken partner of his afflictions. We dare not,
even in imagination, intrude upon the scene made
sacred by sorrow : yet we know enough ofthe hero-
statesman to believe that, even in his hour of deso
lation, the pride of the patriot and the parent may
afford some solace, and that the sentiment of Cato
over his sacrifice will rise from his heart :
' I'm satisfied !
Thanks to the gods ! my Bon has done his duty.
How beautiful is death when earned by virtue !
Who would not be that youth ? What pity is it
That we can die hut once to serve our country !' "
The following letter from General Taylor, com
municating the afflicting intelligence to Mr. Clay, is
as honorable to the writer as it is to the departed
hero: " Headquarters, Army of Occupation, )
"Agua Nueva, Mexico, March 1, 1847. $
"My Dear Sir: You will no doubt have received,
before this can reach you, the deeply distressing in
telligence of the death of your son in the battle of
Buena Vista. It is with no wish of intruding upon
the sanctuary of parental sorrow, and with no hope
of administering any consolation to your wounded
heart, that I have taken the liberty of addressing you
these few lines ; but I have felt it a duty which I
owe to the memory of the distinguished dead, to pay
a willing tribute to his many excellent qualities, and
¦while my feelings are still fresh, to express the deso
lation which his untimely loss and that of other kin
dred spirits have occasioned.
"I had but a casual acquaintance with your son,
¦until he became Tor a time a member of my military
family, and I can truly say that no one ever*won
more rapidly upon my regard, or established a more
"lasting claim to my respect and esteem. Manly and
honorable in every impulse, with no feeling but for
the honor ofthe service and of the country, he gave
«very assurance that in the hour of neud I could
lean with confidence upou his support. Nor was I
disappointed. Under the guidance of himself and
the lamented M'Kee, gallantly did the sons of Ken
tucky, in the thickest of the strife, uphold the honor
of the State and the country.
"A grateful people will do justice to the memory
.of those who fell on that eveutful day. But I may
be permitted to express the bereavement which I
feel in the loss of valued friends. To your son I felt
bound by the strongest ties of private regard, and
when I miss his familiar face and those of M'Kee
and Hardin, I can say with truth that I felt no exul
tation in our success.
" With the expression of my deepest and most
heartfelt sympathies fqr your irreparable loss, Ire-
main your friend, Z. /Taylor.
"Hon. Henry Clay, New-Orleans, La."
General Taylor has always been forward to ap
preciate and recognize the eminent public services
and claims of Mr. Clay. In a letter to Joseph R. In-
gersoll, dated August 3, 1847, he writes: "At the
last presidential canvass, it was well known to all
with whom I mixed, Whigs and Democrats — fori
had no concealments in the matter — that I was deci
dedly in favor of Mr. Clay's election ; and I would
now prefer seeing him in that office to any individ
ual in the Union." This is sufficiently emphatic.
Lasting honor to the tried and honorable soldier, who
can thus yield the palm to civic worth and qualifica
tions ! To whatever point party contingencies may
tend, they must not, they can not sunder the conse
crated ties of friendship and esteem which exist be
tween the hero of Ashland and him of Buena Vista.
" My life has been full of domestic afflictions, but
this last is one of the severest among them," wrote
Mr. Clay to a friend soon after the news of the fall
of his son, The ensuing Sth of April, in a letter to
a committee of the Whigs of Auburn, he alluded to
the Mexican war in the following terms : " You ex
press your regret on account of the unexpected issue
of the last presidential eleclion. I ought to feel none
for ni3Tself personally. Besides being relieved from
a vast responsibility, it furnished the occasion of the
exhibition of testimonials, and the outpouring of af
fection from the hearts of my friends and country
men, of which I had no previous conception that I
ever could be the honored object. Their spontane
ous and disinterested manifestations are worth far
more than the Presidency itself. For our common
country I do regret the issue ofthe contest. Had it
been otherwise, we should have preserved the pro
tective policy, under which we had made such rapid
and encouraging advances ; the march of improve
ment in our rivers and harbors would not have been
arrested ; and, above all, we should have avoided
this unnecessary war of aggression with a neighbor,
torn to pieces by internal dissensions. The brilliant
achievements, and the glorious laurels acquired, du
ring its prosecution, gratifying as they are to our na
tional pride and character, can never compensate
for the exceptionable manner in which it was begun,
the brave and patriotic lives which have been sacri
ficed, and the fearful issues which, I tremble in con
templating, may grow out of its termination. But I
have not now a heart to dwell on this painful theme.
I turn from it with hope and dutiful submission to
Him whose no doubt wise but inscrutable dispensa
tion has permitted this awful calamity to visit our
beloved country."
An interesting event transpired at Ashland during
the summer of 1847. It can best be told in the lan
guage of an eye-witness, under date of June 25th :
" A notice was very generally circulated through
the public papers ofthe country, some two or three
years ago, to the effect that Mr. Clay had become a
member of the Protestant Episcopal church. The
Mr. Clay joins the Church-He visits Cape May— Proceeding, at Philadelphia
103
wish was doubtless father to the thought, as Mr. Clay
had not at that time taken any sorh step. He h as al
ways been known to have the highest respect for the
institutions of Christianity, and to have been a deci
ded believer in the Divine authenticity ofthe Chris
tian religion — his amiable and now deeply afflicted
wife having for many years been an humble follower
of its blessed Author. When the weather permitted
it, living as he does a mile and a half from the church,
Mr. Clay has always been a regular attendant on its
services ; and for two or three years past, having
had more leisure from public duty, his attention had
evidently been turned to the high considerations con
nected with things spiritual and eternal — his life hav
ing been devoted so intensely to the good of others,
as scarcely, until this period of retirement, to leave
him an opportunity to think of himself. But ho lias
at length consecrated his great powers to God. He
wasbaptized in the little parlor at Ashland on Tues
day, the 22d instant, together with one ofhis daugh
ters-in-law (the other being already a member of the
church) and her four children, by the Rev. Edward
V. Berkley, rector of Christ church, Lexington. The
baptism was administered privately, for the reason
that the congregation of Christ church are replacing
their old church with a new edifice, now in rapid
progress of erection, and are not suitably situated for
the most solemn and decent administration of this
rite in public.
"When the minister entered the room, on this
deeply solemn and interesting occasion, the small as
sembly, consisting of the immediate family, a few
family connexions, and the clergyman's wife, rose
up. In the middle ofthe room stood a large centre-
table, on which was placed, filled with water, the
magnificent cut glass vase presented to Mr. Clay by
pome gentlemen of Pittsburg. On one side of the
room hung tho large picture ofthe family of Wash
ington, himself an Episcopalian by birth, by educa
tion, and a devout communicant of the church ; and
immediately opposite, on a side-table, stood the bust
of the lamented Harrison, with a chaplet of withered
flowers hung upon his head, who was to have been
confirmed in the church the sabbath after he died —
fit witnesses of such a scene. Around the room
were suspended a number of family pictures, and
among them the portrait of a beloved daughter, who
died some years ago, in the triumphs of that faith
which her noble father was now about to embrace ;
and the picture of the late lost son, who fell at the
buttle of Buena Vista. Could these silent lookers-
on at the scene about transpiring, have spoken from
the marble and the canvass, they w.ould heartily have
approved the act which dedicated the great man to
God. There was a deep emotion pervading that
small assembly at the recital, under such circum
stances, of the sublime ordinal of the church."
Early 'in the ensuing August Mr. Clay left Ken
tucky to try the benefit of seabathing at Cape May.
On the 14th of that month he reached Philadelphia,
having been greeted at every stopping place on his
route with the sympathizing respects and enthusi
astic cheers of the people. At Philadelphia he be
came the guest of Mr. Henry White. An immense
multitude soon assembled before the house, anxious
to catch sight of the venerated statesman. When
he appeared on the balcony, the manifestations of
enthusiasm and of welcome were indescribable ; ev
ery man of the vast crowd seemed anxious to ex
tend a personal token of admiration and attachment.
When silence was restored, Mr. Clay remarked that
ho had come to the city without any intention— cer
tainly without any desire— of causing such a mani
festation. He had left his home for the purpose of
escaping from afflicting and perpetually recurring
feelings ; in the hope of finding among the friends
whom he might meet during his travels, a portion
of consolation for the heaviest affliction Providence
had ever visited upon him: but under whatever cir
cumstances he might have come, lie would be void
of gratitude, he would he destitute of all the finer
feelings of nature, if he failed in thankfulness for the
kiudness so manifested. The city of Philadelphia,
he was proud tq say. had. during all the trials, diffi
culties, and vicissitudes, of his chequered career,
been his warm and steadfast friend.
B ut if even the occasion was not unfit, the feelings
under which he labored would prevent him from
seizing upon it for the purpose of making a set
speech ; and in parting, he would only add the ex
pression of a wish — as the day which ushers in the
sabbath, that all men should respect, was nearly
spent— that they would unite with him in the senti
ment, that to our country, whether it is directed in
its public measures by a good government or a bad
one — whether it is in prosperity or adversity — in
peace or at war — we should always give our hearts,
our hands, and our hopes. Mr. Clay then bade bis
fellow-citizens farewell, and retired amid the stormy
plaudits and affectionate " good-nights" of the dis
persing multitude.
At Cape May Mr. Clay was the object of renewed
testimonials of public love and regard. The coun
try-people for miles around crowded to see him,
while all the visiters to the island vied with each
other in demonstrations of honor and sympathy. On
the afternoon of the 18th he experienced a somewhat
narrow escape from serious injury. Biding out on
the beach in company with a young lady from Ken
tucky and two of his friends, in Mr. Brolaskey's
coach, drawn by four spirited horses — on their re
turn, the driver, in curbing one ofthe leaders rather
suddenly, caused him to commence kicking. Both
leaders then kicked the horses behind them, aud
these jumped and reared until they broke the shaft.
and ran the carriage into the fence. Just before it
struck, Mr. Clay seized the young lady in his arms,
opened the door, and leaped out of the carnage un
hurt, before the driver or any of the bystanders could
render assistance. The carriage rolled on, struck
the fence, and was considerably damaged.
While sojourning at this pleasant watering-place,
delegates from New- York and New-Haven made a
trip to Cape May purposely to invite him to visit
their cities. The scene of their interview with him
wu-s one of the most interesting and animating that
had been experienced even in the career of one who
had so long been the subject" of public honors the
most grateful and estimable. It took place in the
great bail of the Mansion House, which was crowd
ed on the occasion with spectators, many of whom
were ladies. After appropriate music from a good
band, Mr.. Clay made his appearance, and Mr. Nich
olas Dean, who had been commissioned as their
spokesman by the New- York delegation, addressed
him as follows ;
104
Life of Henry Clay.
*' Through the unexpected kindness of friends, I
am the honored instrument of expressing to you,
sir, briefly, sentiments which are common to us all.
You are surrounded by a few of your fellow-citizens
from the city of New York — not the result of po
litical association, not the offspring of party organi
zation — who had individually learned from the pub
lic press that you were sojourning in their vicinity,
and who by one simultaneous impulse, threw them
selves on board a swift means of communication,
and hastened here to grasp you by the hand, and
offer to you the homage of their warm salutations.
[Cheers and other manifestations of applause.]
" But, sir, we have another and more important
duty to perform ; we come in the names of 400,000
persons, to ask you once again to visit our metropo
lis. [Applause.] Once again to permit us within
the circle of our own corporate limits, to express to
you our deep appreciation of the eminent services
which you, through a long series of years have
rendered, not to us only, but to our whole country ;
[cheers of applause], once again to furnish us the
opportunity of expressing to you our undiminished
confidence and esteem, the love, the reverence with
which we regard you. [Continued applause.]
" These, sir, are no ordinary sentiments, nor are
they felt in any ordinary degree. They are the
warm and hearty expressions of a generous and
grateful spirit; suffer them not to be chilled by de
ferred hope, or in any degree repressed by present
disappointment. Permit us, we pray you, sir, to
announce to our friends with the speed of lightning
that [with emphasis], Henry Clay will come to
them. [Applause loud and long.]
*' A hundred thousand tongues are waiting to
spread the glad intelligence, and the great aggregate
heart of our entire city is throbbing to bid you wel
come, thrice welcome, to its hospitalities." [Cheers,
cheers, cheers.]
During the delivery of this address, Mr. Clay
seemed gratefully touched, and, after a pause of a
few moments, he replied in the following lan
guage :—
" Gentlemen of the committee from New York
— gentlemen of the committee from Trenton — gen
tlemen of the committee from New Haven —
gentlemen of the committee from Philadelphia —
for there are conventions present from all these
places — fellow-citizens: the eloquent address, which
has just been delivered, has bad the effect almost
to induce me, to adopt the language which was
used on a more solemn occasion, ' Thou almost
persuadest me,' to go. [Great applause.] But in
all that uprightness of nature, which I have ever
endeavored to practise, I must tell you the objects
and motives which have brought me to the shores
of the Atlantic. I returned to my residence, af
ter passing the winter at New Orleans, on the
twenty^bird or twenty-fourth of March last, and in
a day or two afterward melancholy intelligence
reached me. [Here Mr. Clay evinced great emo
tion.] I have been nervous ever since, and was
induced to take this journey ; for I could not look
upon the partner of my sorrows without experiencing
deeper anguish. [The speaker was here overcome
by his feelings and paused some minutes, covering
his face with his hands ; at length recovering him
self, he resumed.] Everything about Ashland was
associated with the memory of the lost one. The
very trees which his hands had assisted me to plant
served to remind me of my loss. Had the stroke
come alone I could have borne it, with His assist
ance, and sustained by the kindness of my friends
and fellow-citizens, with meekness and resignation ;
hut of eleven children four only remain — [emotion]
— of six lovely and affectionate daughters not one is
left. Finding myself in that theatre of sadness. I
thought I would fly to the mountain's top, and de
scend to the ocean's wave, and by meeting with the
sympathy of friends, obtain some relief for the sad
ness which surrounded me. I came for private pur
poses, and from private motives alone. I have not
sought these public manifestations, nor have I de
sired to escape them. My friend and travelling
companion, Doctor Mercer, will tell you that in
Virginia — in every section of the state of my birth —
I have been implored to remain, if only for a few
hours, to exchange congratulations with my friends,
but I invariably refused, and only remained in each
place sufficiently long to exchange one vehicle for
another. You may imagine that I made a visit to
Philadelphia — but I was accidentally thrown into
Philadelphia. When I arrived in Baltimore, I learn
ed that the most direct route to this place was by
the Delaware. I had no public object in view.
Indifferent I am not, nor can I he, to the honor, wel
fare and glory of my country. [Cheers.] Gentlemen
of the committee of New York, I have truly and
sincerely disclosed the purpose of my journey, but I
cannot but deeply feel this manifestation of your re
spect and regard. It is received with thankfulness,
and reaches the warmest feelings of my heart —
tbat I, a private and humble citizen, without an
army, without a navy, without even a constable's
staff, should have been met at every step of my
progress with the kindest manifestations of feelings
— manifestations of which at present a monarch or
an emperor might well be proud. [Tremendous ap
plause.] No — 1 am not insensible to these tokens
of public affection and regard. I am thankful for
them all. [Cheers.] To you. gentlemen, of the
committee of New York, who, in behalf of four hun
dred thousand individuals whom you represent,
have taken so much trouble, I am deeply thankful
for this manifestation of your regard, but I must re
luctantly decline the honor of your invitation. To-
the citizens of Trenton, New Haven, and Philadel
phia, I must beg [here M. Clay addressed the com
mittees from the other places] of you, to excuse me ;
and trust to their affection to do so; for if I do not
place myself on the affections of my countrymen,
whither should I go and where Bhould I be ? On the
wide ocean, without a compass, and without a guide.
[Very great applause.] I must beg of you, gentle
men of all these committees, to retrace your steps,.
charged and surcharged with my warmest feelings
of gratitude. Go back charged with warm thanks
from me, and tell my friends that nothing but the
circumstances in "which I am placed — nothing else,
(for we may as well mingle a laugh with our tears,
and borrow the words of the Irish ambassador) " sit
uated as I am, and I may say, circumstanced as I
am" — deprives me of the honor of meeting you.
[Laughter.] Tell them, and I hope this response
will be considered as a specific answer to each of
the committees (for if you could see how my time is
occupied here, you would know it is impossible for
me to waste it), that you are charged With the ex
pression ofthe best feelings of my heart. And your
gentlemen of New York, be assured that it will be
long before this evidence of your regard will be for
gotten. Among the recollections of the incidents
of this journey, this visit will be paramount, and
the circumstances which led to it. I wish you an
agreeable voyage on your return ; and make my
apologies for being constrained to decline your kind
invitation." After passing a few days at Newcastle with his
friend the Hon. John M. Clayton, and having been
absent from home about a month, Mr. Clay return
ed to Kentucky, reinvigorated iu health and spirits,
and carrying with him new stores of recollections
of honors, and testimonials of attachment, with
which his countrymen had everywhere marked his
progress.
Mr. Clay's Speech at Lexington on the Mexican War.
105
CHAPTER XXVII.
Mr. Clay's Speech and Resolutions at Lexington on the
Mexican War— The Response from the People.
In every important engagement in Mexico our ar
mies had been successful. The victory of Buena
Vista had been a fitting climax to the military oper
ations of Taylor ; and Scott had achieved a new con
quest of Mexico, hardly less marvellous than that
which Cortez had accomplished centuries before.
The city of the Montezumas was occupied by our
troops. The fortresses of the country and her prin
cipal port were in our possession. Mexico was at
our feet ; and the question was, " What is to be done
with our victory ?"
Some were for annexing the whole country. Oth
ers were for drawing a line, and claiming all inside
of it. Some were for despoiling Mexico ; and oth
ers were for magnanimously abandoning all the
fruits of our conquest. At this juncture, the 13th of
November, 1847, Mr. Clay, whose views upon the
subject had been looked for with solicitude, lifted
his1 voice in behalf of the humane, the honorable, and
the politic course. It was at Lexiugton that his
speech on the Mexican war was delivered. An im
mense concourse of citizens was present to hear him.
Among them were Senator Crittenden, Governor
Letcher, the Hon. Garrett Davis, and a whole host
of distinguished Kentuckians and eminent strangers
from other States, as well as many ladies, who all
listened with the deepest attention. Mr. Clayis rep
resented as having spoken with all the fervor and
animation ofhis yonnger life : and, notwithstanding
the length- of the speech and his energetic deliver
ance, and the fact that his voice had been impaired
by a speech of more than three hours' duration,
which professional duty had required him to make
only a few days before, there was no lack of physi
cal strength to the end, when he seemed as fresh as
at the commencement. His exordium on this occa
sion is graceful and touching. The weather being
unfavorable, the circumstance was converted to bis
use in associating it with his topic :
" The day," he said, '' is dark and gloomy, unset
tled and uncertain, like the condition of our country
in regard to the unnatural war with Mexico. The
public mind is agitated and anxious, and is filled with
serious apprehensions as to its indefinite continuance,
and especially as to the consequences which its ter
mination may bring forth, menacing the harmony, if
not the existence, of our Union. It is under these
circumstances I present myself before you. No or
dinary occasion would have drawn me from the re
tirement in which I live ; but, while a single pulsa
tion of the human heart remains, it should, if neces
sary, be dedicated to the service of one's country.
And I have hoped that, although I am a private and
humble citizen, an expression of the views and opin
ions I entertain might form some little addition to the
general stock of information, and afford a small as
sistance in delivering our countiy from the perils
and dangers which surround it."
There is a graceful melancholy in the following
' allusion to the approach of old age : " I have come
here with no purpose to attempt to make a fine
speech, or any ambitious oratorical display. I have
brought with me no rhetorical bouquets to throw into
this assemblage. In the circle of the year autumn
has come, and the season of flowers has passed away.
In the progress of years, my spring time has gone by,
and 1 too am in the autumn of life, and feel the frost
of age. My desire and aim are to address you ear
nestly, calmly, seriously, and plainly, upon the grave
and momentous subjects which have brought us to
gether. • And I am most solicitous that not a solitary-
word may fall from me offensive to any party or per
son in the whole extent of the Union."
Mr. Clay then took a review of those scourges of
mankind, of which war is not the least :
" War, pestilence, and famine, by the common*
consent of mankind, are the three greatest calamities
which can befall our species ; and war, as the most
direful, justly stands foremost and in front. Pesti
lence and famine, no doubt tor wise although inscru
table purposes, are inflictions of Providence, to which
it is our duty, therefore, to bow with obedience, hum
ble submission, and resignation. Their duration is-
not long, and their ravages are limited. They bring,
indeed, great affliction while they last, but society
soon recovers from their effects?^ War is the volun
tary work of our own hands, and whatever reproach
es it may deserve should be directed to ourselves.
When it breaks out, its duration is indefinite and un
known—its vicissitudes are hidden from our view.
In the sacrifice of human life, and in the waste of
human treasure, in its losses and in its burdens, it af
fects both belligerent nations ; and its sad effects of
mangled bodies, of death, and of desolation, endure
long after its thunders are hushed in peace. War
unhinges society, disturbs its peaceful and regular
industry, and scatters poisonous seeds of disease and
immorality, which continue to germinate and diffuse
their baneful influence long after it has ceased. Daz
zling by its glitter, pomp, and pageantry, it begets
a spirit of wild adventure and romantic enterprise,
and often disqualifies those who embark in it, after
their return from the bloody fields of battle, from en
gaging in the industrious and peaceful vocations of
life. <¦
'• We are informed by a statement, which is ap
parently correct, that the number of our countrymen,
slain in this lamentable Mexican war, although it
has yet been of only eighteen months' existence, is
equal to one half of the whole of the American loss
during the seven years' war of the Revolution ! And
I venture to assert that the expenditure of treasure
which it has occasioned, when it shall come to be
fairly ascertained and footed up, will be found to be
more than half of the pecuniary cost of the war of
our independence. And this is the condition of the
party whose arms have been everywhere constantly
victorious !"
After stating those views in regard to the origin
and causes of the war with which the reader of his
life is already familiar, Mr. Clay came to the consid
eration of the question, how was it to be brought to
a satisfactory close ? The mode which he indicated
was, that Congress, inasmuch as it has the right, ei
ther at the beginning or during the prosecution of
any war, to decide the objects and purposes for
which it was proclaimed, or for which it ought to be
continued, should, by some deliberate and authentic
act, declare for what objects the existing war should
be prosecuted. He supposed the President would
not hesitate to regulate his conduct by the pro
nounced will of Congress, and to employ the force
and the diplomatic power of the nation to execute
that will. But, if the President should decline or
refuse to do so, and, in contempt of the supreme au
thority of Congress, should persevere in waging the
war, for other objects than those proclaimed by Con
gress, then it would be the imperative duty of that
body to vindicate its authority by the most stringent,
106
and effectual, and appropriate measures. And if, on
the contrary, the enemy should refuse to conclude
a treaty, containing stipulations securing the ob
jects designated by Congress, it would become the
duty of the whole government to prosecute the war
with all the national energy, until those objects were
attained by a treaty of peace. There could be no
insuperable difficulty in Congress making such an
authoritative declaration. Let it resolve, simply, that
the war should or should not be a war of conquest ;
and, if a war of conquest, what was to be conquered.
To the project of annexation Mr. Clay expressed
his decided hostility :
" Does any considerate man," he asked, " believe
it possible that two such immense countries, with
territories of nearly equal extent, with populations
so incongruous, so different in race, in language, in
religion and in laws, could be blended together in
one harmonious mas^, and happily governed by one
common authority? Murmurs, discontent, insur
rections, rebellion, would inevitably ensue, until the
incompatible parts would be broken asunder, and
possibly, in the frightful struggle, our present glori
ous Union itself would be dissevered or dissolved.
We ought not to forget the warning voice of all
history, which teaches the difficulty of combining
and consolidating together, conquering and con
quered nations. After the lapse of eight hundred
years, during which the Moors held their conquest
of Spain, the indomitable courage, perseverance
and obstinacy of the Spanish race finally triumphed,
and expelled the African invaders from the peninsula.
And, even within our own time, the colossal power
of Napoleon, when at its loftiest height, was incom
petent to subdue, and subjugate the proud Castilian.
And here in our own neighborhood, Lower Cana
da, which near one hundred years ago, after the
conclusion of the seven years' war, was ceded by
France to Great Britain, remains a foreign land in
midst of the British provinces, foreign in feelings
and attachment, and foreign in laws, language, and
religion. And what has been the fact with poor,
gallant, generous and oppressed Ireland ? Cen
turies have passed siuce the overbearing Saxon
-overrun and subjugated the Emerald Isle. Rivers
of Irish blood have flowed, during the long and
arduous contest. Insurrection and rebellion have
been the order of the day ; and yet, up to this time,
Ireland remains alien in feeling, affection and sym
pathy, toward the power which has so long borne
her down. Every Irishman hates, with a mortal
hatred, his. Saxon oppressor. Although there are
great territorial differences between the condition
of England and Ireland, as compared to that ofthe
United States and Mexico, there are some points of
striking resemblance between tliein. Both the Irish
and theMexicans arc probably ofthe same Celtic race.
Both the English and the Americans are of the
same Saxon origin. The catholic religion predomi
nates in both the former, the protestant among both
the latter. Religion has been- the fruitful cause of
dissatisfaction and discontent between the Irish and
the English nations. — Is there no reason to nppre-
hend that it would become so between the people
of the United States and those of Mexico, if they
were united together? Why should we seek to
interfere with them in their mode of worship of a
common Savior? We believe that they are wrong,
especially iu the exclusive character of their faith,
and that we are right. They think that they are
right and we wrong. What other rule can there be
than to leave the followers of each religion to their
own solemn convictions of conscientious duty tow
ard God? Who, but the great Arbiter of the Uni
verse, can judge in such a question ? For my own
part, I sincerely believe and hope, that those who
belong to all the departments of the great church of
-Christ, if, in truth and purity, they conform to the
Life of Henry Clay.
doctrines which they profess, will ultimately secure
an abode in those regions of bliss, which all aim
finally to reach. I think that there is no potentate
in Europe, whatever his religion may be, more en
lightened or at this moment so interesting as the lib
eral head ofthe papal see.
" But I suppose it to be impossible that those wh»
favor, if there be any who favor the annextion of
Mexico to the United States, can think that it ought
to be perpetually governed by military sway. Cer
tainly no votary of human liberty could deem it right
that a violation, should be perpetrated of the great
principles of our own revolution, according to which,
laws ought not to be enacted and taxes ought not to
be levied, without representation on the part of
those who, are to obey the one, and pay the other.
Then, Mexico is to participate in our councils and
equally share in our legislation and government.
But. suppose she would not voluntarily choose rep
resentatives to the national Congress, is our soldiery
to follow the electors to the ballot-box, and by force
to compel them, at the point of the bayonet, to de-
posite their ballots ? And how are the nine millions
of Mexican people to be represented in the Con
gress of the United States of America, and the Con
gress of the United States of the republic of Mexico
combined 1 Is every Mexican, without regard to
color or caste, per capitum, to exercise the elective
franchise ? How is the quota of representation be
tween the two republics, to be fixed ? Where is
their scat of common government to be established ?
— And who can foresee or foretell, if Mexico, volun
tarily or by force, were to share in the common
government what could be the consequences to her
or to us? Unprepared, as I fear her population yet
is, for the practical enjoyment of self government,
and of habits, customs, language, laws and religion,
so totally different from our own. we should present
the revolting spectacle of a confused, distracted, and
motley government. We should have a Mexican
party, a Pacific ocean party an Atlantic party, in
addition to the other parties, which exist, or with
which we are threatened, each striving to exe
cute its own particular views and purposes, and
reproaching the others with thwarting and disap
pointing them. The Mexican representation, in
Congress, would probably form a separate and im
penetrable corps, always ready to throw itself into
the scale of any other party, to advance and promote
Mexican interests. Such a state of things could
not long endure. Those, whom God and geography
have pronounced should live asunder, could never
be permanently and harmoniously united together.
" Do we want for our own happiness or greatness
the addition of Mexico to the existing Union of our
States? If our population was too dense for our
territory, and there was a difficulty in obtaining
honorably the means of subsistence, there might be
some excuse for an attempt to enlarge our dominions.
But we have no such apology. We have already,
iu our glorious country, a vast and almost boundless
territory. Beginning at the north, in the frozen
regions of the British proyinces, it stretches thousands
of miles along the coasts of the Atlantic ocean and
the Mexican gulf, until it almost reaches the tropics.
It extends to the Pacific ocean, borders on those
great inland seas, the lakes, which separate us from
the possessions of Great Britain, and it embraces
the great father of rivers, from its uppermost source
to the Balise, and the still longer Missouri, from its
mouth to the gorges of the Rocky mountains. It
comprehends the greatest variety of the richest
soils, capable of almost all the productions of the
earth, except tea and coffee and the spices, and it
includes every variety of climate, which the heart
could wish or desire. We have more than ten
thousand millions of acres of waste and unsettled
lauds, enough for the subsistence of ten or twenty
times our present population. Ought we not to be
satisfied with such a country ? — Ought we not to be
profoundly thankful to the Giver of all good things
Mr. Clay's Speech and Resolutions at Lexington on the Mexican War.
107
forBuch a vast and bountiful land ? Is it not the
» height of ingratitude to him to seek, by war and
conquest, indulging in a spirit of rapacity, to ac
quire other lands, the homes and habitations of a
large portion of his- common children? If we
pursue the object of such a conquest, besides mort
gaging the revenue and resources of this country
for ages to come, in the form of an onerous nation
al debt, we should have greatly to augment that
debt, by an assumption of the sixty or seventy
millions of the national debt of Mexico. For I take
it that nothing is more certain than that, if we ob
tain voluntarily or by conquest a foreign nation, we
acquire it with all the incumbrances attached to it.
In my humble opinion, we are now bound, in honor
and morality, to pay the just debt of Texas. And
we should be equally bound, by the same obligations,
to pay the debt of Mexico if it were annexed to the
United States."
Upon the question of the extension of the system
of negro slavery over newly-acquired territory, Mr.
Clay spoke with that same ingenuousness which
characterized his views on the slavery question,
when, nearly fifty years ago, in Kentucky, he de
clared, his belief that the proportion of slaves in com
parison with the whites was so inconsiderable, that
a system of gradual emancipation, that would ulti
mately eradicate the evil, might be safely adopted.
That system differed from the plan of immediate
abolition for which the abolition party of the present
day contend. That party had done incalculable
mischief even to the very cause which they es
poused, to say nothing of the discord which they had
produced between different parts of the country.
Mr. Clay then alluded to the efforts of the American
Colonization Society, of which he had been one of
the principal founders. He then continued :
"It may be argued that, in admitting the injustice
of slavery, I admit the necessity of an instantaneous
reparation of that injustice. Unfortunately, how^
ever, it is not always safe, practicable, or possible,
in the great movements of states, and public affairs
of nations, to remedy or repair the infliction'of pre
vious injustice. In the inception of it, we may op
pose and denounce it, by our most strenuous exer-
tions,but,after its consummation, there is often no other
alternative left us but to deplore its perpetration, and
to acquiesce, as the only alternative, in its existence,
as a less evil than the frightful consequences which
might ensue from the vain endeavor to repair it.
Slavery is one of those unfortunate instances. The
evil of it was inflicted upon us, by the parent coun
try of Great Britain, against all the entreaties and
remonstrances ofthe colonies. And here it is among
and amid us, and we must dispose of it as best we
can under all the circumstances which surround us.
It continued, by the importation of slaves from Af
rica, in spite of colonial resistance, for a period of
more than a century and a half, and it may require
an equal or longer lapse of time before our country
is entirely rid of the evil. And. iu the meantime,
moderation, prudence, and discretion, among our
selves, and the blessings of Providence may be all
necessary to accomplish our ultimate deliverance
from it. Examples of similar infliction of irrepara
ble national evil and injustice might be multiplied to
an indefinite extent. The case of the annexation
of Texas to the United States is a recent and an ob
vious one, which, if it were wrong, it cannot now be
repaired. Texas is now an integral part ofour Un
ion, with its own voluntary consent. Many ,of us
opposed the annexation with honest zeal and most
earnest exertions. But who would now think of
perpetrating the folly of casting Texas out of the
confederacy, and throwing her back upon her own
independence, or into the arms of Mexico ? Who
would now seek to divorce her from this Union ?
The Creeks and the Cherokee Indians were, by the
most exceptionable means, driven from their coun
try, and transported beyond the Mississippi river.
Their lands have been fairly purchased and occu
pied by inhabitants of Georgia, Alabama, Mississip
pi, and Tennessee. Who would now conceive the
flagrant injustice of expelling those- inhabitants and
restoring the Indian country j:o the Cherokees and
Creeks, under color of repairing original injustice ?
During the war ofour Revolution, millions of paper
money were issued by our ancestors, as the only cur
rency with which they could achieve our liberties
and independence. Thousands and hundreds of
thousands of families were stripped of their homes
and their all, and brought to ruin, by giving credit
and confidence to that spurious currency. Stern ne
cessity has prevented the reparation of that great na
tional injustice."
The sentiments and the policy commended by Mr-
Clay in this practical and eloquent speech were
embodied in the following resolutions, which he
read and submitted to the judgment ofthe meeting:
"1. Resolved, as the opinion of this meeting, tbat
the primary cause of the present unhappy war, ex
isting between the United States of America and the
United States of the Republic of Mexico, was the
annexation of Texas to the former : and that the im
mediate occasion of hostilities between the two re
publics arose out ofthe order ofthe President ofthe
United States for the removal of the army under the
command of General Taylor, from its position at
Corpus Christi, to a point opposite to Matamoras, on
the east bank of the Rio Bravo, within territory
claimed by both republics, but then under the juris
diction of that of Mexico, and inhabited by its citi
zens ; and that the order of the President for the re
moval of the army to that point was improvident and
unconstitutional, it being without the concurrence of
Congress, or even any consultation with it, although
it was in session : but that Congress having, by sub
sequent acts, recognized the war thus brought into
existence, without its previous authority or consent,
the prosecution of it became thereby national.
" 2. Resolved, That in the absence of any formal
and public declaration by Congress ofthe objects for
which the war ought to be prosecuted, the President
of the United States, as chief magistrate, and as com
mander-in-chief of the army and navy ofthe United
States, is left to the guidance of his own judgment
to prosecute it for such purposes and objects as he
may deem the honor and interest ofthe nation tore-
quire. "3. Resolved, That by the constitution of the Uni
ted States, Congress, being invested with power to
declare war, and grant letters of marque and repri
sal, to make rules concerning captures on land and
water, to raise and support armies, to provide and
maintain a navy, and to make rules for the govern
ment of the land and naval forces, has the full and
complete war-making power of the United States ;
and, so possessing it, has a right to determine upon
the, motives, causes, and objects, of any war, when
it commences, or at any time during the progress of
its existence.
"4. Resolved, as the further opinion of this meet
ing, that it is the right and duty of Congress to de
clare by some authentic act, for what purposes and
objects the existing war ought to be further prose
cuted ; that it is the duty of the President in his offi
cial conduct to conform to such a declaration of Con
gress ; and that if, after such declaration, the Presi
dent should decline or refuse to endeavor, by all the
means, civil, diplomatic, and military, in his power,
to execute the announced will of Congress, and, in.
defiance of its authority, should continue to prose
cute the war for purposes and objects other than
those declared by that body, it would become the
right and duty of Congress to adopt the most effica
cious measures to arrest the further progress of the
308
Life of Henry Clay.
war, taking care to make ample provision for the
honor, the safety and security of our armies in Mex
ico, in every contingency. And, if Mexico should
decline or refuse to conclude a treaty with us, stip
ulating for the purposes and objects so declared by
Congress, it would be the duty of the government
to prosecute the war, with the utmost vigor, until
they were attained by^, treaty of peace.
5. "Resolved, That we view with serious alarm,
and are utterly opposed to any purpose of annex
ing Mexico to the United SLates, in any mode, and
especially by conquest ; that we believe the two
nations could not be happily governed by one com
mon authority, owing to their great difference of
race, law, language and religion, and the vast ex
tent of their respective territories, and large amount
of their respective populations: that such a union,
against the consent of the exasperated Mexican
people, could only be effected and preserved by
large standing armies, and the constant application
of military force ; in other words, by despotic sway,
exercised over the Mexican people in the first in
stance, but which there would be just cause to ap
prehend, might in process of time be extended over
the people of the United States. That we depre
cate, therefore, such a union, as wholly incompati
ble with the genius of our government, and with
the character of free and liberal institutions; and
we anxiously hope that each nation may be left in
the undisturbed possession of its own laws. language,
cherished religion and territory, to pursue its own hap
piness according to what it may deem best for itself.
" 6. Resolved, That considering the series of
splendid and brilliant victories achieved by our
brave armies and their gallant commanders, during
the war with Mexico, unattended by a single re
verse, the United States without any danger of their
honor suffering the slightest tarnish, can practise
the virtues of moderation and magnanimity toward
their discomfited foe. We have no desire for the
dismemberment of the United States of the republic
of Mexico, but wish only a just and proper fixation
of the limits of Texas.
" 7. Resolved, That we do positively and em
phatically disclaim .and disavow any wish or desire,
on our part, to acquire any foreign territory what
ever, for the purpose of propagating slavery, or of
introducing slaves from the United States, into such
foreign territory.
" 8. Resolved, That we invite our fellow-citizens
of the United States, who are anxious for the res
toration of the blessings of peace, or if the existing
war shall continue to be prosecuted, are desirous
that its purposes and objects shall be defined and
known, who are anxious to avert present and future
perils and dangers, with which it may be fraught,
and who are also anxious to produce contentment
and satisfaction at home, and to elevate the national
character abroad, to assemble together in their re
spective communities and to express their views,
feelings and opinions."
The speech was often interrupted by bursts of ap
plause; and both at its commencement and its close
Mr. Clay was heartily cheered. The promulgation
of its sentiments has been attended with the happi
est effects, not only at home in shaping public opin-
iod, but in Mexico in influencing her public men in
the adoption of temperate and pacific counsels. " It
is hardly possible," wrote one of the journalists of the
day, " to over-estimate the importance of this step."
From the intelligent and the right-thinking through
out the country a response arose in favor of the sen
timents thus boldly announced. The necessity for
such a " voice potential" at the critical time fs well
told in the language of the address of the immense
meeting which convened at the Tabernacle in New-
York, the 20th of December, 1847, to respond to the
Lexington resolutions :
" The spirit now dominant in the national coun
cils, and rampant throughout the land, not only mocks
at gray hairs and tramples on the lessons of experi
ence, but regards with impatience and ill-disguised
contempt every appeal to considerations of morality,
philanthropy, or religion, in regard to the prosecu
tion or termination of the war. The fierce bay of
the bloodhound on the warm track ofhis prey drowns
the calm voice of reason and the soft pleadings of
humanity. Who that realizes the moral accounta
bility of nations can doubt that we have fallen upon
evil days ?
" In this crisis a voice from the west reaches the
ear and fixes the regard of the American people.
A venerable patriot, illustrious by forty years of emi
nent service in the national councils, emerges from
his honored seclusion to address words of wise ad
monition to his fellow- citizens. That voice, which
never counselled aught to dishonor or injure this
Union, is lifted up, probably for the last time, in ex
posure of the specious pretexts on which this war
was commenced, in reprehension of its character and
objects, and in remonstrance against its further pros
ecution. At the sound of that impressive voice, the
scales of delusion fall from thousands of flashing eyes,
the false glitter ofthe conqueror's glory vanishes, re
vealing the hideous lineaments of Carnage ; and the
stern question which stung the first murderer is
brought home essentially to every breast which en
folds a conscience : 'Where is thy brother?' — To-
what end do we despoil and slay our fellow-men
guilty of being born two thousand miles southwest
of us? By what Divine law are we authorized
thus to deface and destroy the image of God ?
" The great statesman of the west was too well
acquainted with human nature, and had too much
experience of its worst developments, to hope that
such an appeal as he has made to the nation's moral
sense would not be resented and resisted. He knew
that exposed Depravity would pour out its vials of
wrath on his devoted head ; that fell Rapacity would
neglect for a moment its prey to tear him with its
fangs ; and that Malice would stimulate Calumny to
hunt and defame him through the length and breadth
of the land. Calmly he bared his breast to the storm ;
unflinchingly he contemplates its fiercest rage, its
most dismal howlings. Shielded in the panoply of
an approving conscience and of the commendation
of the wise and good throughout the world, he prof
fers no resistance, requires no sympathy, solicits no
aid. For himself he desires nothing ; for his imper
iled country he demands the services and the sacri
fices of all her upright and patriotic sons.
"And his appeal has not been fruitless. ri On every
side the people, aroused as by a trumpet-blast, are
awaking to a consciousness of their duty. No longer
sunk in apathy because they can perceive no mode
in which exertion can avail, they realize at last that
every honorable means should be employed to arrest
the work of carnage ; and they feel that, in view of
the brilliant achievements of our armies and the utter
prostration of their foes, the honor of our country can
best be preserved and exalted by the exercise of
magnanimity toward the vanquished. The means
of terminating the war have been clearly pointed out
by him who is emphatically first in the affections
and in the confidence ofthe American people, HEN
RY Clay ; and it needs but that their representatives
Mr. Clay in Washington— His Address before ihe American Colonizati tlemen, if I am not mistaken, there conies yearly
| into the single port of New-York an immigration
110
Life of Henry Clay.
amounting almost to the annual increase ofthe pop
ulation in that city, and perhaps exceeding the
annual-increase of all the free people of color in the
United States. And this is done voluntarily, upon
the great motives of all human action. Thus, the
German and Irish immigrants flock to our shores an
nually, with no inconsiderable aid on the part of
their governments and with no individual aid, in num
bers equal perhaps to the annual increase of all the
Africans in the United States, bond and free. These
all come to our country in obedience to one of the
laws of our nature — in pursuance of the great con
trolling principle of human action, and which enters
into all great enterprises : they come here to better
their condition ; and I hope they will better their
condition. And so it would be with all our free
people of color. Were they to be transported from
the United States to Africa, would not their condi
tion be physically, morally, socially, and politically,
better and happier than anything which they could
attain to or hope for here. It is in vain to attempt to
eradicate the feeling which keeps asunder these two
classes. It is in vain for the office of Philosophy or
Humanity to attempt what is so utterly impractica
ble as joining together those whom God himself, by
the difference of color and various other distinctions,
perhaps, has declared ought to be separate. [Cheers.]
Then, to send them to Africa — not by violence, not
by coercion, not against their will, but with their
own full consent — let me say to Abolitionists and to
those on the other extreme — to all men — why should
not the free colored race residing among us have
the option to go to Africa or remain in the United
States'!" Mr. Clay compared the growth of the colony of ¦
Liberia with that of Jamestown and Plymouth. The
ravages of disease had been much less in the in
stance ofthe former. Its growth, too, had been en
couraging in comparison. It should be in this case
as in all other settlements in new countries. There
should be forerunners — pioneers — who will prepare
the way, raise subsistence, build houses, make places
of comfort and convenience for those who are to fol
low them ; otherwise they may be thrown upon the
shores of the continent of Africa to suffer. Better to
proceed according to the laws of Nature herself —
slowly, surely, and so, carefully measuring every
step that we take.
Mr. Clay related a case illustrative of the increased
rigor of the laws against the black population in
some States of the south, so that emancipation is
prohibited. " In the State of Alabama, a respecta
ble and kind gentleman, whom I never saw in my
life, devised to me in his will some twenty-five or
thirty slaves, without any intimation as to the cause
or motive of the bequest. I was surprised at this,
but had some reason to believe, in consequence of
my connexion with this society, that the generous
devisor had confidence in me, and that I would send
them to Liberia. Accordingly I took measures to
accomplish the object of their colonization, and have
boen happy to learn since I came to this city that
twenty-three of them have actually embarked at the
port of New-Orleans for that colony, and the remain
der will follow as soon as they are ready. Now,
what would have been the condition of these poor
creatures but for the existence of the Colonization
Society ? They could not have been freed in Ala
bama, for the laws of that State prohibit emancipa
tion — in consequence, no doubt, of the imprudent
agitation of this subject at the north. I had to take
them to New-Orleans as my slaves, and they wore
regarded as my slaves until they got out of the juris
diction of the United States."
Here, then, appears the object ofthe Colonization
Society — that of affording individuals, as well as
States who may have the control of free people of
color and slaves which they may wish to emanci
pate, the opportunity of gratifying their wishes, by
offering them a transportation to the shores of Africa.
The Abolitionists, by their opposition to colonization,
have but riveted more firmly the chains of slavery.
" I would now implore all parties." said Mr. Clay
in conclusion — " I would beseech the Abolitionists,
and I would beseech all those who hold the doctrines
ofthe opposite extreme, insisting upon the institution
of slavery— I would beseech all men to look calmly
and dispassionately at this great project which com
mends itself to their friendly consideration— I would
beseech them to discard their prejudices, and ask
them in the name of that God under whose smiling
providence I verily believe this society has thus far
been conducted and will in future continue, to look
and contemplate for a moment this experiment of
twenty-five years' continuance, which, without pow
er, without revenue, without any aid except what
has been furnished by the charity of men, has carried
on a war — not an aggressive, but a defensive war —
and transported to Africa between five and six thou
sand emigrants from the United States. I would
ask you to look at the territory which we have ac
quired : three hundred and twenty miles of coast on
the west of Africa, and in every port of which the
slave-trade has been suppressed !"
Then there were the great objects of civilization —
the benefits of the arts to be extended to the native
Africans — the propagation of Christianity. " On,
then, gentlemen— go on," said Mr. Clay — "in the
name of the cause. I shall soon leave you and this
theatre of action for ever ; but I trust that the spirit
which led to the formation of Ibis society will sur
vive me, and that, in other hands and under other
auspices, this Colonization Society of ours may be
still found asserting its sufficiency, in co-operation
with the republic of Liberia, to transport to that re
gion every free person of color who may be disposed
to go there, until, I trust, the separation of the two
races Bhall be at last completed, and other genera
tions shall have sprung up to invoke — as in closing
I now do — upon the noble cause of colonization the
blessings of that God whoso smile, I think, has been
hitherto extended to it."
Mr. Clay sat down amid peals of applause and
the hearty approbation of his audieuce, if we may
except a few ultraists of both sides. Indeed, as Mr.
Clay always takes the rational, the practicable, the
just, and the conservative view of affairs, ultraism
of all kinds is generally found ranged among his op
ponents. The speech before the Colonization Society wa»
followed, on the 11th of February, 1848, by his ap
pearance in the Supreme Court room as one of the
counsel in the case of William Houston and others
versus the Cily Bank of New-Orleans. " At an early
hour," says a correspondent, " the avenues leading
to the Capitol were thronged with crowds of the-
Mr. Clay's Appearance before ihe Supreme Court — He visits the White-House.
Ill
aged and young, the beautiful and gay, all anxious
to hear — perhaps for the last time — the voice of the
sage of Ashland. On no former occasion was the
Supreme Court so densely packed — every inch of
space was occupied, even to the lobbies leading to
the Senate. Mr. Clay rose a few minutes after
eleven o'clock, the hour at which the court is organ
ized. It has been often said, and truly, that he never
was and never could be reported successfully. His
magic manner, the captivating tones of his voice, and
a natural grace, singular in its influence and pecu
liarly his own, can never be transferred to paper.
To realize their charms, he must be seen and heard.
His exordium was in every way becoming and ap
propriate. He referred with feeling to the first time
on which he appeared before that tribunal — not one
of those who then occupied seats on the bench re
mained. But it was a grateful reflection, that amid
all the political shocks to which the country had
been subjected, the Supreme Court had maintained
its elevated name, its dignity, and its purity, un
touched and unsuspected. He then proceeded to
the argument of the cause. By the common consent
of the court and the immense and enlightened au
dience, comprising some of the foremost minds of
the nation, Mr. Clay exhibited as much vigor of in
tellect, clearness of elucidation, power of logic, and
legal analysis and research, as he ever did in his
palmiest days. Much was expected from him, but
he more than realized every expectation. It was
no display of oratorical powers, but a sound and
strict argument, adapted to the cause and to the
court." " In his exordium," eays another of his hearers,
" we discern a subjective beauty, and a fitness to the
peculiarity of the occasion, which rendered it emi
nently impressive. Involving, as it did, affecting
recollections o f the past, as contrasted with the pres
ent, it had in it a quality of tenderness, rendered
more intense by the mellow tones of that wonderful
and variable voice which Mr. Clay possesses, and
which, however firm for a septuagenarian, is begin
ning to be touched with the tremulousness of age.
The fact to which he alluded was, that he was now
before an entire new bench of Judges, as compared
with that in whose presence he years ago made bis
first legal argument. A striking fact ! reminding the
aged and venerable advocate of his own decline,
and the Judges of their hastening destiny."
Changing the tone of his remarks. Mr. Clay re
plied to the gentleman, the Hon. John Sergeant,
of Philadelphia, who had complained of the speed
which had characterized the proceedings of counsel
for the plaintiffs. Mr. Clay advocated the impor
tance of making honorable haste in all legal matters,
and, in this connexion, described the following
ecene :
"I happened, some years ago, in the performance
of a public service, to be abroad in England, and
1 occasionally attended both houses of Parliament,
and the courts in Westminster hall. Sir, if in con
templating those great assemblies, and those learned
tribunals, I had anything to regret, upon a com
parison between them and our own, of what I have
witnessed when in that country, it was not that
there was less eloquence or less ability displayed,
either in Parliament, when great and momentous
subjects were brought before that body, but, that
there was a greater economy of time. The speak
ers there would begin with their subject, and would
end when the subject was exhausted. But, sir,,
when I went into either apartment of Westminster
hall, where I attended, as I did once or twice, the
court sitting in bank, I was there impressed still
more with the economy of the despatch of busi
ness. " I entered the court-room, I remember, very early
one morning. Their lordships, the judges, were
clothed with the gowns like your honors, but tbat
was the only analogy between your honors and
them, for they wore, also, their flowing wigs, falling
upon their shoulders. While there, there were no
sparkling eyes, no bewitching smiles, no female
forms ; the whole room — and I think, may it please
your honors, it was not larger than the half of this —
contained only the judges and officers of the court;
and a host of gentlemen of the legal profession.
Upon the first seats the elder members of the bar,
the sergeants at law; and upon the seats behind,
the other members of the bar, all clothed in black
gowns. Well, after the tip staff had pronounced
the introductory ' God save the king,' his lordship
asked the oldest sergeant, ' Have you any motion to-
make V — ' Yes, please your lordship ; I have a
case in which I wish to establish this point,' naming.
the point. 'Why,' said his lordship, 'you cannot
maintain that.' — 'But,' said the sergeant. "I only
wish to quote a few authorities.' — ' It is of no use,'
said his lordship, turning to his notes, ' the proposi
tion cannot bo maintained ;' and the same observa
tion was echoed along the line of judges, and the
case was dismissed in less time than it takes me to
describe the incident."
Mr. Clay insisted upon the importance of speed in
legal matters, and created a laugh, even among the
honorable judges, by speaking of a certain tradition
illustrating the length of speeches which are said to
have been made by Philadelphia lawyers. He did
not mean to convey the idea that the lawyers ofthe
brotherly city were not learned and highly honora
ble men, for be remembered with the greatest
respect the Dallases, the Lewises, and the Ingersolls
of that city ; but he did mean to say tbat they had
a passion for long speeches. With regard to the
delays which occurred in our courts of justice, he
thought the lawyers themselves were generally at
fault, though it was sometimes the case that the
judges were not quite as prompt as they might be.
He spoke of the one-hour rule which prevailed in
another chamber of the Capitol, and suggested that
the present court might gather therefrom a salutary
lesson. At this stage of his remarks, Mr. Clay entered
upon a statement of the case under consideration ;
and his argument is represented to have been
*' brilliant in the extreme, sound, graphic, clear, and
persuasive ; while his voice and manners were more
like those of a lawyer in the early prime of life than
of a patriarch in his profession."
During his sojourn in Washington, Mr. Clay
dined on one occasion with Mr. Polk. "It is like
ly," writes a correspondent, *' you have heard ofhis
remark to Mrs. Polk. He observed with infinite
grace, that he had never heard of anybody who com
plained in the least of her administration, though he
had occasionally heard some complaint of her hus
band's. What a primrose path is Mr. Clay's!
Clothe him never with ' saddest cypress.' Let the
almond and myrtle wave over his grave !"
The fourth Monday in May, and the 7th of Jane,
having been fixed upon by the administration party
and the whigs respectively for their conventions for
the nomination of presidential candidates, meetings
112
Life of Henry Clay.
'began to be held throughout the country, at which
strong preferences for Mr. Clay were enthusiastically
¦expressed. Many good Whigs thought it more ex
pedient to put up General Taylor; and discussions,
which the future only could decide were entered
upon, generally with candor and in a good spirit.
New York proclaimed herself for Clay in u. mass
meeting at Castle Garden, believed to be not less
than ten thousand strong. "But its numbers,'' said
the Tribune, " vast as they were, were but a single
-element of this immense meeting. In character, in
telligence, order, and dignity, we doubt whether an
assemblage more deserving of respect was ever
seen. Although the deep and ardent enthusiasm
for Clay would frequently burst out in cheers like
thunder-peals, especially at every allusion to our
great leader's name, yet no word (tbat we heard)
was uttered or sentiment evinced disrespectful to
his rivals, and when Mr. White spoke of General
Taylor as a gallant and able commander, the expres
sion was warmly responded to, despite the unanimous
feeling that Henry Clay was the man for president.
Of course, when Mr. Clay's name first occurred in
Ihe address," there were such demonstrations of de
light as only failed to bring down the roof above us,
and the allusion to his Lexington speech was re
ceived with hardly less enthusiasm. The resolution
pledging the Whigs of New York to abide and sus
tain the choice of the Whig national convention
was most heartily responded to. And when Mr.
Selden appealed to all present, and especially to the
reporters, to say whether they ever saw a larger,
more unanimous, more enthusiastic meeting, he call
ed attention to a truth which not even the most
inveterate adversary could venture to gainsay."
We wish we could give at length the proceed
ings of this animated meeting. But our limits forbid.
Henry Grinnell, Esq., presided, and N. B. Blunt,
Esq., presented the address and resolutions. From
the former, we make the following fragmentary
quotations :
" Mexico lies bleeding and prostrate at our feet.
Our national honor, if ever assailed, has been fully
vindicated. Vengeance has been sated with blood
and carnage. We can at least afford to be mag
nanimous. For what purpose — to what end — is tho
war to be further prosecuted ? If for conquest :
we deny the right to continue the war for such a
purpose. If for indemnity : it has already been
tendered. The truth is, stripped of all false coloring,
the war has assumed a new and distinct form.
Territory — the extension of the so-called ' area of
freedom,' — a rapacious spirit of plunder — the spolia
tion of a weak and fallen enemy — constitute the sole
grounds for a further coiitinuatice of the conflict. It
can and must be terminated. Human blood mast
cease to flow. The cause of humanity, the honor
ofthe country, the welfare ofthe people, justice and
religion, imperatively demand that the contest should
end. * *' * First and foremost among the many
true patriots and statesmen who have raised their
voices and interposed their exertions to stem this
flood of injustice and to restore the current of public
opinion to its wonted channel, stands the name of
Henry Clay, of Kentucky. He needs no eulogium
at our hands — his deeds arc written in the chronicles
of his country's glory. Pre eminent as he has been
iu the cabinet, iu the halls of legislation, and the
field of diplomacy — the moral courage, the self-de
votion, and the calm sagacity, displayed \n his mem
orable speech at Lexington, form the crowning act
in a life well spent in the service of his country, and
designate him as the man" upon whose counsels and
wisdom all may rely. "We, therefore, the Whigs of
New York, do hereby nominate and do earnestly
recommend to the Whiga ofthe Union, Henry Clay,
as our candidate for president of the united
States." The Hon. .Joseph L. White, the Hon. Dudley
Selden, and Horace Greeley, Esq., addressed the
meeting in eloquent and appropriate terms. " I be
lieve," said Mr. Greeley, "that in the last election
we could not have been beaten but for the unfor:
tunate panic which broke out among our fellow-
citizens of foreign birth, who feared that if the Whigs
should succeed they would be disfranchised, and
even forbidden to live on this soil. The election of
James K. Polk was thus effected by fair votes and
foul. Now, fellow -citizens, one month before or af
ter the election, Mr. Polk could not have been elected,
and he or somebody not unlike him will be the can
didate opposed to us again. Under these circum
stances Mr. Clay is the proper exponent of our
principles and candidate of our party; he is the
man who would have prevented the annexation of
Texas and the war with Mexico; he is the man
who was defrauded out of his election before. Now
let the people have an opportunity to retrieve their
error; and I believe they will rush to his standard
with unexampled enthusiasm. Let the Whig ban
ner float with the name of our tried and loved leader
inscribed upon it, and I am confident that it will be
borne onward to a signal and beneficent triumph."
A letter from the Hon. John M. Botts of Virginia.
addressed to the editor of the Richmond Whig,
was read at this meeting and published with the
proceedings. The following extracts, illustrating
as they do the conflict in sentiment among whigs
previous to the election of 1848, will be read with
interest in connexion with the political history of
Mr. Clay :
"If General Taylor is a '?k? party candidate,'
which is the only jjosition he has yet assumed, then
I am not of his party, for I am a party man, and that
party is the Whig party. I have nothing to ask, and
I want nothing, of Mr. Clay or General Taylor, or
any other executive, and I will not do, what I would
regard as a surrender of my principles, to make
any man president ; and, therefore, I cannot ad
vocate the nomination of a gentleman who has never
filled a political position, who comes fresh from the
tented field, heralded only by his military achieve
ments, and whose political views are carefully con
cealed as well from his friends as his opponents.
" Let me ask one question : if General Taylor is
elected as a 'no party' candidate, will he prove a
* no party' president ? If he should, then he will
not suit me or any other Whig. If not, would be
not disappoint those who elected him ? If a majori
ty of the people are so dissatisfied with the princi
ples and measures of both the great parties of this
country as to elect a president belonging to neither,
could he select a Whig cabinet and adopt Whig
measures without a betrayal ofthe trust confided to
him by those who elected him 1 — or, in other words,
if he is elected upon the ground that he will not
avow himself a Whig and commit himself to Whig
policy, would he not be as fully justified in selecting
a Loeo-Foco as a Whig cabinet — and in adopting
Loco-Foco as Whig policy ?
" I have reason to believe Mr. Clay has lost no
strength in those states that he carried in 1844, and
that he is greatly strengthened in many that he then
lost — especially in New York, which our friends
assure us is beyond the possibility of a doubt — to say
nothing of New Hampshire (of which many of our
friends are confident}, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana,
Great Meeting at Castle Garden— Death of Mr. Adams— Mr. Clay in Philadelphia. 113
together with Pennsylvania, which may be carried
by selecting a suitable man to place on his ticket —
say either Scott or Clayton. With these views, I
shall do as I believe my constituents would do, not
give him up for any man of doubtful principles
and of more doubtful success.
" When I say I feel confident that Mr. Clay can
be elected, I know I shall be answered — ¦' so you
thought in '44/ True, I did — so did we all ; but
that is no reason we should be deceived again — it
is, on the contrary, the best reason why we should
not be. I am only rendered the more cautious in
my calculations by that unexpected and disastrous
defeat. 11 He will not only not have the catholic excite
ment, the foreign influence, the Native American
party, the annexation of Texas, Sec, Sec, to op
erate against him, but they will all work in his
favor, and most of all, this wicked' and horrible war,
and the ruinous condition of the country, which will
be plainly spread before every man's eyes before the
eleotion comes on, will swell his triumph, in my be
lief, beyond all calculation that his most sanguine
friends have yet made — and if the Whig party are
sincere in their expression of preference for him,
my advice to them is, to hold on to him as their only
sheet-anchor, for the conservative principles of
Whiggery. " At all events, let ns await the action of a Na
tional Convention. It will be time enough for us
who prefer him, to give up Mr. Clay, when the Whigs
of the Nation, in grand council assembled, shall
recommend General Taylor to us as a proper and
more available candidate."
What gave added interest to the great Castle
Garden meeting was the fact that it was held on the
anniversary of the day when the news ofthe treaty
of Ghent was received at New York. Thirty-three
years before the British sloop-of-war Bramble had
come into the bay, and "just as twilight was
¦deepening into darkness, a pilot-boat came up to
Whitehall announcing her arrival with the, tidings
that Peace had been made at Ghent by Henry
<3lay and his associates in that memorable com
mission." On Monday, the 22d of February, at half-past one
o'olock, the venerable John CLuincy Adams, then in
his eighty-first year, while in his seat in the House
of Representatives, was stricken down by paralysis,
and borne to the Speaker's room in the Capitol. It
had been the earnest wish of bis heart lo die like
Chatham in the midst of his labors, and that wish
was accomplished literally. " This is the last of
earth — I am content !" was the last memorable sen
tence that he uttered. The expiring statesman was
placed on a cot-bed, with his head toward the west..
In this condition, breathing calmly, except at inter
vals, and manifestiag no signs of pain, he lingered,
for the most part insensible, for fifty-four hours.
While he lay in this state Mr. Clay visited him. and
for some minutes held the hand of his speechless and
unconscious friend in silent grief. Look at that
spectacle, ye who still attach any credit to the vile
slander against those two noblest Americans, that
there was a huckstering bargain between them for
the sale of the Presidency ! Clay takes the band
¦ofthe dying Adams— of the mighty man and the an
cient, the eloquent counsellor, the incorruptible pa
triot, the laborious and brave-hearted statesman, the
truly honest man ! Who can doubt, that could he
have spoken, the " old man eloquent" would have
mid of those charges against Mr. Clay, as he said of
them in 1843 : " As I expect shortly to appear be
fore my God to answer for the conduct of my whole
life, should those charges have found their way to
the throne of eternal justice, I will, in the presence
of Omnipotence, pronounce them false !"*
The physician had told Mr. Clay that Mr. Adams
might linger for a week or more. Mr. Clay had pro
fessional business in Philadelphia, which claimed his
early attention. His friends, too, had made arrange
ments for his reception. Thousands, who had been
expecting him, would be awaiting him on his way.
Under these circumstances he did not feel justified
in disappointing public expectation. Two hours af
ter his departure from Washington, Mr. Adams died ;
but it was not till he was on his journey from Balti
more to Philadelphia that Mr. Clay received the sad
intelligence. He arrived at Baltimore the evening of the 24th,
and was received at the railroad-depot by an im
mense crowd. Arrived at the residence ofhis friend
Christopher Hughes, the crowd, which had followed
on, congregated in front of the dwelling, and, amid
constant and loud cheers, called for Mr. Clay to make
his appearance. After a short delay an upper win
dow was thrown open, and Mr. Clay made his ap
pearance, greeted by tremendous cheering. When
silence was with difficulty restored, he said —
" Gentlemen, I want to know what you are ma
king all this noise about."
" We wanted to see you," and loud cheers, was
the response.
A voice in the crowd. — " You are that same old
coon yet !"
Mr. Clay. — " Exactly : I am that same old coon."
Loud cheers again, and laughter.
Mr. Clay. — " Gentlemen, now I will make a com
promise with you : if you will let me alone, I will
let you alone !"
He here withdrew amid the most vociferous cheer
ing, the window was closed, and the crowd with
drew. Early the next morning Mr. Clay started for Phil
adelphia, where his reception was again as cordial
and brilliant as the most extensive popular enthusi
asm could make it. He here became the guest of
the Mayor, Mr. Swift. " You are the most unrea
sonable set of people I ever met !" said Mr. Clay to
the immense concourse which gathered in front of
the house in the hope of getting a speech from him.
" You want something to come out of my mouth, and
I want to put something into it. [Laughter..] Will
you agree with me on one point — that is, to go home
and get your suppers, and let me get my dinner?"
[Cheers and laughter.] The crowd then dispersed,
after giving " three times three" for Henry Clay !
At a public reception meeting the ensuing Satur
day at Independence Hall, Mr. Clay remarked that,
" but for the loss that the country has just sustained
in the decease of Mr. Adams, this would have been
one of the happiest occasions of his life. As it was,
the loss of the purest of patriots and best of men had
caused a sensation of grief to pervade the whole
country ; and how much greater than those of others
must be the feelings of one who had been closely
connected with him, in both public and private life
-—who had ever found him, at all times and under all
circumstances, the pure and elevated patriot — the
tried, the faithful friend, the wise and good man !
* Quoted on page 40.
Life of Henry Clay.
The loss was heavy to all, but to none more so than
the speaker. His heart was so surcharged with the
emotions natural to the loss, that he could make no
set speech ; yet he could not avoid referring to the
sad event."
Mr. Clay's visit to Philadelphia was connected
with professional business in the settlement of a
large estate, of which he was left the executor by a
former resident of tbat city, who died some years be
fore in Indiana. But being so near New- York, he
could not well decline the pressing and unanimous
invitation of her Common Council to pay them a visit
as the city's guest. He left for New- York the 7th
of March, encountering there and everywhere the
same hearty reception which he had before so often
experienced. The following account of Mr. Clay's reception by
the Corporation of New- York, and ofhis visit in the
city, was originally published in " The New- York
Daily Tribune," from which it is here taken, with
slight alterations. The reception took place on
Tuesday, March 7, 1848. The Tribune says:
A more brilliant day for the ceremonies attendant
upon the visit of Henry Clay to our city could not
have been desired. The air was clear and elastic,
the skies bright, and the waters of the bay as smooth
as in summer. Nature seemed to have decked her
self in holyday attire to welcome the illustrious
statesman to the commercial metropolis of the Union.
The splendid and spacious steamer " C. Vander-
bilt" had been kindly placed at the disposal of the
Common Council by Captain Vanderbilt for the oc
casion. She had been newly painted and refitted
for the season just commencing, and, by her beauty
and the convenience of her arrangements, was well
adapted for the service to which she was now ap
propriated. The committee having in charge the duty of meet
ing Mr. Clay at Amboy and conducting him to the
city, had contemplated being accompanied by some
two hundred invited guests ; but so great was the
desire to see the city's illustrious visiter, that at least
six hundred persons obtained tickets, and only the
impossibility of making room for a larger number pre
vented a much more crowded attendance. Among
those present were the members of the Common
Council and many eminent citizens in both public
and private life. All seemed filled with that enthu
siastic attachment to Mr. Clay which he, of all men,
has the power of calling forth and securing. As the
"Vanderbilt" put off, she was loudly cheered by the
multitude assembled on the wharf, and the passen
gers of one or two boats that she met in the passage
down the bay manifested the same sympathy in the
purpose of the excursion.
The boat arrived at Amboy at about half-past
eleven o'clock, and, as soon as the cars arrived, the
committee proceeded on shore to receive Mr. Clay,
with the Philadelphia delegation, and escort him on
hoard. When he appeared, the air was rent with
shouts, which were repeated as he passed amid the
crowd, quietly bowing his response to the warm ex
pressions of those around him. He appeared in ex
cellent health, and bore himself erect with all the
vigor of a young man. His form has lost little of its
apparent strength, and his features retain the same
manly and noble graciousness which so truly express
the character ofthe man. He was conducted to the
upper saloon of the "Vanderbilt," where Morton,
M'Michael, Esq., on behalf of the Philadelphia com
mittee, resigned him into the care of our city coun
cil in the following address :
" Mr. President : The committee which speaks
through me have come hither in the behalf of the
people of Philadelphia, to transfer to your care the
illustrious citizen who for some days past has been
our honored guest. He came among us in no pub
lic capacity and on no public mission, not expecting
any ofthe gratifications and enjoyments which there
may be in loud and earnest expressions of the gen
eral regard. He came, rather anxious to avoid all
ceremony and parade, and desiring only to meet bis
old familiar friends in the old familiar way. In this
desire, it is scarely necessary for me to say, it was
impossible that he should be gratified. All hearts
spontaneously rebelled against such a purpose. The
whole people of Philadelphia, animated by one com
mon impulse of affection, poured forth into the streets,
thronged the roofs and windows of the houses, till
they presented such a spectacle as was never seen
before :
1 You would have thought the very windows spoke-
So many greedy looks of young and old
Darted through casements then* desiring eyes
Upon his visage : and that all the walls,
Painted with imagery, had said aloud,
" Jesu preserve thee— welcome Henry Clay !"'
" So it was the next day, so it was all the days
that he was among us. So constant, so tireless, so
enthusiastic, were the well-meant kindnesses of our
people, that I for one was afraid that the object of
them would be totally overwhelmed and exhausted.
Those overflowing marks of love were such, indeed,
as few but Henry Clay could have elicited; nay,
they were such as hardly any, save himself, could
have endured. They came, too, from deeper feel
ings than party motives : they sprang from those
beautiful instincts of our spiritual nature which
prompt admiration for whatever is truly great, and
noble, and exalted, in man ! They showed that
men love and reverence those who lift themselves
above the meanness and narrowness to which less
gifted and elevated natures are prone, and showed
that in so doing all must deeply and truly love and
reverence Henry Clay. Yes, reverence him as one
whose tongue was never tainted with falsehood, nor
his soul stained with shame !
" Nor was it the members of his own party alone
who thus arose to do him honor, but the members of
all parties. All looked to him — all turned to him —
all were irresistibly drawn to him, as to one before
whom Nature herself could stand up and say to all
the world, ' This is a man 1'
" We should feel a deep pain-iu thus separating
from one we so love ; but under a view of the cor
dial invitation which you have extended to him, and
the general desire of all your citizens to have him
among you, we feel that you are' entitled to some
portion of that pleasure which his presence every
where bestows. We resign him to you in full con
fidence that you will welcome him as no man could
be welcomed but Henry Clay !"
Mr. M'Michael's speech was interrupted by fre
quent applause, and was warmly responded to at
the close.
When silence was restored, Hon. Morris Frank
lin, President of the Board of Aldermen, turned to
Mr. Clay and addressed him as follows :
"" On behalf of the Common Council of our City
and of the assembled thousands, who are now
awaiting your arrival in anxious expectation, I am
the honored instrument of tendering you a sincere
and cordial welcome to their hospitality, and- to as
sure you of a warm and heartfelt reception ia the
Alderman Franklin's Address to Mr. Clay — Mr. Clay's Reply,
115
commercial metropolis of our country. For in the
anticipation of this, your visit, every sectional preju
dice has been forgotten, and we are united as the
heart' of one man in extending the right hand of
fellowship to so distinguished and illustrious a
stranger. You have come among us, sir, not with
the gilded trappings of military splendor or the bugle
notes qf a victorious chieftain ; with no public patron
age with which to reward your followers, but mere
ly as a private citizen — yet wearing upon your
brow as proud a civic wreath as could be entwined
by the affections of the American people for one
of their noblest and most honored sons. It is there
fore, in the sincerity of our hearts, that we anticipate
with pleasure the opportunity which you have af
forded us of presenting to our constituents one
whom all will delight to honor, who in the enthu
siasm of their feelings will hail with pleasure that
hour when you shall have become their welcome
and their honored guest, and they shall have seen
the person and heard the voice of him who for
so many years has been associated in their recol
lections with the darkest and brightest days of our
country's history. For whether at foreign courts,
in the domestic cabinet, or in the halls of legislation,
your services will ever be appreciated by a gratefal
and confiding people, and when this age, with all
its partialities and prejudices, shall have passed
away, and the future historian shall sketch a faithful
picture of the past, your name will appear in bold
relief among its noblest and purest sons.
"We the more fully appreciate this visit, sir,
because we know that you have yielded to our in
vitation, not to gratify any ambition of your own,
or to build up or establish present or posthumous
fame, but to gratify the people of our own city, and
to respond to the wish unanimously expressed, that
once again they might be permitted to welcome as
their guest the statesman whom they honor and the
citizen whom they love. For had you consulted
only your own feelings, or the dictates of your own
judgment, you would have avoided the multitude
which you are about to encounter. Sir, we are an
enthusiastic people, and while we shall endeavor
to consult your wishes so as to render your visit
pleasant and agreeable, yet it would be too much
for us to promise or you to expect, that quiet and
repose which we know you desire and which three
score years and ten demand. As well might we
undertake to lull the raging tempest, and say to the
winds, ' be still !' as to control the excitement of our
people when the sage of Ashland treads upon their
soil and walks within their midst. Bat we can and
do commend you to Him who controls the destinies
of nations, to protect you as in the hollow of his
hand while absent from your home, and again
restore you to those domestic associations within
the family circle — alas, so recently reduced ! In
fetrospecting upon the past, or looking forward to
the future, you may realize the fact that however
situated, whether upon the classic shores of Greece
or among the republics of South America, whether
pleading the cause of dismembered Poland, or op
pressed and unhappy Ireland, the name of Henry
Clay will remain as a monument of devoted pa
triotism, from which we and our children may de
rive lessons of instruction worthy of the philan
thropist and the scholar, the statesman and the
man ! Again we welcome you on board this noble
steamer f the mayor will respond to it upon our
arrival, and all the people will join in one har
monious shout of ' Welcome ! welcome to our
homes !' "
When President Franklin had concluded, Mr.
Clay replied as follows :
" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Council of
New York : I thank you most heartily for this in
teresting occasion, and thank you, sir, for the senti
ments which you have done me the honor of ex-
; pressing, I wish that I could find lang-uage to
convey to you the feeling and the gratitude with
which the very cordial and flattering manner of this
reception is received. But the truth is, and I migut
as well own it, that if, I ever had any great talent
at public speaking, elocution or eloquence, it can
not now be exerted, and for two reasons : one is
tbat my heart is full, and the other that I am my
self the subject. And if ever I have exerted any
power of eloquence it has not been for myself but
for my country. [Loud applause.]
" You have correctly stated it, Mr. President,
that this visit was not in accordance with my own
wishes. When I left my own residence I was
anxious to avoid all public ceremony. Purely pri
vate and professional business brought me to Wash
ington and Philadelphia, whence I hoped to return
without any further manifestations on the part of my
fellow-citizens than the quiet expression of private
regard and of personal attachment. But I was met
by a different desire on the part of those whose
hearty wish I would not refuse, and I have found
it impossible to confine myself to the humble course
I had marked out. And when I recollected the
many obligations which 1 was under to your city,
the pleasure I had derived from former visits to it,
and the generous impulse which called me hither ;
when I heard that party spirit was all laid aside
and sectional differences suspended, and above all
when I was summoned by the authority ofthe pub
lic council, I felt constrained not to reject so warm
and courteous an invitation. The cold and cautious
suggestions of the head yielded to the natural im
pulse of the heart and I came.
"I hope, sir, to have frequent opportunities of
meeting with yourself and your associates during
my short visit in your city.
" But I cannot part with the committee who have
so kindly accompanied me from Philadelphia with
out some attempt at an expression of my thanks
and gratitude, not only for the friendly manifesta
tion which we have just heard from their chair
man, and for their discharge of the generous office
which is now concluded, but for all that it has been
my fortune and happiness to experience while in
that city. Sir, the orator and organ of that commit
tee has not too glowingly and eloquently depicted
the circumstances attendant upon my reception in
the city of brotherly love. I have several times
been there, and have received many tokens of
friendship, confidence, and fidelity, at the hands of
the people. But never was I 60' welcomed as on
this occasion. Never did I receive from any com
munity so many proofs of generous and touching
affection. It seemed indeed as if the whole city
had come forth to greet me — as if all the houses had
discharged themselves into the streets to make
toward the visiter every possible manifestation of
generous hospitality, esteem and regard. And this,
sir, was not from one party, but from all parties —
not from a single sex, but from both sexes — not
from persons of one age, but from all ages, and in
deed, if I may be allowed to say so, from persons of
all colors, that I saw during my stay in the city.
[Applause. J
" Yes, gentlemen, carry back my warmest thanks
to the whole population of your city ! Tell them-
that I feel intensely the countless proofs which they
have given me of their affection and esteem. Tell
them there is no single spot associated in my mind
with a friendship more true, cordial, and whole-soul
ed, than theirs ; tellthem that my sojourn of a few
days among them constitutes an epoch, yes, and
the brightest, most cheering, and most glorious epoch
in my life. Tell them that never, while my heart
retains the power, of feeling, shall I cease to be
deeply grateful for all their courtesy and kindness I
[Loud applause.]
"And now, Mr. President, though I cannot re
spond to your welcome in the terms of eloquence,
I can at least clasp your hand and assure you how
happy I am to be once more among my fellow-
516
Life of Henry Clay.
•citizens of New York, and to meet those who are
intrusted with the high duty of directing the des
tinies of so great and important a city."
During the delivery of Mr. Clay's speech, the
•saloon deck yielded to the weight of the crowd
and gave way some three inches, and the alarm
was given that it was breaking through. Many
persons, in consequence, retreated to the lower
deck. Mr. Clay, looking around as if to see what
.was about to happen, was assured by the captain
¦df the boat that there was no danger. " Well," said
he, "I like always to know the ground I stand on."
Through the whole trip he seemed in excellent
spirits, and many genial sallies from his lips were
received with loud satisfaction by those surround
ing him.
After he had concluded speaking there was a
-general rush to take him by the hand, but he obtain
ed silence by waving a splendid bouquet, the gift
doubtless of some fair Philadelphiah, and said, " Gen
tlemen, you know I am a good deal of a compromise
man. I have a compromise to propose to you, which
,is, that instead of your coming up to shake my hand,
I shall go around and shake yours." This was
unanimously agreed to, of course, and he descended
npon the main deck, exchanging salutations with
old friends or new ones by the way. Between High-
Constable Hays and himself a very playful meeting
took place; and to whatever quarter of the boat he
went, be was greeted with the same hearty cheers
which welcomed him on board at first. Finally,
after partaking of a lunch, he went upon the hurri
cane deck, whence, in the wheel-house, he had a
fair view of the scenery of the bay on the way up.
On arriving at the city, instead of landing at Castle
Garden as had been contemplated, the Vanderbilt
was obliged by the state of the tide to land at pier
No^2. From there Mr. Clay, accompanied by the
Coinmon Council, the Philadelphia delegation and
-iM. large number of citizens, marched through the
muddy streets to Castle Garden. The crowd in the
streets and on the Battery was immense, and so
•thick that it was difficult for the police to make way
-for the procession to move. As Mr. Clay passed
along he was greeted by such cheers as only the
warm enthusiasm of spontaneous hearts can produce.
On entering Castle Garden an impressive specta
cle presented itself. The whole of that vast area
was filled with people waiting with impatience for
his arrival. As soon as he entered he was greeted
by deafening cheers, which were repeated until it
seemed as if the people would not have done with
these proofs of their affection for their distinguished
visiter. At last silence was restored, when Presi
dent Franklin spoke as follows to the Mayor :
" Your Honor : I have pleasure in behalf of the
committee of the Common Council, to commit to
yont charge, together with tbat of this vast assem
blage of our fellow-citizens, the body of Henry Clay
4)f Kentucky."
After, the cheering had again subsided his honor
ihe Mayor arose and spoke in these terms :
" Mr. Clay : The pleasing duty has been assign
ed to me as the representative ofthe constituted au
thorities of the City of New York, to tender to you
its hospitalities — to extend to you a cordial welcome.
" It is not necessary for me — indeed, sir, it would
.saot become me on an occasion like the present — to
advert to your many and valued public services.
The whole country gratefully acknowledge the zeal,
the devotion with which a whole life has been passed
in upholding her interests— in defending her honor
— in augmenting her prosperity — and we, sir,citizens
of the great commercial Metropolis of this western
World, rejoice that we are permitted to testify to you
personally our appreciation of the worth, the talents,
the statesmanship, and the pure patriotism, which
have combined to surround with a halo of imperish
able glory the name of Henry Clay.
" Our welcome, sir, is not mere lip service, but
from the abundance ofthe heart the mouth speaks.
" We receive you, sir, as the honored, the cherish
ed guest of this great city. Its inhabitants, without
reference to creeds, or sects, or parties, have come
forth to greet you, and in their name, sir, with all the
warmth which words fresh from the heart can con
vey, I bid you welcome."
Mr. Clay then rose and replied as follows :
" Mr. Mayor : I wish I could find adequate lan
guage to express to you and this audience the feel
ings of a grateful heart, the feelings excited by this
splendid and magnificent reception.
" You, sir, know very well from correspondence
and information which you have derived from others,
that the present visit to your great city, is an excep
tion to tbe rule which I adopted, and the resolution
I had formed on leaving home. Called thence by
private and personal affairs, I had prescribed to my
self as a rule which I had thought inflexible, not to
be drawn off from the direct line of my occupations
on any account, or upon any occasion. I had deter
mined particularly to avoid the current of public
meetings, and of that affection which I had reason
to suppose existed in the bosoms of a numerous por
tion of my fellow-citizens, in the bosoms too, of many
of the citizens of this vast metropolis, famous for its
growth and its growing greatness, admirable for the
intelligence and the high character of its people-
" But when I received the invitation to visit you,
other considerations than those which had first gov
erned me seemed to demand that I should make an
exception to the rule,' and present myself among
you. And when I received the command, for so I
am in some degree obliged to regard it, of the city
of New York, my hesitation finally yielded to that
authority, and I now stand here in the midst of the
government of your city.
" But, Mr. Mayor, the president of the councils has
told you that he has committed my body to your
custody. Sir, that expression could not fail to ex
cite some reflection in my mind and to call up some
thoughts and feelings there, an expression of which
I feel bound to endeavor to make.
" My arrival here to-day has heen Bignalized by
the discharge of cannon, by the display of flags, by
the sound of gay and exulting music, and by the
Bhouts and cheers of an affectionate multitude direct
ed toward myself. I am proud, and thankful for
those evidences of regard, and of value, for the hum
ble services of an individual, whom you esteem far
too highly. But, sir, these testimonies offered to the
living, could not fail to remind me of the just honors
about to be paid to the dead. To-morrow's sun will
rise upon another and a different spectacle than that
which it to-day beholds, as the venerable remains
of the illustrious ex-president of the United States
reach this city. Then, instead of the cheers of joy
and gladness which have been uttered upon this oc
casion, there will be the still expression of solemn
and saddened feeling. As I contemplate the scene
which will be presented on that anticipated arrival,
as I recollect the signal services and glorious career
of the great departed and the position to which he
now has passed — a position which awaits us all — I
am moved to suppress the feelings of grateful joy
which would otherwise overflow within me on au
occasion so honorable to myself. Ought not the con
trast between this day's performances — between the
joy and gladness this day manifested on the arrival
of an humble individual whose efforts in our conn-
Mr. Clay visits the Rutger's Institute, High Bridge, Institution for the Blind, %c. 117
try's behalf you much too highly appreciate, and the
ceremonies which will follow to-morrow, to make a
deep impression on our minds? Ought they not
for the few days remaining to us moderate the un
worthy impulses which most men bring into the
strife of existence ? — to repress and diminish the vio
lence of party contests and the heat and acrimony
of party feeling, for the brief space which intervenes
between the present moment and that moment near
at hand when we shall be all laid low in the nar
row house which our venerable and pure-hearted
Patriot now occupies 1
" I hope, Mr. Mayor, that we may profit by this
contrast, and hereafter entertain less of that embit
tered feeling which too often urges us, that we may
restrain our ardor in the pursuit of cherished objects
in the sense of responsibility which we ought to
cherish toward the Governor of all, and in the ex
pectation of that moment which must sooner or later
bring us all to the dust.
" Mr. Mayor, I could not pass by this topic, thus
suggested to me. And now, sir. will you permit me
to thank yourself and the public authorities of the
people of this city for this splendid reception and
for the kindness and liberal hospitality which you
have authorized me to expect at your hands 1"
Mr. Clay concluded, with loud applause from
the assembled multitude, by whom he had also been
frequently interrupted in the course of his remarks.
The procession was then formed at the Battery,
and moved up through Broadway in the appointed
order, amid the cheers ofthe almost impassable mass
who had assembled from one end of the street to the
other, on this beautiful afternoon, to do honor to
Henry Clay.
On the next day after his arrival, the funeral pro
cession in honor of Mr. Adams took place, and Mr.
Clay who participated in it, received no visits and
avoided those manifestations of attachment, which the
people seemed universally to be animated with tow
ard him. In the forenoon, however, he visited the
Rutger's Young Ladies' Institute, where a great
number of ladies were assembled to receive him.
He was addressed in behalf of the young ladies by
the principal who also read an address to him com
posed by members of the Institution. From this
address, we give one or two paragraphs, together
with Mr. Clay's reply :
" We hail you as. the advocate of peace — the rich
est boon that can be conferred upon a nation. — And
while we admire the patriotism that would not spare
a well-beloved son in the hour of trial, but endured
with calm resignation that the fond object of a
father's deep affection should be sacrificed upon the
altar of his country's good ; still more would we
honor that moral courage that manfully maintains
the right in the face of the greatest opposition, and
boldly condemns the spirit of war and aggression.
To such a spirit, cherished and regarded by the
nation's rulers, must we be indebted for the bless
ings of peace in our own highly-favored land ; for
the extended commerce, and polished society of
large and opulent cities, or the grateful retirement,
and refining pleasures of the country ; but most of
all, for the knowledge and understanding of those
arts and sciences which more adorn our country than
stately edifices, or well-tilled grounds, and our insti
tutions of learning that shall rightly train the youth
ful mind, and fit the women of America for an elevated
station in this great Republic. And to you and men
of your principles we look for the diffusion of like
mercies in a neighboring nation, whose smiling val
leys and fruitful fields have been laid waste by the
cruel spirit of rapine and bloodshed.
" And now, dear sir, in conclusion, we would
tender our heartfelt acknowledgments of the great
pleasure and honor which your visit has afforded us.
The events of this day can never be forgotten by us ;
the remembrance of Henry Clay will ever be in
delibly engfaved upon our hearts.
" God bless you, and preserve you, and may your
path continue to be like that ofthe revered one whom
the nation now mourns — ' shining more and more
unto the perfect day.' "
Mr. Clay then replied briefly as follows :
" I thank you, sir, and the young ladies whom you
represent for this cordial welcome and distinguished
reception. Among the agreeable incidents which
attended my brief visit to this city there is no one to
which I shall look with more satisfaction and delight
than upon my having had occasion to meet in this
place the future mothers and present daughters of
my country. I did not come here for the purpose
of making a speech, but I will however say that I
trust that the noble objects which the founder of this
institution had in view in its establishment may be-
fully attained. I trust that the opportunities which the
young ladies possess of improving their minds, culti
vating their taste, expanding their understandings
by the advantages here offered may not be lost, but
that they may fulfil their high destinies and render
themselves a blessing to their parents, an ornament
to their country, and acceptable to that God to whose-
providence 1 shall always pray for their prosperity,-
lame and happiness."
Mr. Clay having concluded, withdrew, receiving
at every step on the passage out of the room the
Bmiles of that beautiful crowd of girls, and shaking
the hands and replying to the salutations and good
wishes of those who happened to be near enough to
speak to him.
On Thursday morning, March 9th, Mr. Clay, in
company of the Common Council, drove out to the
Institution for the Blind. On arriving, he was re
ceived by the Principal, who briefly addressed him;
and drew forth from Mr. Clay one of the most feli
citous and beautiful speeches that it was ever the
fortune of those present to listen to. It was full of
pathos and the eloquence of elevated sentiment-
This was followed by poetical addresses to Mr. Clay
from two young ladies, pupils of the Institute, with
which he was highly gratified.
The party then proceeded to the Institution for
the Deaf and Dumb, where addresses were also de
livered. The distinguished visiter was greatly in
terested in the modes and results of the instruction
administered at those admirable institutions.
It was intended to visit the High Bridge, but ow
ing to the severity of the rain the party returned to
the city. At six o'clock Mr. Clay dined with the
Common Council at the New-York Hotel, and in the
evening appeared at the ball at the Broadway The
atre. This was a most brilliant festival. Even the
violent rain, which prevailed the whole evening,
seemed to have made little diminution in the crowds
who were present. We refer especially to the la
dies, who were drawn there in large numbers by the
desire of seeing the honored statesman of Ashland,
who had consented to attend, principally with the
desire of gratifying his fair countrywomen.
The theatre was splendidly illuminated, and the
stage hung with gorgeous drapery, representing the
American colors. Mr. Clay entered about nine
o'clock, in company with Ex-President Van Buren,
and escorted by the Common Council. He was re
ceived with three cheers, and immediately the com
pany formed into double lines, extending the whole
length of the stage, down which the distinguished.
318
Life of Henry Clay.
guests walked, greeted most enthusiastically at'ev-
ery point, and finally took their station at thefarther
end. where the ladies crowded at once to take them
by the hand. Mr. Clay seemed in excellent spirits ;
his fine eye sparkled with kindly feeling! and the
dense throng which gathered around displayed the
most marked reverence and attachment toward him.
The next morning, Friday, having been appoint
ed for the citizens of New- York to pay their per
sonal respects to Mr. Clay, he reached the City Hall
with his honor the Mayor and the members of the
committee of reception at about eleven o'clock. A
. great number of gentlemen were there collected,
waiting for his arrival ; they received him with the
nsual manifestations. As soon as the doors of the
Governor's room were thrown open, the crowd be
gan to pour through them : and a steady stream of
persons, eager to exchange salutations with the il
lustrious visiter, occupied all the avenues to the
place. It was impossible to obtain admission ex
cept by taking a place in the mass and moving with
it gradually up the stairs toward the door • and the
number of persons was so great, that it must have
required nearly an hour for a single individual to
reach the Governor's room. We never knew such
a large assemblage on any such occasion.
In order that the thousands who had collected out
side, finding it utterly impossible to effect an en
trance, might not be disappointed in their wish to
see him, Mr. Clay appeared on the balcony at the
close of his levee. After the enthusiastic cheering
with which he was received had subsided, Mr. Clay
said he had come here with the expectation of sha
king all his friends by the hand ; he had been under
going that operation for the last three hours — indeed,
«ver since he had been in the city. Instead of work
ing twelve hours, even if he had worked twenty-
four hours a day, it would not have sufficed ; and as
he had given all that were in the inside of the build
ing his hand, he now gave all on the outside his
heart !
On Saturday morning Mr. Clay received the ladies
of New-York at the same place, and many thousands
were present. Mr. Clay arrived at; the appointed
hour, and was received with all the honors by the
mass of gentlemen and ladies assembled at the City
Hall. The business of reception commenced imme
diately, Mr. Clay shaking hands and exchanging a
pleasant word with all, receiving warmer tributes
from some, and now and then carrying his politeness
so far as to yield a lock of hair to the longing scis
sors of some patriotic matron. The ceremony was
continued till after the appointed hour, when Mr.
•Clay was compelled to retire, although many ladies
had not yet enjoyed the pleasure Of an interview.
On Saturday afternoon Mr. Clay visited the High
Bridge, in company with several members of the
¦Common Council, and was highly gratified with the
magnificent work. He returned to the city, and was
entertained in an elegant and delightful dinner by
J. Phillips Phoenix, Esq., after which he attended
the performance of the Oratorio of the " Creation,"
by the Sacred Music Society. He was there much
more im object of attention to the audience than the
music, and in the course of the evening briefly and
felicitously replied to an address from the ladies of
ihe Society.
On Sunday morning Mr, Clay attended St. Bar
tholomew's church with his honor the Mayor, where
an unusually large congregation were assembled.
On the way thither he was met by a large number
of Irishmen, who thus sought the opportunity of qui
etly expressing to him the warm feelings which his
efforts in behalf of Ireland have roused in the breasts
of all her sons.
On Monday morning (says the Tribune) a large
assemblage was collected at the New-Jersey rail
road-office, foot of Liberty street, to witness the de
parture of Mr. Clay. A little past nine, he arrived
in a carriage with his honor the Mayor and the com
mittee of reception, and was received with loud
cheers by the multitude, who not only occupied the
street, but the roofs of the buildings about the rail
road-office, all eager to obtain a view of him. Just
before the ferry-boat arrived at the wharf, Mr. Clay
came forward and bowed his farewell to the people,
who returned it with cheers, after which he took his
seat again in the carriage and was driven on board
the boat. As the boat put off, the assemblage again
cheered loudly, and so the visit of the veteran and
adored statesman to the commercial metropolis was
ended. The committee accompanied Mr. Clay to Newark,
where they resigned him to the authorities of that
place. He was welcomed there with the utmost en- (
thusiasm, and after spending a short time, went on
to Philadelphia, where he remained a day privately,
and then returned home by way of Baltimore. The
Tribune, in speaking of his visit to New- York, says :
" Mr. Clay has been with us now for five days,
and through the whole time has received such to
kens of deep respect and enthusiastic attachment as
no man but himself could have elicited. We now
see how firmly he stands in the affections, not of a
few persons or of any particular class, but of the£
whole people. If there were any doubt before, the i
fact is now undeniable, that no man lives who is so
truly beloved, revered, and trusted, by the people of
this city, as Henry Clay."
CHAPTER XXIX.
Mr. Clay's Professional Career— Chief- Justice Marshall's
Opinion of him— Personal Details— His Popularity, and
the Secret of it— Traits of Character— Richard M.
Johnson's Eulogy upon him— Mr. >Clay'8« Habits of
Life-^His Wife and Children— Domestic and Social
Relations— C onclusion.
Of such paramount interest have been the details .
of Mr. Clay's public career, that we have but little
room to bestow upon his private and professional
history, honorable as it has!been to him. We have
alluded to his early successes at the bar, but space
fails us in the attempt to supply even an imperfect
sketch of his numerous triumphant efforts in the
sphere of his 'profession — efforts which havfe not
failed in brilliancy and success with the arrival of
his threescore and tenth year.
Owing to the more popular character of his polit
ical labors, he has not enjoyed, out of the boundary
of the Supreme Court, half the reputation which was
his due as a jurist of extensive attainments and pro
found ability. But the writer has4 been assured by
the late Mr. Justice Story that Mr. Clay was regard
ed by Chief-Justice Marshall as second in these re
spects to no lawyer in the country. Hisargnnofinte
always evince d^s-fia^ reflection, ami 6UegSteB ek-
Mr. Clay's Professional Career — Personal Details — His Popularity — Anecdote. 119
tensive legal'eruditibn ; and his appeals were^o^ that
gen'gfo^sarH^teX'^tedrc^aracter^^ich^jgigcJs ev-
ery'aTfl^f' ainarrow™or pettifogging cast. We must
content 'ourseTveVwroa*^mere° reference to this de
partment of Mr. Clay's history ; referring the reader,
for information in regard to it, to the reports and rec
ords of the United States courts and the courts of
Kentucky. Mr. Clay is now (1848) in his seventy-first year,
and, notwithstanding his varied and arduous labors,
tasking his mental and physical powers to an ex
traordinary degree, and the several periods of dan
gerous illness to which he has been subject, he bears
in his personal appearance the promise of a vigorous,
healthful, and protracted old age. In stature he is
tall, sinewy, erect, and commanding, with finely-
formed limbs, and a frame capable of much endu
rance. From his features you might at first infer
that he was a hardy backwoodsman, who had been
accustomed rather to the privations and trials of a
frontier life than to the arena of debate and the dip
lomatic table. But when you meet his full, clear
, gray eye, you see in its flashes the conscious power
of a well-trained and panoplied intellect as well as
the glance of an intrepid soul. Its lustre gives ani
mation to the whole countenance, and its varying ex
pression faithfully interprets the emotions and senti
ments of the orator. Much ofthe charm of his speak-
ing lies in his clear, rotund, and indescribably melo
dious voice, which is of wide compass, and as distinct
in its low as in its high tones. The effect of it, when
a passion is to be portrayed, or a feeling of pathos
aroused, is like that of a rich instrument upon the ear.
Nothing could be more felicitous than Mr. Clay's
personal manners and address. They convey to ev
ery one the conviction that he is a true man — that
there is no sham about him and his professions.
Frank, affable, natural, and communicative, he was,
without assumption, as mucu-ai lUmieamong Euro
pean potentates as among his own constituents at a
barbecue. His perfect self-possession and repose of
manner spring, not so much from long intercourse
with the world and with society, as from that indige
nous democratic instinct, that true nobleness of char
acter, which looks unaffectedly to the inward man
solely, and not to the outside insignia with which he
may be decorated.
Never was^pnjjbb manjao^ersonally popular in
' the United States/^ The true source ofhis extraor-
. dillar'y' iull"uence,'?rsay8 a writer of the day, " is to be
found in that most potent of all human influences, a
true and ready sympathy. There are no barriers
•between his heart and the hearts of others. Bring
them in contact, and the efflux of his kindly feeling
is instantaneous, instead of sullenly wrapping him
self in the thoughts of self, he( thinks of others. His
.thoughts become their thoughts, and their thoughts
become his thoughts. An interchange of kindly feel
ing becomes spontaneous and immediate. Mr. Clay
is not only a strong man in himself^ but he possesses
the abilityto command and carry with him all hu
man agencies and influences which come within the
sphere of his action."
In his integrity and uprightness of character, no
one who was ever brqught in contact with him could
fail to place the most implicit reliance. " He is an
honest man," says one, who knows him well ; " he
is a fair-dealing man ; he is jUrue man j he is a man
who believes in his own principles, who follows his
own convictions, who avows his own sentiments and
acts on Uiem, who never deserted a friend, who was
never deterred from his purpose, who was never se
duced from what he undertook to do. He iB a man
of faith, in the largest sense of that word. No man
has ever been more severely tried in public life in
this country ; and no man ever exhibited a more sub
lime manhood in all his great and repeated exhibi
tions of that noblest of all qualities in a public man —
trustworthiness. The nation may rely on him that
he is what he is, and that he will do what he says
he will do."
" In our opinion the most remarkable mental endow
ment of Mr. Clay is his common sense. He is the
most sagacious public man this country nas™pr6duced,
except Benjamin Franklin. His knowledge of affairs
seems rather intuitive than the result of experience.
We have heard him deliver some of his greatest
speeches. We have read them all. His fame as an
orator is world-wide. But what is the oratory of
those great discourses ? No flowei'S of rhetoric adorn
them ; no vast fund of acquired erudition enriches
them. Mr. Clay hardly ever quotes from books. No
elaborate argumentation. What then? The gran
deur of an intellect that seems to perceive truth in
tuitively, united to a pathos as fervent as that of De-
Among the eminent persons who have borne testi
mony to those qualities which qualify Mr. Clay so
worthily for the highest office in the gift of the Amer-
can people, is Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Ken
tucky. We are indebted to the " Richmond Whig"
for the following anecdote :
" On the 30th of September last, Colonel Johnson
being in Staunton, Virginia, a number of gentlemen
paid him the respect of calling to see him. One of
the company remarked to him, ' Colonel, when you
reach the railroad j unction, you will be near the Slash
es of Hanover.' The honest old warrior's face imme
diately lighted up with an expression of sincerity
and pleasure, and he eloquently said, ' I shall be de
lighted to see that place. Every spot of gronnd Hen
ry Clay touches he immortalizes, lhave been in pub
lic life for forty years, and in tbat time have been as
sociated with all the great men ofthe country. Leav-
ingout Madison and Gallatin, who were old men when
I first stepped upon the theatre of politics, I will place
Jefferson first, then Henry Clay. He is a perfect
Hercules in all the qualities that can adorn human
nature. Some men may excel him in a single qual
ity — for instance, Webster may be a greater logi
cian ; or some may be more renowned for deep re
searches ; but take Clay all in all, he has not an equal
in the Union, in either the north or south, the east or
the west. In moral courage, in physical courage, in
oratory, in patriotism, and in every noble quality, he
is without a superior. I have been associated with
him on committees in connexion with Calhoun,
Lowndes, Cheves, Webster, and other distinguished
individuals, but Clay was always the master-spirit.
We looked up to him as the Ajax Telamon; and by
his counsel we were guided in our deliberations. If .
the rest of the committee assembled before him and
were in doubt how to proceed, when he made his
appearance all eyes were turned upon him — and we
were certain to be right when we followed his opin
ion. He is a great man— a very great man !' "
Asa writer, Mr. Clay will creditably compare with
any of the public men of the day. His style is sin
gularly perspicuous, simple, forcible, and correct,
evincing a preference for good old Saxon words
over those derived from the Latin and Greek Ian ,
120
Life of Henry Clay.
guages. In this respect it is perfectly Addisonian.
His instructions to the Ministers sent to the Congress
of Panama, his Land Report of 1832, his Report on
the differences with France, and numerous docu
ments which emanated from his pen while he was
at the head of the Department of State, may be re-,
ferred to, not only as papers evincing masterly states
manship, but as excellent specimens of English un
dented. In his tastes and habits of life, Mr. Clay is remark
ably simple and unostentatious. He is anearly riser,
and methodical and industrious in the disposition of
his time. His punctuality- is proverbial. He is quite
as noted as Washington was for this good quality ;
which we generally find in the greatest perfection
with those who have the greatest consideration for
others. '
In April, 1799, about a year and a half after Mr.
Clay removed to Kentucky, he married Lucretia
Hart, daughter of Colonel Hart, a highly respectable
gentleman of Lexington. Another daughter was
married to James Brown, Esq., afterward Minister
to France under Messrs. Monroe and J. Q,. Adams.
Mrs. Clay was born in 1781, at Hagerstown, Mary
land, being four years younger' than her husband.
They have had eleven children, six daughters and
five sons, and a larger number of grandchildren.
Four of the daughters died young. Susan Hart,
then Mrs. Duralde, of New-Orleans, died at the age
of twenty. Ann Brown Clay, born in 1807, married
James Erwine, Esq., of New-Orleans ; and is said
to have borne a great resemblance to her father in
her captivating social and intellectual qualities. She
died in 1835, the last of the six. The news of her
death so affected Mr. Clay, that he fainted on re
ceiving the communication. The affliction of the
bereavement was most bitter.
Theodore Wythe Clay, the eldest son, was born
in 1802. In consequence of an accidental injury he
became deranged, and has been for many years the
inmate of an insane retreat. Thomas Hart Clay, the
second son, born in 1803, is married and has a family.
He is engaged chiefly in the manufacture of hemp.
Henry Clay, jr., born in 1811, fell at Buena Vista,
gallantly leading his men, February, 1847. James
B. Clay, born in 1817, is married and in the practice
ofthe law at Lexington. John M. Clay, the young
est of the family, born in 1821, has also been educa
ted for the legal profession.
The virtues of Mrs. Clay, though of 'the unobtru
sive kind, are ndt the less admirable and deserving.
Her benevolence, her industry, her studious atten
tion to her household and her guests, have been the
theme of eulogy with all who have visited Ashland.
When General Bertrand, the faithful friend of Na
poleon, was there, he was much astonished at the
extent and variety of the duties discharged with so
much activity and system by Mrs. Clay. Her dairy,
garden, greenhouse, pleasure-grounds, and the oper
ations of a farm of between five and six hundred
acres, were all under her vigilant and comprehen
sive supervision.
In his domestic and social relations no man could
be more strictly honorable and blameless than Mr.
Clay. The charge has been brought against him by
his enemies of having visited the gaming-table. It
is admitted that, in early life, Mr. Clay had a fond
ness for play — not for the sake of the money sported,
but for the company and the excitement. He has,
on several occasions, given up large sums that he
had,,won, and often saved men from ruin. He has
never played at a public table or at gambling-houses.
For upward of thirty years he has not played at any
game of hazard. Never to his knowledge has a
pack of cards been seen at Ashland. We mention
these facts, not that we suppose that Mr. Clay ob-*
. jects to the recreation of cards, where nothing is
staked, but because the grossest misrepresentations
and the most exaggerated stories in regard to him,
in connexion with this subject, have been made cur
rent by his enemies. We have fairly stated the head
and front of his offending. Many instances of the
justice and magnanimity which he carries into all
transactions of a pecuniary nature might be men
tioned. But we forbear.
It is with Mr. Clay's public history that we have
mainly to deal. The legislative annals of the nation
are the sources from which it may be derived. There
it stands amply and immutably recorded, through a
period of more than forty years. From those mag
nificent quarries of the past, the materials will be
drawn for a monument more perennial than marble
or brass. Never were the views of a public man
upon all questions of public policy more ingenuous
ly and unequivocally expressed — more clearly and
broadly defined. On no one point is there an indi
cation of shuffling— of a disposition to evade or defer
the responsibility of uttering an opinion. In contem
plating his career, we are often reminded of these
lines by the author of " Philip Van Artevelde :"
" All my life long
I have beheld -with most respect the man
Who knew himself and knew the ways before him,
And from amongst the-n chose considerately,
With a clear foresight, not a blindfold courage,
And, having chosen, with a steadfast mind
Pursued his purposes." „
Such a man is Henry Clay ! And in no one public
act of his life does he seem to have been actuated
by other than pure and patriotic motives. " I woULT>
RATHER BE RIGHT THAN BE PRESIDENT." In that
expression we have a key to his conduct from the
moment he first entered the national councils ; and in
that expression we have an earnest of the single-
heartedness of purpose with which the affairs ofthe
country would be conducted under his administra
tion. But the Presidency could not add to his fame.
The wonder of the wise and the good that he was>
not President, would speak louder in his behalf and
be a prouder tribute to his worth than their exulta
tion at his success. The absence of his bust from the
triumph will be more noted than its presence could
ever be.
Whatever the Future may have in store, " the
Past is secure." His name lives in the hearts of hia
countrymen. His fame is incorporate with the his
tory of the republic. May they both be blended with-
the highest honor which a free people can bestow !
THE END.
YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
3 9002 01402 8709
¦ -If*"
-' .,»rXrr >&
- -7^1 -
r*^fc$!
^7jr- v*.
2N^