APUSH Review: Henry Clay

Everything You Need To Know About Henry Clay To Succeed In APUSH

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Henry Clay Through The Ages

Life of Henry Clay

Married to Lucretia Hart Father to 11 children

6 daughters, 5 sons 7 children died before Henry

6 daughters, 1 son – Henry Jr. June 29, 1852: Henry died at the age

of 75 First person to lie in state at the

Capitol building

Early Political Life

Elected senator from KY at age 29 (That’s unconstitutional!) Why?

Served for the next 40+ years as a senator, Representative, and Secretary of State

Youngest Speaker of the House, elected in his first term (1812)

War of 1812

Prior to the war, Henry and some colleagues (most notably John C. Calhoun) were “war hawks” What famous presidents make their name during the

War of 1812? Causes of war?

Impressment Britain did not respect US neutrality Chesapeake Incident Arming of Native Americans

Served as peacemaker during the Treaty of Ghent Ended the war No land gained or lost Britain finally leaves their ports

The Missouri (1820) Compromise In 1819, Missouri (from the LA Purchase) applied for

statehood as a slave state The problem? It would upset the slave/free balance

Along comes our hero! His solution???

MO added as a slave state ME (carved from them Massachusetts) would be added as

free 36°30’: (in the future) above: free, below: slave

Clay becomes overnight hero Tallmadge Amendment: introduced by Tallmadge to

eventually grant freedom to children of slaves: never passed, fear of slave restrictions

The election of 1824

James Monroe finished 8 years as President The Contenders:

Andrew Jackson John Quincy Adams (Monroe’s Secretary of State) William Crawford (has a stroke prior to the

election) Henry Clay

The Outcome: Jackson wins popular vote, no one wins an

electoral majority Top 3 go to the House to vote (Sorry Henry!)

The “Corrupt Bargain of 1824” As Speaker of the House, Clay could decide election

If he finished in top 3, he would have been President Throws his support behind Adams

He disliked the “military chieftan” Jackson Adams made Clay his Secretary of State

(steppingstone to the Presidency) Jackson and his supporters are furious! Did Adams/Clay do anything “wrong?”

Legally, no Clay was the best person to be Secretary of State (may

have been Jackson’s as well) Per the Constitution, the House gets to decide the

presidency under those conditions

Impact of “Corrupt Bargain”

Adams’ and Clay’s legacies are tarnished

All but guarantees Jackson the presidency in 1828

“Bargain” would haunt Clay forever Jackson v. Clay for remainder of their

lives Jackson said on his deathbed one of his

biggest regrets was not shooting Henry Clay

High Tariffs

“Tariff of Abominations” (Tariff of 1828) Designed to hurt Adams’ presidency Raised tariff rates sky-high

Which area of the country would like the tariff? Which area(s) would dislike it?

South Carolina, led by Jackson’s vice-president, Calhoun leads protest against the tariff South Carolina Exposition and Protest Inspired by Jefferson’s and Madison’s VA and KY

Resolutions, Calhoun urged SC to nullify the tariff

Tariff of 1832

Like the tariff of Abominations, high tariff rates

Without question, Civil War looked imminent

Henry Clay saves the day again (to Jackson’s dismay)

Compromise #2…….

Tariff Compromise of 1833 The tariff rate would lower 10% a year for the

next 8 years North and South walk away feeling

victorious Jackson signs the “Force Bill” or “Bloody

Bill” Allows the president to use military to collect

tariffs in the future As a sign of defiance, SC nullifies the law,

but it was only symbolic

Election of 1832 (Failure #2) Henry v. Andrew At the center of the election: The BUS

Jackson hated BUS, vetoed recharter – set to expire in 1836

Clay favored BUS and its president, Nicholas Biddle

Jackson withdraws all money from BUS, places money in state “pet” banks -> helps lead to Panic of 1837 during MVB’s presidency

Clay loses the election 219-49

Election of 1844 (Failure #3) Clay’s best chance to win By far most popular man in the country

(Jackson would die within a year) Texas would join the Union AFTER the election Prior to and during the election, TX was a

huge debate Polk (Democratic “dark-horse” and Jackson protégé

was in favor of adding), Clay on the fence about it (TX would be a slave state)

Manifest Destiny began sweeping the nation, Polk was in favor of expansion

Polk wins in an upset, Jackson loved life

Mexican American War

War begins after Polk claimed Americans were attacked on American soil

Land was in dispute Some in Congress wanted to know exact

“Spot”▪ Lincoln (who idolized Clay)

War lasts for 2 years, Clay vehemently against

Son Henry Clay Jr. killed by Mexican bayonets at the Battle of Buena Vista

Impact of Mexican-American War

Further sets off slavery debate What to do with all this new land?

Wilmot Proviso and Free-Soilers favored NON-EXTENSION of slavery into these territories

Enter Clay one last time, at age 73 no less! I looked like

this then!

Compromise of 1850 (Our hero’s 3rd, and most important Compromise)

Southerners wanted all land in Mexican Cession open to slavery, North against it

CA applied for admission as a free state (would tip balance in favor of free, 16-15)

How to make South AND North happy? 5 parts, voted on separately made up the

Compromise Stephen Douglas (Lincoln-Douglas

debates), Senator from IL, also helped play a huge role in the Compromise

5 Parts

Strict Fugitive Slave Law Popular Sovereignty in Mexican

Cession California admitted as a free state Abolition of slave trade in D.C. Texas paid $ to settle boundary

dispute

Impact of Compromise

Avoids Civil War for the next 10 years

Increase tensions over fugitive slave law North passes “personal liberty laws” In a sense, the North was nullifying the

fugitive slave law Rise of Stephen Douglas as a leading

politician Calhoun, Jackson, Webster, Clay pass

the torch to a new generation of politicians

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