Why is henry clay important

Congress passed the first protective tariff in after the War of ended and progressively passed higher tariffs each year until with what became known as the Tariff of Abominations.

It is important to note that Clay opposed this tariff because he thought it was too high; however, Jackson already secured southern support for his presidential campaign and attempted to garner northern support by backing the tariff. This move would eventually come to haunt Jackson as in a large group of South Carolinian politicians and citizens threatened secession and propagated nullification.

During this crisis, Clay maintained that federal authority trumped state authority; however, he worked toward a compromise with Congress trying to lower the Tariff of Abominations, which Jackson discreetly supported. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates debated if slavery should be allowed in the Mexican Cession and these debates represented the first time sectional loyalties transcended party loyalties on such a large scale.

The Compromise of temporarily put off these debates because it did not include any provisions that limited slavery in the remainder of the Mexican Cession, besides admitting California into the Union as a free state, while making additional concessions to both northerners and southerners.

His death marked the end of the spirit of compromise in antebellum American politics as the s served to be the most contentious decade prior to the Civil War which was wrought with stark sectional tensions. Henry Clay. Wikimedia Commons. He pushed for independence for several Latin American republics, advocated for a national bank and, perhaps most significantly, argued strongly and successfully for a negotiated settlement between enslaved people-owning states and the rest of the country over its western policy.

The resulting Missouri Compromise , which passed in , found a necessary balance that allowed for America's continued western expansion while simultaneously holding off any bloodshed over the white-hot topic of slavery.

Two more times in his political career would Clay step in as lead negotiator and prevent a breakup of the still young United States. In , he walked South Carolina back from the brink of secession. At issue was a series of international tariffs on U. The cotton and tobacco states of the South were hurt the most by the new tariff agreement, much more so than the industrial north.

Clay's Compromise Tariff of slowly reduced the tariff rate and eased the tensions between the Andrew Jackson White House and Southern legislators. In , with the question raised of whether California should become part of the United States as either an enslaved people state or a free state, Clay stepped to the negotiating table once more to stave off bloodshed. In one fell swoop Clay introduced a bill that allowed California to enter the Union as a non-enslaved people state, without an additional enslaved people state as compensation.

In addition, the bill covered the settlement of the Texas boundary line, the Fugitive Slave Act and the abolition of the enslaved people trade in the District of Columbia. Over the course of his long career, Clay's skills became renowned in Washington, D.

His influence was so strong that he came to be admired by a young Abraham Lincoln , who referred to Clay as "my beau ideal of a statesman. Clay quotes often made their way into Lincoln's speeches. During the writing of his first inaugural address, Lincoln chose a published edition of a Clay speech to keep at his side while he crafted what he'd say to the nation. In , the ambitious Clay set his sights on a new political office: the presidency. When Adams won the presidency, he appointed Clay as his Secretary of State.

The appointment came, however, at some personal cost to Clay. With neither Jackson nor Adams able to secure enough electoral votes, the election was thrown to the House of Representatives. Clay parked his support behind Adams with the understanding that he'd have a place in his cabinet.

When he received it, Clay's critics blasted him, with a cry of "bargain and sale. The attacks continued into the Adams presidency. Jackson, stung by the defeat, blocked several foreign-policy initiatives put forth by Clay, including securing a trade agreement with Great Britain over the West Indies and sending delegates to a Pan American Congress in Panama.

The backlash against his support for Adams reached its apex when Congressman John Randolph challenged Clay to a duel. Neither man was hurt. In , Jackson captured the presidency from Adams.

With Clay's National Republican Party coming apart at the seams—it would eventually become absorbed by the Whig Party—Clay retired from politics and returned to Kentucky. But Clay was unable to stay away from Washington. In , he came back to Washington, D. The following year he headed the National Republicans' bid to unseat Jackson. At the center of the presidential election was Clay's support for the renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States, whose creation in Clay had fought hard for.

But the issues around it proved to be Clay's undoing. Jackson vehemently opposed the bank and the renewal of its charter. He alleged it was a corrupt institution and had helped steer the nation toward higher inflation. The voters sided with him. As leader of the Democratic-Republicans, he helped pressure James Madison into declaring war on Britain in In , he resigned from the House to serve as one of the peace commissioners to negotiate a treaty with Britain to end the War of Upon his return to Congress, he was reelected Speaker and served in that capacity for nine more years.

Clay ran for President in and played a pivotal part in the controversial election. Andrew Jackson finished first in the initial round of voting but failed to capture a majority of electoral votes, meaning the House was charged with deciding the election. Clay threw his support behind second-place finisher John Quincy Adams and helped build support for him in Congress.

Adams won the election and named Clay his secretary of state shortly thereafter. Many partisans suspected Adams and Clay had made a "corrupt bargain. Secretary Clay's primary accomplishment was work on a number of commercial treaties, including agreements with a number of Latin American countries who had recently gained independence. He attempted to arrange U. He also sought to address lingering disputes with Mexico and Britain, but encountered frustrations in these endeavors as well. While his term as secretary appeared relatively undistinguished, Clay's emphasis on the economic interests of the country was a theme that would become an increasingly important part of U.

Ultimately, however, Clay was more suited for the legislative branch as opposed to the executive branch. His abilities in debate, oratory, and compromise found limited expression in his executive position. Additionally, the continued political attacks on his character and various personal problems, including a lengthy illness, made his tenure difficult.

President Adams was defeated by Jackson in the election, and Clay briefly returned to his estate in Kentucky before again being elected to the Senate in Clay was a major foe of Jackson and his administration, and unsuccessfully ran against the President in the presidential election.

During the s, anti-Jackson forces coalesced into the Whig Party, and Clay emerged as their natural leader.