"Henry Clay" Quotes from Famous Books
... had less. Washington, Jefferson, and Madison had rather more; Clay and Jackson somewhat less; Van Buren perhaps a little more; Lincoln decidedly less. How great was his consequent loss? I raise the question; let others decide it. Having seen much of Henry Clay, I confidently assert that not one in ten of those who knew him late in life would have suspected, from aught in his conversation or bearing, that his education had been inferior to that of the college graduates by whom he was surrounded. ... — Our American Holidays: Lincoln's Birthday • Various
... of the equal rights of mankind, and habituates us to tyranny and oppression?" Is it fanaticism for her to believe with your Pinckney that "it will one day destroy the reverence for liberty, which is the vital principle of a Republic?" Is it fanaticism for her to believe with your Henry Clay, that "slavery is a wrong, a grievous wrong, and no contingency can make it right?" Surely, Senators who are wont to accuse Massachusetts of being drunk with fanaticism, should not forget that the noblest men the South has given to the service of the Republic, in peace and in war, were her teachers. ... — The American Union Speaker • John D. Philbrick
... the most interesting figure in the party was Henry Clay. He was born amid the swamps of Hanover County, Va., and had grown up in most adverse surroundings. His father, a Baptist clergyman, died while he was an infant, leaving him destitute. In "The Slashes," as the neighborhood where Clay passed ... — History of the United States, Volume 3 (of 6) • E. Benjamin Andrews
... While waiting her departure, the Captain took Paul out to see the great city. Among many places of interest they visited that day, the slave mart at the foot of the fine statue erected in honor of Henry Clay, lived long in Paul's memory. Numbers of slaves were to be sold. The Captain and Paul pushed their way well to the front, so that they stood near the auctioneer. With feelings hard to describe, Paul saw slaves disposed of, singly and in parties. ... — The Story of Paul Boyton - Voyages on All the Great Rivers of the World • Paul Boyton
... Larranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay; But the best cigar in an hour is finished and ... — Departmental Ditties and Barrack Room Ballads • Rudyard Kipling
... Constitution to meet the wants of a growing State. An attempt was made to secure a provision providing for gradual emancipation. It was supported by Henry Clay, who, as a young lawyer and promising orator, began on that occasion a brilliant political career that lasted for a half-century. But not even his magic eloquence could secure the passage of the humane amendment, and in ... — History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George W. Williams
... cheers and shouts, and shone with bonfires. The present President, Jackson, appears to be far from popular here, and though his own partisans are determined, of course, to re-elect him if possible, a violent struggle is likely to take place; and here already his opponent, Henry Clay, who is the leader of the aristocratic party in the United States, is said to have obtained the superiority ... — Records of a Girlhood • Frances Anne Kemble
... Blaine's system, as he planned it, was the cooperation of the American republics for common purposes. He did not share Seward's dream that they would become incorporated States of the Union, but he went back to Henry Clay and the Panama Congress of 1826 for his ideal. During his first term of office he invited the republics to send representatives to Washington to discuss arbitration, but his successor in office feared that such a meeting of "a partial group of our friends" might offend Europe, which indeed ... — The Path of Empire - A Chronicle of the United States as a World Power, Volume - 46 in The Chronicles of America Series • Carl Russell Fish
... speculator who had spent most of his living days in Chicago, having come there as a boy from western Missouri. He was a typical Chicago Board of Trade operator of the old school, having an Andrew Jacksonish countenance, and a Henry Clay—Davy Crockett—"Long John" Wentworth build ... — The Titan • Theodore Dreiser
... devoted to changes in religion, education, literature, and politics, effected by such outstanding figures as James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster. The book shows an extensive treatment of the territorial expansion of that time, especially the efforts to secure Texas, California and Oregon, and the war with Mexico. On the whole, this book has a decided ... — The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922 • Various
... Congress to grant to the people of the District any measures which they might deem necessary to free themselves from the deplorable evil."—(See letter of Mr. Claiborne, of Mississippi, to his constituents, published in the Washington Globe, May 9, 1836.) The sentiments of Henry Clay on the subject are well known. In a speech before the U.S. Senate, in 1836, he declared the power of Congress to abolish slavery in the District "unquestionable." Messrs. Blair, of Tennessee, Chilton, ... — The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus • American Anti-Slavery Society
... 1824 was a serious one in American politics. The Republican- Democratic party, having become omnipotent, broke to pieces of its own weight. The eastern interest nominated John Quincy Adams for the Presidency; the western interest nominated Henry Clay; and the frontier interest nominated Andrew Jackson. Unfortunately the frontier interest included all the unsettled and continually shifting elements in the country, so that Jackson had nearly as strong a support in the East as in the West. Bridge says, "We were all enthusiastic supporters ... — The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne • Frank Preston Stearns
... decrepit old man" to the grave. Garrison dealt no less roughly and irreverently with another of the authors of the wicked law and another of the superannuated divinities of a shopkeeping North, Henry Clay. "HENRY CLAY, with one foot in the grave," exclaimed the reformer, "and just ready to have both body and soul cast into hell, as if eager to make his damnation doubly sure, rises in the United States Senate and proposes an inquiry into the ... — William Lloyd Garrison - The Abolitionist • Archibald H. Grimke
... the Colonel, 'is a Jackson man; from the top of the deck plumb down to the hock kyard, he's nothin' but Jackson. This yere attitood of my grandsire, an' him camped in the swarmin' midst of a Henry Clay country, is frootful of adventures an' calls for plenty nerve. But the old Spartan ... — Wolfville Days • Alfred Henry Lewis
... was excessive. The most youthful of his offspring was not remarkable for personal pulchritude. Henry Clay expressed a preference for being on the right side of public questions to occupying the position of President of the United States of America. He who passes at an accelerated pace may nevertheless be capable of perusing. A masculine member of the human ... — The Century Vocabulary Builder • Creever & Bachelor
... as too much "backbone." I say I would "back down" to save the country. I am not ashamed of the expression. Our Government itself was a compromise, and in nothing more so than as to the slavery question. HENRY CLAY was the great compromiser. The Missouri Compromise was his. Resigning his office as Speaker, on the floor of Congress by irresistible argument, and eloquence unequalled—though twice defeated, he succeeded in establishing the compromise line of 36 deg. 30'—and thereby erected ... — A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention • Lucius Eugene Chittenden
... Moorman, Rev. Henry Clay Morgan, America Morrison, George Mosely, Joseph [TR: also reported as Moseley ... — Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves: Indiana Narratives • Works Projects Administration
... an hour of leisure, and he wandered into an old hotel, at which many great men had lived. They would point to Henry Clay's famous chair in the lobby, and the whole place was thick with memories of Webster, Calhoun and others who had seemed almost demigods ... — The Sword of Antietam • Joseph A. Altsheler
... writes a correspondent from the White Sulphur Springs of Virginia, "the statesman Henry Clay was here, enjoying a respite from his arduous government duties. Being present at a grand reception where dancing was in progress, Mr. Clay wished to have played the music for a 'Virginia Reel;' but, to his great surprise, he learned that ... — Music and Some Highly Musical People • James M. Trotter
... between one brilliant oration and another, when both made a great sensation at the time, while only one survived in literature. Probably Charles James Fox was a more effective speaker in the House of Commons than Edmund Burke, probably Henry Clay was a more effective speaker in Congress than Daniel Webster; but when the occasions on which their speeches were made are found gradually to fade from the memory of men, why is it that the speeches of Fox and Clay have no recognized position in literature, while those of ... — The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster • Daniel Webster
... slave state; but the North felt that this would have been to concede altogether too much, as Missouri from the first gave promise of being unusually important. At length, largely through the influence of Henry Clay, there was adopted a compromise whose main provisions were (1) that Maine was to be admitted as a free state; (2) that in Missouri there was to be no prohibition of slavery; but (3) that slavery was to be prohibited in any other states that might be formed ... — A Social History of the American Negro • Benjamin Brawley
... the end of January, Henry Clay, though he had come back to the scene of his many stirring conflicts in the past minded to be "a calm and quiet looker-on," roused himself to one more essay of that statesmanship of compromise in which he was a master. He made a plan of settlement that covered all ... — Stephen Arnold Douglas • William Garrott Brown
... before they reached the big cemetery on the edge of Lexington. Through a rift in the trees the Major pointed out the grave of Henry Clay, and told him about the big monument that was to be reared above his remains. The grave of Henry Clay! Chad knew all about him. He had heard Caleb Hazel read the great man's speeches aloud by the hour—had heard him intoning them to ... — The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come • John Fox
... favor of the internal improvement system, and of a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles." Nothing could be more unqualified or outspoken than this announcement of his adhesion to what was then and for years afterwards called "the American System" of Henry Clay. Other testimony is not wanting to the same effect. Both Major Stuart and Judge Logan [Footnote: The Democrats of New Salem worked for Lincoln out of their personal regard for him. That was the general understanding of the matter here ... — Abraham Lincoln: A History V1 • John G. Nicolay and John Hay
... have it out with England rather than with France. Not that there was not quite as much reason for resentment against France as against England. Some, indeed, of the more hot-headed were anxious for war with both; but these were of the more impulsive kind, like Henry Clay, who laughed in scorn at the doubt that he could not at a blow subdue the Canadas with a few regiments of Kentucky militia. But war with England was determined upon, partly because the old enmity toward her made that intolerable which ... — James Madison • Sydney Howard Gay
... treats upon "The Student's Manual," and incentives to action are presented, based on the line "Lives of great men all remind us," by students who rejoice in the Christian names, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Charles James Fox, and Henry Clay. ... — A Collection of College Words and Customs • Benjamin Homer Hall
... struggle of 1850, Judge Douglas developed great strength of will and wonderful executive ability. With Henry Clay he was on the most friendly terms, and that statesman once said of him, that he knew of "no man so entirely an embodiment of American ideas and American institutions as Mr. Douglas." It is well known that to Senator Douglas belongs the credit of initiating the great "Compromise Bill," and ... — Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 8, No. 46, August, 1861 • Various
... and rumors were flying thick and fast, the mastery of the government passed from the uncertain hands of Madison to a party of ardent young men in Congress, dubbed "Young Republicans," under the leadership of two members destined to be mighty figures in American history: Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. The former contended, in a flair of folly, that "the militia of Kentucky alone are competent to place Montreal and Upper Canada at your feet." The latter with a light heart spoke of conquering Canada in a four weeks' campaign. "It must not ... — History of the United States • Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard
... between the two belligerents. Madison precipitately accepted this proposition and sent Albert Gallatin and James Bayard to act as commissioners with Mr Adams; but England would have nothing to do with it. In August 1814, however, these gentlemen, with Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell, began negotiations with English commissioners which resulted in the signature of the treaty of Ghent on the 24th of December of that year. After this Adams visited Paris, where he witnessed the return of Napoleon from Elba, ... — Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia
... a thing he couldn't resist. He had an awful poor opinion of all the rest of our American institootions, and used to say they wa'n't o' no account as compared to what he used to have to home in England; but when it come to Bourbon whisky, he was as full-mouthed as Uncle Henry Clay himself. He 'lowed there wa'n't anything either in England or in Canada to touch it. An' when he got four or five inches of it inside him, there was no gittin' along with him nohow. There wa'n't anything on airth he wouldn't do to git a couple of inches more, and when he got them he was ... — The Gerrard Street Mystery and Other Weird Tales • John Charles Dent
... to Aix-la-Chapelle, on the frontier of Germany, where I spent but little time and saw nothing of any great interest to me. There was a fine statue of Wilhelm I., a crucifixion monument, and, as I walked along the street, I saw an advertisement for "Henry Clay Habanna Cigarren," but not being a smoker, I can not say whether they were good or not. In this city I had an amusing experience buying a German flag. I couldn't speak "Deutsch," and she couldn't speak English, but we made the trade ... — A Trip Abroad • Don Carlos Janes
... steamer "Henry Clay" to Albany, where we land at 3 P.M. Kossuth is in the place. A great procession, with many other demonstrations in honor of the Hungarian exile, is given. These things are not done for the man personally, but ... — Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary - Collated from his Diary by Benjamin Funk • John Kline
... covered behind with iron-gray hair, and in front with a short tangled growth that curled and kinked in every direction, was surmounted by an old-fashioned stove-pipe hat, worn and stained, but eminently impressive. An old-fashioned Henry Clay cloth coat, stained and threadbare, divided itself impartially over the donkey's back and dangled on his sides. This was all that remained of the elder's wedding suit of forty years ago. Only constant care, and use of late years limited to extra occasions, had preserved ... — The Best American Humorous Short Stories • Various
... health after a sojourn of two weeks amid the charming scenery of Mount Rosalia, or the "Rose-colored Mount," I set forth one morning, accompanied by a competent guide, to visit the home of my friend, Henry Clay. The morning was uncommonly fine, even for the sweet Land of the Blest, and the fragrance from the roses blooming upon the hill-side was ... — Strange Visitors • Henry J. Horn
... these splendid achievements, he received the nomination for President over the names of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and General Scott. It was a spontaneous expression of the people's confidence, unheralded and unsought. And when he was triumphantly elected over the Democratic and Free-soil candidates—General Cass, Martin Van Buren, and Charles Francis Adams—he accepted the high office ... — Sword and Pen - Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier • John Algernon Owens
... little orchard of ragged peach-trees, and half hidden under a great wistaria vine. But though the two places lay within rifle shot of each other, they were almost as completely divided as if the big river below had rolled between them. Since the great fight between old Darby and Cove Mills over Henry Clay, there had rarely been an election in which some members of the two families had not had a "clinch". They had to be thrown together sometimes "at meeting", and their children now and then met down on the river fishing, or at "the washing hole", as the deep place in the little ... — The Burial of the Guns • Thomas Nelson Page
... questions, in discussing which consummate statesmen with intimate practical knowledge of their bearings profoundly differed; and that judgment concludes the controversy, determines the right or wrong, the wisdom or folly, of men like J.Q. Adams, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun. We have seen too much of this abject superstition in recent English historical essays, as well as in political polemics. It is needless to point out the debasing effect upon all discussion of such anticipatory appeal to the arbitrary ... — The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886 • Various
... claimed by a party led by John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina. Daniel Webster had always opposed this doctrine and stood as the representative of those who held that the Union could not be broken. Now, in 1850, Henry Clay undertook to end the quarrel between the States, and as a result there was a famous debate between the most notable living orators, Webster, Calhoun, and Clay, and a new compromise was made. It was called the Compromise of ... — Ten American Girls From History • Kate Dickinson Sweetser
... illustrated by the speeches of Lowndes and Cheves of South Carolina in Congress a few years later, cited by Henry Clay in 1812, in which they very justly say,—"If England should determine to station permanently on our coast a squadron of twelve ships of the line, she would require for this service thirty-six ships of the line, one-third in port repairing, one-third on the passage, and one-third ... — Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 7, No. 44, June, 1861 • Various
... coincided so exactly with the older social and political antagonisms. The leadership of the times was, therefore, sectional in a very vital way; so much was this the case that the most popular and captivating of all the public men of the time, Henry Clay, was defeated again and again for the Presidency because no common understanding between New England and the South, or between New England and the West, could ... — Beginnings of the American People • Carl Lotus Becker
... the end. This battle ended the War of 1812, and when the odds against the Americans are considered, it must be pronounced one of the greatest victories ever won upon the battlefield. The author, Mr. Z.F. Smith, was an old-line Whig, and was taught to hate Jackson as Henry Clay, the leader of the Whigs, hated him, but he has done the old hero full justice in this narrative, and has assigned him full honors of one of the greatest victories ever won. Although his sympathies were ... — The Battle of New Orleans • Zachary F. Smith
... apparent, in this first purely oratorical attempt of Lincoln's. It could hardly have been otherwise at a time when the great Whig orator was making the whole country ring with his wonderful speeches. It is almost certain, too, that Henry Clay, to whom Lincoln later referred as beau ideal of an orator, had a part in moulding this early manner, though this is probably less apparent here than in the ... — Lincoln's Inaugurals, Addresses and Letters (Selections) • Abraham Lincoln
... Green Bay, to attend the treaty of Butte des Morts early in June, taking Mrs. S. on a visit to Green Bay, as a means of diverting her mind from the scene of our recent calamity. At Mackinac, we met the steamboat Henry Clay, chartered to take the commissioners to the bay, with Governor Cass, Colonel McKenney, and General Scott on board, with a large company of visitors, travelers and strangers, among them, many ladies. We joined the group, and had a pleasant ... — Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers • Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
... prepared his first inaugural address in a room over a store in Springfield. His only reference works were Henry Clay's great compromise speech of 1850, Andrew Jackson's Proclamation against Nullification, Webster's great reply to Hayne, and a copy of ... — Lincoln's Yarns and Stories • Alexander K. McClure
... AND PRIVATE CABINETS. We have made a selection of forty of our best specimens, among which are casts from the head, size of life, of John Quincy Adams, Aaron Burr, George Combe, Elihu Burritt, T. H. Benton, Henry Clay, Rev. Dr. Dodd, Thomas A. Emmett, Dr. Gall, Sylvester Graham, J. C. Neal, Walter Scott, Voltaire, Silas Wright, Black Hawk, etc., etc. Phrenological Societies can expend a small sum in no better way than by procuring this set, as they have been selected particularly ... — Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women • George Sumner Weaver
... to think about. That gaunt, craggy man in a shabby gray coat, cut ante-bellum wise, with a cravat that wound itself around his collar, snowy and dainty, but on the same lines as the coat and evidently of rural manufacture in the style favored by the flower and chivalry of the day of Henry Clay, had progressive me as completely overawed for several minutes as any painted redskin ever dominated a squaw—or as Jasper did Petunia in my ... — The Tinder-Box • Maria Thompson Daviess
... that of two small apples, about the size of walnuts, given me by a boy named Henry Clay Montague Porter, of the Sixteenth Connecticut. He had relatives living in North Carolina, who sent him a small packs of eatables, out of which, in the fulness of his generous heart he gave me this share—enough to make me ... — Andersonville, complete • John McElroy
... answered Gus Plum, after a moment of thought. He struck an attitude. "My subject is a most profound one, first broached by Cicero to Henry Clay, during the first trip of the beloved pair ... — Dave Porter in the Far North - or, The Pluck of an American Schoolboy • Edward Stratemeyer
... that day General Scott was to dine with President Van Buren and a number of other distinguished gentlemen. The entire party had arrived, but the President failed to appear. After a time he came in and spoke inaudibly to Henry Clay, one of the guests, and then said to General Scott: "Blood has been shed; you must go with all speed to the Niagara frontier. The Secretary of War is now engaged in making out your instructions." General Scott ... — General Scott • General Marcus J. Wright
... Culver, Parker & Arthur. Having formed from early associations sentiments of hostility to slavery, as a law student and after his admission to the bar became an earnest advocate for the slaves. Became a Henry Clay Whig, and cast his first vote in 1852 for Winfield Scott for President. Participated in the first Republican State convention, at Saratoga, and took an active part in the Fremont campaign of 1856. October 29, 1859, married Ellen Lewis Herndon, of Fredericksburg, ... — A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Section 2 (of 2) of Volume 8: Chester A. Arthur • James D. Richardson
... officers, by which a primary vote was taken on nominations, and afterward a regular ballot was cast; one officer was added to the members of the official board, making nine instead of eight, the former number. The new officers elected were Mrs. Breckenridge of Kentucky, the great-granddaughter of Henry Clay, and Mrs. Catherine Ruutz-Rees of Greenwich, Connecticut. The old officers were re-elected—Miss Jane Addams as first vice-president, Mrs. Breckenridge and Mrs. Ruutz-Rees as second and third vice-presidents, Mrs. Mary ... — The Story of a Pioneer - With The Collaboration Of Elizabeth Jordan • Anna Howard Shaw
... imaginable subject; he led his associates in the miniature parliament—the Franklin Debating Society—to which he belonged; he wrote prose and verse at an astonishing rate; he explored the country for miles around, making frequent pilgrimages to the birthplace of Henry Clay, which is the chief historical glory of Ashland, and to that Hanover Court House which was the scene of the oratorical triumph of Patrick Henry; he flirted with the pretty girls in the village, and even had two half-serious love affairs in rapid succession; he slept upon a hard mattress at night ... — The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I • Burton J. Hendrick
... and culminated in the War of 1812. Several of the States, New Jersey leading off, passed statutes forbidding the citation, in the argument of causes, of any decisions of the English courts made since the Declaration of Independence. Under one of these Henry Clay, in 1808, was stopped by the Supreme Court of Kentucky when reading in argument from an opinion of Lord Ellenborough;[Footnote: Hickman v. Boffman, Hardin's Rep., 348, 364.] but after a few years, legislation of this kind, while it might remain formally unrepealed, was treated as ... — The American Judiciary • Simeon E. Baldwin, LLD
... the four-and-twenty negro potentates, and some, even, that bore the marks of native greatness; as might well be the case, in a system of society where rank and authority are, in a great measure, the result of individual talent and force of character. One head man was very like Henry Clay, both in face and figure. It is remarkable, too, that one of the chiefs at Sinoe not only had a strong personal resemblance to the same distinguished statesman—being, as it were, his image in ebony, or bronze—but, while not speaking, moved constantly about ... — Journal of an African Cruiser • Horatio Bridge
... who held the crowd spellbound for two hours was Henry Clay. The Boy not only heard an eloquent orator. His spirit entered for all time into fellowship with a ... — The Southerner - A Romance of the Real Lincoln • Thomas Dixon
... didn't seem very likely that he would ever find himself in such distinguished company, for Henry Clay was at that time living, and a ... — Bound to Rise • Horatio Alger
... protection and the shipping interests of Boston and New York and the cotton planters of the South strenuously opposed the protective policy. But the agricultural interests were not to be denied. Under the leadership of Henry Clay, the tariff of 1824 was enacted and the "American System" was inaugurated. In 1828, in response to an appeal, emanating from the woolen manufacturers and seconded by the agricultural interests, still further encouragement was given to ... — Outline of the development of the internal commerce of the United States - 1789-1900 • T.W. van Mettre
... rifle, and there was something always in the feel of a gun that lifted him to higher moods. And yet one could reach a tender spot in him without the aid of a gun. That winter vacation I set myself to study things for declamation—specimens of the eloquence of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay and James Otis and Patrick Henry. I practiced them in the barn, often, in sight and hearing of the assembled herd and some of those fiery passages were rather too loud and threatening for the peace and comfort of my audience. The oxen seemed always ... — Eben Holden - A Tale of the North Country • Irving Bacheller
... believe, in small places. He had long ceased to be a Quaker, but he remained a Friend to every righteous cause; and brought shame to his grandson's soul by being an abolitionist in days when it was infamy to wish the slaves set free. My boy's father restored his self-respect in a measure by being a Henry Clay Whig, or a constitutional anti-slavery man. The grandfather was a fervent Methodist, but the father, after many years of scepticism, had become a receiver of the doctrines of Emanuel Swedenborg; and in this ... — A Boy's Town • W. D. Howells
... meetings, and the novelty of the occasion attracted large crowds, but there was also much genuine interest. The success was partly due to the excellent work of the press of Atlanta. There was, however, no editorial endorsement except by The Sunny South, Col. Henry Clay Fairman, editor. ... — The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV • Various
... Samuel Jackson, who, during a long and extended practice in his profession, had been at one time Henry Clay's physician. I attended a course of his lectures at the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. He had lost the use of his lower extremities, and was seated in a chair, at his home ... — Reminiscences of Two Years in the United States Navy • John M. Batten
... morning Henry Clay, finding himself in need of money, went to the Riggs Bank and asked for the loan of $250 on his personal note. He was told that while his credit was perfectly good, it was the inflexible rule of the bank to require an indorser. The great ... — Toaster's Handbook - Jokes, Stories, and Quotations • Peggy Edmund & Harold W. Williams, compilers
... fine example of the old school statesman-lawyer of the Henry Clay type. He belonged to that small class of public men who are independent of all coteries, whose only ambition is to serve their country well, who know no other duty than that dictated by their oath and conscience. A brilliant and forceful orator, there was no office in the gift of the ... — The Third Degree - A Narrative of Metropolitan Life • Charles Klein and Arthur Hornblow
... the champions of the American idea, and would have led the country in the determined effort to free itself once for all from colonial politics, even if they were obliged to fight somebody to accomplish it. They proved unequal to the task, and it fell to a younger generation led by Henry Clay and his contemporaries to sweep Federalist and Jeffersonian republican alike, with their French and British politics, out of existence. In so doing the younger generation did but complete the work of Washington, for he it was who ... — George Washington, Vol. II • Henry Cabot Lodge
... sending out to help save our republic from the fate of other nations that have perished through their vices. We need more men with moral courage to voice and vote their convictions. When the slavery question was agitating the country Henry Clay stood for a compromise he believed would help to solve the question. Many of his friends in the South censured him, and sent him letters calling him a traitor. He arose in the Senate to speak, it is said, looking ... — Wit, Humor, Reason, Rhetoric, Prose, Poetry and Story Woven into Eight Popular Lectures • George W. Bain
... revived the people's drooping pride and put new energy into the nation's dealings with its rivals, contributing more than any other single event to make this war indeed a "second war of independence." "Now," declared Henry Clay when the news reached him in Paris, "I can go to England without mortification." Finally, the battle brought Andrew Jackson into his own as the idol and incarnation of the West, and set the western democracy decisively forward as a force ... — The Reign of Andrew Jackson • Frederic Austin Ogg
... picture of Henry Clay," remarked Landis, in obvious relevancy to his companion's attire, "there's a picture of Henry Clay somewheres about the house in a swallow-tail coat. Governor Ray spoke here in one in early times, Bodeffer says, except it was higher built up 'n yourn about the collar, ... — The Gentleman From Indiana • Booth Tarkington
... on a dark, rainy evening in the month of September, 1830, that we went on board the steamer "Henry Clay," to take passage for Green Bay. All our friends in Detroit had congratulated us upon our good fortune in being spared the voyage in one of the little schooners which at this time afforded the ordinary means of communication with the few and ... — Wau-bun - The Early Day in the Northwest • Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie
... States by setting on foot a military expedition against Mexico and with inciting citizens to rebellion in the Western States. But at the meeting of the grand jury Burr appeared surrounded by his friends and with young Henry Clay for counsel. The grand jury refused to indict him and he left the court in triumph. Some weeks later the District-Attorney renewed his motion; but again Burr was discharged by the grand jury, amid popular applause. Enthusiastic admirers in Frankfort even ... — Jefferson and his Colleagues - A Chronicle of the Virginia Dynasty, Volume 15 In The - Chronicles Of America Series • Allen Johnson
... which is the least important of the three. But it is worth noting once more how little they know of the history, and how illogically that little is chosen. They have heard, no doubt, of the fame and the greatness of Henry Clay. He is a cigar. But it would be unwise to cross-examine any Englishman, who may be consuming that luxury at the moment, about the Missouri Compromise or the controversies with Andrew Jackson. And just as the statesman of Kentucky is a cigar, so the state of Virginia is a cigarette. ... — What I Saw in America • G. K. Chesterton
... that followed. Finally the bill was passed by a vote of 91 to 82, the prohibitory amendment being adopted by a majority of eight. The bill for the admission of Missouri was attached to that for the admission of Maine. The suggestion of this stratagem was made on the 20th of December by Henry Clay, who declared that he did "not mean to give his consent to the admission of Maine, so long as the doctrine was upheld of annexing conditions to the admission of States beyond the mountains." The analogy was scarcely just. Under the Constitution ... — A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year - Volume Two (of Three) • Edwin Emerson
... the "Vicar of Wakefield." Carey was fired to go on a mission to the heathen by reading "Voyages of Captain Cook." Samuel Drew credited his eminent career to reading Locke's "Essay on the Understanding." The lives of Washington and Henry Clay awakened aspirations in Lincoln's soul, that impelled him forward and gave direction to his life. The national system of education in Great Britain grew out of a book. Joseph Lancastar read "Clarkson on the Slave Trade," when he was fourteen years ... — From Boyhood to Manhood • William M. Thayer
... through which many countries of Spanish America have passed, we may believe that Bolivar's ideas were based on a knowledge of all the weaknesses characteristic of the Spanish American people of his time. He wanted to live up to the lofty words of Henry Clay, who, in the House of Representatives of the United States, proposed that Colombia should be recognized as a free country, "worthy for many reasons to stand side by side with the most illustrious peoples of the world," a solemn utterance which had little weight at ... — Simon Bolivar, the Liberator • Guillermo A. Sherwell
... sense of depression, however, deserted me as we entered the hall, which was well lighted and filled with people, who clapped when the Hon. Joseph and I, accompanied by Mr. Doddridge and the Hon. Henry Clay Mellish from Pottstown, with the local chairman, walked out on the stage. A glance over the audience sufficed to ascertain that that portion of the population whose dinner pails we longed to fill was evidently not present ... — The Crossing • Winston Churchill
... the temporary "Brick Capitol," located on the site where the Supreme Court building now stands. A controversy resulted from the inaugural committees proposals concerning the use of the House Chamber on the second floor of the brick building. Speaker Henry Clay declined the use of the hall and suggested that the proceedings be held outside. The President's speech to the crowd from a platform adjacent to the brick building was the first outdoor inaugural address. Chief Justice John Marshall administered ... — United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches - From Washington to George W. Bush • Various
... Platt! Come t' supper to-night?" said the Henry Clay; and so questions and answers flew back and forth. Men had met one another before, dory-fishing in the fog, and there is no place for gossip like the Bank fleet. They all seemed to know about Harvey's rescue, and asked if he were worth his salt yet. The ... — "Captains Courageous" • Rudyard Kipling
... portrait of Henry Clay, which forms the frontispiece, thanks are due to Mr. Charles Henry Hart, of Philadelphia, the owner of the life-mask ... — Rise of the New West, 1819-1829 - Volume 14 in the series American Nation: A History • Frederick Jackson Turner
... influential friend at Washington that had persuaded the government to take an interest in him and get him out. The whole prison was excited. At last an officer came and shouted at the top of his voice, "Henry Clay Trumbull!" The chaplain told me his name never sounded so sweet to him as it did that day. That was election, but you can't find any Henry Clay Trumbull in the Bible. There is no special case in the Bible. God's proclamations are to all sinners. Everybody ... — Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations - Related in his Revival Work by the Great Evangilist • Dwight L. Moody
... Henry Clay Burchard came from the far South, and followed a style of oratory long since gone out of date. He wore his heavy black hair a little long, and when he mounted the platform he would pull out the tremulo stop, stretching out his hands ... — 100%: The Story of a Patriot • Upton Sinclair
... through pine woods, was intolerable. I was glad enough to reach Tennessee and old Kentucky. The people of Frankfort treated me very handsomely, as did those of Lexington. I paid my respects to the local idol, the young Virginia orator and rising lawyer, Henry Clay. That man is a prodigy—he will make his mark. I wish he were hand in hand with us, like Jackson, and ready to embark his fortune at ... — A Dream of Empire - Or, The House of Blennerhassett • William Henry Venable
... used on visiting-cards in America, save military, naval, or judicial ones; and, indeed, many of our most distinguished judges have had cards printed simply with the name, without prefix or affix. "Mr. Webster," "Mr. Winthrop," "Henry Clay" are well-known instances of simplicity. But a woman must always use the prefix "Mrs." or "Miss." A gentleman may or may not use the prefix "Mr.," as he pleases, but women must treat themselves with more respect. No card ... — Manners and Social Usages • Mrs. John M. E. W. Sherwood
... of the great debater, was not able usually and easily to think quickly and effectively on his feet, to give and take hard blows within the short range of extemporaneous and hand to hand encounters. Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams were pre-eminent in this species of parliamentary combat. Webster and Calhoun were powerful opponents whom it was dangerous to meet. Sumner perhaps never experienced that electric sympathy and marvellous interplay of emotion ... — Charles Sumner Centenary - The American Negro Academy. Occasional Papers No. 14 • Archibald H. Grimke
... the grandsons, "told me that the last time he saw Henry Clay, Mr. Clay took his hand in both of his and said, with great emphasis: 'It is to your grandfather that I owe my present position with regard to slavery. It was he who first pointed out to me the curse it entailed on the white man, and the manifold ... — Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800 - Read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, November 16, 1872 • William Frederick Poole
... your Excellency may know who has taken this liberty, the undersigned begs leave to refer you to the Hon. George Evans, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, General Scott, or to any member of Congress from the Northern or ... — The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 122, December, 1867 • Various
... 1839, Henry Clay delivered a speech in the United States Senate, which was intended to smooth away the difficulties which his moderate opposition to the encroachments of slavery had erected in his path to the presidency. His calumniation of O'Connell called out the following summary ... — The Complete Works of Whittier - The Standard Library Edition with a linked Index • John Greenleaf Whittier
... living at Mansfield, Ohio, and returned to Washington, where, on the 1st day of May, 1850, I was married to Miss Ellen Boyle Ewing, daughter of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior. The marriage ceremony was attended by a large and distinguished company, embracing Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, T. H. Benton, President Taylor, and all his cabinet. This occurred at the house of Mr. Ewing, the same now owned and occupied by Mr. F. P. Blair, senior, on Pennsylvania Avenue, opposite the War Department. We made a wedding tour to Baltimore, New York, Niagara, ... — The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, Complete • William T. Sherman
... certainly one of the most brilliant orations of either ancient or modern times. Certain passages in it remind one of a shower of falling stars. It is remarkable for its light and shade. He began with a gay and graceful compliment to Thomas Corwin, an old statesman of the Henry Clay school, who was seated on the platform; but he soon became intensely serious. "The lesson of the hour is insurrection. And why is it? Because we are all recreant Americans; recreant to the principles ... — Sketches from Concord and Appledore • Frank Preston Stearns
... war of 1812 our forefathers imported many Arabian stallions to recuperate the blood of their remnants in horses. From 1830 such prominent men as Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay said all they could by private letter and public speech to encourage the importation of and breeding freely to the Arabian horse, and specially did the State of Kentucky follow the advice of Henry Clay, so that from 1830 up to 1857 Kentucky had more Arabian stallions in her little ... — Scientific American Supplement, No. 611, September 17, 1887 • Various
... she'd give us another figure like those that are stuck all over Boston, like pins in a pincushion," Hubbard objected. "Some carpet-knight, with a face spread over with a grin as inane as that of Henry Clay on a cigar-box cover." ... — The Philistines • Arlo Bates
... was appointed governor of Florida in 1821. In 1823 was elected a Senator of the United States, and nominated as candidate for the Presidency by the legislature of Tennessee. His competitors were John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford. Jackson received 99 electoral votes, Adams 84, Crawford 41, and Clay 37. As no candidate had a majority, the election devolved on the House of Representatives, and it resulted in the choice of Mr. ... — A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, - Vol. 2, Part 3, Andrew Jackson, 1st term • Edited by James D. Richardson
... of the system was made on May 11, 1844. On that day the Whig National Convention, then in session at Baltimore, had nominated Henry Clay for the Presidency. The telegraph was being built from the Washington end, and was yet miles distant from Baltimore. The first railroad train from Baltimore carried passengers who were eager to tell the tidings to their Washington friends. But it ... — Historic Tales, Vol. 1 (of 15) - The Romance of Reality • Charles Morris
... 1862.—On my arrival yesterday at the Henry Clay Hotel (named in honor of the late far-seeing statesman) I was waited on by a delegation consisting of the three colonels intrusted with the command of the regiments of my brigade. It was an occasion that will be memorable in the political ... — The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 - Epigrams, On With the Dance, Negligible Tales • Ambrose Bierce
... — separated forever — in act if not in sentiment, by the opening of the Boston and Albany Railroad; the appearance of the first Cunard steamers in the bay; and the telegraphic messages which carried from Baltimore to Washington the news that Henry Clay and James K. Polk were nominated for the Presidency. This was in May, 1844; he was six years old ; his new world was ready for use, and only fragments of the old ... — The Education of Henry Adams • Henry Adams
... could, in the bosom of the Union, even in respect of the gifts in which Mr. Douglass was most brilliant, be no "walking over the course" by him. It was in the country and time of Bancroft, Irving, Whittier, Longfellow, Holmes, Bryant, Motley, Henry Clay, Dan Webster, and others of the laureled phalanx which has added so great and imperishable a lustre to the literature of ... — West Indian Fables by James Anthony Froude Explained by J. J. Thomas • J. J. (John Jacob) Thomas
... had a life of Henry Clay, whom he nearly idolized. His one poet was Burns, whom he knew by heart "from a to izzard." Throughout his life he ... — The Life of Abraham Lincoln • Henry Ketcham
... saw him drink no wine, although there was plenty about him, nor did your father and mother who saw him dine at the United States Hotel. If you do not like him because he tastes wine, how can you like Henry Clay who drinks it freely? Mr. Webster drinks wine also. At a Whig festival got up in Boston in his honor, at which he and 1,200 other Whigs were present, there were drunk 2,300 bottles of champagne, two bottles to each ... — The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) • Ida Husted Harper
... May 27, 1844, Mr. Polk was nominated for President of the United States by the national Democratic convention at Baltimore, and on November 12 was elected, receiving about 40,000 majority on the popular vote, and 170 electoral votes to 105 that were cast for Henry Clay. He was inaugurated March 4, 1845. Among the important events of his Administration were the establishment of the United States Naval Academy; the consummation of the annexation of Texas; the admission of Texas, Iowa, and ... — A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Polk - Section 3 (of 3) of Volume 4: James Knox Polk • Compiled by James D. Richardson
... appeared like nature's nobleman. Marcy had a bold, full forehead, with heavy brows and eyes deep set and expressive. It was decidedly a Websterian head, though the large, firm mouth and admirably moulded chin rather recalled those of Henry Clay. The face would have been austere, forbidding easy approach, except for the good-natured twinkle in the eye and a quiet smile lingering about the mouth. Marcy was above the ordinary height, with square, powerful ... — A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3 • DeAlva Stanwood Alexander
... in my district the other day I delib'ritly voted for Henry Clay. I admit that Henry is dead, but inasmuch as we don't seem to have a live statesman in our National Congress, let us by all means have a ... — The Complete Works of Artemus Ward, Part 2 • Charles Farrar Browne
... That monstrous braggadocio which Dickens properly satirized in Martin Chuzzlewit was partly, of course, the product of provincial ignorance. Doubtless there were, and there are still, plenty of Pograms who are convinced that Henry Clay and Daniel Webster overtop all the intellectual giants of the Old World. But that youthful bragging, and perhaps some of the later bragging as well, has its social side. It is a perverted idealism. It springs from group loyalty, from sectional ... — The American Mind - The E. T. Earl Lectures • Bliss Perry
... was chosen president by the House of Representatives, there being no choice in the electoral contest, Adams receiving 84 votes, Andrew Jackson 99, William H. Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. Clay stood in with Mr. Adams in the House of Representatives deal, it was said, and was appointed secretary of state under Mr. Adams as a result. This may not be true, but a party told me about it who got it straight from Washington, and he also told me in confidence ... — Remarks • Bill Nye
... December 21, 1816, in the Davis Hotel, a public meeting, attended by citizens of Washington, Georgetown, Alexandria, and other parts of the country. Among the men of note present, not heretofore mentioned, were Henry Clay, Francis S. Key, Bishop William Meade, John Randolph, and Judge Bushrod Washington.[273] Niles reports the attendance "numerous and respectable, and its proceedings fraught with interest."[274] The avowed object of the meeting was for the "purpose of considering the expediency ... — The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917 • Various
... and Maurice, upstairs to wash them I looked out the window into the driveway and saw the horses that belonged to Marse Briar Jones. They nickered at the gate trying to get in. The horses were named Henry Clay and Dan. When the children went down I waved at the horses and they looked up at the window and nickered again and seemed to know me. When we were coming back from Texas, Maurice held on the plait of my hair all the way ... — Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Kentucky Narratives • Works Projects Administration
... changed your opinions. We stand where we used to stand, That is the only difference.... Sir, we stand where Washington stood, where Jefferson stood, where Madison stood, where Monroe stood. We stand where Adams and Jackson and even Polk stood. That revered statesman, Henry Clay, of blessed memory, with his dying breath asserted the doctrine that we hold to-day.... As to compromises, I had supposed that we were all agreed that the day of compromises was at an end. The most solemn compromises we have ever made have been violated without ... — Abraham Lincoln, A History, Volume 2 • John George Nicolay and John Hay
... Webster, six years after uttering those words, pointed out in Fanueil Hall when the old statesman died, was probably the most influential member of the Continental Congress, after Washington, since he was its greatest orator and its most impassioned character. He led the Assembly, as Henry Clay afterwards led the Senate, and Canning led the House of Commons, by that inspired logic which few could resist. Jefferson spoke of him as "the colossus of debate." It is the fashion in these prosaic times to undervalue congressional and parliamentary ... — Beacon Lights of History, Volume XI • John Lord
... Adams wing of the Democratic-Republican party, a feeble organization, into which shrewd political leaders breathed new life by utilizing the Anti-Masonic feeling. The party spread into other middle states and into New England; in 1827 the N.Y. leaders tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade Henry Clay, though a Mason, to renounce the order and become the party's candidate for president. In 1831 the Anti-Masons nominated William Wirt of Maryland, and in the election they secured the seven electoral votes of Vermont. In the following year the organization grew moribund, most ... — The Greatest Highway in the World • Anonymous
... finest remark I ever heard a guide make—until this same guide stepped in front of a portrait of Henry Clay, and, after a second's ... — Your United States - Impressions of a first visit • Arnold Bennett
... replied the spirit gravely, "and died shortly before the civil war. People came from other cities to hear my sermons, and the biographical writers have honoured my memory by saying that I was a great man. I was contemporaneous with Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Shortly after I reached threescore and ten, according to earthly years, I caught what I considered only a slight cold, for I had always had good health, but it became pneumonia. My friends, children, ... — A Journey in Other Worlds • J. J. Astor
... was nearing its close, and the Democratic party was preparing to reelect him. The Whigs, on their part, had held their first national convention in December, 1831, and nominated Henry Clay to dispute the succession. This nomination, made almost a year in advance of the election, indicates an unusual degree of political activity in the East, and voters in the new State of Illinois were fired with an ... — A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln - Condensed from Nicolay & Hay's Abraham Lincoln: A History • John G. Nicolay
... to all human seeming at the middle of our century American slavery seemed to be more firmly established than ever before. Neither the outcry of the Northern abolitionists nor the appeals of Southern patriots such as Henry Clay, availed to check the pro-slavery disposition in fully one-half the Union, or to abate the covert favor with which the institution was regarded in nearly all ... — Notable Events of the Nineteenth Century - Great Deeds of Men and Nations and the Progress of the World • Various
... with their honors thick upon them; I remember one who returned with the prize in oratory from a contest between several western State universities, proudly testifying that he had obtained his confidence in our Henry Clay Club; another came back with a degree from Harvard University saying that he had made up his mind to go there the summer I read Royce's "Aspects of Modern Philosophy" with a group of young men who had challenged my scathing remark that Herbert Spencer was not the only man who had ventured ... — Twenty Years At Hull House • Jane Addams
... to explain away the marrow and substance of the famous resolutions, which told so injuriously against the State Rights party every where, contributed, at a still later day, to weaken that party in Kentucky; but the vital change in the political faith of Kentucky, was wrought by Henry Clay. All previous interruptions to the opinions which she had acquired as her birthright from Virginia, were but partial, and would have been ephemeral, but the spell which the great magician cast over his people was like the glamour of mediaeval enchantment. It bound them in helpless but delighted ... — History of Morgan's Cavalry • Basil W. Duke
... several states, it appeared that none of the candidates had the requisite constitutional majority; the whole number of votes being two hundred and sixty-one—of which Andrew Jackson had ninety-nine, John Quincy Adams eighty-four, William H. Crawford forty-one, and Henry Clay thirty-seven. For the office of Vice-President, John C. Calhoun had one hundred and eighty votes, ... — Memoir of the Life of John Quincy Adams. • Josiah Quincy
... never could have seemed a very happy subject for such missives, and, moreover, he never indulged in language calculated to provoke them. Randolph, however, would have challenged anybody or anything, from Henry Clay to a field-mouse, if the fancy happened to strike him. Mr. Webster's reply is a model of dignity and veiled contempt. He refused to admit Randolph's right to an explanation, alluded to that gentleman's lack of courtesy in the House, denied his right to call him out, and wound ... — Daniel Webster • Henry Cabot Lodge
... obligations both in the United States and Great Britain. I can only acknowledge a very few here. To my teachers, Prof. F. W. Taussig and W. Z. Ripley, I owe much, both for their instruction, direct help and example. In Great Britain, Mr. John A. Hobson, Mr. Henry Clay and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Webb aided me greatly to understand British experience. My debt to the work of Judge Jethro W. Brown of the South Australia Industrial Court is heavy as the book shows. Above all I have to thank my friend Dr. Walter B. Kahn ... — The Settlement of Wage Disputes • Herbert Feis
... One Who Has No Title to Himself Disunionists Dred Scott Equality Evasive with His Wife Execrable Commerce Father's Request for Money Free All the Slaves, and Send Them to Liberia Fugitive Slave Law General of Splendidly Successful Charges Government Was Made for the White People Henry Clay Hypocracy Improvements Inform a Negro of His Legal Rights Interested Faultfinders Just Leave Her Alone Kings Let the Slavery of the Other States Alone Letters to Family Members Locos Loss of Primary for Senator Mexico Missouri Compromise Mixing of Blood by the White and Black Races Moderation ... — Widger's Quotations from Abraham Lincoln's Writings • David Widger
... Henry Clay was very bashful and diffident, and scarcely dared recite before his class at school, but he determined to become an orator. So he committed speeches and recited them in the cornfields, or in the barn with the horse and cows for ... — Pushing to the Front • Orison Swett Marden
... was so beautifully written that he had not the heart to decline it, and yet in parts so—what shall we say?—so full of the "Wisdom of the East" that he did not dare to publish it in the West. Whereupon he adopted the policy of Mr. Henry Clay, which is, no doubt, always a mistake. And the author, bearing in mind the make-up of that race of Man called publishers, gave way on condition that this APOLOGIA should appear without change. Here it is, without so much as the alteration of an Ibsen ... — Memoirs of My Dead Life • George Moore
... There were more yells. "I am telling you, if you will hear me. You old Whigs who followed Henry Clay to the end, why do you denounce me when the Kansas-Nebraska bill is the same in principle as Clay's Compromises of ... — Children of the Market Place • Edgar Lee Masters
... was seemingly hostile to the woman suffrage movement, just as he was toward the anti-slavery cause, after the Abolitionists in rolling up 60,000 votes for James G. Birney, defeated Henry Clay, and gave the ascendency to the Democrats by electing Polk. Clay being a strong Protectionist was a great favorite with Mr. Greeley, and his defeat was a sore disappointment, and for years he denounced Abolitionists individually and collectively ... — History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage |