Henry Clay's Role In The Civil War

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Henry Clay is considered the greatest politician of his era, and is still considered one of the best that America has seen to even this day. His nickname was “The Great Compromiser”. His political abilities had no limit. Henry Clay was key in keeping the United States together during the 19th Century. He was always active in using the newfound freedom of speech to voice his opinions strongly about issues the country faced, both internally and externally. He was influential in his office spots in both his time in the government and his actions. Clay introduced the concept of the Amicus Brief (Latin term meaning “friend of the court”. Name for a brief filed with the court by someone who is not a party to the case) to the Supreme Court. According…show more content…
He ordered the Secretary of the Treasury, William Duane, to withdraw crucial amounts of money from the bank. Duane refused and was ultimately replaced with a more willing Roger Taney. Clay took action by proposing that the Senate censure Jackson for abusing his power of authority. The Senate adopted the idea with a vote of 26 to 20. This just continued his involvement in government. Clay, who was always involved, was part of the reason why America lasted. Something that people don’t realize is that he actually prevented the Civil War at one point. The war would have been sooner if it wasn’t for his political prowess. He helped the country prolong the war until it was unavoidable and the country was prepared to recover. His contributions to the country were…show more content…
Clay was actually happier as a farmer than he was as a politician. With inspiration from Washington and Jefferson alike, Clay believed in the emergence of scientific approach to agriculture and also animal husbandry, which is the science of breeding and caring for farm animals. He developed his estate of Ashland into a progressive farming estate. He introduced jacks from Spain, Malta and Durham from England, and was the first to import Hereford Cattle into America. Clay’s vision was to breed the finest animals for his farm, his state, and the country he served for, and served quite well. “While home at Ashland, Clay exchanged the “strife of politics” for a “passion for rural occupations.” There he was surrounded by well-maintained outbuildings, fields of grain and hemp, and a variety of trees, plants and vegetables. His agrarian knowledge was evident in his letters and articles, and he was both judge and award winner at local stock fairs.” (henryclay.org) He was on the committee of the Kentucky Society for Promoting Agriculture as early as 1819 always trying to find ways to contribute to agriculture development. Clay was always contributing to the community with major farm journals and he frequently met with the leading agriculturists of his day to discuss farming methods and scientific methods/advancements that could help
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