Henry Clay

Henry Clay was an American politician who served as Speaker of the House, secretary of state, and senator. Known as the “Great Compromiser,” he promoted federal economic development and negotiated major sectional settlements.

John C. Calhoun: John C. Calhoun was a South Carolina statesman who defended slavery and states’ rights and served as vice president and senator. Calhoun’s sectional arguments repeatedly challenged Clay’s efforts to preserve national unity.
Missouri Compromise: The 1820 agreement admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while restricting slavery in part of the Louisiana Purchase. Clay helped secure this early settlement of conflict over slavery’s expansion.
Logrolling: Logrolling is the exchange of political support among legislators to assemble votes for separate measures. Clay used coalition-building and linked interests to move contested legislation through Congress.
American Whig thought: American Whig thought favored congressional authority, commercial development, and a federal role in building national infrastructure. Clay’s program gave this political tradition much of its language and policy agenda.
Daniel Webster: Daniel Webster was a U.S. senator and orator who defended the Union and supported the Compromise of 1850. Webster joined Clay in urging compromise during the crisis of 1850.
Compromise Tariff of 1833: The 1833 tariff law gradually reduced duties and helped end the nullification crisis. Clay negotiated the tariff concession that helped avert confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government.
Protective tariff: A protective tariff is a tax on imports designed to shield domestic producers from foreign competition. Clay treated tariff protection as a way to encourage U.S. manufacturing and fund national development.
Second Party System: The Second Party System was the era of organized competition between Democrats and Whigs, roughly from the 1820s to the 1850s. Clay helped form the Whigs into a national opposition party.
Andrew Jackson: Andrew Jackson was the seventh U.S. president, known for expanding executive power and opposing the national bank. Jackson’s opposition to Clay’s economic program drove their defining political rivalry.
American System: Henry Clay’s economic program proposed protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally supported internal improvements. This was Clay’s signature program for binding regional economies into a stronger national market.

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