Reviews for Henry Clay

The average rating for Henry Clay based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-06-20 00:00:00 George Subleski Henry Clay was a titanic figure on the American political scene during the first half of the nineteenth century and the late Dr. Robert Remini did him honor with his Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. Clay's career mirrored the trajectory of U.S. politics from the generation of the Revolution to the threshold of the Civil War. This era saw the domination of America by the contest between Jacksonian democrats and the nation's Great Triumvirate of John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. These three have declined in recognition in recent decades, but they towered over public discourse between 1812 and the 1850s. The most prominent of the triumvirs was Clay. As a political figure, he commanded the national scene during a time that witnessed the transition of public concerns from arguments over a national bank, tariffs, and internal improvements to those over expansionism and slavery. Clay had a lust for life. He was castigated as a gambler, drinker, ladies' man, and duelist – and he was all of those. But also he was lauded as an orator of rare gifts, a persuasive politician, and an accomplished statesman. A three-time presidential candidate, Clay excelled as a member of the House of Representatives -- acting as its Speaker for three separate terms. He served sixteen years in the U.S. Senate and as Secretary of State in the administration of John Quincy Adams. Clay was a member of the commission which negotiated the Treaty of Ghent that settled the War of 1812. Throughout his public career, he continued to practice law. He argued before the U. S. Supreme Court many times and introduced the concept of the Amicus Brief into Supreme Court jurisprudence. Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stated two of his cases were cited 28 times during her tenure on the court and another case has been cited 86 times overall. Clay earned the appellation “The Great Pacificator” for being the driving force behind the three crucial compromises – the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the resolution of the Nullification Crisis in 1833, and the Compromise of 1850 – which defused sectional animosities and delayed the Civil War. Some said if Clay had lived another ten years, the South may not have seceded in the 1860s – he would have forged a compromise. Perhaps Clay's greatest fame came as a nationally-renowned orator. In a time of limited entertainment options, his Senate debates with John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton and many Jacksonians were attended by throngs of private citizens, House members (including John Quincy Adams), foreign diplomats, and ladies by the score. The Capitol building was often flooded with listeners. He delivered public speeches to crowds of thousands in almost every major city and town in the United States. His speeches were reprinted and distributed throughout the nation as valuable newspaper copy. Clay's bound speeches sold widely. The Frankfort Commonwealth prophesied “In five hundred years to come, it is not probable that an opportunity will occur to elevate his equal. Greece produced but one Demosthenes; Rome but one Cicero; and America, we fear, will never see another Clay.” Perhaps one of Clay's most significant legacies was his impact upon a young congressman from Illinois. Abraham Lincoln was in the audience for Clay's famous Lexington speech of November 1847. Lincoln considered Clay “my beau ideal of a statesman” and adopted much of his political ideology himself. The young Lincoln revered “The Great Pacificator” because of the Kentuckian's commitment to the Union, his economic nationalism, and his dedication to the gradual elimination of slavery. Remini's Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union is a serious academic study of the distinguished American statesman and founder of the Whig Party, but Professor John Niven wrote “Remini's Clay is what modern, readable, scholarly biography ought to be, but rarely is.” I couldn't agree more. Dr. Remini earned Five Stars from me. His book should find its way to the shelf of any reader with a deep interest in antebellum American political life.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-04-16 00:00:00 Wan Chi Chang Robert Remini’s “Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union” was published in 1991 and was the first traditional biography of Clay in more than half a century (since Glyndon Van Deusen’s 1937 “The Life of Henry Clay”). Remini was a distinguished historian and authored nearly two dozen books – including biographies of Andrew Jackson I previously read and reviewed. Remini died in 2013 at the age of 91. As the preeminent biographer of Andrew Jackson (Clay’s long-time political rival), Remini seems the perfect person to author a comprehensive review of Henry Clay’s life. But because Jackson and Clay were such bitter political enemies, he is also an unconventional choice to write a balanced account of Clay’s personal life and political career. But this 786-page biography is not only scrupulously objective, it almost seems to betray a preference for Clay over Jackson. Written in a strictly chronological style, this book is easy to follow, extremely well researched and provides tremendous insight into Clay’s enormously compelling and controversial career. Remini’s writing style, however, too often feels “heavy” and lacks the elegance, fluidity and vivid scene-setting which great biographies frequently exhibit. Fortunately for the reader, Clay’s dynamic and often exasperating personality is artfully dissected and articulated early in this biography. And because Remini’s knowledge of the era is so deep, the narrative rarely loses sight of the “big picture.” Finally, because he understands Andrew Jackson so well, Remini is able to skillfully compare and contrast the political styles and strengths of these two extraordinarily fascinating contemporaries. Nevertheless, readers will quickly encounter several flaws in this otherwise titillating biography. First, its length is unquestionably intimidating and, after several chapters, the narrative settles into a tediously mechanistic routine of regurgitating Clay’s day-to-day movements and summarizing his congressional speeches (many of which are, admittedly, quite stirring). In addition, Remini’s ongoing appraisal of Clay’s persona grows familiar and predictable and he feels over-simplified and oddly two-dimensional. Remini also seems strangely uncritical of Clay’s most conspicuous and contradictory flaw – his personal embrace of slavery while publicly claiming to despise it. But it is Remini’s literary loquacity which proves even more frustrating: Clay’s life could have been fully revealed with far greater efficiency (if not clarity). Finally, the biography unfortunately ends shortly after Clay’s death without considering his legacy or his substantial contribution to the American political scene. Overall, Robert Remini’s “Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union” is an enormously valuable historical reference document and an interesting, but too often tedious, personal and political biography. Readers with a healthy dose of perseverance will find Remini and Henry Clay work well together. But the most lasting impression I take away is not that Remini’s biography of Clay isn’t good…it’s that it should have been great. Overall rating: 3¾ stars