Editing Henry Clay (section)

====Return to the Senate====
Even with Clay out of office, President Jackson continued to see Clay as one of his major rivals, and Jackson at one point suspected Clay of being behind the [[Petticoat affair]], a controversy involving the wives of his Cabinet members.{{sfn|Howe|2007|p=340}} Clay strongly opposed the 1830 [[Indian Removal Act]], which authorized the administration to relocate Native Americans to land west of the [[Mississippi River]].{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=222–223}} Another key point of contention between Clay and Jackson was the proposed [[Maysville Road veto|Maysville Road]], which would connect [[Maysville, Kentucky]], to the National Road in [[Zanesville, Ohio]]; transportation advocates hoped that later extensions would eventually connect the National Road to [[New Orleans]].{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=161–162}} In 1830, Jackson vetoed the project both because he felt that the road did not constitute interstate commerce, and also because he generally opposed using the federal government to promote economic modernization.{{sfn|Goodrich|1950|pp=145–169}} While Jackson's veto garnered support from opponents of infrastructure spending, it damaged his base of support in Clay's home state of Kentucky.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=162–163}} Clay returned to federal office in 1831 by winning election to the Senate over [[Richard Mentor Johnson]] in a 73 to 64 vote of the Kentucky legislature.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=236}} His return to the Senate after 20 years, 8 months, 7 days out of office, marks the fourth-longest gap in service to the chamber in history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2013/12/04/bob-smith-and-the-12-year-itch/ |title=Bob Smith and the 12-Year Itch |work=Smart Politics |first=Eric |last=Ostermeier |date=December 4, 2013}}</ref>