Editing Henry Clay (section)

==Speaker of the House==
===Election and leadership===
The [[1810 and 1811 United States House of Representatives elections|1810–1811 elections]] produced many young, anti-British members of Congress who, like Clay, supported going to war with Great Britain. Buoyed by the support of fellow [[war hawk]]s, Clay was elected [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] for the [[12th United States Congress|12th Congress]].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=85}} At 34, he was the youngest person to become speaker, a distinction he held until 1839, when 30-year-old [[Robert M. T. Hunter]] took office.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ostermeier |first=Eric |title=Paul Ryan Would Be Youngest House Speaker Since 1860s |date=October 13, 2015 |url=http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/about-smart-politics/ |work=Smart Politics |publisher=University of Minnesota Libraries |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref> He was also the first of only two new members elected speaker to date,{{efn|The speaker during the [[1st United States Congress|1st Congress]], [[Frederick Muhlenberg]], was technically also a new member.}} the other being [[William Pennington]] in 1860.<ref>{{cite web |last=Heitshusen |first=Valerie |title=The Speaker of the House: House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative |date=February 11, 2011 |work=CRS Report for Congress |url=http://www.wise-intern.org/orientation/documents/97-780.pdf |page=2 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]], the Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=February 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417074744/http://www.wise-intern.org/orientation/documents/97-780.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Between 1810 and 1824, Clay was elected to seven terms in the House.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clay, Henry: 1777–1852 |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/11051 |work=History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives |publisher=The Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref> His tenure was interrupted from 1814 to 1815 when he was a commissioner to peace talks with the British in [[Ghent]], [[Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands|United Netherlands]] to end the [[War of 1812]], and from 1821 to 1823, when he left Congress to rebuild his family's fortune in the aftermath of the [[Panic of 1819]].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=148–149}} [[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections|Elected speaker six times]], Clay's cumulative tenure in office of 10 years, 196 days, is the second-longest, surpassed only by [[Sam Rayburn]].<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Speakers of the House |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Office/Speakers-List/ |work=History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives |publisher=The Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref>

As speaker, Clay wielded considerable power in making committee appointments, and like many of his predecessors he assigned his allies to important committees. Clay was exceptional in his ability to control the legislative agenda through well-placed allies and the establishment of new committees and departed from precedent by frequently taking part in floor debates.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=86}} Yet he also gained a reputation for personal courteousness and fairness in his rulings and committee appointments.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=31–32}} Clay's drive to increase the power of the office of speaker was aided by President [[James Madison]], who deferred to Congress in most matters.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=88–89}} [[John Randolph of Roanoke|John Randolph]], a member of the Democratic-Republican Party but also a member of the "[[tertium quids]]" group that opposed many federal initiatives, emerged as a prominent opponent of Speaker Clay.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=87–88}} While Randolph frequently attempted to obstruct Clay's initiatives, Clay became a master of parliamentary maneuvers that enabled him to advance his agenda even over the attempted obstruction by Randolph and others.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=96}}{{efn|The Clay–Randolph rivalry eventually escalated into a duel in 1826, the second of two duels fought by Clay, and ended with both parties unhurt.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=65–67}}}}

===Madison administration, 1811–1817===
{{Further|Presidency of James Madison|12th United States Congress|13th United States Congress|14th United States Congress}}

Clay and other war hawks demanded that the British revoke the [[Orders in Council (1807)|Orders in Council]], a series of decrees that had resulted in a de facto commercial war with the United States.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=89–90}} Though Clay recognized the dangers inherent in fighting Britain, one of the most powerful countries in the world, he saw it as the only realistic alternative to a humiliating submission to British attacks on American shipping.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|p=33}} Clay led a successful effort in the House to [[Declaration of war by the United States|declare war]] against Britain, complying with a request from President Madison.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=97–98}} Madison signed the declaration of war on June 18, 1812, beginning the War of 1812. During the war, Clay frequently communicated with Secretary of State [[James Monroe]] and Secretary of War [[William Eustis]], though he advocated for the replacement of the latter.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=99–101}} The war started poorly for the Americans, and Clay lost friends and relatives in the fighting.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=97–98}} In October 1813, the British asked Madison to begin negotiations in Europe, and Madison asked Clay to join his diplomatic team, as the president hoped that the presence of the leading war hawk would ensure support for a peace treaty. Clay was reluctant to leave Congress but felt duty-bound to accept the offer, and so he resigned from Congress on January 19, 1814.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=107–108}}

Clay left the country on February 25, but negotiations with the British did not begin until August 1814. Clay was part of a team of five commissioners that included Treasury Secretary [[Albert Gallatin]], Senator [[James A. Bayard (elder)|James Bayard]], ambassador [[Jonathan Russell]], and ambassador [[John Quincy Adams]], the head of the American team.<ref>Richard Archer, "Dissent and peace negotiations at Ghent." ''American Studies'' 18.2 (1977): 5–16 [https://journals.ku.edu/amsj/article/download/2285/2244 online].</ref>  Clay and Adams maintained an uneasy relationship marked by frequent clashes, and Gallatin emerged as the unofficial leader of the American team. When the British finally presented their initial peace offer, Clay was outraged by its terms, especially the British proposal for an [[Indian barrier state]] on the [[Great Lakes]]. After a series of American military successes in 1814, the British delegation made several concessions and offered a better peace deal.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=110–117}} While Adams and Gallatin were eager to make peace as quickly as possible even if that required sub-optimal terms in the peace treaty, Clay believed that the British, worn down by years of fighting against France, greatly desired peace with the United States. Partly due to Clay's hard-line stance, the [[Treaty of Ghent]] included relatively favorable terms for the United States, essentially re-establishing the ''[[status quo ante bellum]]'' between Britain and the U.S. The treaty was signed on December 24, 1814, bringing a close to the War of 1812.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=35–36}} After the signing of the treaty, Clay briefly traveled to London, where he helped Gallatin negotiate a commercial agreement with Britain.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=117}}

Clay returned to the United States in September 1815; despite his absence, he had been elected to another term in the House of Representatives. Upon his return to Congress, Clay won election as Speaker of the House.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=119–122}} The War of 1812 strengthened Clay's support for interventionist economic policies such as federally funded internal improvements, which he believed were necessary to improve the country's infrastructure system.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=39–40}} He eagerly embraced President Madison's ambitious domestic package, which included infrastructure investment, [[Tariff in United States history|tariffs]] to [[Protective tariff|protect]] domestic manufacturing, and spending increases for the army and navy. With the help of [[John C. Calhoun]] and [[William Lowndes (congressman)|William Lowndes]], Clay passed the [[Tariff of 1816]], which served the dual purpose of raising revenue and protecting American manufacturing.  To stabilize the currency, Clay and Treasury Secretary [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander Dallas]] arranged passage of a bill establishing the [[Second Bank of the United States]] (also known as the national bank).{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=123–131}} Clay also supported the [[Bonus Bill of 1817]], which would have provided a fund for internal improvements, but Madison vetoed the bill on constitutional concerns.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=132–133}} Beginning in 1818, Clay advocated for an economic plan known as the "[[American System (economic plan)|American System]]," which encompassed many of the economic measures, including protective tariffs and infrastructure investments, that he helped pass in the aftermath of the War of 1812.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=81–82}}

===Monroe administration, 1817–1825===
{{further|Presidency of James Monroe|15th United States Congress|16th United States Congress|17th United States Congress|18th United States Congress}}

Like Jefferson and [[George Washington]], President Madison decided to retire after two terms, leaving open the Democratic-Republican nomination for the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]]. At the time, the Democratic-Republicans used a [[congressional nominating caucus]] to choose their presidential nominees, giving congressmen a powerful role in the presidential selection process. Monroe and Secretary of War [[William H. Crawford|William Crawford]] emerged as the two main candidates for the Democratic-Republican nomination. Clay had a favorable opinion of both individuals, but he supported Monroe, who won the nomination and went on to defeat Federalist candidate [[Rufus King]] in the general election.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=126–130}} Monroe offered Clay the position of secretary of war, but Clay strongly desired the office of secretary of state and was angered when Monroe instead chose John Quincy Adams for that position.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=40–41}} Clay became so bitter that he refused to allow Monroe's inauguration to take place in the House Chamber and subsequently did not attend Monroe's outdoor inauguration.{{sfn|Remini|1991|pp=150–151}} [[File:Henry Clay.JPG|thumb|upright=.90|Portrait by [[Matthew Harris Jouett]], 1818]]

In early 1819, a dispute erupted over the proposed statehood of [[Missouri]] after New York Congressman [[James Tallmadge Jr.|James Tallmadge]] introduced a [[Tallmadge Amendment|legislative amendment]] that would provide for the gradual emancipation of Missouri's enslaved people.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=44–45}} Though Clay had previously called for gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he sided with fellow Southerners in voting down Tallmadge's amendment.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=143–144}} Clay instead supported Illinois Senator [[Jesse B. Thomas]]'s compromise proposal in which Missouri would be admitted as a [[Slave states and free states|slave state]], [[Maine]] would be admitted as a free state,{{efn|Maine was [[District of Maine|part]] of Massachusetts prior to gaining statehood.}} and slavery would be forbidden in the territories north of 36° 30' parallel. Clay helped assemble a coalition that passed the [[Missouri Compromise]], as Thomas's proposal became known.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=45–46}} Further controversy ensued when Missouri's constitution banned free blacks from entering the state, but Clay was able to engineer another compromise that allowed Missouri to join as a state in August 1821.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=150–152}}

In foreign policy, Clay was a leading American supporter of the [[Decolonization of the Americas|independence movements and revolutions]] that broke out in [[Latin America]] beginning in 1810.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=74–75}} Clay frequently called on the Monroe administration to recognize the fledgling Latin American republics, but Monroe feared that doing so would derail his plans to acquire [[Spanish Florida]].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=136–137}} In 1818, General [[Andrew Jackson]] crossed into Spanish Florida to suppress raids by [[Seminole]] Indians.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=137–138}} Though Jackson was following Monroe's implied wishes in entering Florida, he created additional controversy in seizing the Spanish town of [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]]. Despite protests from Secretary of War Calhoun, Monroe and Adams decided to support Jackson's actions in the hope that they would convince Spain to sell Florida.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=137–138}} Clay, however, was outraged, and he publicly condemned Jackson's decision to hang two foreign nationals without a trial. Before the House chamber, he compared Jackson to military dictators of the past, telling his colleagues "that Greece had her [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] her [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], England her [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]], France her [[Napoleon|Bonaparte]], and, that if we would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors."{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=104–105}} Jackson saw Clay's protestations as an attack on his character and thus began a long rivalry between Clay and Jackson.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=104–105}} The rivalry and the controversy over Jackson's expedition temporarily subsided after the signing of the [[Adams–Onís Treaty]], in which the U.S. purchased Florida and delineated its western boundary with [[New Spain]].{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=143}}

====1824 presidential election====
{{main|1824 United States presidential election}}
[[File:House Election of 1825.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Clay helped Adams win the 1825 contingent House election after Clay failed to finish among the three electoral vote-winners. States in <span style="color:#f95;">'''orange'''</span> voted for Crawford, states in <span style="color:#5fd35f">'''green'''</span> for Adams, and states in <span style="color:#698dc5">'''blue'''</span> for Jackson.]]

By 1822, several members of the Democratic-Republican Party had begun exploring presidential bids to succeed Monroe, who planned to retire after two terms like his predecessors.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=155–157}} As the Federalist Party was near collapse, the 1824 presidential election would be contested only by members of the Democratic-Republican Party, including Clay. Having led the passage of the [[Tariff of 1824]] and the [[General Survey Act]], Clay campaigned on his American System of high tariffs and federal spending on infrastructure.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=166–168}} Three members of Monroe's Cabinet, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, appeared to be Clay's strongest competitors for the presidency.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=155–157}} Though many, including Clay, did not take his candidacy seriously at first, General Andrew Jackson emerged as a presidential contender, eroding Clay's base of support in the western states.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=99–101}} In February 1824, the sparsely attended Democratic-Republican congressional caucus endorsed Crawford's candidacy, but Crawford's rivals ignored the caucus results, and various state legislatures nominated candidates for president.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=96–97}} During the campaign, Crawford suffered a major stroke, while Calhoun withdrew from the race after Jackson won the endorsement of the Pennsylvania legislature.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=162–164}}

By 1824, with Crawford still in the race, Clay concluded that no candidate would win a majority of electoral votes; in that scenario, the House of Representatives would hold a [[contingent election]] to decide the election. Under the terms of the [[Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twelfth Amendment]], the top three electoral vote-getters would be eligible to be elected by the House. Clay was confident that he would prevail in a contingent held in the chamber he presided over, so long as he was eligible for election.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=110–112}} Clay won Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri, but his loss in New York and Louisiana relegated him to a fourth-place finish behind Adams, Jackson, and Crawford.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=174–175}} Clay was humiliated that he finished behind the invalid Crawford and Jackson, but supporters of the three remaining presidential candidates immediately began courting his support for the contingent election.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|p=176}}

For various reasons, supporters of all three candidates believed they had the best chance of winning Clay's backing, but Clay quickly settled on supporting Adams.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=122–124}} Of the three candidates, Adams was the most sympathetic to Clay's American System, and Clay viewed both Jackson and the sickly Crawford as unsuitable for the presidency.{{sfn|Hargreaves|1985|pp=33–34, 36–38}} On January 9, 1825, Clay privately met with Adams for three hours, after which Clay promised Adams his support; both would later claim that they did not discuss Clay's position in an Adams administration.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=179–180}} With the help of Clay, Adams won the House vote on the first ballot.{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=183–184}} After his election, Adams offered Clay the position of secretary of state, which Clay accepted, despite fears that he would be accused of trading his support for the [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] post. Jackson was outraged by the election, and he and his supporters accused Clay and Adams of having reached a "[[Corrupt bargain|Corrupt Bargain]]."{{sfn|Heidler|Heidler|2010|pp=184–185}} Pro-Jackson forces immediately began preparing for the [[1828 United States presidential election|1828 presidential election]], with the Corrupt Bargain accusation becoming their central issue.{{sfn|Klotter|2018|pp=134–136}}