Preview

Why Henery Clay Sould'Ve Been President

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
741 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Henery Clay Sould'Ve Been President
I chose Henry Clay as the person who I think should have been president instead of these four other men. These other men were incompetent, they lacked leadership, and they each didn't have much support. None of them had much drive or motivation to be a good president, and as for a couple of them, they didn't have much political background at all. Henry Clay, on the other hand would have made a fantastic president instead of these four men. Even though he had already run for president three times, and lost, he still had the potential to be a great president. He had a vast background in politics. He had so much to do with what was going on that time in politics, it seem as if he never died (, from our pages of our history book that is). Henry Clay was a great man and I believe that he stood head-and-shoulders above the rest of the presidents of the 1850's. He was a great man who was secretary of state under John Quincy Adams and an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency in 1824, 1832, and 1844. He was one of the most popular and influential political leaders in American history. His genius in the art of compromise three times resolved bitter political conflicts that threatened to tear the nation apart, winning him the title "The Great Pacificator."
Clay was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, to a middle-class family. After studying law with the eminent George Wythe, Clay, at the age of 20, moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he developed a thriving practice. He was blessed with a quick mind, a flair for oratory, and an ability to charm both sexes with his easy, attractive manner. Clay, who was ambitious for worldly success, married into a wealthy, and socially prominent, family and soon gained entry into Kentucky's most influential cliques. While still in his 20s, he was elected to the state legislature, in which he served for six years, until 1809.
Clay established his great reputation in the United States House of Representatives,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Born in 1782 in upcountry South Carolina, Calhoun grew up during the boom in the area 's cotton economy. The son of a successful farmer who served in public office, Calhoun went to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1801 to attend Yale College. After graduating, he attended the Litchfield Law School, also in Connecticut, and studied under Tapping Reeve, an outspoken supporter of a strong federal government. Seven years after Calhoun 's initial departure from South Carolina, he returned home, where he soon inherited his father 's substantial land and slave holdings and won election to the U.S. Congress in 1810.…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Perhaps the three most influential men in the pre-Civil War era were Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster. These men all died nearly a decade before the civil war began, but they didn't know how much they would effect it. States' rights was a very controversial issue, and one which had strong opposition and radical proposals coming from both sides. John C. Calhoun was in favor of giving states the power to nullify laws that they saw unconstitutional, and he presented this theory in his "Doctrine of Nullification". Daniel Webster strongly disagreed with this proposal and showed this by giving powerful support to President Jackson in resisting the attempt by South Carolina to nullify the ‘tariff of abominations', as they called it; a shipping tax passed in 1828 that they saw as unfairly favoring the industrial North. Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, didn't seem to be partisan either way, and, although he was a Whig, always came up with a way to please both sides of any argument.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Henry Clay was born to the Reverend John and Elizabeth Hudson Clay on April 12, 1777. He was the 7th of 9 children for his proud parents. He was born and raised in a half frame, 2 story house at the Clay homestead in Hanover County, Virginia.…

    • 1721 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Andrew Johnson Dbq

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina to his father, Jacob Johnson, and mother, Mary McDonough. His parents were of Irish and English ancestry. He had a brother and an older sister Elizabeth, who unfortunately died in childhood. The Johnsons grew up in poverty and was sent to a tailor shop as a boy but ran away. He later opened up his own tailor shop in Greeneville, Tennessee, married his sweetheart, Eliza McCardle, and participated in debates at the Greenville College.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A great president is someone who is a strong leader, makes choices that will change the country for the better, and does what is best for the good of all the people. Some people would consider Andrew Jackson to be a great president because he did things such as revolutionizing presidential campaigning, which made him the first modern president, and using his presidential power to veto bills that he saw unfit or harmful. Others would argue that Andrew Jackson was a terrible president because he enforced Indian removal and that he abused his power to veto in an effort to intimidate and take more control over congress. Andrew Jackson is now know for being somewhat of a conundrum or contradiction because he did do a lot of good for our country but at the same time did thing that could be considered cruel and unjust.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through wars, political struggles, restricted freedom, and many other problematic issues they were faced with, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson did an oustanding job at working through any and every complication they were faced with in order to make America prosper. Each and every one made their mark on history in enormous ways. All doing more than enough to excel America for greatness, I believe Thomas Jefferson to have been the strongest president.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2. Election of 1824 – John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. The House chose the president because no one led in the electoral college, and John Quincy Adams was elected.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are three of the greatest leaders and have impacted America immensly. They all contributed to the foundation of our country and the some of the ideologies that they introduced during their terms is still relevant to this day. But there is a lot of argument on who was the stronger president between the three. Abraham Lincoln was most definitely the strongest president out of the three former leaders, due to his determination towards abolishing slavery and his ability to bring back together a country that had split apart.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    James K. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on November 2, 1795. He was the eldest out of ten children , later on in 1818 Polk graduated from the University Of Carolina , where he studied law . James married once to Sarah Childress in the year of 1824. Before presidency james served in the Tennessee House of Representatives , and later on became the governor of Tennessee.…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry Clay was born in Hanover County Virginia on April 12, 1777. He attended public schools and he later became the apprentice of a respected lawyer in Richmond, Virginia named George Wythe. After Clay was admitted to the bar in 1797 (at the age of twenty) he moved to Lexington, Kentucky where he opened his own law practice. He quickly made a name for himself with his brilliance in and out of the court room. He did not stay at his law practice long before he moved to politics. Clay was an American Statesman who severed in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He also made five failed bids at the US Presidency. Although he never became president he had a profound effect on our country. He applied himself to many different issues such…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry Clay Wood was born in Wales, Maine in 1836; the same year of Battle of the Alamo took place. Oral family history spins the story that Henry was born to an American Indian woman and an unknown father. As a foundling, he was left on the doorstep of a Protestant minister. No one is sure how he came by the surname Wood; thought Henry Clay was a prominent statesman and a popular name of the era.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My Mt Rushmore

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The four people I have selected have played an important role in American history and the history of the world. They have made many contributions to better people’s lives around the world. My first and foremost choice is President Barrack Obama, he had changed society in many ways. Becoming the first African American president was the biggest achievement of his life. He gave African Americans hope and a better look into the future. As an African American I feel like there a chance now that anyone. He has been elected for two terms as well as nominated for the Nobel peace prize twice. He has passed very important laws and currently working on the gun violence law. I think President Obama is doing a great job with Americas budget and getting things to normal. I think he is a great figure that should always be remembered by having him carved into Mount Rushmore. My second choice is Maya Angelou she is like a grandmother to my generation. She has made wonderful contributions to society, and not just in poetry. She has given African American women something to look up to. She is not only known as being a poet but also for her struggle and triumph of what she’s been through. She still is contributing to our society with her poetry that’s being read in schools all around the country. My third choice is Operah Winfery, she has contributed so much in today’s society. She has given money to low class, has reunited families, has helped schools college students, she’s helped out marriages and women lives all together. She is a prominent figure of the 21st century that will…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cassius Clay Essay

    • 1973 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky.[6] The elder of two boys, he was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., who was named for the 19th century abolitionist and politician of the same name. His father painted billboards and signs,[6] and his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, was a household domestic. Although Cassius Sr. was a Methodist, he allowed Odessa to bring up both Cassius and his younger brother Rudolph "Rudy" Clay (later renamed Rahman Ali) as Baptists.[7] He is a descendant of pre-Civil War era American slaves in the American South,[8] and is predominantly of African-American descent with Irish and English ancestry.[9]…

    • 1973 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benjamin Harrison

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Benjamin Harrison was born on August 20, 1833 on a farm by the Ohio River below Cincinnati. He attended Miami University in Ohio and read law in Cincinnati. Before completing his law studies, Harrison returned to Oxford to marry Caroline Lavinia Scott. She was the daughter of the college president, John Witherspoon Scott, a Presbyterian minister. On October 20, 1853, Caroline's father performed the ceremony. They then moved to Indianapolis, where he practiced law and campaigned for the Republican Party.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jefferson Davis

    • 7300 Words
    • 30 Pages

    Military leader and statesman Jefferson Davis was born Jefferson Finis Davis on June 3, 1808, in Christian County, Kentucky (now called Fairview). One of 10 children born into a military family, his birth took place just 100 miles from and eight months earlier than President Abraham Lincoln’s. Davis's father and uncles were soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, and all three of his older brothers fought in the War of 1812. His grandfather was a public servant to the U.S. southern colonies.…

    • 7300 Words
    • 30 Pages
    Good Essays