Henry Clay papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Henry Clay papers
- Date
- 1813-1852 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.2 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Politicians -- Correspondence.
- Presidential candidates -- United States.
- Press and politics
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 70m13: [identification of item], Henry Clay papers, 1813-1852, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Henry Clay (1777-1852), statesman, orator, and Secretary of State, was born to Baptist minister John Clay and Elizabeth Hudson Clay in Hanover County, Virginia, on April 12, 1777. Clay, with little formal education, entered the Virginia bar in 1797, shortly before relocating to Lexington, Kentucky, to open a law practice. First elected to public office in 1803, Clay's involvement in the politics of the United State lasted until his death in 1852. He served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1811-1814, 1815-1820, 1823-1825), as Secretary of State for John Quincy Adams (1825-1829), and as a senator in the U.S. Senate (1806-1807, 1810-1811, 1831-1842, 1849-1852). Attempting to fulfill his ultimate dream, Clay ran unsuccessfully for president three times: in 1824 as a Democratic Republican, in 1832 as a National Republican, and in 1844 as a Whig. Dubbed the "Great Compromiser" for his efforts to preserve the Union, Clay helped negotiate compromises during several conflicts between the free and slave states, including the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and the Great Compromise in 1850. As well as being a skilled orator and politician, Henry Clay was also a progressive agrarian and stockman, who took great pleasure in managing his own affairs and improvements at his estate, Ashland. He brought donkeys from Spain and Malta to Ashland as well as Hereford cattle and Durham short horn cattle. Clay's stables produced several still prominent horse blood lines, including eleven descendants who won the Kentucky Derby. Furthermore, he regularly submitted articles to agricultural journals and sat on the committee of the Kentucky Society for Promoting Agriculture. Henry Clay married Lucretia Hart (1781-1864) on April 11, 1799, and had eleven children with her: Henrietta (1800-1801), Theodore Wyeth (1802-1870), Thomas Hart (1803-1871), Susan Hart (1805-1825), Anne Brown (1807-1835), Lucretia Hart (1809-1823), Henry, Jr. (1811-1847), Eliza (1813-1825), Laura (1815-1817), James Brown (1817-1864), and John Morrison (1821-1887).
- Scope and Content
- The Henry Clay papers (dated 1813-1852; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of letters, financial notes, a print, campaign buttons, a ribbon, and a newspaper that all relate to Kentucky politician Henry Clay. The five letters written by Henry Clay concern a variety of issues and include responses to consituents, a thank you letter, a request for his autograph, and a letter to Philip Fendall while he worked as a clerk in the U.S. State Department. The letter to Fendall, marked private, is a formal request for Fendall to consult library resources regarding when a capture at sea is considered complete. The campaign buttons include buttons from each of Clay's presidential campaigns. Additionally, the collection contains a ribbon for the Henry Clay Festival Association and a newspaper tribute upon Clay's death published in the New York Daily Tribune on July 21, 1852.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Letters from Henry Clay, 1824-1845
Financial notes, 1813-1829
Henry Clay print, "Likeness from a Portrait in the possession of his family", Johnson, Fry & Co. Publishers New York, 1861
Henry Clay presidential campaign buttons, 1824, 1832, 1844
Henry Clay Festival Association ribbon, after 1852
Henry Clay tribute, New York Daily Tribune, 1852 July 21
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
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Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
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If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
