Booklet, "Clay Minstrel", 1844

Clay, Henry

Henry Clay was among the most influential politicians in American history, although he none of his four attempts to win the presidency were successful. His vision of an American nation, united by federally-supported infrastructure projects and capable of cooperation across sections – despite tensions over slavery - won him the nickname “The Great Compromiser.” Like Harrison and Jackson, Clay’s supporters emblazoned his face on posters and clay pipes, whiskey glasses (he was a famous drinker) and songbooks. Long after his death, Americans like Abraham Lincoln continued to look back on Clay as the very model of an American statesman. Unfortunately for Clay, a Whig, the Democratic challenger James K. Polk defeated him in 1844.