Henry Clay: I'd Rather Be Right Than President
The American people took ol' Henry at his word: He ran for President three times, and lost three times. Periodically a candidate will emerge with Clay's attitude (Adlai Stevenson 50 years ago, Barack Obama today) with the same predictable result. Some tid-bits about Henry Clay:
- Henry Clay introduced the Mint Julep drink to Washington, D.C. at the famous Willard Hotel during his residence in the city.
- Fifteen Clay counties in the United States are named for him.
- Clay was the first person to lie in state in the United States Capitol.
- Seven of Clay's children preceded him in death.
- First cousin once removed of abolitionist Cassius M. Clay.
- His political skills earned him the nickname "The Great Compromiser."
- In 1806, Clay was chosen to serve out the unexpired Senate term of John Adair. No one noticed that he was not yet thirty, and thus ineligible to serve in the Senate.
- Clay fought two duels, one in 1809 and the other in 1826.
- At his death, his will would free the fifty slaves he had owned and provide for their transportation to Liberia.
- Another Henry Clay quote: "Statistics are no substitute for judgment."
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