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The Essential American
Random House
May 2010
On Sale: May 4, 2010
624 pages ISBN: 140006726X EAN: 9781400067268 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction History
The epic life and times of one of the most important
political figures in our history.
He was the Great Compromiser, a canny and colorful
legislator and leader whose life mirrors the story of
America from its founding until the eve of the Civil War.
Speaker of the House, senator, secretary of state, five-time
presidential candidate, and idol to the young Abraham
Lincoln, Henry Clay is captured in full at last in this rich
and sweeping biography that vividly portrays all the drama
of his times. David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler present Clay in his
early years as a precocious, witty, and optimistic Virginia
boy, raised on a farm, who at the age of twenty transformed
himself from bumpkin to attorney—a shrewd and sincere
defender of the ordinary man who would be his eventual
political base. The authors reveal Clay’s tumultuous career
in Washington, one that transformed the capital and the
country. Nicknamed “the Western Star,” Clay became the
youngest Speaker of the House shortly before the War of 1812
and transformed that position into one of unprecedented
power. Then, as a senator, he joined and sometimes fought
John Calhoun and Daniel Webster to push through crucial
legislation affecting everything from slavery to banking.
Commonly regarded as the greatest U.S. senator in history,
Clay served under ten presidents and overshadowed most of
them, with the notable exception of his archrival Andrew
Jackson. Clay ran unsuccessfully for president five times,
and his participation in the deadlocked election of 1824
brought about the “Corrupt Bargain” with John Quincy Adams
that made Clay secretary of state—and haunted him for the
rest of his career. As no other book, Henry Clay humanizes
Clay’s marriage to plain, wealthy Lucretia Hart, a union
rumored to be mercenary on his part but that lasted
fifty-three years and produced eleven children. Featuring an inimitable supporting cast including Aaron
Burr, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, James
Polk, and Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay is beautifully written
and replete with fresh anecdotes and insights. But it is
Henry Clay who often rises above them all. Horse trader and
risk taker, arm twister and joke teller, Clay was the
consummate politician who gave ground, made deals, and
changed the lives of millions. His life is an astounding
tale—and here superbly told.
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