Henry Clay Jr. (April 10, 1811 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Representative Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term. A graduate of West Point, he served in the Mexican–American War and was killed in 1847 at the Battle of Buena Vista. Early life and education Born on his family's estate of Ashland, in Lexington, Henry Jr. was the older brother of James Brown Clay and John Morrison Clay, the only sons surviving at the time of their father's death. He had six sisters, all of whom died before their father. After graduating from Transylvania University in 1828, Clay gained an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1831 (2nd of his class), and served as a second lieutenant in the artillery for a few months before resigning. Returning to Kentucky, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1833. Marriage and family In 1832, Henry Clay Jr. married Julia Prather (1814–1840), with whom he had five children.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“How often are we forced to charge fortune with partiality towards the unjust!”
— Letter (4 December 1801), as quoted in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (2002)
“I am not, sir, in favor of cherishing the passion of conquest. I am permitted … to indulge the hope of seeing, ere long, the new United States, (if you will allow me the expression,) embracing not only the old ….”
— Speech on the Line of the Perdido, Senate (25 December 1810)
“The gentleman cannot have forgotten his own sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, "Peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must."”
— Speech on the New Army Bill, House of Representatives, (8 January 1813), paraphrasing Josiah Quincy III's "amicably if they can, violently if they must"; The Life and Speeches of the Hon. Henry Clay, vol. I (1857), ed. Daniel Mallory
“The arts of power and its minions are the same in all countries and in all ages. It marks its victim; denounces it; and excites the public odium and the public hatred, to conceal its own abuses and encroachments.”
— Speech, Senate (14 March 1834)
“We have had good and bad Presidents, and it is a consoling reflection that the American Nation possesses such elements of prosperity that the bad Presidents cannot destroy it, and have been able to do no more than slightly to retard the public's advancement.”
— Letter to David Mundell (12 October 1848) in which Clay reflects upon his failure to win the Presidency.
“I would rather be right than be President.”
— Speech, Senate (1850), referring to the Compromise Measures

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Notable quotes

“How often are we forced to charge fortune with partiality towards the unjust!”
— Letter (4 December 1801), as quoted in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (2002)
“I am not, sir, in favor of cherishing the passion of conquest. I am permitted … to indulge the hope of seeing, ere long, the new United States, (if you will allow me the expression,) embracing not only the old ….”
— Speech on the Line of the Perdido, Senate (25 December 1810)
“The gentleman cannot have forgotten his own sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, "Peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must."”
— Speech on the New Army Bill, House of Representatives, (8 January 1813), paraphrasing Josiah Quincy III's "amicably if they can, violently if they must"; The Life and Speeches of the Hon. Henry Clay, vol. I (1857), ed. Daniel Mallory
“The arts of power and its minions are the same in all countries and in all ages. It marks its victim; denounces it; and excites the public odium and the public hatred, to conceal its own abuses and encroachments.”
— Speech, Senate (14 March 1834)
“We have had good and bad Presidents, and it is a consoling reflection that the American Nation possesses such elements of prosperity that the bad Presidents cannot destroy it, and have been able to do no more than slightly to retard the public's advancement.”
— Letter to David Mundell (12 October 1848) in which Clay reflects upon his failure to win the Presidency.
“I would rather be right than be President.”
— Speech, Senate (1850), referring to the Compromise Measures

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

Henry Clay Jr. (April 10, 1811 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Representative Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term. A graduate of West Point, he served in the Mexican–American War and was killed in 1847 at the Battle of Buena Vista. Early life and education Born on his family's estate of Ashland, in Lexington, Henry Jr. was the older brother of James Brown Clay and John Morrison Clay, the only sons surviving at the time of their father's death. He had six sisters, all of whom died before their father. After graduating from Transylvania University in 1828, Clay gained an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1831 (2nd of his class), and served as a second lieutenant in the artillery for a few months before resigning. Returning to Kentucky, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1833. Marriage and family In 1832, Henry Clay Jr. married Julia Prather (1814–1840), with whom he had five children.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Henry Clay Jr. (April 10, 1811 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Representative Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term. A graduate of West Point, he served in the Mexican–American War and was killed in 1847 at the Battle of Buena Vista.

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