Henry Clay: The ManHenry Clay of Kentucky, USA was an influential in politics. As a shrewd and ambitious politician, he acquired some powerful enemies while trying to reach some of his prestigious goals. Some pseudonyms for the man could include "The Great Compromiser" or "The Great Pacifier." He was a part of the "Great Triumvirate," which also included Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun (senate.gov).
Missouri CompromiseTo expand slavery or not expand slavery? That is the major theme brought up by the states in 1820 when Missouri petitioned to join the US as a slave state. There was controversy over this, because admitting Missouri as a slave state would cause an unevenness between the free states of the Union and the slave states. The nation, at that time, contained 11 free states and 11 slave states and allowing Missouri to join as another slave state would throw off the balance of power in favor of the slave states. Of course, the opponents of slavery were not in favor of this fact.
The debate to expand slavery or to not expand slavery was definitely tough because the debater's knew that if Congress controlled the decision, the new states would have fewer rights than the original states. Henry Clay, to appease both proponents and opponents, proposed a solution to the conflict. The Missouri Compromise was a two part solution (1) Missouri would be admitted to the Union as a slave state as long as Maine balanced the admission by becoming a free state and (2) slavery was to be excluded from all new states in the new Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri. Although people on both sides saw this compromise as flawed, it lasted for over thirty years. Then the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 snuck in and determined that new states north of the preconceived boundary deserved to be able to exercise their sovereignty in favor of slavery if they chose to do so. (ushistory.org) |
American SystemHenry Clay proposed the "American System" to help revamp the United States economy after the War of 1812. It was a program created to balance the nation's agriculture, commerce, and industry.
The American System was composed of three major parts:
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