Leader of the "War Hawks" in 1812
Was the "Great Pacificator" of 1821
Such Was the Paradox of Henry Clay, the "Man Whose Influence and Power More Than Any
Other Produced the Second War with England" and Whose Portrait as the "Cock of Kentucky"
and "Spokesman of the New West" Is Painted in the First Volume of a New Biography.
C Western Newspaper Union.
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
Y'OU remember from
?your school days that
Henry Clay was called
the "Great Pacificator." Your
history book told you why ?
because, during the bitter
slavery dispute that was
driving the North and the
South apart, he brought
about, in 1821 and again in
1850, the compromises which
postponed for a few years
the war between the states.
Remembering him thus in
the role of peacemaker, it
may be difficult for you to
think of him as an ardent ad
vocate of war, even a "jin
go," and as the "man whose
influence and power more
than any other produced the
second war with England."
Yet that was the verdict of
Josiah Quincy, one of his con
temporaries, and it is con
firmed ^by Bernard Mayo,
author of "Henry Clay,
Spokesman of the New West,"
published recently by the
Houghton Mifflin company.
This book, the first of three
projected volumes, deals only
with the first phase of Clay's ca
reer, that period when he was
the "Cock of Kentucky." It was
the vitriolic tongue of John Ran
dolph of Roanoke who called him
that, and it was an apt nick
name. For if ever a young Amer
ican had reason to be "cocky"
in those days, Henry Clay was
that young man.
His career up to the outbreak
of the War of 1812 had been truly
remarkable. He had left his na
tive state of Virginia when he
was barely twenty and had gone
to the new state of Kentucky. At
twenty-nine he was a member of
the state senate. He had proved
himself the most successful law
yer and the most popular poli
tician in the new commonwealth.
He had made a fortune, built a
fine house, married into the Ken
tucky aristocracy, gained the
friendship of all the best people
and won the confidence of all
others.
By the time he was thirty he
was already thinking of the Presi
idency. (That was to be his con
suming ambition but one he was
never to realize). Before he was
thirty-five he was in the United
States senate but gave up his
place in that dignified assem
blage to become a member of
the lower house where the oppor
tunities for action ? and personal
power ? were greater. Chosen
speaker of the house, he made
that office for the first time in its
history second in influence only to
the influence and power of the
President and he proved it by
making a war which everyone
recognized as "Mr. Clay's war."
Examine Henry Clay's back
grounds, as Mr. Mayo does, and
this meteoric rise Is easily un-'
derstood. He was born on April
THE BlSTBPnoa OF RENRI CUI -
13, 1777, the son of "Sir John" Clay
of Hanover Court House, Va., "a
tobacco planter and Baptist
preacher whose activities in the
cause of religious freedom re
flected the American Revolution
as a social movement."
His first impressionable years
were filled with memories of stir
ring events. Late in the Revolu
tion Virginia became a battle
ground and the British leader,
Tarleton, led a raid on Hanover.
"Amid this martial hubbub and
terror, at Clay's Spring thre?
miles away, a great personal sor
row had settled ? John Clay, man
of God *nd defiant crusader for
freedom, had died. But even
here Tarleton's cavalrymen
wantonly ransacked the kitchen,
broke open chests, and filled the
air with the feathers of fat bed
*icka . . . Roistering dragoons
even thrust their swords into the
fresh grave of John Clay, think
ing it held treasure. It was only
then that the appeals of the wid
ow caused Tarleton to order off
his British marauders. Clinging
to his mother, Henry Clay, a boy
of four, witnessed these scenes
with eyes that never forgot."
(Who knows but that may have
been one reason for his eager
ness to fight Old England 30
years later!)
Mrs. John Clay did not remain
a widow for long. Within a year
after Tarleton's raid she married
Henry Watkins, a planter and mi
litia captain. Ten years after the
close of the Revolution she and
her new husband decided to seek
their fortunes in the new country
beyond the Alleghenies. Four
teen-year-old Henry Clay was left
behind in Richmond to become a
clerk in a mercantile establish
ment and a little later in the
office of the clerk of the high
court of chancery.
There the tall raw-boned lad
attracted the attention of Chan
cellor George Wythe, who em
ployed him as secretary, and in
1791 he began to study law with
Robert Brooke, attorney general.
A year later he obtained a license
to practice and decided to follow
his parents to Kentucky. He ar
rived in Lexington at a time
when it was rapidly emerging
from the rough pioneer stage
that had made Kentucky known
as the "dark and bloody ground."
First PotitiemI Success.
Clay's captivating manners
and striking eloquence soon won
(or him the high regard of the
other lawyers and also made him
a social favorite. Almost imme
diately he plunged into politics
and when a convention was
planned to revise the Kentucky
constitution. Clay was made a
member of it although he was
then only twenty-two years old.
In the same year he also ad
vanced his social standing by
marrying Lucretia Hart, the
daughter of a prominent citizen.
Four years later he was elected
to the Kentucky legislature and
this proved to be only the first
step in his swift ascent which
came to a triumphant climax
on November 4, 1811, when he was
chosen speaker of the house.
At that time the United States
was on the verge of war with
Great Britain. England's im
pressment of our seamen, the in
fluence of her traders and some
of her officers in stirring up the
Indians in the West and her Or
ders in Council, declaring a
blockade of nearly the whole
coast of Europe, thus was ruin
ing our trade ? all these were
factors in the complex situation
which was leading inevitably to
war. President James Madison
vacillated between strength and
weakness in dealing with the sit
uation.
The "War Hawks."
But there was no vacillation in
the policy of the speaker of the
house. He was the leader of the
"war hawks" ? John C. Calhoun
of South Carolina, Felix Grundy
of Tennessee, Richard M. John
son of Kentucky, William
Lowndes and Langdon Cheves of
South Carolina and others from
the South and West.
Through his position as speak
er Clay arranged the important
committees in the house so as to
keep them under control of the
war party. He himself made
more than one stirring speech in
favor of preparedness for the war
which he foresaw so clearly, in
favor of placing a large army at
the disposal of the Presided and
Anally in favor of declaring war
against Great Britain unless she
took a less arrogant stand in her
attitude toward America. But
England, either misunderstand
ing the real temper 'of America
-or ?discount ing bar? power, ta~ .
fused to adopt a more concilia
tory attitude, thus playing into
the hands of the "war hawks."
Madison ("mousy Little Jem
my," Clay's adherents called
him) was Anally maneuvered into
a position from which he could
not retreat. On June 1, 1812, he
sent a message to congress re
counting the many causes which
would justify hostilities with Eng
land. On June 4 a war bill was
passed by the lower house and
sent to the senate. There its pas
sage was delayed for various
)-easons so it was not until June
17? the anniversary of the Battle
of Bunker Hill ? that it was
passed by a vote of 19 to 13. The
next day President Madison
signed the act declaring that be
tween the United States and
Great Britain there existed a
state of war. Thus "Mr. Clay's
war" began.
"The Cock of Kentucky"?
"Harry of the West" ? "The
Great Pacificator" ? "The Father
of Internal Improvements" ?
those were nicknames which
Henry Clay bore at one time or
another during his life. To it
should be added another which
has survived through the years ?
"The Mill Boy of the Slashes."
He was called that because he
was born in a district known as
"The Slashes" but Mayo's book
dispels some of the romantic leg
end that has grown up around that
sobriquet. He says:
"His childhood dwelling was a
story-and-a-half frame building
flanked by two massive stone
chimneys, with slave quarters
adjoining, situated on a gentle
slope rising from Macump's
creek. It was typical of his fam
ily's middle-class stake in Vir
ginia society . . . Here in these
post-Revolutionary days young
Henry did the chores common to
country boys. Perhaps he some
times rode astride a corn-laden
farm-horse to the grist mills on
the Pamunkey river. But he was
neither an indentured miller's
apprentice nor in the dire pov
erty of those possessing oniy 'the
widow's and orphan's Clod' later
ascribed to him, in poor-boy-to
greatness legends, by political
admirers of 'Harry Clay, the Mill
Boy of the Slashes'!"
Great Orators.
The legend that he had but lit
tle schooling is true, however. But
of more significance than this
scanty schooling was another
factor in his early life ? Han
over's tradition of great orators.
Outstanding among them was the
immortal Patrick Henry and
Patrick Henry became the idol of
Henry Clay. "Declamation early
became a passion with him. He
recited, read aloud from political
and historical works, and even
practiced in the barn before the
horses and oxen ... it was Han
over's, and America's, great De
mosthenes he held constantly be
fore him as a model when he de
claimed on the banks of Ma
chump's creek, in silent pine for
ests and in sun-bathed fields.
Throughout his youth his self-di
rected training continued, en
couraging not only a fluency of
speech, a passion for words and
their magic but an unusual self
confidence."
Years later Clay described to
a class of law graduates how
ardently and persistently he had
devoted himself to the study of
oratory in his boyhood home in
Virginia and declared: "To it I
am indebted for the primary and
leading impulses that stimulated
my progress 'and have shaped
and moulded my entire destiny."
He was, perhaps, never more
effective as a speaker than in
the days when he was trying to
force a timid administration to
take a firm stand against Eng
land. Of one of his speeches dur
ing that period, Mayo chronicles:
HENRY CLAY
(From a miniature by an aakBtwi artist)
"For two hours he held the
floor 'animated and eloquent'
reported a Federalist; making an
address upon which said young
Hezekia Niles 'eulogium is use
less.' He commanded the undi
vided attention of the house ? no
mean achievement at any time,
and truly notable in a group of
speechmakers already restive
under their own patriotic verbi
age, bombast and bickering . . .
His speech was well calculated
to rouse the vigorous, to shame
the timid. He spoke of THE war:
definite, immediate war, to re
gain peace and prosperity, to re
sist England's undeclared war,
~ and to end "the bastard ignominy
of half-war, half-peace. To the
question, 'What are we to gain
by the war?' he made the ring
ing reply, 'What are we not to
lose by peace? ? Commerce,
character, a nation's best treas
ure, honor!" "
As for the effect of his oratory.
Mayo says:
"The speech of this 'new
bantling of the day' of 'the cele
brated Mr. Clay' was widely re
printed, praised, censured, and
generally discussed. But the
printed words could not revivify
his peculiar dramatic powers,
the deep hush that fell upon the
chamber or the eagerness with
which those on the floor and in
the galleries leaned forward. The
audience heard again the heroic
strains of America's Revolution
ary Seventies and were thrilled
as their father had been thrillad
by Patrick Henry."
Push Gobbler as National Bird
^ !?"* aitiMM? ? iMyj?
Los Angeles, Calif. ? The American eagle will have to give np his Job
to the turkey gobbler, if the Northwestern Turkey Growers association
gets its way. Senators and congressmen of 14 states were asked to make
the turkey the national bird at the next session of congress. It was
argued that the turkey, besides being the symbol of Thanksgiving, is
native to America. Misses Edith Lawrence (left) and Pat Gergen are
pictured above showing how the tnrkey would look in the eagle's place
against the American shield.
I
Ye Council Eats
Right Well After
Ye Slick Barter
Deer Is Thanksgiving Meal
and Indian Is Goat.
IF AMERICANS this Thanks
giving are well able to ap
pease both their consciences
and their appetites, their moral
dexterity is no better than that
of their forebears on the town
council at Danvers, Mass., in
the year 1714. Venison, rather
than turkey, made up the piece
de resistance on a Thanksgiv
ing feast there, but religious
complications arose, as record
ed by Rev. Lawrence Conant,
of that city:
"After ye blessing was craved by
Mr. Garrich of Wrentham, word
came that ye buck was shot on ye
PEQUOT. VE
WILL GET FOQTV
STRIPES AWO?ER,
VE COUNCIL WILL
EAT VE DEER /
Mr. Shepard's conscience was ten
der, and so was poor Peqnot's back.
Lord's day by Pequot, an Indian,
who came to Mr. Epes with a lye in
his mouth like Ananias of old.
"Ye council therefore refused to
eat ye venison, but it was afterward
decided that Pequot should receive
forty stripes save one, for lying and
profaning ye Lord's day, restore Mr.
Epes ye cost of ye deer, and con
sidermg this a just and rightful sen
tence on ye heathen, and that a
blessing had been craved on ye
meat, ye council all partook of it
but Mr. Shepard, whose conscience
was tender on ye point of ye veni
son."
In nearby BosV>n a few years lat
er the arrival of autumn with its
storing of the winter supply of salt
I
Bear meat is no longer generally
available for the Thanksgiving din
ner.
pork brought mingled thanksgiving
and chagrin to a boy named Benja
min Franklin, who often became
restless during the long graces
which accompanied Massachusetts
meals. So one day after the pork
had been dutifully stored away, he
suggested that if his father would
only "say grace over the whole
cask, once for all, it would be a
vast saving of time."
In the latter half of the same
century, whenever a feast was in
order in the back country of Vir
ginia and the Carolinas, young Dan
iel Boone or some other hunter
would go out to find venison or bear
meat to mix with pork in the habitu
al "great stew" of such a celebra
tion. With it were served roast pork
or bear or broiled venison.
Bear and venison are no longer
generally available for the Thanks
giving dinner, but turkey is still ofie
of the mainstays.
A ^karJtsgiving Prayer
x ? i
\^fjarivhat we have, though small it fxs,
u)e thank thoe, J^rd.
^Jorihe simple, joys of serenity.
"X Oe thank thee./grd.
*3 or the gentle touch of the friendly hand )5
(Df thorn mho love and understand,
^jOe thank thee. i$rd.
Of all thy gifts the greatest throe
tAre friendship . love and fidelity,
let others pray for tfte harvest's yields,
Jor the golden grains cif the fruitful fields,
jHiimUi) our prayer to thee, we send
J hat u/fian we've reached our journey 's end.
Someone may say, J*re well, good friend'
***?
Home Heating
Hints
Rubbish and Garbage Should Not
Be Burned la Tour Furnace;
They Cause Trouble.
V SHOULD like to caution you
' against burning garbage and
rubbish in the heating plant of
your home. Many home-owners
are given to this practice, know
ing it is a quick and easy way to
dispose of garbage, but not real
izing fully that it is very harm
ful to the furnace.
Your furnace was built to burn
coal, and coal only. Garbage and
rubbish, when burned in it, de
posit a thick crust of soot on the
burning surfaces, and this soot
absorbs much of the heat that
should go into your rooms. They
also form clinkers which, as you
know, cause no end of trouble for
you in keeping your fire burning
efficiently.
Don't burn rubbish or garbage
in furnace. They cause heavy soot
to cake on surfaces and waste
heat and also cause clinkers to
form. Keep the ashpit clean.
Remember this: A clean fur
nace, like a clean automobile en
gine, will give better service and
greater comfort.
WNU Service.
IT'S GREAT
TO BE BACK
AT WORK
when you've found
a way to ease the
pains of
IRHEUMATISMI
ana ao it rne
^jn
inexpensive
way, too.
You can pay as high as yon want
for remedies claimed to relieve the
gain of Rheumatism, Neuritis,
ciatica, etc. But the medicine so
many doctors generally approve ?
the one used by thousands of
families daily ? is Bayer Aspirin
? 15^ a dozen tablets ? about
u apiece.
Simply take 2 Bayer Aspirin
tablets with a half glass of water.
Repeat, if necessary, according to
directions.
Usually this will ease such pain
in a remarkably short time.
For quick relief from such pain
which exhausts you and keeps yon
awake at night ? ask for genuine
Bayer Aspirin.
virtually 1 cent a tablet
Wasted Treasures
Many a beautiful library is only
looked at and pointed at by the
A Good Laxative
The bad feelings and dullness
often attending constipation take
the joy out of life. Try a dose of
Black-Draught at the first sign of
constipation and see how much bet
ter it is to check the trouble before
it gets a hold on you. Black
Draught Is purely vegetable and is
so prompt and reliable. Get re
freshing relief from constipation by
taking purely vegetable
BLACK-DRAUGHT
WNU ? 4
47?37
HELP KIDNEYS
To Get Rid of Acid
?nd Poisonous Waste
Tear kidney* help to keep you wel I
by eonetsntly filtering weete matte*
from the blood. If your kidneys get
functionally disordered sad fail fce
remove excees impurities, there may be
poisoning of Che whole systsm sad
body-wide distress.
Bum inf. seaaty or too frnqosnt ?ri
nation may be a warning of sons kidney
or bladder distorbanes.
Ton may suffsr nagging beifcerhs,
persistant headache, attacks of ilinlness.
BSml&t'ZSL
It to b,um to rrfy ?? a
wdltto. that hn von nmH*
?rdaim than on something l?a few
?My town, tin Doan'u PitU. A aM
tmSm of rrmufnl paopb negund
Dm*'*. A* pour
Doans Pills