Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr.was an American lawyer and planter, politician, and skilled orator who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. He served three non-consecutive terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives and served as Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams from 1825 to 1829. Clay ran for the presidency in 1824, 1832 and 1844, while also seeking the Whig Party nomination in 1840 and 1848. However, he was unsuccessful...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth12 April 1777
CityHanover County, VA
CountryUnited States of America
Henry Clay quotes about
I am a little surprised by those scores,
Yes, sir, from Constantinople, or from the Brazil; from Turk or Christian; from black or white; from the dey of Algiers or the bey of Tunis; from the devil himself, if he wore a crown, we should receive a minister
The time will come when winter will ask what you were doing all summer.
Let him who elevates himself above humanity . . . say, if he pleases, "I will never compromise"; but let no one who is not above the frailties of our common nature disdain compromise.
How often are we forced to charge fortune with partiality towards the unjust!
The great advantage of our system of government over all others, is, that we have a written constitution, defining its limits, and prescribing its authorities; and that, however, for a time, faction may convulse the nation, and passion and party prejudice sway its functionaries, the season of reflection will recur, when calmly retracing their deeds, all aberrations from fundamental principle will be corrected.
I have heard something said about allegiance to the South. I know no South, no North, no East, no West, to which I owe any allegiance.
Statistics are no substitute for judgment.
Of all human powers operating on the affairs of mankind, none is greater than that of competition.
Political parties serve to keep each other in check, one keenly watching the other.
When we get an open look, we have to shoot and shoot on goal, ... We had some open looks today and passed on them.
We've still got a lot of room for improvement, but it's all coming together.