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Henry Clay (1777-1852) was one of a triumvirate of Congressmen who dominated American politics between 1811 and 1852. In this political biography, Klotter (state historian of Kentucky, history emeritus, Georgetown Coll.; The Breckinridges of Kentucky) investigates why Clay never attained his presidential ambitions. Serving in both houses of Congress and representing Kentucky for 23 years, Clay was also speaker of the House of Representatives, the youngest elected at the time. The politician played significant roles in momentous issues impacting the early republic, negotiating the treaty ending the War of 1812 and serving as President John Quincy Adams's secretary of state. Unlike his equally ambitious colleagues Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun, Clay nearly succeeded in being elected U.S. president, having run for the office five times. Thrice he was on the ballot and twice he sought the nomination of the Whig Party, in which he was most responsible for founding. Klotter explains that Clay's failure was a combination of political circumstances, miscalculations, and timing. VERDICT This well-written, interpretative account will be a must-reference for anyone interested in Clay, antebellum politics, and the early republic.-Glen Edward Taul, formerly with Campbellsville Univ., KY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Because of several weak presidents, the political landscape in the decades preceding the Civil War was dominated by Congress, led by such giants of the Senate and House as John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Stephen Douglas, and, perhaps the most admired yet frustratingly enigmatic of all, Henry Clay. Clay was celebrated as both a great orator and a master manipulator who excelled at bringing together legislators of disparate views. Called the Great Compromiser, he was never able to win election as president, despite standing for the office several times. Klotter, a history professor and Kentucky's state historian, focuses on why Clay failed to become president. Clay claimed, I would rather be right than to be President, yet his political principles were pliable. He was a slaveholder who claimed to support gradual emancipation but never aggressively promoted it. He supported the War of 1812 but favored an unsatisfying peace settlement. He sought to maintain the Union through compromise, which deprived him of support from staunch opponents of slavery. Klotter provides an excellent re-examination of the political career of an American icon.--Freeman, Jay Copyright 2010 Booklist