First published 1993
Henry Clay commanded more respect than almost any American of his era. The Kentucky politician served as Speaker of the House longer than anyone else in the nineteenth century. He used his position to wield enormous influence in Congress. Clay worked to hold the country together during the tense years before the Civil War. His speeches moved audiences and his political skills kept opposing sides talking. Robert Vincent Remini shows both Clay's public triumphs and private struggles. The man who helped save the Union suffered through family tragedies. He burned with desire for the one prize that escaped him. Clay ran for president multiple times but never won. Remini reveals how this defeat shaped the statesman's later years. The biography captures Clay's complexity as both a powerful orator and a wounded man.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figure, political-drama
Setting: Kentucky
Period: 19th Century
818 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company