Henry Clay

March 1, 2010
Yet another hulking biography of an early American political giant, this one, unnecessarily clogged with detail, is still a fitting, up-to-date, and highly readable account of Henry Clay's life (1777–1852) and achievements. In vigorous prose, the Heidlers (coauthors, The War of 1812
), experienced scholars of pre–Civil War America, relate the emergence of the Kentuckian who served in the House (as Speaker) and Senate, as secretary of state, and as repeatedly failed presidential candidate. A man of enormous gifts—the beloved “mirror of his country and its aspirations”—Clay bestrode Washington and the Senate as member of the “Great Triumvirate” with John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster and did his best as the Great Compromiser to hold the nation together as it splintered over slavery. That he failed, as the authors show, was not his fault: even great congressional leadership couldn't save the Union. The authors bring verve and clarity to Clay's struggles, even if they add little to what's known. They also make one yearn for more statesmen and stateswomen, who, like Clay, could say, “I had rather be right than be president.” 32 pages of b&w photos.

February 15, 2010
A comprehensive biography of Lincoln's political idol, the man said to have declared,"I had rather be right than be President."

The breathtaking scope of Henry Clay's career on the national stage surely accounts for the unique distinction accorded him at death (1777–1852). The first American to lie in state in the Capitol's Rotunda, the Kentuckian transformed the House Speakership into a powerful office. As a diplomat, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, later served as John Quincy Adams's Secretary of State, and was part of the Great Triumvirate that included Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. A constantly defeated presidential candidate, Clay's adherence to staid tradition and a middle course proved no match for irresistible national impulses arising in the Age of Jackson. David and Jeanne Heidler (History/Colorado State Univ.-Pueblo and History/United States Air Force Academy; Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Early America, 2007, etc.) cover these political high watermarks in illuminating detail, but the beauty and strength of this biography is the full-blooded portrait of the man that accounts for the devotion Clay inspired and the hatreds he aroused."Prince Hal" to his admirers and"the Judas of the West" (for his alleged part in the"Corrupt Bargain" that gave Adams the presidency) to his detractors, Clay was a powerful orator and convivial raconteur. Notwithstanding frequent, debilitating illnesses, he traveled widely, maneuvered constantly, survived two duels, fathered 11 children and bred racehorses and innovative crops on his slave-operated estate. The authors carefully examine Clay's tortured slavery straddle—he often publicly declared the institution's immorality—placing his views in context, but forthrightly acknowledging the Great Compromiser's poignant inability to resolve the internal inconsistencies of his own position, attributing the failure to"a fundamental flaw in an otherwise good and decent man."

A distinguished addition to the recent run of outstanding antebellum histories and biographies.

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Starred review from February 1, 2010
David S. Heidler (formerly history, Colorado St. Univ., Pueblo) and Jeanne Heidler (history, United States Air Force Academy), coauthors of several books (e.g., "The War of 1812"), give Henry Clay his due in the first full-bodied biography of this "essential American" in over half a century. As they ably show, Clay was a larger-than-life figureshaping key sectional compromises; forging the "American System" of government-sponsored banking, infrastructure construction, and tariffs; forming and leading the Whig Party; negotiating treaties with the British; and standing as the beau ideal for many Americans, including Abraham Lincoln. Clay also was "a basket of contradictions"at once arrogant and affable, a gambler and a workhorse, and a powerful politician who never understood how mass political parties and the cult of personality counted more than policy in winning elections. The Heidlers make a signal contribution in deciphering the inner workings of Congress and showing how patronage, personal relations, and public performance affected political interests and identities. VERDICT Anyone wanting to understand political, economic, and social life in the early republic will appreciate the Heidlers' command of sources and balanced treatment of a man too long in the shadow of Andrew Jackson and very much a metaphor for his era. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 1/10.]Randall M. Miller, Saint Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia

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