Henry Clay

August 10, 2015
In this nimble portrayal of “the first true American leader,” prolific biographer Unger (John Marshall) depicts Clay as a consummate politician and a champion of the union. Clay was born in Virginia in 1777. As an ambitious young man, he moved west to Kentucky to set up a law practice. Counseling Aaron Burr through high-profile legal troubles burnished Clay’s reputation; by 1806 the Kentuckian was on his way to the nation’s capital, where over the next few decades he served first in the House, then in the Senate. Unger deftly packs nearly a half-century’s worth of political leadership into this slender volume: Clay’s hawkishness during the War of 1812, his creation of the American System to promote a national economy, his several failed attempts to win the presidency, and his long feud with Andrew Jackson. Clay maintained an unassailable belief in union that enabled him to smooth over sectional differences caused by slavery, engineering the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and then the Compromise of 1850. While Clay lived, the union held. Two years after his death in 1852, Congress repealed the Missouri Compromise; in 1861 the country plunged into the Civil War, which Clay worked so hard to avoid. Unger’s political biography layers a veneer of stability over a tumultuous and divisive time in American history. Illus.

Starred review from July 1, 2015
A comprehensive biography of the statesman whom Abraham Lincoln called "the ideal politician." By our lights, Henry Clay (1777-1852) was a bundle of contradictions. He was adamant about his right to own slaves, for instance, but he was just as adamant that slavery was wrong. He was also a strong advocate of the precedence of the Union over states' rights, even as he argued against the expansion of the Union through conquest during the Mexican-American War. It was his bravery in holding unpopular opinions that caused Lincoln, as prolific historian Unger ("Mr. President": George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office, 2013, etc.) writes, to consider Clay his intellectual and political forefather. Clay, the author writes, was "the first true American leader," born on the Virginia frontier the year after independence was declared and thus never a British citizen. His sharp mind and rhetorical skills set him apart from his fellow law clerks, "with a command of courthouse legal jargon, a winning baritone voice, and a range of adolescent skills that included cards, gambling, drinking, a quick sharp tongue, and ears and eyes that absorbed every opportunity for advantage and advancement." Setting up shop as a lawyer in Kentucky, he soon distinguished himself as a populist who called for the expansion of voters rights and naturally allied with representatives and not senators-though, in time, he would serve in both houses of Congress and run numerous times for the presidency. Clay, best known for his saying "I would rather be right than be president," became famous in the 1830s for his implacable opposition to Andrew Jackson, another southerner, but he was much more: a diplomat and peacemaker who attempted to forge compromises that, then as now, the heated politics of the day made difficult, if not impossible. In this lucid, exemplary biography, Unger focuses on not just Clay, but also on the formation of the early republic, a time too little studied today. An excellent introduction to a turbulent era.

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September 1, 2015

Prolific biographer Unger (John Marshall; John Quincy Adams) devotes his attention to Henry Clay, arguably one of the most important figures in American history. The task is formidable given Clay's many accomplishments. While serving in the House and Senate during the first half of the 19th century, Clay skillfully crafted compromises when political divisions regularly threatened to destroy the Union. He tackled national expansion, the banking system, tariffs, and the power of the presidency, but the volatile slavery question eventually dominated his efforts. As senator from Kentucky, one of the northernmost slave states, Clay brought a practical perspective to issues that helped him fashion many important agreements such as the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850. In addition to these achievements, Clay served as secretary of state under John Quincy Adams and was a three-time candidate for the presidency. All the while, he led a complicated personal and family life. Despite Unger's efforts, Clay's accomplishments frequently get lost in the biography's many details. VERDICT Determined readers seeking a more complete account should consult Robert Remini's Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union. Unger's shorter volume may fill a void in libraries, yet reading it will be a challenge, even for history buffs. Recommended but with reservations.--Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2015
As befits a most significant political figure in American history, Henry Clay has inspired many biographies. Robert Remini's Henry Clay (1991) is the monumental version. This midsize model by Unger is well tuned to readers just learning about Clay. Clay's deals preserved the Union several times prior to the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and other Clay milestones, such as his unsuccessful bids for the presidency, occupy Unger's narrative, which otherwise fills out with personal background to form a portrait of his personality, which reflected the young and expanding U.S. of the early 1800s. Clay was born in Virginia, and his native intelligence was spotted and mentored. He became a lawyer, moved to the Kentucky frontier, married up, fought duels, and amassed wealth (and slaves) and political influence. His melodious voice literally carried in an age when oratory mattered, and away from the podium, he was the life of any party (to the disgust of puritanical John Quincy Adams, subject of another Unger biography in 2012). A competent accounting of Clay's arc, Unger's work deserves a slot in the history collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)