Browse Items (174 total)
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Letter from Henry Clay to J. Morrison Harris, n.p. [Baltimore]. "Ashland," 14 September 1848
Clay expresses his opposition to the nomination of a "mere Military man" for president; worries about the "impulse" of war to make heroes, then make them president; notes that Zachary Taylor was "devoid of all Civil experience;" discusses his feelings towards supporting Taylor and internal Whig politics; claims he has a November 1847 letter from the General stating he would step aside if Clay were nominated by the Whigs; and believes that Taylor was "incompetent to execute wisely the duties of the Presidential office." -
Letter from Henry Clay to Capt. John Perin, Hanover County, Virginia. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 12 September 1848
Clay thanks his friends in Hanover for their thoughts, but he cannot accept the nomination of those meeting at the Slash Church for the presidency. "I deplore the condition of the Country, and not the less because it has been produced not only without any agency of mine, but against my solemn warnings and publicly expressed convictions." -
Letter from Henry Clay to J. Morrison Harris, Baltimore. "Ashland," 18 August 1848
Clay discusses the outcome of the Whig Convention in Philadelphia; notes that he wished the results were different; that he will take no partisan part in "the nomination of the merest military person presented as a Candidate for the Presidency;" and states that he cannot vote for Lewis Cass or Martin Van Buren. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Adam Beatty. Lexington, Kentucky. 28 May 1848
Clay has recommended Beatty to the Governor for appointment to the Senate to replace Crittenden. The Governor seems to favor Mr. Kincaid of Lexington, but agreed to consider Beatty. -
Letter from Henry Clay to John B. Bibb, n.p. Ashland [Lexington, Ky.], 20 Oct. 1847
Clay relates the matter of a land transaction in Russellville, Ky. He deprecates the unnecessary War with Mexico that would have been avoided if "there had been a different result in the last Presidential election." -
Letter from Henry Clay to J. Morrison Harris, n.p. [Baltimore]. "Ashland," 9 July 1847
Remarks on the copy of resolutions he received from the Maryland Gubernatorial Convention in regards to the death of his son Henry Clay, Jr. He writes, "The death of my beloved son has put in requisition all my fortitude and resolution." -
Letter from Henry Clay to Thomas W. H. Moseley and P. H. Olmsted, n.p. Ashland Lexington, Ky, 14 May 1847
Clay thanks the gentlemen for their condolences upon the death of his son at Buena Vista. Believes only God can heal the wound and he seeks to submit to His will, but the loss is still irreparable. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Mrs. Octavia W. LeVert, Mobile, Alabama. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 6 November 1846
Clay writes of his family in some detail and then of the War with Mexico. "It was begun without any necessity, and in folly, and is conducted without wisdom." He criticizes the war severely. Clay discusses his travel plans for the winter. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Oscar T. Keeler, Columbia, Miss., Ashland, Ky. 4 November 1846
Clay writes to Dr. Keeler thanking him for sending medicine intended for Clay's grandson. He reports that it was not used as his grandson died in Philadelphia and no one else had been sick so he could not report on its value. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Octavia Walton LeVert, Mobile, Alabama. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 25 June 1846
Clay regrets he could not visit Mobile. He discusses the enthusiasm shown for the war with Mexico and writes that his son Henry has become a lieutenant colonel. Great Britain has offerred mediation and Clay hopes it will be accepted. Next week Clay will represent Lafayette Shelby who killed a man last winter. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Dudley Selden. New York. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 4 June 1846
Thanks Selden for his research in Cuba on Clay's behalf. Has been spending his winters in the South to preserve his health and would like to spend a winter in Cuba. Fears the possibility of war with Great Britain over the joint occupation of Oregon and the outbreak of hostilities with Mexico. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Farnham Plummer, Boston, Massachusetts. Ashland, 26 May 1846
His son had intended to ship a considerable quantity of hemp but the low price on the Eastern market has discouraged him. He has sold most of his water rolled hemp in Louisville at $150 per ton. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Charles J. Hadermann, Louisville, Kentucky. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 1 November 1845
Expresses regret at the results of the late presidential election. "I was surprised and sorry to see how many of your Countrymen, and others of foreign birth were deluded.... As they become more versed in our institutions and their operation, they will themselves regret that delusion." Comments on Calvin Colton's forthcoming biography of Clay and believes it will add to public knowledge. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Henry Grinnell and Capt. Ezra Nye, New York. Ashland, Lexington, Kentucky. 27 September 1845
Clay thanks Grinnell for a painting of the packet Henry Clay, owned by Grinnell, Minturn & Co. which has just arrived. He thanks them, too, for the offer of free passage to Europe aboard the ship, but doubts he will ever again make the trip. -
Letter from Henry Clay to John Quincy Adams, Quincy, Massachusetts. Ashland, Lexington, Ky. 12 August 1845
Introduces H. S. Julian of Louisville, cashier of a banking institution, who desires to meet Adams. Docketed in Adams' hand. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Lord Ashburton, London, England. Lexington, Kentucky. 14 May 1845
Introduces Col. John Brand and his son William of Lexington, who are visiting Europe. Expresses his great regard for Ashburton for his work on the treaty and hopes his talents will help settle the Oregon question now creating problems for their countries. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Hon. William Proindexter Thomasson. Ashland, Lexington, Ky., 25 January 1845
Congress appears to be full of embarrassment with the variety of Texas propositions, a defaulting Clerk &c. The Texas issue seems uncertain. The lower house of the Legislature at Frankfort has passed "a stringent and very good Election Law." The Kentucky Legislature will probably adjourn about the 10th prox. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Garett Davis. Lexington, Ky., 13 January 1845
Asks Davis to check on the genuineness of a letter Clay received. Believes there is ample choice in the variety of the propositions to annex Texas. -
Letter from Henry Clay to Octavia Walton LeVert. n.p., n.d. ca. 1844
Clay hopes Mrs. LeVert will escape the yellow fever epidemic; he expresses his friendship for her and his hope of seeing her. Clay complains of the constant press of business and tells where the defense against the corrupt bargain charge levelled against him by Jackson can be found in print. -
Letter from Henry Clay to J. P. B. Maxwell, C. F. Randolph, et al., Belvidere, New Jersey. Ashland, Lexington, Ky., 18 December 1844
Acknowledges an address from these men on the subject of the late presidential election. Clay thanks them for their support and for the support given him by New Jersey. He hopes the Whigs will have better success in future elections.