Henry Clay: The Corrupt Bargain

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Henry Clay, born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, was a 19th century U.S. politician. His parents are Reverend John Clay and Elizabeth Hudson Clay. They had nine children, including Henry. They were all raised with modest wealth and had an early link to American history from his parents. In 1781, when Clay was only 3 years old, his father died. After that, British soldiers raided and took over his home. Later his mother remarried and his family all moved to Richmond. During his lifetime, he was a very dedicated and hardworking person who accomplished many things. Many people believe that he was a hot headed person, meaning that he was quick tempered, but that meant he could focus and get his stuff done. People also believe that …show more content…

It started off as one thing, but led into a bunch of others. The northern runners were John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster. The southern runners were William H. Crawford and John C. Calhoun. The next runners were the some of the important ones: Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. Not many people knew Andrew Jacksons policy on things and many people supported him simply because he was a war hero. Because of this, he was hated on by Clay. This is when what is known as the ‘Corrupt Bargain’ comes into play. For the election, it looked like Jackson was going to win, which although many people voted for him, others were not as happy, John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay being some of those. For a while, those two would have secret meetings that, to this day, no one surely knows what they were about. Many historians assume that they held some information as to what happened next. Henry Clay was doing pretty well in the elections, but then one day he randomly stepped out. Everyone was so shocked. Clay never admitted his reasons, but he did give his full support to John Quincy Adams and he made sure everyone knew to vote for him, and not the “military chieftain”. It wasn’t a surprise as to who won the election: John Quincy Adams. After he became president, he let Henry Clay be his secretary of state, and that’s when their plan had worked exactly how they

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