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‘The Great Compromiser’
Statesman Henry Clay of Kentucky, who died on June 29, 1852, was a master politician in the era preceding the Civil War. Born in 1777, Clay was a lawyer by trade. He began his lengthy political career in the Kentucky legislature and made three unsuccessful bids as the Whig Party’s presidential candidate. By the time of his death, Clay had served his country as secretary of state under John Quincy Adams, U.S. Senator and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Clay was the chief architect of the Compromise of 1850, a contribution that earned him the nickname ‘The Great Compromiser.’

Image: Library of Congress