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Henry Clay (1825 - 1829): Secretary of State
Born April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia, Henry Clay studied law privately and was admitted to the bar in 1797. He was elected to the Kentucky state house in 1803 and served there until 1806.
Clay then went to Washington, D.C., as a senator from Kentucky (1806-1807). He was reelected to the Kentucky House of Delegates in 1808 and served as its Speaker in 1809 before returning to the U.S. Senate (1810-1811). Clay then switched chambers, serving in Congress as a representative from Kentucky and as that body's Speaker from 1811 to 1814.
As the War of 1812 drew to a close, Clay was appointed commissioner, in 1814, to negotiate a peace treaty with the United Kingdom. He was then reelected to Congress as a Republican from Kentucky, where he again served as Speaker of the House from 1815 to 1821. After a brief hiatus, Clay returned to Congress once more as Speaker, running unsuccessfully for the presidency as a Democrat-Republican in 1824. In what has come to be known as "the corrupt bargain," President John Quincy Adams made Clay his secretary of state in return for Clay's support in the House of Representatives as that body decided the outcome of the 1824 election. Clay served as secretary of state for the entirety of the Adams administration from 1825 to 1829.
In 1831, Clay made it back to Congress, this time as a Whig, serving in the U.S. Senate until 1842. In the interim, he would mount two other failed attempts at gaining the White House: in 1832 as a National Republican, and in 1844 as a Whig. Henry Clay was reelected to the Senate one last time, serving from 1849 until his death on June 29, 1852.
Clay then went to Washington, D.C., as a senator from Kentucky (1806-1807). He was reelected to the Kentucky House of Delegates in 1808 and served as its Speaker in 1809 before returning to the U.S. Senate (1810-1811). Clay then switched chambers, serving in Congress as a representative from Kentucky and as that body's Speaker from 1811 to 1814.
As the War of 1812 drew to a close, Clay was appointed commissioner, in 1814, to negotiate a peace treaty with the United Kingdom. He was then reelected to Congress as a Republican from Kentucky, where he again served as Speaker of the House from 1815 to 1821. After a brief hiatus, Clay returned to Congress once more as Speaker, running unsuccessfully for the presidency as a Democrat-Republican in 1824. In what has come to be known as "the corrupt bargain," President John Quincy Adams made Clay his secretary of state in return for Clay's support in the House of Representatives as that body decided the outcome of the 1824 election. Clay served as secretary of state for the entirety of the Adams administration from 1825 to 1829.
In 1831, Clay made it back to Congress, this time as a Whig, serving in the U.S. Senate until 1842. In the interim, he would mount two other failed attempts at gaining the White House: in 1832 as a National Republican, and in 1844 as a Whig. Henry Clay was reelected to the Senate one last time, serving from 1849 until his death on June 29, 1852.