专八人文知识需知的美国名人--亨利·克莱

专八人文知识需知的美国名人--亨利·克莱

　　英语专八人文知识涵盖的知识面较广，考生们需要平时多积累小常识，这样在专八考试中才能游刃有余，新东方在线整理了专八人文知识需知的美国名人系列知识点供考生们参考。

　　亨利·克莱(Henry Clay，1777年4月12日-1852年6月29日)美国参众两院历史上最重要的政治家与演说家之一。辉格党的创立者和领导人。美国经济现代化的倡导者。他曾经任美国国务卿，并五次参加美国总统竞选。尽管均告失败，但他仍然因善于调解冲突的两方，并数次解决南北方关于奴隶制的矛盾维护了联邦的稳定而被称为“伟大的调解者”，并在1957年被评选为美国历史上最伟大的五位参议员之一。

　　Henry Clay, Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852), was anineteenth-century American statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the Senateand the House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker. He also served as Secretary ofState from 1825 to 1829.

　　He was a dominant figure in both the First and Second Party Systems. As a leading war hawk, hefavored war with Britain and played a significant role in leading the nation to war in 1812 . He was amajor supporter of the American System, fighting for an increase in tariffs to foster industry in theUnited States, the use of federal funding to build and maintain infrastructure, and a strong nationalbank. Dubbed the "Great Compromiser," he brokered important compromises during theNullification Crisis and on the slavery issue, especially in 1820 and 1850, during which he was partof the "Great Triumvirate" or "Immortal Trio," along with his colleagues Daniel Webster and John C.Calhoun. He was viewed as the primary representative of Western interests in this group, and wasgiven the names "Henry of the West" and "The Western Star." In 1957, a Senate committeechaired by Sen. John F. Kennedy named Clay as one of the five greatest Senators in U.S. history.In his early involvement in Illinois politics and as a fellow Kentucky native, Abraham Lincoln was agreat admirer of Clay.

　　Early political career

　　State legislator

　　In 1803 Clay was elected to serve as the representative of Fayette County in the Kentucky GeneralAssembly. As a legislator, Clay advocated a liberal interpretation of the state's constitution andinitially the gradual emancipation of slavery in Kentucky, although the political realities of the timeforced him to abandon that position. Clay also advocated moving the state capitol from Frankfortto Lexington. He also worked diligently to defend the Kentucky Insurance Company, which hesaved from an attempt in 1804 by Felix Grady to repeal its monopolistic charter.However, Clay'smost famous deed in the assembly was the part he played in the passage of the Kentucky andVirginia Resolutions, which expressed opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts that were viewed astyrannical.

　　First Senate appointment and eligibility

　　Clay's influence in Kentucky state politics was great enough for him to be elected by the Kentuckylegislature for the Senate seat to which John Breckinridge had initially been elected; Breckinridgeresigned to become Attorney General of the United States, and at first John Adair was chosen tocomplete Breckinridge's term, but Adair had to resign his seat for his alleged part in the BurrConspiracy. Clay became a Senator on December 29, 1806 and served for one year.

　　Clay was below the constitutionally appointed age of thirty when elected. However, this agediscrepancy apparently was not noticed by any other Senator, and perhaps not even by Clayhimself.Three months and seventeen days into his Senate service, he reached the age ofeligibility.Such a thing has happened to only two other U.S. Senators.

　　Speaker of the State House and Duel with Humphrey Marshall

　　When he returned home in 1807, he was elected the Speaker of the Kentucky House ofRepresentatives. On January 3, 1809, Clay introduced to the Kentucky General Assembly aresolution requiring members to wear homespun suits rather than British broadcloth. Only twomembers voted against the patriotic measure. One of them was Humphrey Marshall, an"aristocratic lawyer who possessed a sarcastic tongue," who had been hostile toward Clay in 1806during the trial of Aaron Burr. Clay and Marshall nearly came to blows on the Assembly floor andClay challenged Marshall to a duel. The duel took place on January 9 in Shippingport, Indiana. Theyeach had three turns. Clay grazed Marshall once, just below the chest. Marshall hit Clay once in thethigh.

　　Second Senate appointment

　　In 1810, United States Senator Buckner Thruston resigned to serve as a judge on the UnitedStates Circuit Court and Clay was again appointed to fill his seat.

　　Speaker of the House

　　Early years

　　In the summer of 1811 Clay was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He waschosen Speaker of the House on the first day of his first session, something never done before orsince. During the fourteen years following his first election, he was re-elected five times to theHouse and to the speakership.

　　Before Clay's entrance into the House, the position of Speaker had been that of a rule enforcer andmediator. Clay turned the speakership into a position of power second only to the President of theUnited States. He immediately appointed members of the War Hawk faction (of which he was the"guiding spirit") to all the important committees, effectively giving him control of the House, quite amaneuver for a 34-year-old House freshman. The War Hawks, mostly from the South and theWest, resented British violation of U.S. maritime rights and treatment of U.S. sailors. Theyadvocated for a declaration of war against the British.

　　As the Congressional leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, Clay took charge of the agenda,especially as a "War Hawk," supporting the War of 1812 with the British Empire. Later, as one ofthe peace commissioners, Clay helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent and signed it on December24, 1814. In 1815, while still in Europe, he helped negotiate a commerce treaty with Great Britain.Also during his early House service, he strongly opposed the creation of a National Bank, in partbecause of his personal ownership in several small banks in his hometown of Lexington. Later hechanged his position and gave strong support for the Second National Bank when he was seekingthe presidency.

　　Henry Clay helped establish the American Colonization Society, a group that wanted to send freedAfrican American slaves to Africa and that founded Monrovia in Liberia for that purpose. On theamalgamation of the black and white races, Clay said that "The God of Nature, by the differencesof color and physical constitution, has decreed against it." Clay presided at the founding meeting ofthe ACS on December 21, 1816, at the Davis Hotel in Washington, D.C. Attendees also includedRobert Finley, James Monroe, Bushrod Washington, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, andDaniel Webster.

　　The "American System"

　　Main article: American System (economic plan)

　　Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun helped to pass the Tariff of 1816 as part of the national economicplan Clay called "The American System," rooted in Alexander Hamilton's American School.Described later by Friedrich List, it was designed to allow the fledgling American manufacturingsector, largely centered on the eastern seaboard, to compete with British manufacturing throughthe creation of tariffs.

　　After the conclusion of the War of 1812, British factories were overwhelming American ports withinexpensive goods. To persuade voters in the western states to support the tariff, Clay advocatedfederal government support for internal improvements to infrastructure, principally roads andcanals. These internal improvements would be financed by the tariff and by sale of the public lands,prices for which would be kept high to generate revenue. Finally, a national bank would stabilize thecurrency and serve as the nexus of a truly national financial system.

　　Clay's American System ran into strong opposition from President Jackson's administration. One ofthe most important points of contention between the two men was over the Maysville Road.Jackson vetoed a bill which would authorize federal funding for a project to construct a road linkingLexington and the Ohio River, the entirety of which would be in the state of Kentucky, because hefelt that it did not constitute interstate commerce, as specified in the Commerce Clause of theUnited States Constitution.

　　Foreign policy

　　In foreign policy, Clay was the leading American supporter of independence movements andrevolutions in Latin America after 1817. Between 1821 and 1826, the U.S. recognized all the newcountries, except Uruguay (whose independence was debated and recognized only later). When in1826 the U.S. was invited to attend the Columbia Conference of new nations, opposition emerged,and the American delegation never arrived. Clay supported the Greek independence revolutionariesin 1824 who wished to separate from the Ottoman Empire, an early move into European affairs.

　　The Missouri Compromise and 1820s

　　In 1820 a dispute erupted over the extension of slavery in Missouri Territory. Clay helped settle thisdispute by gaining Congressional approval for a plan called the "Missouri Compromise." It broughtin Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state (thus maintaining the balance in the Senate,which had included 11 free and 11 slave states), and it forbade slavery north of 36o 30' (thenorthern boundary of Arkansas) except in Missouri.

　　Death and estate

　　Clay continued to serve both the Union he loved and his home state of Kentucky until June 29, 1852, when he died of tuberculosis in Washington, D.C., at the age of 75. Clay was the first personto lie in state in the United States Capitol. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery, and the eulogywas provided by Theodore Frelinghuysen, who ran as Clay's vice-presidential candidate in theelection of 1844. Clay's headstone reads simply: "I know no North — no South — no East — noWest." The 1852 novel Life at the South; or, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" As It Is by W.L.G. Smith isdedicated to Clay's memory.

　　Ashland, named for the many ash trees on the property, was his plantation and mansion for manyyears. He owned as many as 60 slaves at once. It was there he introduced the Hereford livestockbreed to the United States.

　　Rebuilt and remodeled by his heirs, Ashland is now a museum. The museum includes 17 acres (6.9ha) of the original estate grounds and is located on Richmond Road (US 25) in Lexington. It isopen to the public (admission charged). For several years (1866–1878), the mansion was used asa residence for the regent of Kentucky University, forerunner of the University of Kentucky andpresent-day Transylvania University.

　　Henry Clay is credited with introducing the mint julep drink to Washington, D.C., at the WillardHotel during his residence as a senator in the city.

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