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157-591: The sculpture measures approximately 3 ft, 2 in. x 58 in. x 48 in., and rests on a concrete base that measures 23 x 70 x 58 in. An inscription on a plaque installed on the south side of the base reads: CAPITOL BEAVER FAMILY SCULPTOR: KENNETH M. SCOTT PRESENTED TO: CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF OREGON BY THE WILLAMETTE CHRISTMAS ASSOCIATION BEGONIA SOCIETY CAPITOL ARRANGERS GUILD FIRECREST GARDEN CLUB GROW AND SHOW GARDEN CLUB LITTLE GARDEN CLUB OF SALEM HEIGHTS SALEM MEN'S GARDEN CLUB ROSE SOCIETY WILARK PARK GARDEN CLUB JUNE 1985 The sculpture's condition

314-502: A congressional nominating caucus to choose their presidential nominees, giving congressmen a powerful role in the presidential selection process. Monroe and Secretary of War William Crawford emerged as the two main candidates for the Democratic-Republican nomination. Clay had a favorable opinion of both individuals, but he supported Monroe, who won the nomination and went on to defeat Federalist candidate Rufus King in

471-497: A slave state , Maine would be admitted as a free state, and slavery would be forbidden in the territories north of 36° 30' parallel. Clay helped assemble a coalition that passed the Missouri Compromise , as Thomas's proposal became known. Further controversy ensued when Missouri's constitution banned free blacks from entering the state, but Clay was able to engineer another compromise that allowed Missouri to join as

628-584: A botanical garden, and a museum that was designed to have a national and permanent status. The former occupied space where the present Botanic Garden sits. The museum contained specimens of zoology, botany, archeology, fossils, etc., some of which were passed on to the Smithsonian Institution after its formation. The institute's charter expired in 1838, but its spirit lived on in the National Institution , founded in 1840. With

785-460: A choice between the president and a "monied oligarchy." Ultimately, Clay was unable to defeat a popular sitting president. Jackson won 219 of the 286 electoral votes and 54.2% of the popular vote, carrying almost every state outside of New England. The high rates of the Tariff of 1828 and the Tariff of 1832 angered many Southerners because they resulted in higher prices for imported goods. After

942-781: A close to the War of 1812. After the signing of the treaty, Clay briefly traveled to London, where he helped Gallatin negotiate a commercial agreement with Britain. Clay returned to the United States in September 1815; despite his absence, he had been elected to another term in the House of Representatives. Upon his return to Congress, Clay won election as Speaker of the House. The War of 1812 strengthened Clay's support for interventionist economic policies such as federally funded internal improvements, which he believed were necessary to improve

1099-588: A dispute erupted over the proposed statehood of Missouri after New York Congressman James Tallmadge introduced a legislative amendment that would provide for the gradual emancipation of Missouri's slaves. Though Clay had previously called for gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he sided with the Southerners in voting down Tallmadge's amendment. Clay instead supported Illinois Senator Jesse B. Thomas 's compromise proposal in which Missouri would be admitted as

1256-588: A fee in 1807. Thomas Jefferson later convinced Clay that Burr had been guilty of the charges. Clay's legal practice was light after his election to Congress. In the 1823 case Green v. Biddle , Clay submitted the Supreme Court's first amicus curiae . However, he lost that case. Clay entered politics shortly after arriving in Kentucky. In his first political speech, he attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts , laws passed by Federalists to suppress dissent during

1413-718: A large budget deficit, Tyler also signed the Tariff of 1842 , which restored the protective rates of the Tariff of 1832 but ended the distribution policy that had been established with the Preemption Act of 1841. President Tyler's break with the Whig Party, combined with Webster's continuing affiliation with Tyler, positioned Clay as the leading contender for the Whig nomination in the 1844 presidential election . By 1842, most observers believed that Clay would face Van Buren in

1570-407: A large inheritance. After the deaths of Anne and Susan, Clay and Lucretia raised several grandchildren at Ashland. In November 1797, Clay relocated to Lexington, Kentucky, near where his parents and siblings resided. The Bluegrass region, with Lexington at its center, had quickly grown in the preceding decades but had only recently stopped being under the threat of Native American raids. Lexington

1727-554: A major recession that badly damaged the Democratic Party. Clay and other Whigs argued that Jackson's policies, including the use of pet banks, had encouraged speculation and caused the panic. He promoted the American System as a means for economic recovery, but President Van Buren's response focused on the practice of "strict economy and frugality." As the 1840 presidential election approached, many expected that

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1884-520: A member of the Democratic-Republican Party but also a member of the " tertium quids " group that opposed many federal initiatives, emerged as a prominent opponent of Speaker Clay. While Randolph frequently attempted to obstruct Clay's initiatives, Clay became a master of parliamentary maneuvers that enabled him to advance his agenda even over the attempted obstruction by Randolph and others. Clay and other war hawks demanded that

2041-410: A minor censure from the Kentucky legislature. In 1810, U.S. Senator Buckner Thruston resigned to accept appointment to a position as a federal judge, and Clay was selected by the legislature to fill Thruston's seat. Clay quickly emerged as a fierce critic of British attacks on American shipping, becoming part of an informal group of " war hawks " who favored expansionist policies. He also advocated

2198-412: A national bank bill acceptable to Tyler, but Tyler vetoed two separate bills to re-establish the national bank, showing that he in fact had no will to reach a solution for the party's issues. Clay and other Whig leaders were now outraged not only by Tyler's rejection of the Whig party platform but also because they felt that Tyler had purposely misled them into thinking that he would sign the bills. After

2355-517: A national bank, a key priority of Clay's. Clay nonetheless initially expected that Tyler would approve the measures passed by the Whig-controlled Congress; his priorities included the re-establishment of the national bank, higher tariff rates, a national bankruptcy law, and an act to distribute the proceeds of land sales to the states for investments in infrastructure and education. Clay and his congressional allies attempted to craft

2512-591: A paid, one-month internship. Pilar O'Leary launched the program when she served as executive director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. According to the Latino Center, O'Leary told the press in 2007: "Our goal is to help our Young Ambassadors become the next generation of leaders in the arts and culture fields. This program encourages students to be proud of their roots and learn more about their cultural heritage to inspire them to educate

2669-546: A powerful effect on Clay's worldview, with Clay embracing Wythe's belief that the example of the United States could help spread human freedom around the world. Wythe subsequently arranged a position for Clay with Virginia attorney general Robert Brooke , with the understanding that Brooke would finish Clay's legal studies. After completing his studies under Brooke, Clay was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1797. On April 11, 1799, Clay married Lucretia Hart (1781–1864) at

2826-602: A precarious economic position. However, the widow Elizabeth Clay married Captain Henry Watkins, a successful planter and cousin to John Clay. Elizabeth would have seven more children with Watkins, bearing a total of sixteen children. Watkins became a kind and supportive stepfather and Clay had a very good relationship with him. After his mother's remarriage, the young Clay remained in Hanover County, where he learned how to read and write. In 1791, Watkins moved

2983-494: A reputation for strong legal ability and courtroom oratory. In 1805, he was appointed to the faculty of Transylvania University where he taught, among others, future Kentucky Governor Robert P. Letcher and Robert Todd, the future father-in-law of Abraham Lincoln . Clay's most notable client was Aaron Burr , who was indicted for treason in the Burr conspiracy . Clay and his law partner John Allen successfully defended Burr without

3140-466: A request from President Madison. Madison signed the declaration of war on June 18, 1812, beginning the War of 1812. During the war, Clay frequently communicated with Secretary of State James Monroe and Secretary of War William Eustis , though he advocated for the replacement of the latter. The war started poorly for the Americans, and Clay lost friends and relatives in the fighting. In October 1813,

3297-449: A sarcastic tongue," voted against it. In early 1809, Clay challenged Marshall to a duel , which took place on January 19. While many contemporary duels were called off or fought without the intention of killing one another, both Clay and Marshall fought the duel with the intent of killing their opponent. They each had three turns to shoot; both were hit by bullets, but both survived. Clay quickly recovered from his injury and received only

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3454-444: A single term. Following the nomination of a pro-annexation Democrat, Tyler soon ended his incipient independent run for president and endorsed Polk. Clay was surprised by Van Buren's defeat but remained confident of his chances in the 1844 election. Polk was the first " dark horse " presidential nominee in U.S. history, and Whigs mocked him as a "fourth rate politician." Despite his relative lack of national stature, Polk proved to be

3611-624: A smokehouse, a greenhouse, and several barns. There were 122 enslaved people at the estate during Clay's lifetime, with about 50 people needed for farming and the household. He planted crops such as corn, wheat, and rye, as well as hemp , the chief crop of the Bluegrass region . Clay also took a strong interest in thoroughbred racing and imported livestock such as Arabian horses , Maltese donkeys , and Hereford cattle . Though Clay suffered some financial issues during economic downturns, he never fell deeply into debt and ultimately left his children

3768-720: A state in August 1821. In foreign policy, Clay was a leading American supporter of the independence movements and revolutions that broke out in Latin America beginning in 1810. Clay frequently called on the Monroe administration to recognize the fledgling Latin American republics, but Monroe feared that doing so would derail his plans to acquire Spanish Florida . In 1818, General Andrew Jackson crossed into Spanish Florida to suppress raids by Seminole Indians. Though Jackson

3925-631: A strong candidate capable of uniting the factions of the Democratic Party and winning the support of Southerners who had been reluctant to support Van Buren. Clay's stance on slavery alienated some voters in both the North and the South. Pro-slavery Southerners flocked to Polk, while many Northern abolitionists , who tended to align with the Whig Party, favored James G. Birney of the Liberty Party . Clay's opposition to annexation damaged his campaign in

4082-529: A trading advantage over the United States. Seeking deeper relations with Latin American countries, Clay strongly favored sending American delegates to the Congress of Panama , but his efforts were defeated by opponents in the Senate. Adams proposed an ambitious domestic program based in large part on Clay's American System, but Clay warned the president that many of his proposals held little chance of passage in

4239-440: A trial. Before the House chamber, he compared Jackson to military dictators of the past, telling his colleagues "that Greece had her Alexander , Rome her Caesar , England her Cromwell , France her Bonaparte , and, that if we would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors." Jackson saw Clay's protestations as an attack on his character and thus began a long rivalry between Clay and Jackson. The rivalry and

4396-464: A year and includes as ex officio members the chief justice of the United States and the vice president of the United States . The nominal head of the institution is the chancellor , an office which has traditionally been held by the chief justice. In September 2007, the board created the position of chair of the Board of Regents, a position currently held by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey . Other members of

4553-576: A zoo, and historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in Washington, D.C. Additional facilities are located in Maryland , New York , and Virginia . More than 200 institutions and museums in 47 states , Puerto Rico , and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates . Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines. Almost all of the institution's 30 million annual visitors are admitted without charge,

4710-469: Is interested, might be interested or ought to be interested". Another Secretary of the Smithsonian, Walter Boyne, founded Air & Space . The organization publishes under the imprints Smithsonian Institution Press, Smithsonian Books, and Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. The Smithsonian makes a number of awards to acknowledge and support meritorious work. The Smithsonian Institution

4867-506: The 1840 election but was passed over at the Whig National Convention in favor of Harrison. When Harrison died and his vice president John Tyler ascended to office in 1841, Clay clashed with Tyler, who broke with Clay and other congressional Whigs. Clay resigned from the Senate in 1842 and won the 1844 Whig presidential nomination, but he was narrowly defeated in the general election by Democrat James K. Polk , who made

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5024-467: The 1840 elections , Clay saw the upcoming 27th Congress as an opportunity for the Whig Party to establish itself as the dominant political party by leading the country out of recession. President-elect Harrison asked Clay to serve another term as Secretary of State, but Clay chose to remain in Congress. Webster was instead chosen as Secretary of State, while John J. Crittenden , a close ally of Clay,

5181-536: The 1844 Whig National Convention , but a minority of expansionist Southern Democrats, encouraged by Tyler's alternative outline, blocked Van Buren's nomination at the 1844 Democratic National Convention for countless ballots, until Van Buren withdrew, making place for an unexpected compromise candidate: The party nominated former Speaker of the House James K. Polk of Tennessee, who favored annexation, but in order to calm anti-expansionists, promised to just run for

5338-585: The 19th Congress . Adams's opponents defeated many of his proposals, including the establishment of a naval academy and a national observatory, but Adams did preside over the construction or initiation of major infrastructure projects like the National Road and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal . Followers of Adams began to call themselves National Republicans , and Jackson's followers became known as Democrats . Both campaigns spread untrue stories about

5495-539: The Cabinet post. Jackson was outraged by the election, and he and his supporters accused Clay and Adams of having reached a " Corrupt Bargain ." Pro-Jackson forces immediately began preparing for the 1828 presidential election , with the Corrupt Bargain accusation becoming their central issue. Clay served as secretary of state from 1825 to 1829. As secretary of state, he was the top foreign policy official in

5652-564: The Force Bill , which would authorize the president to send federal soldiers against South Carolina if it sought to nullify federal law. Though Clay favored high tariff rates, he found Jackson's strong rhetoric against South Carolina distressing and sought to avoid a crisis that could end in civil war. He proposed a compromise tariff bill that would lower tariff rates, but do so gradually, thereby giving manufacturing interests time to adapt to less protective rates. Clay's compromise tariff won

5809-544: The Marquis de Lafayette . Operating expenses were covered from the $ 5 yearly dues collected from each member. The institute proposed a number of undertakings. These included the study of plant life and the creation of a botanical garden on the Capitol Mall , an examination of the country's mineral production, improvement in the management and care of livestock, and the writing of a topographical and statistical history of

5966-556: The Napoleonic Wars , President Jefferson arranged passage of the Embargo Act of 1807 . In support of Jefferson's policy, which limited trade with foreign powers, Clay introduced a resolution to require legislators to wear homespun suits rather than those made of imported British broadcloth . The vast majority of members of the state house voted for the measure, but Humphrey Marshall , an "aristocratic lawyer who possessed

6123-777: The National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery opened in a new, joint, underground museum between the Freer Gallery and the Smithsonian Castle. Reuse of another old building came in 1993 with the opening of the National Postal Museum in the 1904 former City Post Office building, a few city blocks from the Mall. In 2004, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of

6280-661: The National Museum of African Art , as well as the National Gallery of Art , were formally returned to Nigerian cultural officials in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed , and Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, representing the Oba of Benin Kingdom, spoke at the ceremony. Mohammed said the "decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating." In February 2020,

6437-564: The Quasi-War with France. Like most Kentuckians, Clay was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party , but he clashed with state party leaders over a state constitutional convention. Using the pseudonym "Scaevola" (in reference to Gaius Mucius Scaevola ), Clay advocated for direct elections for Kentucky elected officials and the gradual emancipation of slavery in Kentucky . The 1799 Kentucky Constitution included

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6594-498: The Renwick Gallery . A smaller amount of funds would go to educational initiatives and digitization of collections. As of September 2017, the Smithsonian claimed to have raised $ 1.79 billion, with three months left in the formal campaign calendar. Separately from the major capital campaign, the Smithsonian has begun fundraising through Kickstarter . An example is a campaign to fund the preservation and maintenance of

6751-541: The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum . In 2011, the Smithsonian undertook its first-ever capital fundraising campaign. The $ 1.5 billion effort raised $ 1 billion at the three-year mark. Smithsonian officials made the campaign public in October 2014 in an effort to raise the remaining $ 500 million. More than 60,000 individuals and organizations donated money to the campaign by

6908-632: The South Pacific Ocean . These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West , including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys , which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens. In 1846, the regents developed a plan for weather observation; in 1847, money

7065-659: The Whig Party . The term "Whig" originated from a speech Clay delivered in 1834, in which he compared opponents of Jackson to the Whigs , a British political party opposed to absolute monarchy . Neither the Whigs nor the Democrats were unified geographically or ideologically. However, Whigs tended to favor a stronger legislature, a stronger federal government, a higher tariff, greater spending on infrastructure, re-authorization of

7222-458: The deaccession and restitution of items collected under circumstances considered unethical by contemporary standards and thus places moral over legal arguments. A month before, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art had announced the planned return of most of its 39 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria , as well as of other cultural items to Turkey . On October 11, 2022, Benin Bronzes from

7379-443: The national bank , and high protective tariff rates . In 1820 he helped bring an end to a sectional crisis over slavery by leading the passage of the Missouri Compromise . Clay finished with the fourth-most electoral votes in the multi-candidate 1824-1825 presidential election and used his position as speaker to help John Quincy Adams win the contingent election held to select the president. President Adams then appointed Clay to

7536-542: The privilege of the floor at the United States Senate . On September 18, 2013, Secretary G. Wayne Clough announced he would retire in October 2014. The Smithsonian Board of Regents said it asked regent John McCarter, Jr., to lead a search committee. On March 10, 2014, the Smithsonian Board selected David Skorton , a physician and president of Cornell University , as the thirteenth secretary of

7693-1074: The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz . Nineteen museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoological Park , comprise the Smithsonian museums. Eleven are on the National Mall , the park that runs between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol . Other museums are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., with two more in New York City and one in Chantilly, Virginia . The Smithsonian has close ties with 168 other museums in 39 states, Panama , and Puerto Rico . These museums are known as Smithsonian Affiliated museums. Collections of artifacts are given to these museums in

7850-496: The " American System ," which encompassed many of the economic measures, including protective tariffs and infrastructure investments, that he helped pass in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Like Jefferson and George Washington , President Madison decided to retire after two terms, leaving open the Democratic-Republican nomination for the 1816 presidential election . At the time, the Democratic-Republicans used

8007-530: The 1832 election, South Carolina held a state convention that declared the tariff rates of 1828 and 1832 to be nullified within the state, and further declared that federal collection of import duties would be illegal after January 1833. In response to this Nullification Crisis , Jackson issued his Proclamation to the People of South Carolina , which strongly denied the right of states to nullify federal laws or secede . He asked Congress to pass what became known as

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8164-535: The 1844 presidential election, as he had still remained as the clear leader of the Democrats and, following the tradition of the founders, wanted a second term. Hoping to win another term, President Tyler forged an alliance with John C. Calhoun and pursued the annexation of the Republic of Texas , which would add another slave state to the union. After President Tyler concluded an annexation treaty with Texas, Clay announced his opposition to annexation. He argued that

8321-545: The Adams administration, but he also held several domestic duties, such as oversight of the patent office. Clay came to like Adams, a former rival, and to despise Jackson. They developed a strong working relationship. Adams and Clay were both wary of forming entangling alliances with the emerging states, and they continued to uphold the Monroe Doctrine , which called for European non-intervention in former colonies. Clay

8478-611: The American Indian in a new building near the United States Capitol . Twelve years later almost to the day, in 2016, the latest museum opened: the National Museum of African American History and Culture , in a new building near the Washington Monument . Two more museums have been established and are being planned for eventual construction on the mall: the National Museum of the American Latino and

8635-406: The Board of Regents are three members of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House ; three members of the Senate, appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate ; and nine citizen members, nominated by the board and approved by the Congress in a joint resolution signed by the president of the United States. Regents who are senators or representatives serve for

8792-519: The British asked Madison to begin negotiations in Europe, and Madison asked Clay to join his diplomatic team, as the president hoped that the presence of the leading war hawk would ensure support for a peace treaty. Clay was reluctant to leave Congress but felt duty-bound to accept the offer, and so he resigned from Congress on January 19, 1814. Clay left the country on February 25, but negotiations with

8949-416: The British did not begin until August 1814. Clay was part of a team of five commissioners that included Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin , Senator James Bayard , ambassador Jonathan Russell , and ambassador John Quincy Adams , the head of the American team. Clay and Adams maintained an uneasy relationship marked by frequent clashes, and Gallatin emerged as the unofficial leader of the American team. When

9106-484: The British finally presented their initial peace offer, Clay was outraged by its terms, especially the British proposal for an Indian barrier state on the Great Lakes . After a series of American military successes in 1814, the British delegation made several concessions and offered a better peace deal. While Adams and Gallatin were eager to make peace as quickly as possible even if that required sub-optimal terms in

9263-561: The British revoke the Orders in Council , a series of decrees that had resulted in a de facto commercial war with the United States. Though Clay recognized the dangers inherent in fighting Britain, one of the most powerful countries in the world, he saw it as the only realistic alternative to a humiliating submission to British attacks on American shipping. Clay led a successful effort in the House to declare war against Britain, complying with

9420-602: The GDP at the time it may be more comparable to $ 220 million in the year 2007. Once the money was in hand, eight years of congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas, which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts representative (and former president) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore

9577-438: The Hart home in Lexington, Kentucky . Her father, Colonel Thomas Hart, was an early settler of Kentucky and a prominent businessman. Hart proved to be an important business connection for Clay, as he helped Clay gain new clients and grow in professional stature. Hart was the namesake and grand-uncle of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and was also related to James Brown , a prominent Louisiana politician, and Isaac Shelby ,

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9734-604: The House. His tenure was interrupted from 1814 to 1815 when he was a commissioner to peace talks with the British in Ghent , United Netherlands to end the War of 1812 , and from 1821 to 1823, when he left Congress to rebuild his family's fortune in the aftermath of the Panic of 1819 . Elected speaker six times , Clay's cumulative tenure in office of 10 years, 196 days, is the second-longest, surpassed only by Sam Rayburn . As speaker, Clay wielded considerable power in making committee appointments, and like many of his predecessors he assigned his allies to important committees. Clay

9891-445: The National Museum of African-American Heritage and Culture. The opening of the center was prompted, in part, by the publishing of a report called "Willful Neglect: The Smithsonian and U.S. Latinos". According to documents obtained by The Washington Post , when former Latino Center executive director Pilar O'Leary first took the job, the center faced employees who had "serious performance issues". No performance plans existed for

10048-460: The National Road to New Orleans . In 1830, Jackson vetoed the project both because he felt that the road did not constitute interstate commerce, and also because he generally opposed using the federal government to promote economic modernization. While Jackson's veto garnered support from opponents of infrastructure spending, it damaged his base of support in Clay's home state of Kentucky. Clay returned to federal office in 1831 by winning election to

10205-409: The North due to his ownership of slaves and lingering association with the Freemasons, and in the South from Whigs who distrusted his moderate stance on slavery. Clay won a plurality on the first ballot of the Whig National Convention, but, with the help of Thurlow Weed and other backers, Harrison consolidated support on subsequent ballots and won the Whig presidential nomination on the fifth ballot of

10362-529: The Second Bank of the United States, and publicly funded education. Conversely, Democrats tended to favor a stronger president, stronger state governments, lower tariffs, hard money , and expansionism. Neither party took a strong national stand on slavery. The Whig base of support lay in wealthy businessmen, professionals, the professional class, and large planters, while the Democratic base of support lay in immigrant Catholics and yeomen farmers, but each party appealed across class lines. Partly due to grief over

10519-444: The Senate over Richard Mentor Johnson in a 73 to 64 vote of the Kentucky legislature. His return to the Senate after 20 years, 8 months, 7 days out of office, marks the fourth-longest gap in service to the chamber in history. With the defeat of Adams, Clay became the de facto leader of the National Republicans, and he began making preparations for a presidential campaign in the 1832 election . In 1831, Jackson made it clear that he

10676-416: The Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged into one research center in 2020. The Smithsonian Institution includes three cultural centers among its units: In 1997, the Smithsonian Latino Center was created as a way to recognize Latinos across the Smithsonian Institution. The primary purpose of the center is to place Latino contributions to the arts, history, science, and national culture across

10833-531: The Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery ), it was among the Smithsonian's first major donations from a private individual. The gallery opened in 1923. More than 40 years would pass before the next museum, the Museum of History and Technology (renamed the National Museum of American History in 1980), opened in 1964. It was designed by the world-renowned firm of McKim, Mead & White . The Anacostia Community Museum , an "experimental store-front" museum created at

10990-442: The Smithsonian made 2.8 million digital items available to the public under a Creative Commons Zero Public Domain Dedication, with a commitment to release further items in the future. The Smithsonian has eight research centers, located in Washington, D.C.; Front Royal, Virginia ; Edgewater, Maryland ; Suitland, Maryland ; Fort Pierce, Florida ; Cambridge, Massachusetts ; and Panama . Formerly two separate entities,

11147-528: The Smithsonian's Department of Living Animals. The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted . The National Museum of Natural History opened in June 1911 to similarly accommodate the Smithsonian's United States National Museum, which had previously been housed in the Castle and then the Arts and Industries Building. This structure was designed by the D.C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall . When Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to

11304-411: The Smithsonian's museums and research centers. The center is a division of the Smithsonian Institution. As of May 2016, the center is run by an executive director, Eduardo Díaz. At the time of its creation, the Smithsonian Institution had other entities dedicated to other minority groups: National Museum of the American Indian, Freer-Sackler Gallery for Asian Arts and Culture, African Art Museum, and

11461-484: The Smithsonian, slightly increased from previous years. Institution exhibits are free of charge, though in 2010 the Deficit Commission recommended admission fees. As approved by Congress on August 10, 1846, the legislation that created the Smithsonian Institution called for the creation of a Board of Regents to govern and administer the organization. This seventeen-member board meets at least four times

11618-532: The Smithsonian. Though the Smithsonian's first secretary, Joseph Henry , wanted the institution to be a center for scientific research, it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and diverse shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from

11775-402: The Smithsonian. Skorton took the reins of the institution on July 1, 2015. Upon Skorton's announced resignation in 2019, the Board selected Lonnie Bunch III , the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture , as the fourteenth secretary. Henry Clay [REDACTED] Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852)

11932-519: The South, as Democrats argued that he worked in unison with Northerners to stop the extension of slavery. In July, Clay wrote two letters in which he attempted to clarify his position on the annexation of Texas, and Democrats attacked his supposedly inconsistent position. Polk narrowly won the election, taking 49.5% of the popular vote and 170 of the 275 electoral votes. Birney won several thousand anti-annexation votes in New York, and his presence in

12089-484: The Treasury Louis McLane would convince Jackson to allow the re-charter. Biddle's application set off the " Bank War "; Congress passed a bill to renew the national bank's charter, but Jackson vetoed it, holding the bank to be unconstitutional. Clay had initially hoped that the national bank re-charter would work to his advantage, but Jackson's allies seized on the issue, redefining the 1832 election as

12246-492: The Treasury Roger Taney pursued a policy of removing all federal deposits from the national bank and placing them in state-chartered banks known as " pet banks ." Because federal law required the president to deposit federal revenue in the national bank so long as it was financially stable, many regarded Jackson's actions as illegal, and Clay led the passage of a Senate motion censuring Jackson. Nonetheless,

12403-644: The U.S. House of Representatives in 1810. He was chosen as Speaker of the House in early 1811 and, along with President James Madison , led the United States into the War of 1812 against Great Britain. In 1814, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent , which brought an end to the War of 1812, and then after the war, Clay returned to his position as Speaker of the House and developed the American System , which called for federal infrastructure investments , support for

12560-595: The United States. Reports were to be published periodically to share this knowledge with the greater public, but due to a lack of funds, this initially did not occur. The institute first met in Blodget's Hotel, later in the Treasury Department and City Hall, before being assigned a permanent home in 1824 in the Capitol building. Beginning in 1825, weekly sittings were arranged during sessions of Congress for

12717-615: The Virginia Court of Chancery. Clay adapted well to his new role, and his handwriting earned him the attention of College of William & Mary professor George Wythe , a signer of the Declaration of Independence , mentor of Thomas Jefferson , and judge on Virginia's High Court of Chancery. Hampered by a crippled hand, Wythe chose Clay as his secretary and amanuensis , a role in which Clay would remain for four years. Clay began to read law under Wythe's mentorship. Wythe had

12874-463: The Whigs would win control of the presidency due to the ongoing economic crisis. Clay initially viewed Webster as his strongest rival, but Clay, Harrison, and General Winfield Scott emerged as the principal candidates at the 1839 Whig National Convention . Though he was widely regarded as the most qualified Whig leader to serve as president, many Whigs questioned Clay's electability after two presidential election defeats. He also faced opposition in

13031-763: The annexation of West Florida , which was controlled by Spain. On the insistence of the Kentucky legislature, Clay helped prevent the re-charter of the First Bank of the United States , arguing that it interfered with state banks and infringed on states' rights . After serving in the Senate for one year, Clay decided that he disliked the rules of the Senate and instead sought election to the United States House of Representatives . He won election unopposed in late 1810. The 1810–1811 elections produced many young, anti-British members of Congress who, like Clay, supported going to war with Great Britain. Buoyed by

13188-475: The annexation of the Republic of Texas his top issue. Clay strongly criticized the subsequent Mexican–American War and sought the Whig presidential nomination in 1848 but was passed over in favor of General Zachary Taylor who went on to win the election. After returning to the Senate in 1849, Clay played a key role in passing the Compromise of 1850 , which postponed a crisis over the status of slavery in

13345-539: The appellation of the "Great Compromiser" and was part of the " Great Triumvirate " of Congressmen, alongside fellow Whig Daniel Webster and Democrat John C. Calhoun . Clay died at the age of 75 in 1852. Clay was born in Virginia , in 1777, and began his legal career in Lexington, Kentucky , in 1797. As a member of the Democratic-Republican Party , Clay won election to the Kentucky state legislature in 1803 and to

13502-500: The backing of both manufacturers, who believed they would not receive a better deal, and Calhoun, who sought a way out of the crisis but refused to work with President Jackson's supporters on an alternative tariff bill. Though most members of Clay's own National Republican Party opposed it, the Tariff of 1833 passed both houses of Congress. Jackson simultaneously signed the tariff bill and the Force bill, and South Carolina leaders accepted

13659-469: The broadest appeal among voters. Clay's decision not to endorse Webster opened a rift between the two Whig party leaders, and Webster would work against Clay in future presidential elections. Despite the presence of multiple Whig candidates, Van Buren won the 1836 election with 50.8 percent of the popular vote and 170 of the 294 electoral votes. Van Buren's presidency was affected badly by the Panic of 1837 ,

13816-548: The campaign, Crawford suffered a major stroke, while Calhoun withdrew from the race after Jackson won the endorsement of the Pennsylvania legislature. By 1824, with Crawford still in the race, Clay concluded that no candidate would win a majority of electoral votes; in that scenario, the House of Representatives would hold a contingent election to decide the election. Under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment ,

13973-556: The clear leader of the Whig Party. In early 1842, Clay resigned from the Senate after arranging for Crittenden to succeed him. Though he vetoed other Whig bills, Tyler did sign some Whig priorities into law, including the Preemption Act of 1841 , which distributed the proceeds of land sales to the states, and the Bankruptcy Act of 1841, which was the first law in U.S. history that allowed for voluntary bankruptcy. Facing

14130-615: The construction of the Arts and Industries Building in 1881. Congress had promised to build a new structure for the museum if the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition generated enough income. It did, and the building was designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, based on original plans developed by Major General Montgomery C. Meigs of the United States Army Corps of Engineers . It opened in 1881. The National Zoological Park opened in 1889 to accommodate

14287-530: The controversy over Jackson's expedition temporarily subsided after the signing of the Adams–Onís Treaty , in which the U.S. purchased Florida and delineated its western boundary with New Spain . By 1822, several members of the Democratic-Republican Party had begun exploring presidential bids to succeed Monroe, who planned to retire after two terms like his predecessors. As the Federalist Party

14444-479: The convention. Seeking to placate Clay's supporters and to balance the ticket geographically, the convention chose former Virginia Governor and Senator John Tyler , a personal friend of Clay, whose previous career in the Democratic Party had practically come to an end, as the vice-presidential nominee. Clay was disappointed by the outcome but helped Harrison's ultimately successful campaign by delivering numerous speeches. With Whigs also winning control of Congress in

14601-414: The country needed "union, peace, and patience," and annexation would bring tensions over slavery and war with Mexico. The same day that Clay published a letter opposing the annexation of Texas, Van Buren also came out against annexation, citing similar reasons as Clay, so that slavery and especially expansionism seemed to play no role in the next election. Clay unanimously won the presidential nomination at

14758-434: The country's infrastructure system. He eagerly embraced President Madison's ambitious domestic package, which included infrastructure investment, tariffs to protect domestic manufacturing, and spending increases for the army and navy. With the help of John C. Calhoun and William Lowndes , Clay passed the Tariff of 1816 , which served the dual purpose of raising revenue and protecting American manufacturing. To stabilize

14915-519: The currency, Clay and Treasury Secretary Alexander Dallas arranged passage of a bill establishing the Second Bank of the United States (also known as the national bank). Clay also supported the Bonus Bill of 1817 , which would have provided a fund for internal improvements, but Madison vetoed the bill on constitutional concerns. Beginning in 1818, Clay advocated for an economic plan known as

15072-492: The death of his daughter, Anne, Clay chose not to run in the 1836 presidential election , and the Whigs were too disorganized to nominate a single candidate. Three Whig candidates ran against Van Buren: General William Henry Harrison , Senator Hugh Lawson White , and Senator Daniel Webster. By running multiple candidates, the Whigs hoped to force a contingent election in the House of Representatives. Clay personally preferred Webster, but he threw his backing behind Harrison who had

15229-531: The direct election of public officials, but the state did not adopt Clay's plan for gradual emancipation. In 1803, Clay won election to the Kentucky House of Representatives . His first legislative initiative was the partisan gerrymander of Kentucky's Electoral College districts, which ensured that all of Kentucky's presidential electors voted for President Jefferson in the 1804 presidential election . Clay clashed with legislators who sought to reduce

15386-401: The duration of their elected terms, while citizen Regents serve a maximum of two six-year terms. Regents are compensated on a part-time basis. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Smithsonian is the secretary, who is appointed by the Board of Regents. The secretary also serves as secretary to the Board of Regents but is not a voting member of that body. The secretary of the Smithsonian has

15543-413: The exception being Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which charges an admissions fee. The Smithsonian's annual budget is around $ 1.25 billion, with two-thirds coming from annual federal appropriations. Other funding comes from the institution's endowment , private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. As of 2021,

15700-584: The family to Kentucky, joining his brother in the pursuit of fertile new lands in the West. However, Clay did not follow, as Watkins secured his temporary employment in a Richmond emporium, with the promise that Clay would receive the next available clerkship at the Virginia Court of Chancery . After Clay had worked at the Richmond emporium for a year, he obtained a clerkship that had become available at

15857-541: The first governor of Kentucky . Henry and Lucretia would remain married until his death in 1852; she lived until 1864, dying at the age of 83. Both are buried at Lexington Cemetery . Clay and Lucretia had eleven children (six daughters and five sons): Henrietta (born in 1800), Theodore (1802), Thomas (1803), Susan (1805), Anne (1807), Lucretia (1809), Henry Jr. (1811), Eliza (1813), Laura (1815), James (1817), and John (1821). By 1835, all six daughters had died of varying causes, two when very young, two as children, and

16014-488: The fledgling Anti-Masonic Party , and his attempt to convince Calhoun to serve as his running mate failed, leaving the opposition to Jackson split among different factions. Inspired by the Anti-Masonic Party's national convention, Clay's National Republican followers arranged for a national convention that nominated Clay for president. As the 1832 election approached, the debate over the re-authorization of

16171-944: The form of long-term loans. The Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions, operated through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). In 2008, 58 of these traveling exhibitions went to 510 venues across the country. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde. The Collections Search Center has 9.9 million digital records available online. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold 2 million library volumes. Smithsonian Archives hold 156,830 cubic feet (4,441 m ) of archival material. The Smithsonian Institution has many categories of displays that can be visited at

16328-463: The general election. Monroe offered Clay the position of secretary of war, but Clay strongly desired the office of secretary of state and was angered when Monroe instead chose John Quincy Adams for that position. Clay became so bitter that he refused to allow Monroe's inauguration to take place in the House Chamber and subsequently did not attend Monroe's outdoor inauguration. In early 1819,

16485-908: The initiative of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley , opened in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in 1967. That same year, the Smithsonian signed an agreement to take over the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum ). The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum opened in the Old Patent Office Building (built in 1867) on October 7, 1968. The reuse of an older building continued with

16642-552: The institution's endowment had a total value of about $ 5.4 billion. In many ways, the origin of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to a group of Washington citizens who, being "impressed with the importance of forming an association for promoting useful knowledge," met on June 28, 1816, to establish the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences . Officers were elected in October 1816, and

16799-446: The invalid Crawford and Jackson, but supporters of the three remaining presidential candidates immediately began courting his support for the contingent election. For various reasons, supporters of all three candidates believed they had the best chance of winning Clay's backing, but Clay quickly settled on supporting Adams. Of the three candidates, Adams was the most sympathetic to Clay's American System, and Clay viewed both Jackson and

16956-719: The largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government . The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson . It was originally organized as the United States National Museum , but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. The Smithsonian Institution has historical holdings of over 157 million items, 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers,

17113-607: The last two as young mothers. Henry Jr. was killed while commanding a regiment at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War . Clay's oldest son, Theodore Wythe Clay, spent the second half of his life confined to a psychiatric hospital . When a young child, Theodore was injured by a blow to his head that fractured his skull. As he grew older his condition devolved into insanity, and from 1831 until his death in 1870 he

17270-478: The legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns . This is approximately $ 500,000 at the time, which is equivalent to $ 14,000,000 in 2023 or equivalent to £12,000,000 in 2023. However, when considering

17427-400: The lost funds with interest and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning. Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a secretary of

17584-452: The mission to "promote science and the useful arts, and to establish a national museum of natural history," this organization continued to press Congress to establish a museum that would be structured in terms that were very similar to those finally incorporated into the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Its work helped to develop an underlying philosophy that pushed for the pursuit and development of scientific knowledge that would benefit

17741-629: The museums. In 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft donated her inauguration gown to the museum to begin the First Ladies' Gown display at the National Museum of American History , one of the Smithsonian's most popular exhibits. The museum displays treasures such as the Star-Spangled Banner , the stove pipe hat that was worn by President Abraham Lincoln , the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz , and

17898-473: The nation, and edify its citizens at the same time. The British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835, the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men", in accordance with Smithson's will. Congress officially accepted

18055-534: The national bank emerged as the most important issue in the campaign. By the early 1830s, the national bank had become the largest corporation in the United States, and banknotes issued by the national bank served as the de facto legal tender of the United States. Jackson disliked the national bank because of a hatred of both banks and paper currency. The bank's charter did not expire until 1836, but bank president Nicholas Biddle asked for renewal in 1831, hoping that election year pressure and support from Secretary of

18212-424: The national bank's federal charter expired in 1836, and though the institution continued to function under a Pennsylvania charter, it never regained the influence it had had at the beginning of Jackson's administration. The removal of deposits helped unite Jackson's opponents into one party for the first time, as National Republicans, Calhounites, former Democrats, and members of the Anti-Masonic Party coalesced into

18369-571: The new tariff, effectively bringing the crisis to an end. Clay's role in resolving the crisis brought him renewed national stature in the wake of a crushing presidential election defeat, and some began referring to him as the "Great Compromiser." Following the end of the Nullification Crisis in March 1833, Jackson renewed his offensive against the national bank, despite some opposition from within his own Cabinet. Jackson and Secretary of

18526-737: The opening of the Renwick Gallery in 1972 in the 1874 Renwick-designed art gallery originally built by local philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran to house the Corcoran Gallery of Art . The first new museum building to open since the National Museum of History and Technology was the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden , which opened in 1974. The National Air and Space Museum , the Smithsonian's largest in terms of floor space, opened in June 1976. Eleven years later,

18683-412: The opposing candidates. Adams' followers denounced Jackson as a demagogue , and some Adams-aligned papers accused Jackson's wife Rachel of bigamy . Though Clay was not directly involved in these attacks, his failure to denounce them earned him the lifelong enmity of Jackson. Clay was one of Adams's most important political advisers, but because of his myriad responsibilities as secretary of state, he

18840-760: The organization was granted a charter by Congress on April 20, 1818 (this charter expired in 1838). Benjamin Latrobe , who was architect for the US Capitol after the War of 1812, and William Thornton , the architect who designed the Octagon House and Tudor Place , would serve as officers. Other prominent members, who numbered from 30 to 70 during the institute's existence, included John Quincy Adams , Andrew Jackson , Henry Clay , Judge William Cranch , and James Hoban . Honorary members included James Madison , James Monroe , John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , and

18997-443: The original Teddy Bear that was named after President Theodore Roosevelt . In 2016, the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum curators restored the large model Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series. Following international debates about the decolonisation of museums and the legal and moral justifications of their acquisitions, the Smithsonian adopted a new "ethical returns policy" on April 29, 2022. This will permit

19154-403: The peace treaty, Clay believed that the British, worn down by years of fighting against France, greatly desired peace with the United States. Partly due to Clay's hard-line stance, the Treaty of Ghent included relatively favorable terms for the United States, essentially re-establishing the status quo ante bellum between Britain and the U.S. The treaty was signed on December 24, 1814, bringing

19311-476: The power of Clay's Bluegrass region, and he unsuccessfully advocated moving the state capitol from Frankfort to Lexington. Clay frequently opposed populist firebrand Felix Grundy , and he helped defeat Grundy's effort to revoke the banking privileges of the state-owned Kentucky Insurance Company. He advocated for the construction of internal improvements , which would become a consistent theme throughout his public career. Clay's influence in Kentucky state politics

19468-446: The presidency. Though many, including Clay, did not take his candidacy seriously at first, General Andrew Jackson emerged as a presidential contender, eroding Clay's base of support in the western states. In February 1824, the sparsely attended Democratic-Republican congressional caucus endorsed Crawford's candidacy, but Crawford's rivals ignored the caucus results, and various state legislatures nominated candidates for president. During

19625-478: The prestigious position of secretary of state; as a result, critics alleged that the two had agreed to a " corrupt bargain ". Despite receiving support from Clay and other National Republicans, Adams was defeated by Democrat Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election . Clay won election to the Senate in 1831 and ran as the National Republican nominee in the 1832 presidential election, but he

19782-422: The public in their own communities about how Latinos are enriching America's cultural fabric." The institution publishes Smithsonian magazine monthly and Air & Space magazine bimonthly. Smithsonian was the result of Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley asking the retired editor of Life magazine Edward K. Thompson to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian Institution

19939-417: The race may have cost Clay the election. Most of Clay's contemporaries believed that annexation had been the decisive issue in the race, but Polk's savvy campaigning on the tariff may have also been decisive, as he narrowly won pro-tariff Pennsylvania after downplaying his anti-tariff views. After Polk's victory and the final indirect success of Tyler's strategy, Congress approved the annexation of Texas, which

20096-419: The reading of scientific and literary productions, but this was continued for only a short time, as the number attending declined rapidly. Eighty-five communications by 26 people were made to Congress during the entire life of the society, with more than a half relating to astronomy or mathematics. Among all the activities planned by the institute, only a few were actually implemented. Two were the establishment of

20253-509: The remainder of the debt. Shortly afterward, Clay fell into a debt of $ 60,000 (approximately $ 1.5 million today ) while gambling with the same man, who then asked for the $ 500 back and waived the rest of the debt. They initially lived in Lexington, but in 1804 they began building a plantation outside of Lexington known as Ashland . The Ashland estate eventually encompassed over 500 acres (200 ha), with numerous outbuildings such as

20410-550: The second veto, congressional Whigs voted to expel Tyler from the party, and on Clay's request, every Cabinet member except for Webster, who wanted to continue negotiating the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain about the border to Canada, resigned from office. This made Tyler increasingly move closer to his former Democratic Party and, with Webster still serving in the Tyler administration, Clay emerged as

20567-492: The sickly Crawford as unsuitable for the presidency. On January 9, 1825, Clay privately met with Adams for three hours, after which Clay promised Adams his support; both would later claim that they did not discuss Clay's position in an Adams administration. With the help of Clay, Adams won the House vote on the first ballot. After his election, Adams offered Clay the position of secretary of state, which Clay accepted, despite fears that he would be accused of trading his support for

20724-640: The staff and unfulfilled financial obligations to sponsors existed. The website's quality was poor, and the center did not have a public affairs manager, a programs director, adequate human resources support, or cohesive mission statement. After difficult times in the first few years, the center improved. According to the Smithsonian, the center "support[s] scholarly research, exhibitions, public and educational programs, web-based content and virtual platforms, and collections and archives. [It] also manage[s] leadership and professional development programs for Latino youth, emerging scholars and museum professionals." Today,

20881-419: The support of fellow war hawks , Clay was elected Speaker of the House for the 12th Congress . At 34, he was the youngest person to become speaker, a distinction he held until 1839, when 30-year-old Robert M. T. Hunter took office. He was also the first of only two new members elected speaker to date, the other being William Pennington in 1860. Between 1810 and 1824, Clay was elected to seven terms in

21038-679: The territories. Clay was one of the most important and influential political figures of his era. Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777, at the Clay homestead in Hanover County, Virginia . He was the seventh of nine children born to the Reverend John Clay and Elizabeth (née Hudson) Clay. Almost all of Henry's older siblings died before adulthood. His father, a Baptist minister nicknamed "Sir John", died in 1781, leaving Henry and his brothers two slaves each; he also left his wife 18 slaves and 464 acres (188 ha) of land. Clay

21195-473: The time it went public. This included 192 gifts of at least $ 1 million. Members of the boards of directors of various Smithsonian museums donated $ 372 million. The Smithsonian said that funds raised would go toward completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture building, and renovations of the National Air and Space Museum , National Museum of American History , and

21352-418: The top three electoral vote-getters would be eligible to be elected by the House. Clay was confident that he would prevail in a contingent held in the chamber he presided over, so long as he was eligible for election. Clay won Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri, but his loss in New York and Louisiana relegated him to a fourth-place finish behind Adams, Jackson, and Crawford. Clay was humiliated that he finished behind

21509-468: The war, but privately he saw it as an immoral war that risked producing "some military chieftain who will conquer us all." He suffered a personal blow in 1847 when his son, Henry Clay Jr., died at the Battle of Buena Vista . In November 1847, Clay re-emerged on the political scene with a speech that was harshly critical of the Mexican–American War and President Polk. He attacked Polk for fomenting

21666-546: The website features a high-tech virtual museum including self-guided virtual tours of past and present exhibits. The Smithsonian Latino Center's Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a program within the Latino Center that reaches out to Latino high school students with the goal of encouraging them to become leaders in arts, sciences, and the humanities. Students selected for the program travel to Washington, D.C. for an "enrichment seminar" that lasts approximately five days. Afterwards, students return to their communities to serve in

21823-639: The wives of his Cabinet members. Clay strongly opposed the 1830 Indian Removal Act , which authorized the administration to relocate Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi River . Another key point of contention between Clay and Jackson was the proposed Maysville Road , which would connect Maysville, Kentucky , to the National Road in Zanesville, Ohio ; transportation advocates hoped that later extensions would eventually connect

21980-486: Was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives . He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state . He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1824 , 1832 , and 1844 elections. He helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party . For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned

22137-525: Was an established town that hosted Transylvania University , the first university west of the Appalachian Mountains . Having already passed the Virginia Bar, Clay quickly received a Kentucky license to practice law. After apprenticing himself to Kentucky attorneys such as George Nicholas , John Breckenridge , and James Brown, Clay established his own law practice, frequently working on debt collections and land disputes. Clay soon established

22294-903: Was appropriated for meteorological research. The institution became a magnet for young scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club . The Smithsonian played a critical role as the US partner institution in early bilateral scientific exchanges with the Academy of Sciences of Cuba . Construction began on the Smithsonian Institution Building ("the Castle") in 1849. Designed by architect James Renwick Jr. , its interiors were completed by general contractor Gilbert Cameron. The building opened in 1855. The Smithsonian's first expansion came with

22451-508: Was chosen as Attorney General. As Harrison prepared to take office, Clay and Harrison clashed over the leadership of the Whig Party, with Harrison sensitive to accusations that he would answer to Clay. Just a month into his presidency, Harrison died of an illness and was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler. Tyler retained Harrison's Cabinet, but the former Democrat and avid follower of both Jefferson's and Jackson's philosophy quickly made it known that he had reservations about re-establishing

22608-682: Was confined to an asylum in Lexington . Thomas (who had served some jail time in Philadelphia in 1829–1830) became a successful farmer, James established a legal practice (and later served in Congress), and John (who in his mid-20s was also confined to the asylum for a short time) became a successful horse breeder. Clay was greatly interested in gambling, although he favored numerous restrictions and legal limitations on it. Famously, he once won $ 40,000 (approximately $ 970,000 as of 2020). Clay asked for $ 500 (approximately $ 12,000 today) and waived

22765-561: Was deemed "treatment needed" by Smithsonian Institution 's " Save Outdoor Sculpture! " program in September 1992. This article about a sculpture in Oregon is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( / s m ɪ θ ˈ s oʊ n i ə n / smith- SOH -nee-ən ), or simply the Smithsonian , is a group of museums , education and research centers ,

22922-401: Was defeated decisively by President Jackson. After the 1832 election, Clay helped bring an end to the nullification crisis by leading passage of the Tariff of 1833 . During Jackson's second term, opponents of the president including Clay, Webster, and William Henry Harrison created the Whig Party, and through the years, Clay became a leading congressional Whig. Clay sought the presidency in

23079-476: Was especially distressed by Jackson's victory in Kentucky. The election result represented not only the victory of a man Clay viewed as unqualified and unprincipled but also a rejection of Clay's domestic policies. Even with Clay out of office, President Jackson continued to see Clay as one of his major rivals, and Jackson at one point suspected Clay of being behind the Petticoat affair , a controversy involving

23236-559: Was established as a trust instrumentality by act of Congress. More than two-thirds of the Smithsonian's workforce of some 6,300 persons are employees of the federal government. The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services oversees security at the Smithsonian facilities and enforces laws and regulations for National Capital Parks together with the United States Park Police . The president's 2011 budget proposed just under $ 800 million in support for

23393-480: Was exceptional in his ability to control the legislative agenda through well-placed allies and the establishment of new committees and departed from precedent by frequently taking part in floor debates. Yet he also gained a reputation for personal courteousness and fairness in his rulings and committee appointments. Clay's drive to increase the power of the office of speaker was aided by President James Madison , who deferred to Congress in most matters. John Randolph ,

23550-466: Was following Monroe's implied wishes in entering Florida, he created additional controversy in seizing the Spanish town of Pensacola . Despite protests from Secretary of War Calhoun, Monroe and Adams decided to support Jackson's actions in the hope that they would convince Spain to sell Florida. Clay, however, was outraged, and he publicly condemned Jackson's decision to hang two foreign nationals without

23707-411: Was going to run for re-election, ensuring that support or opposition to his presidency would be a central feature of the upcoming race. Jackson's Democrats rallied around his policies towards the national bank, internal improvements, Indian removal , and nullification , but these policies also earned Jackson various enemies, including Vice President John C. Calhoun. However, Clay rejected overtures from

23864-659: Was near collapse, the 1824 presidential election would be contested only by members of the Democratic-Republican Party, including Clay. Having led the passage of the Tariff of 1824 and the General Survey Act , Clay campaigned on his American System of high tariffs and federal spending on infrastructure. Three members of Monroe's Cabinet, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, appeared to be Clay's strongest competitors for

24021-519: Was of entirely English descent; his ancestor, John Clay, settled in Virginia in 1613. The Clay family became a well-known political family including three other US senators, numerous state politicians, and Clay's cousin Cassius Clay , a prominent anti-slavery activist active in the mid-19th century. The British raided Clay's home shortly after the death of his father, leaving the family in

24178-427: Was often unable to take part in campaigning. As Adams was averse to the use of patronage for political purposes, Jackson's campaign enjoyed a marked advantage in organization, and Adams' allies such as Clay and Daniel Webster were unable to create an equally powerful organization headed by the president. In the 1828 election, Jackson took 56% of the popular vote and won almost every state outside of New England ; Clay

24335-579: Was rebuffed in his efforts to reach a commercial treaty and a settlement of the Canada–United States border with Britain, and was also unsuccessful in his attempts to make the French pay for damages arising from attacks on American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars . He had more success in negotiating commercial treaties with Latin American republics, reaching " most favoured nation " trade agreements in an attempt to ensure that no European country had

24492-443: Was signed by Tyler on his last day in office, and Texas gained statehood in late 1845. After the 1844 election, Clay returned to his career as an attorney. Though he was no longer a member of Congress, he remained closely interested in national politics. In 1846, the Mexican–American War broke out after American and Mexican forces clashed at the disputed border region between Mexico and Texas. Initially, Clay did not publicly oppose

24649-608: Was such that in 1806 the Kentucky legislature elected him to the United States Senate . During his two-month tenure in the Senate, Clay advocated for the construction of various bridges and canals, including a canal connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River . After Clay returned to Kentucky in 1807, he was elected as the speaker of the state house of representatives. That same year, in response to attacks on American shipping by Britain and France during

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