238-418: [REDACTED] Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) 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
476-535: 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 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 ,
714-584: A Mississippian culture took root in western and central Kentucky and a Fort Ancient culture appeared in eastern Kentucky. While the two had many similarities, the distinctive ceremonial earthwork mounds constructed in the former's centers were not part of the culture of the latter. Fort Ancient settlements depended largely on corn, beans, and squash, and practiced a system of agriculture that prevented ecological degradation by rotating crops, burning sections of forest to create ideal habitat for wild game, relocating villages every 10–30 years, and continually shifting
952-502: 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
1190-495: 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
1428-457: 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
1666-545: A choice. Indigenous soldiers who volunteered to fight with the Mexican Army were often abandoned and compensated unfairly. By raiding, indigenous populations were also able to acquire horses and properly tame them to move efficiently during battles. Captive-taking methods, especially that of the Comanche tribe, were also used to the advantage of the Mexican Army as captives would end up assisting indigenous populations in
1904-778: 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
2142-425: A fairer English translation "The Land of Those Who Became Our Fathers". In any case, the word aki means "land" in most Algonquian languages. The first archaeological evidence of human occupation of Kentucky is approximately 9500BCE, and it was Clovis culture, primitive hunter-gatherers with stone tools. Around 1800 BCE, a gradual transition began from a hunter-gatherer economy to agriculturalism. Around 900 CE,
2380-641: 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
2618-530: 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 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
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#17327758755672856-716: 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
3094-453: A large contingent of Irish- and German-born soldiers, nearly all European states and principalities were represented. It is estimated that the U.S. Army further included 1,500 men from British North America, including French Canadians. Although Polk hoped to avoid a protracted war over Texas, the extended conflict stretched regular army resources, necessitating the recruitment of volunteers with short-term enlistments. Some enlistments were for
3332-405: 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
3570-537: A leading congressional Whig. Clay sought the presidency in 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
3808-538: A loss of national prestige, as it suffered large losses of life in both its military and civilian population, had its financial foundations undermined, and lost more than half of its territory. Mexico obtained independence from the Spanish Empire with the Treaty of Córdoba in 1821 after a decade of conflict between the royal army and insurgents for independence, with no foreign intervention. The conflict ruined
4046-551: 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
4284-799: A major slave market and departure port for slaves being transported down the Ohio River. Kentucky was a heavily divided slave state during the American Civil War . Though the state had dueling Union and Confederate state governments, Kentucky was never an official component of the Confederacy. Kentucky was one of the Southern border states during the war, and it remained neutral within the Union . Despite this, representatives from 68 of 110 counties met at Russellville calling themselves
4522-517: 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
4760-449: A military that regularly intervened in politics, the U.S. generally kept its political divisions within the bounds of the institutions of governance. Since Mexico fought the war on its home territory, a traditional support system for troops were women, known as soldaderas . They did not participate in conventional fighting on battlefields, but some soldaderas joined the battle alongside the men. These women were involved in fighting during
4998-495: A military veteran from Virginia, was elected its first Governor. The central Bluegrass region and the western portion of the state were the areas with the most slave owners . Planters cultivated tobacco and hemp on plantations with the use of slave labor, and were noted for their quality livestock . During the 19th century, Kentucky slaveholders began to sell unneeded slaves to the Deep South , with Louisville becoming
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#17327758755675236-408: 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
5474-411: 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
5712-516: 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
5950-686: A period known as the Beaver Wars (1640–1680), another Algonquian tribe called the Maumee , or Mascouten was chased out of southern Michigan. The vast majority of them moved to Kentucky, pushing the Kispoko east and war broke out with the Tutelo of North Carolina and Virginia that pushed them further north and east. The Maumee were closely related to the Miami from Indiana. Later, the Kispoko merged with
6188-462: A period of months, sometimes just weeks, or even days. Just before the outbreak of the war, liberal General José Joaquín de Herrera was president (December 1844 – December 1845) and willing to engage in talks so long as he did not appear to be caving to the U.S., but he was accused by many Mexican factions of selling out his country ( vendepatria ) for considering it. He was overthrown by Conservative Mariano Paredes (December 1845 – July 1846), who left
6426-520: A policy of colonization to more effectively control the territory. After independence, the Mexican government implemented the policy, granting Moses Austin , a banker from Missouri, a large tract of land in Texas. Austin died before he could bring his plan of recruiting American settlers for the land to fruition, but his son, Stephen F. Austin , brought over 300 American families into Texas. This started
6664-475: 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 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
6902-600: A record 29,006 birds taken during the 23-day season in spring 2009. In 1991 the Land Between the Lakes partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Red Wolf Recovery Program, a captive breeding program. Kentucky is subdivided into 120 counties , the largest being Pike County at 787.6 square miles (2,040 km ), and the most populous being Jefferson County (which coincides with
7140-491: A refusal to sell their crops to the major tobacco companies. An Association meeting occurred in downtown Guthrie , where a vigilante wing of "Night Riders", formed. The riders terrorized farmers who sold their tobacco at the low prices demanded by the tobacco corporations. They burned several tobacco warehouses throughout the area, stretching as far west as Hopkinsville to Princeton . In the later period of their operation, they were known to physically assault farmers who broke
7378-493: 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
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7616-463: 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,
7854-445: 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
8092-663: A significant advantage over their Mexican counterparts, such as the Springfield 1841 rifle of the Mississippi Rifles and the Colt Paterson revolver of the Texas Rangers . In the later stages of the war, the U.S. Mounted Rifles were issued Colt Walker revolvers, of which the U.S. Army had ordered 1,000 in 1846. Most significantly, throughout the war, the superiority of the U.S. artillery often carried
8330-441: 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
8568-621: 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
8806-499: A sovereign nation, deepened those sectional divisions. Polk had narrowly won the popular vote in the 1844 presidential election and decisively won the Electoral College, but with the annexation of Texas in 1845 and the outbreak of war in 1846, Polk's Democrats lost the House of Representatives to the Whig Party, which opposed the war. Unlike Mexico, which had weak formal state institutions, chaotic changes in government, and
9044-716: 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
9282-629: 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
9520-474: 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
9758-438: 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
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9996-434: A year, but others were for 3 or 6 months. The best volunteers signed up for a year's service in the summer of 1846, with their enlistments expiring just when General Winfield Scott 's campaign was poised to capture Mexico City. Many did not re-enlist, deciding that they would rather return home than place themselves in harm's way of disease, threat of death or injury on the battlefield, or in guerrilla warfare. Their patriotism
10234-406: Is believed to have once been a lush open woodland environment similar to oak savanna with abundant thickets of river cane , a species of bamboo , was once described by E. Lucy Braun as having the most "anomalous" plant life of the whole Eastern United States. Kentucky's natural environment has suffered greatly from destructive human activities that began after European colonization, particularly
10472-835: Is divided into eastern, central and western sub-regions, the latter known as the Pennyrile); the Western Coal Field ; and the far-western Jackson Purchase , the northernmost extension of the Mississippian Embayment, west and south of the Tennessee River. The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass encircling 90 miles (140 km) around Lexington , and the Outer Bluegrass that contains most of
10710-472: Is included in the boundaries of Fulton County . Road access to this small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River (populated by 18 people as of 2010 ) requires traveling through Tennessee. The epicenter of the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes was near this area, causing the Mississippi River to flow backwards in some places. Though the series of quakes changed the area geologically and affected
10948-553: Is now the American Southwest . The U.S. sought to purchase territory from Mexico, starting in 1825, in order to settle some of these issues. U.S. President Andrew Jackson made a sustained effort to acquire northern Mexican territory, with no success. Historian Peter Guardino states that in the war "the greatest advantage the United States had was its prosperity." With the Industrial Revolution across
11186-466: 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,
11424-536: 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
11662-582: 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
11900-790: The Big Sandy River and Tug Fork to the east. Its major internal rivers include the Kentucky River , Tennessee River , Cumberland River , Green River , and Licking River . Though it has only three major natural lakes, Kentucky is home to many artificial lakes . It has the largest artificial lakes east of the Mississippi in both water volume ( Lake Cumberland ) and surface area ( Kentucky Lake ). Kentucky Lake's 2,064 miles (3,322 km) of shoreline, 160,300 acres (64,900 hectares) of water surface, and 4,008,000 acre-feet (4.9 billion cubic meters ) of flood storage are
12138-537: 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
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#173277587556712376-661: The California Battalion following the outbreak of the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma. In November 1845, Polk sent John Slidell , a secret representative, to Mexico City with an offer to the Mexican government of $ 25 million for the Rio Grande border in Texas and Mexico's provinces of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México. U.S. expansionists wanted California to thwart any British interests in
12614-638: The Colony of Virginia , whose geographical extent was south of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers beyond the Appalachian Mountains , became known to European Americans as Kentucky (or Kentucke) country . It was named for the Kentucky River , a tributary of the Ohio. The precise etymology of the name is uncertain. One theory sees the word based on an Iroquoian name meaning "(on) the meadow" or "(on)
12852-641: The Comancheria . However, rather than settling in the dangerous central and western parts of the province, Anglos preferred to settle in East Texas with its rich farmland contiguous with the southern U.S. slave states . As settlers poured in from the U.S., the Mexican government discouraged further migration with its 1829 abolition of slavery. During the Spanish colonial era, the Californias (i.e.,
13090-657: The Commonwealth of Kentucky , is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Illinois , Indiana , and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River . Its capital is Frankfort and its most populous city is Louisville . As of 2020,
13328-685: The Compromise of 1850 , which postponed a crisis over the status of slavery in 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,
13566-514: 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 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
13804-504: 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
14042-493: The Louisville Metro governmental area ) with 772,144 residents as of 2023 . Mexican%E2%80%93American War Mexican Cession The Mexican–American War , also known in the United States as the Mexican War , and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico , was an invasion of Mexico by the United States Army from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1845 American annexation of Texas , which Mexico still considered its territory because it refused to recognize
14280-432: 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
14518-427: 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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#173277587556714756-501: The Revolutionary War . The county was subdivided into Jefferson , Lincoln and Fayette Counties in 1780, but continued to be administered as the District of Kentucky even as new counties were split off. On several occasions the region's residents petitioned the General Assembly and the Confederation Congress for separation from Virginia and statehood . Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville between 1784 and 1792. One petition, which had Virginia's assent, came before
14994-559: The Shawnee , who migrated from the east and the Ohio River valley. A persistent myth, perpetuated in many popular and scholarly works, alleges that Native Americans never lived permanently in Kentucky, but rather used it only as a "hunting ground." According to early Kentucky historians, early European settlers encountered extensive evidence of permanent, advanced settlements, including numerous burial mounds, copper and stone artifacts , and what early historians describe as "fortifications:" large sites consisting of extensive walls enclosing
15232-400: The Treaties of Velasco , signed by President Antonio López de Santa Anna after he was captured by the Texian Army during the 1836 Texas Revolution . The Republic of Texas was de facto an independent country, but most of its Anglo-American citizens who had moved from the United States to Texas after 1822 wanted to be annexed by the United States. Sectional politics over slavery in
15470-453: The Whig Party . For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned 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
15708-439: 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
15946-428: The contingent election held to select the president. President Adams then appointed Clay to 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
16184-420: 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
16422-490: The "Convention of the People of Kentucky" and passed an Ordinance of Secession on November 20, 1861. They established a Confederate government of Kentucky with its capital in Bowling Green , and Kentucky was officially admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861, as the 13th Confederate state with full recognition in Richmond. The Confederate shadow government was never popularly elected statewide, though 116 delegates were sent representing 68 Kentucky counties which at
16660-423: The 14th and youngest-ever Vice President was born in Lexington, Kentucky at Cabell's Dale Farm. Breckenridge was expelled from the U. S. Senate for his support of the Confederacy. Henry W. Grady, editor of the Atlanta Constitution, coined the term New South in 1874, urging transformation from an agrarian economy to a modern industrial one. On January 30, 1900, Governor William Goebel , flanked by two bodyguards,
16898-410: The 1820s and resisted the French in the so-called Pastry War of 1838 but the secessionists' success in Texas and the Yucatán against the centralist government of Mexico showed its political weakness as the government changed hands multiple times. The Mexican military and the Catholic Church in Mexico , both privileged institutions with conservative political views, were stronger politically than
17136-528: 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
17374-589: 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
17612-577: The 1845 annexation of Texas furthering that goal. However, the boundary between Texas and Mexico was disputed, with the Republic of Texas and the U.S. asserting it to be the Rio Grande and Mexico claiming it to be the more-northern Nueces River . Polk sent a diplomatic mission to Mexico in an attempt to buy the disputed territory, together with California and everything in between for $ 25 million (equivalent to $ 778 million in 2023), an offer
17850-542: 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
18088-601: The Articles of Confederation" only, but not "under the Constitution", and so declined to take action. On December 18, 1789, Virginia again gave its consent to Kentucky statehood. The United States Congress gave its approval on February 4, 1791. (This occurred two weeks before Congress approved Vermont 's petition for statehood. ) Kentucky officially became the fifteenth state in the Union on June 1, 1792. Isaac Shelby ,
18326-528: The Atlantic increasing the demand for cotton for textile factories, there was a large external market for cotton produced by enslaved African-American labor in the southern states. This demand helped fuel expansion into northern Mexico. Although there were political conflicts in the U.S., they were largely contained by the framework of the constitution and did not result in revolution or rebellion by 1846, but rather by sectional political conflicts. Northerners in
18564-529: The Baja California peninsula and Alta California) were sparsely settled. After Mexico became independent, it shut down the missions and reduced its military presence. In 1842, the U.S. minister in Mexico, Waddy Thompson Jr. , suggested Mexico might be willing to cede Alta California to the U.S. to settle debts, saying: "As to Texas, I regard it as of very little value compared with California, the richest,
18802-518: 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
19040-415: 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
19278-483: 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
19516-559: 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
19754-483: The Confederation Congress in early July 1788. Unfortunately, its consideration came up a day after word of New Hampshire 's all-important ninth ratification of the proposed Constitution , thus establishing it as the new framework of governance for the United States. In light of this development, Congress thought that it would be "unadvisable" to admit Kentucky into the Union, as it could do so "under
19992-526: The House and developed the American System , which called for federal infrastructure investments , support for 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
20230-751: 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
20468-412: The Kentucky state legislature in 1803 and to 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
20706-556: The Louisiana volunteers were there, a lawless drunken rabble. They had driven away the inhabitants, taken possession of their houses, and were emulating each other in making beasts of themselves." John L. O'Sullivan , a vocal proponent of Manifest Destiny, later recalled "The regulars regarded the volunteers with importance and contempt ... [The volunteers] robbed Mexicans of their cattle and corn, stole their fences for firewood, got drunk, and killed several inoffensive inhabitants of
20944-408: The Mexican government refused. Polk then sent a group of 80 soldiers across the disputed territory to the Rio Grande, ignoring Mexican demands to withdraw. Mexican forces interpreted this as an attack and repelled the U.S. forces on April 25, 1846, a move which Polk used to convince the Congress of the United States to declare war. Beyond the disputed area of Texas, U.S. forces quickly occupied
21182-511: The Mexican state. The United States' 1803 Louisiana Purchase resulted in an undefined border between Spanish colonial territories and the U.S. Some of the boundary issues between the U.S. and Spain were resolved with the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1818. U.S. negotiator John Quincy Adams wanted clear possession of East Florida and establishment of U.S. claims above the 42nd parallel, while Spain sought to limit U.S. expansion into what
21420-514: The Mississippi, there is no evidence French or Spanish explorers set foot in the lands south of the Ohio, notwithstanding speculations about Hernando de Soto and Robert de la Salle. The terrain in those days was not surveyed, so there is some uncertainty whether and to what extent the early English explorers out of Virginia set foot on the land. Confounding the issue is that the region south of the Ohio/Allegheny later known as Kentucky country
21658-484: The National Republican nominee in the 1832 presidential election, but he 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
21896-520: 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
22134-476: The Natives. In 1829, because of the large influx of American immigrants, the non-Hispanic outnumbered native Spanish speakers in Texas. President Vicente Guerrero , a hero of Mexican independence, moved to gain more control over Texas and its influx of non-Hispanic colonists from the southern U.S. and discourage further immigration by abolishing slavery in Mexico. The Mexican government also decided to reinstate
22372-470: The North Carolina border (today Tennessee) extending to the Mississippi River, previously most of what was known as Kentucky (or Kentucke) country , was split off into its own county of Kentucky . Harrod's Town (Oldtown as it was known at the time) was named the county seat. A 1790 U.S. government report states that 1,500 Kentucky settlers had been killed by Native Americans since the end of
22610-544: 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
22848-542: The Nueces River, ready to take by force the disputed land. At the same time, President Polk wrote to the American consul in the Mexican territory of Alta California, disclaiming American ambitions in California but offering to support independence from Mexico or voluntary accession to the United States, and warning that the United States would oppose any European attempts to take over. To end another war scare with
23086-446: The Ohio River and continued to maintain only small or transient settlements. This upheaval likely led the settlers to believe that Kentucky was a hunting ground contested by multiple tribes but not permanently inhabited, when in reality it had only recently been abandoned due to social and political turmoil. European explorers arrived in Kentucky possibly as early as 1671. While French explorers surely spied Kentucky during expeditions on
23324-414: The Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about two miles (3 km). Ellis Park , a thoroughbred racetrack, is located in this small piece of Kentucky. Waterworks Road is part of the only land border between Indiana and Kentucky. Kentucky has a non-contiguous part known as Kentucky Bend , at the far west corner of the state. It exists as an exclave surrounded completely by Missouri and Tennessee , and
23562-547: The Regular Army officers looked down on the volunteers, whose training was poor and whose behavior was undisciplined. (see below) On the West Coast, the U.S. Navy fielded a battalion of sailors, in an attempt to recapture Los Angeles . Although the U.S. Army and Navy were not large at the outbreak of the war, the officers were generally well trained and the numbers of enlisted men fairly large compared to Mexico's. At
23800-400: The Rio Grande boundary of Texas was omitted from the U.S. Congress's annexation resolution to help secure passage after the annexation treaty failed in the Senate. President Polk claimed the Rio Grande boundary, and when Mexico sent forces over the Rio Grande, this provoked a dispute. In July 1845, Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to Texas, and by October, Taylor commanded 3,500 Americans on
24038-646: 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
24276-513: 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
24514-515: 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
24752-866: The Texians in the Battle of the Alamo , he was defeated by the Texian Army commanded by General Sam Houston and was captured at the Battle of San Jacinto . In exchange for his life Santa Anna signed a treaty with Texas President David Burnet ending the war and recognizing Texian independence. The treaty was not ratified by the Mexican Congress as it had been signed by a captive under duress. Although Mexico refused to recognize Texian independence, Texas consolidated its status as an independent republic and received official recognition from Britain, France, and
24990-482: 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
25228-490: 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,
25466-522: The Treaties of Velasco made after Texans captured General Santa Ana after the Battle of San Jacinto, the southern border of Texas was placed at the "Rio Grande del Norte." The Texans claimed this placed the southern border at the modern Rio Grande . The Mexican government disputed this placement on two grounds: first, it rejected the idea of Texas independence; and second, it claimed that the Rio Grande in
25704-579: The U.S. sought to develop the country's existing resources and expand the industrial sector without expanding the nation's territory. The existing balance of sectional interests would be disrupted by the expansion of slavery into new territory. The Democratic Party , to which President Polk belonged, in particular strongly supported expansion. Neither colonial Mexico nor the newly sovereign Mexican state effectively controlled Mexico's far north and west. Mexico's military and diplomatic capabilities declined after it attained independence from Spain in 1821 and left
25942-758: The United Kingdom over the Oregon Country , Polk signed the Oregon Treaty dividing the territory, angering Northern Democrats who felt he was prioritizing Southern expansion over Northern expansion. In the winter of 1845–46, the federally commissioned explorer John C. Frémont and a group of armed men appeared in Alta California. After telling both the Mexican governor and the American Consul Thomas O. Larkin that he
26180-412: The United States had previously prevented annexation because Texas would have been admitted as a slave state, upsetting the balance of power between Northern free states and Southern slave states. In the 1844 United States presidential election , Democrat James K. Polk was elected on a platform of expanding U.S. territory to Oregon , California (also a Mexican territory), and Texas by any means, with
26418-427: The United States, which all advised Mexico not to try to reconquer the new nation. Most Texians wanted to join the United States, but the annexation of Texas was contentious in the U.S. Congress, where Whigs and Abolitionists were largely opposed. In 1845, Texas agreed to the offer of annexation by the U.S. Congress and became the 28th state on December 29, 1845, which set the stage for the conflict with Mexico. By
26656-465: The United States. The victory and territorial expansion Polk envisioned inspired patriotism among some sections of the United States, but the war and treaty drew fierce criticism for the casualties, monetary cost, and heavy-handedness. The question of how to treat the new acquisitions intensified the debate over slavery in the United States. Although the Wilmot Proviso that explicitly forbade
26894-512: 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
27132-408: 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
27370-759: 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
27608-632: The area and to gain a port on the Pacific Ocean. Polk authorized Slidell to forgive the $ 3 million owed to U.S. citizens for damages caused by the Mexican War of Independence and pay another $ 25 to $ 30 million for the two territories. Mexico was neither inclined nor able to negotiate. In 1846 alone, the presidency changed hands four times, the war ministry six times, and the finance ministry sixteen times. Despite that, Mexican public opinion and all political factions agreed that selling
27846-486: The army did their best to train the rough men who volunteered, but they could do little to inspire them with patriotism for the glorious country they were honored to serve." According to the leading Mexican conservative politician, Lucas Alamán , the "money spent on arming Mexican troops merely enabled them to fight each other and 'give the illusion' that the country possessed an army for its defense." However, an officer criticized Santa Anna's training of troops, "The cavalry
28084-499: 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
28322-438: The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca-de-la-Palma, General Taylor had a small army, but it was composed exclusively of regular troops, under the best of drill and discipline. Every officer, from the highest to the lowest, was educated in his profession, not at West Point necessarily, but in the camp, in garrison, and many of them in wars with Natives. The rank and file were probably inferior, as material out of which to make an army, to
28560-468: The beginning of the war, Mexican forces were divided between the permanent forces ( permanentes ) and the active militiamen ( activos ). The permanent forces consisted of 12 regiments of infantry (of two battalions each), three brigades of artillery, eight regiments of cavalry, one separate squadron and a brigade of dragoons. The militia amounted to nine infantry and six cavalry regiments. In the northern territories, presidial companies ( presidiales ) protected
28798-550: The beginning of the war, the U.S. Army had eight regiments of infantry (three battalions each), four artillery regiments and three mounted regiments (two dragoons, one of mounted rifles). These regiments were supplemented by 10 new regiments (nine of infantry and one of cavalry) raised for one year of service by the act of Congress from February 11, 1847. A large portion of this fighting force consisted of recent immigrants. According to Tyler V. Johnson, foreign-born men amounted to 47 percent of General Taylor's total forces. In addition to
29036-590: The bluegrass heartland of Kentucky. While the Cherokee did not settle in Kentucky, they hunted there. They relinquished their hunting rights there in an extra-legal private contract with speculator Richard Henderson called Treaty of Sycamore Shoals in 1775. On December 31, 1776, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly , the portion of Fincastle County west of the Big Sandy River (including today's Tug Fork tributary) terminating at
29274-662: The boycott. Governor Augustus E. Willson declared martial law and deployed the Kentucky National Guard to end the wars. Kentucky is situated in the Upland South . A significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia . Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast . West Virginia lies to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to
29512-416: 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 ,
29750-547: 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 ,
29988-481: The capital to sort out the political mess. Santa Anna briefly held the presidency again, from March 21, 1847 – April 2, 1847. His troops were deprived of support that would allow them to continue the fight. The conservatives demanded the removal of Gómez Farías, and this was accomplished by abolishing the office of vice president. Santa Anna returned to the field, replaced in the presidency by Pedro María de Anaya (April 2 – May 20, 1847). Santa Anna returned to
30226-424: The capital, Mexico City , in September 1847. Although Mexico was defeated on the battlefield, negotiating peace was a politically fraught issue. Some Mexican factions refused to consider any recognition of its loss of territory. Although Polk formally relieved his peace envoy, Nicholas Trist , of his post as negotiator, Trist ignored the order and successfully concluded the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . It ended
30464-553: 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
30702-495: The conflict with Mexico and urged the rejection of any treaty that added new slave territory to the United States. Months after the speech, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , in which Mexico ceded hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory known as the Mexican Cession . Kentucky Kentucky ( US : / k ə n ˈ t ʌ k i / , UK : / k ɛ n -/ ), officially
30940-528: 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
31178-475: 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
31416-470: The conversion of natural habitat to farmland and coal mining . Kentucky has an expansive park system, which includes one national park, two National Recreation Areas, two National Historic Parks, two national forests , two National Wildlife Refuges, 45 state parks , 37,896 acres (153 km ) of state forest, and 82 wildlife management areas . Kentucky has been part of two of the most successful wildlife reintroduction projects in United States history. In
31654-411: 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
31892-433: 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
32130-517: 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
32368-454: The day. In his 1885 memoirs, former U.S. President Ulysses Grant , a veteran of the Mexican war, attributed Mexico's defeat to the poor quality of their army, writing: "The Mexican army of that day was hardly an organization. The private soldier was picked from the lower class of the inhabitants when wanted; his consent was not asked; he was poorly clothed, worse fed, and seldom paid. He was turned adrift when no longer wanted. The officers of
32606-491: 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
32844-425: The defense of Mexico City and Monterrey. Some women such as Doña Jesús Dosamantes and María Josefa Zozaya would be remembered as heroes. On the other hand, some Mexican women were seen as "angels" as they provided aid and comfort to the injured men on both sides. Although soldaderas were able to prove the abilities Mexican women had outside of the private sphere, Mexican women on the home front still contributed to
33082-506: The depredations of Micheltorena's army. Former Governor Alvarado organized a revolt in 1845, which culminated in the Battle of Providencia in Cahuenga Pass near Los Angeles. As a result of the actions of pioneer California rancher John Marsh , Micheltorena's forces were defeated. In 1800, Spain's colonial province of Texas (Tejas) had few inhabitants, with only about 7,000 non-native settlers. The Spanish crown developed
33320-528: 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
33558-548: The eighteenth century, epidemics of disease had destabilized and changed the indigenous groups that inhabited Kentucky, causing some to reassemble into multi-tribal towns, and others to disperse further from the sphere of European influence. Around the end of the French and Indian War, as European settlers began to claim parts of the Bluegrass State, Native Americans abandoned their larger, more permanent villages south of
33796-544: The extension of slavery into conquered Mexican territory was not adopted by Congress, debates about it heightened sectional tensions. Some scholars see the Mexican–American War as leading to the American Civil War . Many officers who had trained at West Point gained experience in the war and later played prominent leadership roles during the Civil War. In Mexico, the war worsened domestic political turmoil and led to
34034-506: The far north as an average annual temperature and of 60 °F (16 °C) in the extreme southwest. In general, Kentucky has relatively hot, humid , rainy summers, and moderately cold and rainy winters. Mean maximum temperatures in July vary from 83 to 90 °F (28 to 32 °C); the mean minimum July temperatures are 61 to 69 °F (16 to 21 °C). In January the mean maximum temperatures range from 36 to 44 °F (2 to 7 °C);
34272-577: The federal system, replacing it with a unitary central government that removed power from the states. Leaving politics to those in Mexico City, General Santa Anna led the Mexican army to quash the semi-independence of Texas. He had done that in Coahuila (in 1824, Mexico had merged Texas and Coahuila into the enormous state of Coahuila y Tejas ). Austin called Texians to arms and they declared independence from Mexico in 1836. After Santa Anna defeated
34510-593: The flat tops of bluffs, cliffs or mountains, constructed from stone that was quarried in the surrounding valleys and brought up to the summit. These sites and artifacts were sometimes explained as being the remnants of a "lost" white race, or some variously identified ethnic group predating and distinct from the Native Americans. More recent scholarship identifies the mound builders as the Mississippian and Fort Ancient peoples, which were distinct from
34748-485: 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
34986-474: The freezing point vary from about sixty days in the southwest to more than a hundred days in the far-north and far-east. Kentucky has the second-most navigable miles of water among U.S. states, second to Alaska . Kentucky is the only state to have a continuous border of rivers running along three of its sides – the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and
35224-483: 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, a dispute erupted over
35462-484: The heartland of Mexico and provinces such as Alta California and New Mexico increasingly difficult. As a result, at the outbreak of the war, New Mexico was economically dependent on trade with the United States via the eastern branch of the Santa Fe Trail . The Mexican government's policy of allowing the settlement of U.S. citizens in its province of Tejas was aimed at expanding control into Comanche lands,
35700-511: The indigenous cultures encountered by settlers, although sharing the same origin in Paleoindian groups that inhabited the area for at least 12,000 years. Beginning in the seventeenth century, before indigenous groups in Kentucky made direct contact with Europeans, articles of European origin such as glass beads entered the region via trade routes , and the appearance of mass graves suggests that European diseases were also introduced. By
35938-440: The interior of the state. French explorers in the 17th century documented numerous tribes living in Kentucky until the Beaver Wars in the 1670s; however, by the time that European colonial explorers and settlers began entering Kentucky in greater numbers in the mid-18th century, there were no major Native American settlements in the region. The Chickasaw had territory up to the confluence of Mississippi and Ohio rivers. During
36176-444: 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
36414-504: 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
36652-622: The location of fields to maintain plots of land in various stages of ecological succession . In about the 10th century, the Kentucky native people's variety of corn became highly productive, supplanting the Eastern Agricultural Complex and replacing it with maize-based agriculture in the Mississippian era . As of the 16th century, what became Kentucky was home to tribes from diverse linguistic groups. The Kispoko , an Algonquian-speaking tribe, controlled much of
36890-484: The lower grades were but little superior to the men. With all this I have seen as brave stands made by some of these men as I have ever seen made by soldiers. Now Mexico has a standing army larger than the United States. They have a military school modeled after West Point. Their officers are educated and, no doubt, very brave. The Mexican war of 1846–48 would be an impossibility in this generation." There were significant political divisions in Mexico which seriously impeded
37128-520: The magnificent Territory of Upper California", saying that "no part of the World offering greater natural advantages for the establishment of an English colony ... by all means desirable ... that California, once ceasing to belong to Mexico, should not fall into the hands of any power but England ... there is some reason to believe that daring and adventurous speculators in the United States have already turned their thoughts in this direction." By
37366-457: The mean minimum temperatures range from 19 to 26 °F (−7 to −3 °C). Temperature means vary with northern and far-eastern mountain regions averaging five degrees cooler year-round, compared to the relatively warmer areas of the southern and western regions of the state. Precipitation varies north to south with the north averaging of 38 to 40 inches (970 to 1,020 mm), and the south averaging of 50 inches (1,300 mm). Days per year below
37604-770: The most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world ... with the acquisition of Upper California we should have the same ascendency on the Pacific ;... France and England both have had their eyes upon it." U.S. President John Tyler 's administration suggested a tripartite pact to settle the Oregon boundary dispute and provide for the cession of the port of San Francisco from Mexico. Lord Aberdeen declined to participate but said Britain had no objection to U.S. territorial acquisition there. The British minister in Mexico, Richard Pakenham , wrote in 1841 to Lord Palmerston urging "to establish an English population in
37842-489: The most of any lake in the Tennessee Valley Authority system. Kentucky's 90,000 miles (140,000 km) of streams provides one of the most expansive and complex stream systems in the nation. Kentucky hosts multiple habitats with a high number of endemic species, including some of the most extensive cave systems in the world. 102 known species are endemic to the state. The Bluegrass region, which
38080-531: 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
38318-423: 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
38556-569: 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
38794-454: The northern countryside outside of the scattered towns. The raids after 1821 resulted in many deaths, halted most transportation and communications, and decimated the ranching industry that was a mainstay of the northern economy. As a result, the demoralized civilian population of northern Mexico put up little resistance to the invading U.S. army. Furthermore, distance and hostile activity by Native Americans made communications and trade between
39032-547: The northern half of the country vulnerable to attacks by Comanche , Apache , and Navajo Native Americans. The Comanche, in particular, took advantage of the weakness of the Mexican state to undertake large-scale raids hundreds of miles into the country to acquire livestock for their own use and to supply an expanding market in Texas and the U.S. The northern area of Mexico was sparsely settled because of its challenging climate and topography. Mostly high desert with scarce rainfall, it supported little sedentary agriculture during
39270-452: The northern portion of the state, above the Knobs . Much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills sub-region, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. The alluvial plain of the Ohio River is another geological region, as is the area south and east of Pine Mountain, part of the Ridge and Valley Belt of Appalachia. Most of Kentucky has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa ), with small Appalachian highland areas of
39508-743: The number of automobiles and trucks assembled. It is one of several states considered part of the Upland South . The state is home to the world's longest known cave system in Mammoth Cave National Park , the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the contiguous United States , and the nation's two largest artificial lakes east of the Mississippi River . Cultural aspects of Kentucky include horse racing , bourbon , moonshine , coal mining , My Old Kentucky Home State Park , automobile manufacturing, tobacco, Southern cuisine , barbecue , bluegrass music , college basketball , Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and Kentucky Fried Chicken . Prior to 1769, Botetourt County and successor counties in
39746-410: 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
39984-403: 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
40222-475: 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
40460-443: The prairie" (cf. Mohawk kenhtà:ke , Seneca gëdá'geh ( phonemic /kɛ̃taʔkɛh/ ), "at the field"). Another theory suggests a derivation from the term Kenta Aki , which could have come from an Algonquian language , in particular from Shawnee . Folk etymology translates this as "Land of Our Fathers". The closest approximation in another Algonquian language, Ojibwe , translates as "Land of Our In-Laws", thus making
40698-493: The pre-Hispanic and colonial periods. After independence, Mexico became preoccupied with internal struggles that sometimes verged on civil war, and the worsening situation on the northern frontier was largely neglected. In northern Mexico, the end of Spanish rule was marked by the end of financing for garrisoned presidios and the pay-offs to Native Americans to maintain peace. In the absence of effective governance, Comanche and Apache took to raiding for livestock and looted much of
40936-466: The presidency on May 20, 1847, when Anaya left to fight the invasion, serving until September 15, 1847. Preferring the battlefield to administration, Santa Anna left office again, leaving the office to Manuel de la Peña y Peña (September 16 – November 13, 1847). With U.S. forces occupying the Mexican capital and much of the heartland, negotiating a peace treaty was an exigent matter, and Peña y Peña left office to do that. Pedro María Anaya returned to
41174-465: The presidency on November 13, 1847 – January 8, 1848. Anaya refused to sign any treaty that ceded land to the U.S., despite the situation on the ground with Americans occupying the capital. Peña y Peña resumed the presidency January 8, 1848 – June 3, 1848, during which time the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, bringing the war to an end. Polk had pledged to seek expanded territory in Oregon and Texas, as part of his campaign in 1844 , but
41412-460: The presidency to fight the invading U.S. Army and was replaced by his vice president Nicolás Bravo (July 28, 1846 – August 4, 1846). The conservative Bravo was overthrown by federalist liberals who re-established the federal Constitution of 1824 . José Mariano Salas (August 6, 1846 – December 23, 1846) served as president and held elections under the restored federalist system. General Antonio López de Santa Anna won those elections, but as
41650-443: 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
41888-400: 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 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
42126-460: The property tax and increase tariffs on shipped American goods. The settlers and many Mexican businessmen in the region rejected the demands, which led to Mexico closing Texas to additional immigration, which continued from the United States into Texas illegally. In 1834, Mexican conservatives seized the political initiative, and General Antonio López de Santa Anna became the centralist president of Mexico. The conservative-dominated Congress abandoned
42364-447: 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
42602-415: 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
42840-435: The raids of American forces. The Mexican army was using surplus British muskets (such as the Brown Bess ), left over from the Napoleonic Wars . While at the beginning of the war most American soldiers were still equipped with the very similar Springfield 1816 flintlock muskets, more reliable caplock models became increasingly popular as the conflict progressed. Some U.S. troops carried more modern weapons that gave them
43078-439: The regional capital of Santa Fe de Nuevo México along the upper Rio Grande. U.S. forces also moved against the province of Alta California and then turned south. The Pacific Squadron of the U.S. Navy blockaded the Pacific coast in the lower Baja California Territory . The U.S. Army, under Major General Winfield Scott , invaded the Mexican heartland via an amphibious landing at the port of Veracruz on March 9 and captured
43316-452: The regular army was not sufficiently large to sustain extended conflicts on two fronts. The Oregon dispute with Britain was settled peaceably by treaty, allowing U.S. forces to concentrate on the southern border. The war was fought by regiments of regulars bolstered by various regiments, battalions, and companies of volunteers from the different states of the Union, as well as Americans and some Mexicans in California and New Mexico. In general,
43554-450: 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
43792-470: The scattered settlements. Indigenous populations in Mexico played a crucial role in the defending their land. By the beginning of the war, indigenous populations were depleted of their natural resources due to an influx of American settlers . As a result, indigenous populations from the Great Plains region had to rely on raiding American camps in order to survive. Although raiding was much more lucrative than hunting, indigenous population did not have much of
44030-421: 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
44268-489: 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
44506-480: The silver-mining districts of Zacatecas and Guanajuato . Mexico began as a sovereign nation with its future financial stability from its main export destroyed. Mexico briefly experimented with monarchy , but became a republic in 1824. This government was characterized by instability, and it was ill-prepared for a major international conflict when war broke out with the U.S. in 1846. Mexico had successfully resisted Spanish attempts to reconquer its former colony in
44744-482: The small number of inhabitants of the area at the time, the Kentucky Bend is the result of a surveying error, not the New Madrid earthquake. Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Plateau in the east, which is wholly underlain by coal and constitutes the Eastern Coal Field; the north-central Bluegrass region , where the major cities and the capital are located; the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau (a Mississippian-age plateau that
44982-410: The southeast of the state having an oceanic climate ( Cfb ). Temperatures in Kentucky usually range from daytime summer highs of 87 °F (31 °C) to the winter low of 23 °F (−5 °C). The average precipitation is 46 inches (1,200 mm) a year. Kentucky has four distinct seasons, with substantial variations in the severity of summer and winter. The state's highest recorded temperature
45220-449: The state capital. After the expulsion of Confederate forces after the Battle of Perryville, this government operated in-exile. Though it existed throughout the war, Kentucky's provisional government only had governing authority in areas of Kentucky under direct Confederate control and had very little effect on the events in the Commonwealth or in the war once they were driven out of the state. Kentucky remained officially "neutral" throughout
45458-554: The state led to the development of large tobacco plantations similar to those in Virginia and North Carolina , which utilized enslaved labor prior to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment . Kentucky ranks fifth nationally in goat farming, eighth in beef cattle production, and fourteenth in corn production. While Kentucky has been a long-standing center for the tobacco industry, its economy has diversified into non-agricultural sectors including auto manufacturing, energy production, and medicine. Kentucky ranks fourth among US states in
45696-413: The state's population was approximately 4.5 million. Previously part of Virginia, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792. It is known as the "Bluegrass State" in reference to Kentucky bluegrass , a species of grass introduced by European settlers which has long supported the state's thoroughbred horse industry. The fertile soil in the central and western parts of
45934-437: The state. The northern parts tend to be about five degrees cooler than those in the western parts of the state. Somerset in the south-central part receives ten more inches of rain per year than Covington to the north. Average temperatures for the entire state range from the low 30s in January to the high 80s in mid-July. The annual average temperature varies from 55 to 60 °F (13 to 16 °C): of 55 °F (13 °C) in
46172-488: The steady trend of migration from the United States into the Texas frontier. Austin's colony was the most successful of several colonies authorized by the Mexican government. The Mexican government intended the new settlers to act as a buffer between the Tejano residents and the Comanches, but the non-Hispanic colonists tended to settle in areas with decent farmland and trade connections with Louisiana rather than farther west where they would have been an effective buffer against
46410-415: 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
46648-432: The territories to the United States would tarnish the national honor. Mexicans who opposed direct conflict with the United States, including President José Joaquín de Herrera , were viewed as traitors. Military opponents of de Herrera, supported by populist newspapers, considered Slidell's presence in Mexico City an insult. When de Herrera considered receiving Slidell to settle the problem of Texas annexation peacefully, he
46886-420: The time made up a little over half the territory of the Commonwealth to the Russellville Convention in 1861, and were occupied and governed by the Confederacy at some point in the duration of the war, and Kentucky had full representation within the Confederate Government. Although Confederate forces briefly controlled Frankfort, they were expelled by Union forces before a Confederate government could be installed in
47124-481: The time the letter reached London, though, Sir Robert Peel 's Tory government, with its Little England policy, had come to power and rejected the proposal as expensive and a potential source of conflict. Pío Pico , the last governor of Alta California, advocated that California achieve independence from Mexico and become a British protectorate . In 1842, Mexico forcibly replaced California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado with Manuel Micheltorena . Micheltorena
47362-416: 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
47600-630: The town in the streets." Many of the volunteers were unwanted and considered poor soldiers. The expression "Just like Gaines's army" came to refer to something useless, the phrase having originated when a group of untrained and unwilling Louisiana troops was rejected and sent back by General Taylor at the beginning of the war. In his 1885 memoirs, Ulysses Grant assesses the U.S. armed forces facing Mexico more favorably. The victories in Mexico were, in every instance, over vastly superior numbers. There were two reasons for this. Both General Scott and General Taylor had such armies as are not often got together. At
47838-421: The treaty was actually the Nueces River , since the current Rio Grande has always been called "Rio Bravo" in Mexico. The latter claim belied the full name of the river in Mexico, however: "Rio Bravo del Norte." The ill-fated Texan Santa Fe Expedition of 1841 attempted to realize the claim to New Mexican territory east of the Rio Grande, but its members were captured by the Mexican Army and imprisoned. Reference to
48076-537: The volunteers that participated in all the later battles of the war; but they were brave men, and then drill and discipline brought out all there was in them. A better army, man for man, probably never faced an enemy than the one commanded by General Taylor in the earliest two engagements of the Mexican war. The volunteers who followed were of better material, but without drill or discipline at the start. They were associated with so many disciplined men and professionally educated officers, that when they went into engagements it
48314-675: The war due to the Southern Unionists sympathies of a majority of the Commonwealth's citizens who were split between the struggle of Kentucky's sister Southern States fully in the Confederate States of America and a continued loyalty to the Unionist cause that was prevalent in other areas of the South such as in East Tennessee, West Virginia, Western North Carolina, and others. Despite this, some 21st-century Kentuckians observe Confederate Memorial Day on Confederate leader Jefferson Davis ' birthday, June 3, and participate in Confederate battle re-enactments. Both Davis and U.S. president Abraham Lincoln were born in Kentucky. John C. Breckinridge ,
48552-433: The war effort. Inside Mexico, the conservative centralistas and liberal federalists vied for power, and at times these two factions inside Mexico's military fought each other rather than the invading U.S. Army. Santa Anna bitterly remarked, "However shameful it may be to admit this, we have brought this disgraceful tragedy upon ourselves through our interminable in-fighting." During the conflict, presidents held office for
48790-597: The war effort. After having to face the losses in their country, Mexican women were seen dressed in black and creating somber paintings. American and Mexican women shared the similarities of providing their domestic services on the battlefield. Among the most notable American women on the battlefield was Sarah Bowman . She was often seen delivering food, carrying wounded soldiers, and in close combat. In Mexico While their husbands enlisted, many American women stayed in Mexico to tend to oversee their business, making themselves factory women. However, factory woman Ann Chase
49028-428: The war, and Mexico recognized the cession of present-day Texas, California, Nevada, and Utah as well as parts of present-day Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The U.S. agreed to pay $ 15 million for the physical damage of the war and assumed $ 3.25 million of debt already owed by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens. Mexico relinquished its claims on Texas and accepted the Rio Grande as its northern border with
49266-402: 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
49504-483: The west, Illinois to the northwest, and Indiana and Ohio to the north. Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more. Kentucky's northern border is formed by the north shore of the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River ; however, the official border is based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792. For instance, northbound travelers on U.S. 41 from Henderson, after crossing
49742-493: The winter of 1997, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources began to re-stock elk in the state's eastern counties, which had been extirpated from the area for over 150 years. As of 2009 , the herd had reached the project goal of 10,000 animals, making it the largest herd east of the Mississippi River . The state stocked wild turkeys in the 1950s, after reportedly having fewer than 900. Once nearly extinct, wild turkeys thrive throughout Kentucky. Hunters reported
49980-449: 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
50218-404: 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 the Hart home in Lexington, Kentucky . Her father, Colonel Thomas Hart,
50456-463: Was 114 °F (46 °C) in Greensburg on July 28, 1930, while its lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F (−38 °C) in Shelbyville on January 19, 1994 . The state seldom experiences the extreme cold of far northern states or the high heat of the states in the Deep South ; temperatures rarely drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit or rise above 100 degrees. Rain and snowfall averages about 45 inches per year. The climate varies markedly within
50694-405: Was abandoned during the conflict period of Dunmore's War, and resettled in March 1775, becoming the first permanent European settlement in Kentucky. It was followed within months by Boone's Station, Logan's Fort and Lexington before Kentucky was organized. This period was the time of Daniel Boone's legendary expeditions starting in 1767 through the Cumberland Gap and down the Kentucky River to reach
50932-454: Was accused of treason and deposed. After a more nationalistic government under General Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga came to power, it publicly reaffirmed Mexico's claim to Texas. The Mexican Army was a weak and divided force. Only 7 of the 19 states that formed the Mexican federation sent soldiers, armament, and money for the war effort. Many leaders expressed their concern for the country, including Santa Anna who stated that , "The leaders of
51170-493: 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 , the first governor of Kentucky . Henry and Lucretia would remain married until his death in 1852; she lived until 1864, dying at
51408-451: 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
51646-505: 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
51884-560: 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
52122-431: Was doubted by some in the U.S., but they were not counted as deserters. The volunteers were far less disciplined than the regular army, with many committing attacks on the civilian population, sometimes stemming from anti-Catholic and anti-Mexican racial bias. Soldiers' memoirs describe cases of looting and murder of Mexican civilians, mostly by volunteers. One officer's diary records: "We reached Burrita about 5 pm, many of
52360-464: Was drilled only in regiments. The artillery hardly ever maneuvered and never fired a blank shot. The general in command was never present on the field of maneuvers, so that he was unable to appreciate the respective qualities of the various bodies under his command ... If any meetings of the principal commanding officers were held to discuss the operations of the campaign, it was not known, nor was it known whether any plan of campaign had been formed." At
52598-419: 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
52836-477: 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 ,
53074-410: 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
53312-409: 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
53550-460: Was his practice, he left the administration to his vice president, who was again liberal Valentín Gómez Farías (December 23, 1846 – March 21, 1847). In February 1847, conservatives rebelled against the liberal government's attempt to take Church property to fund the war effort. In the Revolt of the Polkos , the Catholic Church and conservatives paid soldiers to rise against the liberal government. Santa Anna had to leave his campaign to return to
53788-439: Was indicted as a co-conspirator in Goebel's assassination . Goebel is the only governor of a U.S. state to have been assassinated while in office. The Black Patch Tobacco Wars , a vigilante action, occurred in Western Kentucky in the early 20th century. As a result of the tobacco industry monopoly, tobacco farmers in the area were forced to sell their crops at prices that were too low. Many local farmers and activists united in
54026-528: Was larger than the state of Kentucky today, encompassing most of today's West Virginia and (vaguely) part of southwestern Pennsylvania. Notable expeditions were Batts and Fallam 1671, Needham and Arthur 1673. Dr. Thomas Walker and surveyor Christopher Gist surveyed the area now known as Kentucky in 1750 and 1751. As more settlers entered the area, warfare broke out with the Native Americans over their traditional hunting grounds. June 16, 1774, James Harrod founded Harrod's Town (modern Harrodsburg). The settlement
54264-495: Was merely buying supplies on the way to Oregon, he instead went to the populated area of California and visited Santa Cruz and the Salinas Valley , explaining he had been looking for a seaside home for his mother. Mexican authorities became alarmed and ordered him to leave. Frémont responded by building a fort on Gavilan Peak and raising the American flag. Larkin sent word that Frémont's actions were counterproductive. Frémont left California in March but returned and took control of
54502-455: Was mortally wounded by an assassin while walking to the State Capitol in downtown Frankfort. Goebel was contesting the Kentucky gubernatorial election of 1899 , which William S. Taylor was initially believed to have won. For several months, J. C. W. Beckham , Goebel's running mate, and Taylor fought over who was the legal governor until the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in May in favor of Beckham. After fleeing to Indiana , Taylor
54740-420: Was narrowly defeated in the general election by Democrat James K. Polk , who made 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
54978-511: 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
55216-425: 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
55454-463: 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
55692-460: Was sent up from lower Mexico, along with an army, that had largely been recruited from Mexico's worst jails. The Californios resented this, partly because California had previously been governed by native-born Californios, partly because Micheltorena's policies were unpopular, and also because the soldiers in Micheltorena's army got a reputation for spending much of their time stealing the local Californios' chickens. Women were not considered safe from
55930-441: 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
56168-478: 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
56406-459: Was willing enough to become a spy for U.S. forces in order to protect her home and business in the absence of her husband. In the U.S. Similarly to the Mexican women were contributed to the war efforts from their homes, women in the U.S. also protested publicly and made patriotic crafts that U.S. soldiers could carry. In addition, female journalists across multiple states took advantage of their literacy to speak up in support or in opposition of
56644-407: Was with a confidence they would not have felt otherwise. They became soldiers themselves almost at once. All these conditions we would enjoy again in case of war. The U.S. had been an independent country since the American Revolution , but it was a country that was strongly divided along sectional lines, especially in regard to slavery. Enlarging the country, particularly through armed combat against
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