Clay, Henry (1777–1852), a United States statesman. His genius for compromise won him the titles "the Great Pacificator" and "the Great Compromiser" in the era preceding the Civil War. He was also a master parliamentarian and an eloquent orator. Clay was an unsuccessful candidate for President three times. Later he remarked, "I would rather be right than be President!" Clay was secretary of state under President John Quincy Adams. Twice he sat in the Kentucky legislature, the second time as its speaker. He served 11 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, most of that time as speaker, and 16 years in the U.S. Senate.

In politics, Clay was" a spokesman for the border state of Kentucky and the middle-of-the-road Whig party. He sought to reconcile differences between North and South on slavery. Clay also represented the nationalist outlook of the young, expanding Middle West. In support of the region's territorial interests, he boldly urged war with Britain in 1812. Through his "American System" political platform, which called for protective tariffs for eastern manufactures, federally financed internal improvements for the West, and a national bank, he sought to link the industrial east with the agrarian west.