Clement Comer Clay: Difference between revisions
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{{short description| | {{short description|American politician (1789–1866)}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} | {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} | ||
{{Infobox officeholder | {{Infobox officeholder | ||
|name = Clement Comer Clay | | name = Clement Comer Clay | ||
|image = Clement Comer Clay.jpg | | image = Clement Comer Clay.jpg | ||
|jr/sr1 | | jr/sr1 = United States | ||
|state1 | | state1 = [[Alabama]] | ||
|term_start1 | | term_start1 = June 19, 1837 | ||
|term_end1 | | term_end1 = November 15, 1841 | ||
|predecessor1 | | predecessor1 = [[John McKinley]] | ||
|successor1 | | successor1 = [[Arthur P. Bagby]] | ||
|order2 = 8th | | order2 = 8th | ||
|office2 = Governor of Alabama | | office2 = Governor of Alabama | ||
|term_start2 = November 21, 1835 | | term_start2 = November 21, 1835 | ||
|term_end2 = July 17, 1837 | | term_end2 = July 17, 1837 | ||
|predecessor2 = [[John Gayle (Alabama politician)|John Gayle]] | | predecessor2 = [[John Gayle (Alabama politician)|John Gayle]] | ||
|successor2 = [[Hugh McVay]] | | successor2 = [[Hugh McVay]] | ||
|state3 = [[Alabama]] | | state3 = [[Alabama]] | ||
|district3 = [[Alabama's 1st congressional district|1st]] | | district3 = [[Alabama's 1st congressional district|1st]] | ||
|term_start3 = March 4, 1829 | | term_start3 = March 4, 1829 | ||
|term_end3 = March 3, 1835 | | term_end3 = March 3, 1835 | ||
|preceded3 = [[Gabriel Moore]] | | preceded3 = [[Gabriel Moore]] | ||
|succeeded3 = [[Reuben Chapman]] | | succeeded3 = [[Reuben Chapman]] | ||
|office4=Member of the [[Alabama House of Representatives]] | | office4 = Member of the [[Alabama House of Representatives]] | ||
| | | termstart4 = 1827 | ||
|birth_date = {{birth date|1789|12|17|mf=y}} | | termend4 = 1828 | ||
|birth_place = [[Halifax County, Virginia]], US | | birth_date = {{birth date|1789|12|17|mf=y}} | ||
|death_date = {{death date and age|1866|9|6|1789|12|17}} | | birth_place = [[Halifax County, Virginia]], US | ||
|death_place = [[Huntsville, Alabama]], US | | death_date = {{death date and age|1866|9|6|1789|12|17}} | ||
|resting_place = [[Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)|Maple Hill Cemetery]] | | death_place = [[Huntsville, Alabama]], US | ||
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] | | resting_place = [[Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)|Maple Hill Cemetery]] | ||
|spouse = | | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] | ||
|alma_mater = [[East Tennessee University]] | | spouse = {{Marriage|Susannah Claiborne Withers|April 4, 1815|1866|end=died}} | ||
| | | alma_mater = [[East Tennessee University]] | ||
| children = 3, including [[Clement Claiborne Clay]] | |||
| occupation = Politician | |||
}} | }} | ||
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He and his [[Clement Claiborne Clay|son]], who also served as a U.S. senator, were among the Alabama’s most prominent enslavers, according to the ''[[Washington Post]]''. Together the two men enslaved 87 people on four Alabama plantations as recorded in the 1860 census.<ref name="Weil22102022">{{cite news |last1=Weil |first1=Julie Zauzmer |title=A slaveholding senator, an 1879 wedding and a Black family’s mystery |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/10/22/clement-clay-slavery-wedding-mystery/ |access-date=27 April 2024 |publisher=[[Washington Post]] |date=22 October 2022}}</ref> | He and his [[Clement Claiborne Clay|son]], who also served as a U.S. senator, were among the Alabama’s most prominent enslavers, according to the ''[[Washington Post]]''. Together the two men enslaved 87 people on four Alabama plantations as recorded in the 1860 census.<ref name="Weil22102022">{{cite news |last1=Weil |first1=Julie Zauzmer |title=A slaveholding senator, an 1879 wedding and a Black family’s mystery |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/10/22/clement-clay-slavery-wedding-mystery/ |access-date=27 April 2024 |publisher=[[Washington Post]] |date=22 October 2022}}</ref> | ||
==Early | ==Early life== | ||
Clay was born in [[Halifax County, Virginia]], the son of Rebecca (Comer) and William Clay,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOMeBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Clement+Comer+Clay+was+born+on+December+17,+1789,+in+Halifax+County,+Virginia,+the+son+of+William+Clay,+a+%22&pg=PA5|title = The Clays of Alabama: A Planter-Lawyer-Politician Family|isbn = 9780813164090|last1 = Nuermberger|first1 = Ruth Ketring|date = 15 July 2014| publisher=University Press of Kentucky }}</ref> an officer in the [[American Revolutionary War]], who moved to [[Grainger County, Tennessee]]. Clay attended the local schools and graduated from [[East Tennessee College]] in 1807. He was admitted to the [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1809 and moved to [[Huntsville, Alabama]], where he began a law practice in 1811.<ref name="EncycloBama"/> | Clay was born in [[Halifax County, Virginia]], the son of Rebecca (Comer) and William Clay,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOMeBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Clement+Comer+Clay+was+born+on+December+17,+1789,+in+Halifax+County,+Virginia,+the+son+of+William+Clay,+a+%22&pg=PA5|title = The Clays of Alabama: A Planter-Lawyer-Politician Family|isbn = 9780813164090|last1 = Nuermberger|first1 = Ruth Ketring|date = 15 July 2014| publisher=University Press of Kentucky }}</ref> an officer in the [[American Revolutionary War]], who moved to [[Grainger County, Tennessee]]. Clay attended the local schools and graduated from [[East Tennessee College]] in 1807. He was admitted to the [[bar (law)|bar]] in 1809 and moved to [[Huntsville, Alabama]], where he began a law practice in 1811.<ref name="EncycloBama"/> | ||
==Alabama House of Representatives== | ==Alabama House of Representatives== | ||
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===Creek War of 1836=== | ===Creek War of 1836=== | ||
Clay's term in office was dominated by the [[Creek War of 1836]] arising from resistance to [[Indian Removal]], which had taken place in the Southeast since 1830. During Clay's administration, the [[United States Army]] removed the [[Creek Indians]] from Southeastern Alabama under the terms of the 1832 [[Treaty of Cusseta]]. The Creek were relocated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. Confrontations between Indians and white settlers occurred.<ref name ="State archives">{{cite web| url= http://archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_claycc.html|title= Clement Comer Clay |publisher= Alabama Department of Archives and History|access-date=2012-06-23}}</ref> | Clay's term in office was dominated by the [[Creek War of 1836]] arising from resistance to [[Indian Removal]], which had taken place in the Southeast since 1830. During Clay's administration, the [[United States Army]] removed the [[Creek Indians]] from Southeastern Alabama under the terms of the 1832 [[Treaty of Cusseta]]. The Creek were relocated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. Confrontations between Indians and white settlers occurred.<ref name="State archives">{{cite web| url= http://archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_claycc.html|title= Clement Comer Clay |publisher= Alabama Department of Archives and History|access-date=2012-06-23}}</ref> | ||
===Panic of 1837=== | ===Panic of 1837=== | ||
During the [[Panic of 1837]], the United States suffered a financial crisis brought on by [[speculative fever]]. This crisis caused a run on the [[Bank of the State of Alabama]]. Clay ordered the bank to provide a detailed financial report, but it could not do so.<ref name ="State archives"/><ref name="EncycloBama"/> | During the [[Panic of 1837]], the United States suffered a financial crisis brought on by [[speculative fever]]. This crisis caused a run on the [[Bank of the State of Alabama]]. Clay ordered the bank to provide a detailed financial report, but it could not do so.<ref name="State archives" /><ref name="EncycloBama" /> | ||
===Slave holder=== | ===Slave holder=== | ||
Clay arrived in 1811 to Huntsville owning very little money and one slave.<ref name="LOUIS">{{cite journal |last1=Reeves |first1=Jacquelyn Procter |title=Clement Comer Clay |journal=Huntsville Historical Review |date=1 January 2007 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=30-32 |url=https://louis.uah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1464&context=huntsville-historical-review |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref> By 1830 he enslaved 52 people and in 1834, 71. From 1840 – 1850, he sold many of those people in order to meet his debts. But by 1860 he claimed ownership of 84 enslaved people.<ref name="EncycloBama"/> | Clay arrived in 1811 to Huntsville owning very little money and one slave.<ref name="LOUIS">{{cite journal |last1=Reeves |first1=Jacquelyn Procter |title=Clement Comer Clay |journal=Huntsville Historical Review |date=1 January 2007 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=30-32 |url=https://louis.uah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1464&context=huntsville-historical-review |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref> By 1830 he enslaved 52 people and in 1834, 71. From 1840 – 1850, he sold many of those people in order to meet his debts. But by 1860 he claimed ownership of 84 enslaved people.<ref name="EncycloBama" /> | ||
==United States Senate== | ==United States Senate== | ||
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After the election by the state legislature, Clay served in the [[United States Senate]] from June 19, 1837, until his resignation on November 15, 1841. | After the election by the state legislature, Clay served in the [[United States Senate]] from June 19, 1837, until his resignation on November 15, 1841. | ||
==Marriage and family== | |||
Clay married Susannah Claiborne Withers on April 4, 1815.<ref>''Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 Record''</ref> They had three sons: [[Clement Claiborne Clay]], John Withers Clay, and Hugh Lawson Clay. | |||
== Death == | |||
In the year after the end of the Civil War, Clement died of natural causes in September 1866, aged 76. His wife Susanna had died earlier the same year. They were buried at [[Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)|Maple Hill Cemetery]] in Huntsville. | In the year after the end of the Civil War, Clement died of natural causes in September 1866, aged 76. His wife Susanna had died earlier the same year. They were buried at [[Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)|Maple Hill Cemetery]] in Huntsville. | ||
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[[Category:1866 deaths]] | [[Category:1866 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:People from Halifax County, Virginia]] | [[Category:People from Halifax County, Virginia]] | ||
[[Category:Clay family]] | [[Category:Clay family|Clement Comer]] | ||
[[Category:Jacksonian | [[Category:Jacksonian United States representatives from Alabama]] | ||
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama]] | [[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama]] | ||
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Alabama]] | [[Category:Democratic Party governors of Alabama]] | ||
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[[Category:Alabama state court judges]] | [[Category:Alabama state court judges]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century Alabama state court judges]] | [[Category:19th-century Alabama state court judges]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century | [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]] | [[Category:19th-century United States senators]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century members of the Alabama Legislature]] | [[Category:19th-century members of the Alabama Legislature]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:United States representatives who owned slaves]] | ||
[[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]] | [[Category:United States senators who owned slaves]] | ||
[[Category:State governors of the United States who owned slaves]] | |||
Latest revision as of 08:27, 26 December 2025
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Clement Comer Clay (December 17, 1789 – September 6, 1866)[1] was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837. An attorney, judge, and politician, he was elected to the state legislature as well as the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
He and his son, who also served as a U.S. senator, were among the Alabama’s most prominent enslavers, according to the Washington Post. Together the two men enslaved 87 people on four Alabama plantations as recorded in the 1860 census.[2]
Early life
Clay was born in Halifax County, Virginia, the son of Rebecca (Comer) and William Clay,[3] an officer in the American Revolutionary War, who moved to Grainger County, Tennessee. Clay attended the local schools and graduated from East Tennessee College in 1807. He was admitted to the bar in 1809 and moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he began a law practice in 1811.[4]
Alabama House of Representatives
Clay served in the Alabama Territorial Legislature from 1817 to 1818. He was a state court judge and served in the Alabama House of Representatives.
In 1828, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from March 4, 1829, and through re-elections until March 3, 1835, when he started as governor of Alabama.[5]
Governor of Alabama
In 1835 Clay was elected governor. Clay's term as governor ended early when the state legislature appointed him to the United States Senate in 1837 (this was before the popular election of senators).[4]
Spring Hill College
In 1836, Governor Clay signed a legislative act that chartered Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States. The charter gave it "full power to grant or confer such degree or degrees in the arts and sciences, or in any art or science as are usually granted or conferred by other seminaries of learning in the United States." The college resulted from the strong French Catholic traditions in the city, founded as a French colony.
Creek War of 1836
Clay's term in office was dominated by the Creek War of 1836 arising from resistance to Indian Removal, which had taken place in the Southeast since 1830. During Clay's administration, the United States Army removed the Creek Indians from Southeastern Alabama under the terms of the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta. The Creek were relocated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. Confrontations between Indians and white settlers occurred.[6]
Panic of 1837
During the Panic of 1837, the United States suffered a financial crisis brought on by speculative fever. This crisis caused a run on the Bank of the State of Alabama. Clay ordered the bank to provide a detailed financial report, but it could not do so.[6][4]
Slave holder
Clay arrived in 1811 to Huntsville owning very little money and one slave.[7] By 1830 he enslaved 52 people and in 1834, 71. From 1840 – 1850, he sold many of those people in order to meet his debts. But by 1860 he claimed ownership of 84 enslaved people.[4]
United States Senate
_at_Maple_Hill_Cemetery,_Huntsville,_AL.jpg){kind=link}
After the election by the state legislature, Clay served in the United States Senate from June 19, 1837, until his resignation on November 15, 1841.
Marriage and family
Clay married Susannah Claiborne Withers on April 4, 1815.[8] They had three sons: Clement Claiborne Clay, John Withers Clay, and Hugh Lawson Clay.
Death
In the year after the end of the Civil War, Clement died of natural causes in September 1866, aged 76. His wife Susanna had died earlier the same year. They were buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville.
Notes
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- ↑ National Governors Association
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, pp. 89-92
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 Record
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References
- Template:CongBio
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External links
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1789 births
- 1866 deaths
- People from Halifax County, Virginia
- Clay family
- Jacksonian United States representatives from Alabama
- Democratic Party United States senators from Alabama
- Democratic Party governors of Alabama
- Members of the Alabama Territorial Legislature
- Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives
- Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama
- Alabama state court judges
- 19th-century Alabama state court judges
- 19th-century United States representatives
- 19th-century United States senators
- 19th-century members of the Alabama Legislature
- United States representatives who owned slaves
- United States senators who owned slaves
- State governors of the United States who owned slaves