Abraham Lincoln and Henry Clay

Abraham Lincoln and Henry Clay. Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail. One of the least-known aspects of Henry Clay's legacy is the considerable influence he had on a young native Kentuckian, Abraham Lincoln. Although Lincoln is not known to have ever met his political idol, there can be little doubt of the impact Henry Clay had on him. Lincoln once told a sculptor that he “almost worshipped Henry Clay.” On another occasion he referred to Clay as his “beau ideal of a statesman.”, Lincoln first voted for Clay in 1832. Later, in 1844, as a member of the Springfield, Illinois Clay Club, Lincoln campaigned vigorously for Clay and served as a Clay elector. When Lincoln entered the political arena, he mimicked Clay's political platform and, when delivering speeches, often quoted the Kentucky statesman. In Lincoln's great debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858, he quoted Clay no fewer than forty-one times. When elected president, Lincoln selected a bound copy of a speech given by Henry Clay as one of four books he referred to while writing his first inaugural address., In 1862, President Lincoln appointed Henry Clay's son, Thomas Hart Clay, as ambassador to Nicaragua. That same year, Clay's youngest son, John, sent Lincoln a snuffbox once belonging to his father. Lincoln promptly thanked John, stating, “I recognize his [Clay's] voice, speaking as it ever spoke, for the Union, the Constitution, and the freedom of Mankind.” Clearly, Henry Clay's voice provided guidance for Lincoln throughout his early political career and the Civil War., There was a personal connection between Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln through Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd. Mary was the daughter of Robert S. Todd, one of Lexington's leading citizens and a close friend and supporter of Henry Clay. As a result, Mary was introduced to and influenced by Henry Clay at an early age. Her niece, Katherine Heim, later noted that as a young girl, Mary rode her pony to Ashland in order to show off her riding skills to Henry Clay., The Todd and Clay families shared the unfortunate experience of division and loss during the Civil War. Mary's brother-in-law, Confederate general Ben Hardin Helm, and half brother, “Aleck” Todd, were killed in action, Henry Clay's sons supported both the Union and Confederacy, and three of his grandsons (one Union, two Confederate) died during the war., Captions , Left: Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln as they would have appeared on their three-week visit to Lexington, Kentucky, on their way to Washington, D.C., to begin Abraham's only term in the House of Representatives in 1847. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division , Bottom row, left to right: , . This image depicts the title page of The Life and Speeches of Henry Clay, a book Abraham Lincoln selected in preparation for writing his first inaugural address. Courtesy of Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate , . John Clay, son of Henry Clay Courtesy Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate , . Abraham Lincoln sent the above letter on August 9, 1862, to John M. Clay, son of Kentucky statesman Henry Clay, to thank him for the gift he received, Henry Clay's snuffbox. Courtesy of the Josephine Clay Collection, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries, Timeline , 1809 Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky , 1816 Lincoln family moved from Kentucky , 1841 Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in Louisville, Kentucky , 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky , 1847 The Lincoln family visited Lexington, Kentucky, en route to Abraham's only term in Congress. , 1860 Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States In November , 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre In Washington, D.C.