Talk:Henry Clay/Archive 1

It's alive!
I have added two cleanup tags to this article and I did some work on it myself. Some things just don't make sense and the article could use some section headings and structure separation.

-Fotinakis 01:41, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Personality
The "Personality" section has rather a lot of personality itself. Where'd this purpleness come from? It looks pasted-in, and might be a little too big to avoid copyvio. Blair P. Houghton 00:25, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I would venture to guess that the entire article was copied from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, as it states at the bottom. But maybe not this section; it seems unencyclopedaic, in general. Maybe we should just scrap it for content's sakes? Philthecow 00:59, Jan 8, 2005 (UTC)

I kinda like it. We should attribute it, though, if we can find out to whom. On another note: Hokey-smokes, Bullwinkle! I just copyedited the Brittanica!? Blair P. Houghton 01:06, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ah. The personality section was copied directly from the 1911 Brittanica, filigree and all. Wow. Musta been cool to be a hired quill when absinthe was legal. Blair P. Houghton 01:12, 8 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ah. Attribution, then. We'll give the Clay-adoring absinthe-drinking hired quill his anonymous due.

'Henry Clay graduated West Point in 1862'
♥ —Preceding 4.23.105 (talk) 21:22, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

(And my God, you just copyedited the Britannica. You should be proud.) Philthecow 01:25, Jan 8, 2005 (UTC)

Ashland
Okay, so there are several places named Ashland. I took the original cite to mean that Clay had actually named the estate after the Ohio county. Any reason to think he actually named it for the Kentucky city? Blair P. Houghton 06:11, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Oops, I think you are right. I read the cite wrong. I read it as the county in Ohio was named after the estate. The city in Kentucky was first named Poage's Landing and was changed to Ashland in 1854 in honor of Clay's estate. I will revert. Thanks for catching that. (Dblevins2 03:24, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC))

Henry Clay named his estate "Ashland" for the numerous ash trees on the property. This was not mentioned in the article.(12.203.178.151 03:15, 3 January 2006 (UTC)B.Ray,education coordinator for Ashland,The Henry Clay Estate)

Neo-mercantilism
Henry Clay's entire set of policies, including protectionism, but also building national infrastructure and funding universities and the arts, were refered to as "neo-mercantilism", which was an economic school of thought that was gaining popularity in the United States. The header for the section on his American System is titled "protectionism", however--I think it would be better changed to "neo-mercantilism" which would reflect his whole policies. I'm going to add "neo-mercantilism" to the list of articles I plan to make, and when I write that I will edit the Henry Clay article. (Brianshapiro 08:47, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC))

Speakership dates
According to the Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, Henry Clay's second speakership ended on October 28, 1820, even though a new Speaker wouldn't be chosen until November 15:


 * Lexington, K. 28th October, 1820.


 * Sir: I will thank you to communicate to the House of Representatives, that, owing to imperious circumstances, I shall not be able to attend upon it until after the Christmas Holidays, and to respectfully ask it to allow me to resign the office of its Speaker, which I have the honor to hold, and to consider this as the act of my resignation. I beg the House also to permit me to reiterate the expression of my sincere acknowledgments and unaffected gratitude for the distinguished consideration which it has uniformly manifested for me.


 * I have the honor to be, with great esteem,
 * Your faithful and obedient servant,
 * H. CLAY.

(House Journal. 1820.  16th Cong., 2nd sess., 13 November.)

A similar check of the Journal reveals that Clay's first speakership did indeed end on January 19, 1814, the same day as his successor was elected.

&mdash; DLJessup 21:56, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Reverted to my Editing of entire article
My editing was to format the page to fit the years of his life. This makes the article more orderly. Further, added information on his year of birth, children and wife. Will Beback has taken it on a personal crusade to insult me whereever he can by reverting all my edits.--Northmeister 01:01, 15 February 2006 (UTC)


 * If you don't sign in then they are anonymous edits. Please give full explanations of all your edits, and major re-writes should be discussed here. Thanks, -Will Beback 01:15, 15 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I forgot to sign in and corrected that thereafter. Another example of harrassment, which an arbcom case had warned you about before. --Northmeister 01:54, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Added quip about Chairman Kennedy in 1957 to end of beginning paragraph. --Northmeister 22:19, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Lots of vandalism
This article seems to be getting a lot of vandalism lately. It might need limited protection to registered users. Will Beback what would you suggest on that? Also, the Clay in Court section is odd and need expansion - it seems like an advertisement to me right now. --Northmeister 02:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)


 * My theory is that a considerable amount of vandalism in Wikipedia correlates with the syllabus of junior high school American history classes. So it comes in waves. Much of the "trivia" info should be integrated into the article, as should the matreial on Clay's legal career. -Will Beback 02:22, 28 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree. --Northmeister 02:33, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

photograph
Wikipedia has a photograph of Henry Clay, why isn't it being used in this article? :P--KrossTalk 01:53, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for finding that, I've added it. -Will Beback 04:09, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Presidential Bids
I changed a few items in the presidential bids section. The description of Henry Clay's presidential runs as all being close elections is just not accurate. Losing to Andrew Jackson by 18% is not a close election by any standard that I know of. --Weatherunderground 13:02, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Marriage?
Why does this article say Clay was married to Mark Schafer? User:68.55.127.128 11:12, 10 October 2007 (UTC)


 * One word: vandalism. It's been corrected now. GeoWPC 19:04, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Vessel bearing his Name
I just read in a book about the history of the Bronx, New York that in 1862(?) a pleasure steam-boat bearing the name of this official badly burned and ran aground in the Bronx. Over 100 died. Would I be the only contributor to the article who could support this contribution? The account is curious enough to include in notes. It may even evolve into an article of it's own merit. Opinions? 67.87.92.56 (talk) 01:34, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

It was a big deal when that happened - during a race with "The Armenia," if I recall. But maybe it's a topic for another article? No direct relevance to the Statesman, I think. JamestownArarat (talk) 03:43, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Pic at top
It is my firm belief that the picture expresses so much more of who Clay was than the portrait ever could do, and entirely fits our mission of being an encyclopedic educational project,w hich is why i switched them a few weeks ago. The portrait is nice and could be repositioned higher up but IMO the article is so much better with that pic at the top, and nobody has disagreed with me for several weeks. Thanks, SqueakBox 20:04, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't like it. Its grainy and a bit scary looking.  Looks almost as bad as the Andrew Jackson photo.  It should certainly be included, but like the Jackson photo, it should not get top billing.  If you absolutely need a photograph instead of a portrait, I'd prefer the one with him and his wife.  My two cents.DavidRF (talk) 06:05, 18 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree. My first thought was of Stephen Gammell's illustrations in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series.  Point being, it's rather unsettling and might possibly instill an immediate negative image of the man in question. 75.105.64.38 (talk) 06:50, 30 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I much prefer the 1821 Charles Bird King portrait that currently appears in the "Personality" section. It shows Clay after he had been Speaker of the House, a year after the Missouri Compromise, and just three years before he became Secretary of State. It shows how he looked at a time of significant activity and events; it's not like the equivalent of a college yearbook picture. GeoWPC (talk) 21:03, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

Death sections needs to be changed back to this.
Clay continued to serve both the Union he loved and his home state of Kentucky until June 29, 1852, when he died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 75. Clay was the first person to lie in state in the United States Capitol. He was buried in Lexington Cemetery and the eulogy was provided by Theodore Frelinghuysen, who ran as Clay's Vice-Presidential candidate in the election of 1844. [21] Clay's headstone reads simply: "I know no North - no South - no East - no West." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.81.194.57 (talk) 11:37, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Edit in Early Life
Found sources for Indian massacre on his second cousins, children of Mitchell Clay and Phoebe Belcher Clay.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nylasgenealogy/clay.html Information for this article was found in David E. Johnston’s 1906 book A History of Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory and Jim Cook’s Wyoming County Genealogy web site at http://members.aol.com/jlcooke/frmnet.htm.

MicheleFloyd —Preceding undated comment was added at 01:37, 17 December 2008 (UTC).

Lead picture, new discussion
I'd like to reopen discussion on the lead image. The current one (File:HClay.jpg) is obviously in very bad shape, and there are at least three photographs on Commons that could replace it. File:Henry Clay.png, File:HenryClay.jpg could both easily replace the current image, and File:Henry Clay 1861 by Mathew B Brady.jpg could do so if cropped judiciously. What say you? Powers T 11:33, 27 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, since I posted this, the image has been changed to File:Henry Clay 3c09953u restored.jpg, which is a restored version of the previous lead image. I guess this is moot, although further discussion wouldn't necessarily be out of order.  Powers T 14:22, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree completely. PNG is much better. I took the liberty of changing it. In.Lumine.Tuo.Videbimus.Lumen 01:06, 1 January 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Inluminetuovidebimuslumen (talk • contribs)
 * I'll try and look for another one...I'm not a fan of the PNG. Connormah (talk) 00:55, 5 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Done. Connormah (talk) 14:34, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

This is an EXCELLENT article
Great job everybody working on this!!!--Tomwsulcer (talk) 13:14, 29 December 2009 (UTC)
 * For myself and everyone else, thanks! In.Lumine.Tuo.Videbimus.Lumen 00:03, 5 January 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Inluminetuovidebimuslumen (talk • contribs)

Compromise of 1850
A recent edit to this section contained misleading information. In fact, Stephen Douglas had always opposed the creation of an omnibus bill and had declined an opportunity to serve on the Committeee of Thirteen that drafted it. When the Omnibus Bill failed Clay, for health reasons, left the city and Douglas, w/o any assistance from Clay, drafted the bills and led them through the legislative process. My sources are biographies of Clay by Clement Eaton and Robert Remini -- Infoplease, which was cited in the material I changed, should not be considered as a reliable source, especially when so many other sources are available. Tom (North Shoreman) (talk) 00:43, 30 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Ok. It's certainly true that Douglas did help get the compromise through because he was the one who organized the majorities behind each of the five votes and wrote each of the five bills. You are correct; I over simplified and neglected to mention the disagreement among the compromisers themselves. In defense of infoplease, it was correct, but it was paraphrasing and I paraphrased further and that gave the impression of a factual inaccuracy. Also, b/c it's a website what is said on wikipedia can be verified with a few mouse clicks instead of a library card and a great deal of effort. That said, you are definitely correct. Thanks for the improvement. In.Lumine.Tuo.Videbimus.Lumen 05:31, 30 December 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Inluminetuovidebimuslumen (talk • contribs)

Infobox Picture
I recently uploaded a high-quality scanned drawing of Clay I found at the LOC website and did some restoration. Is there any interest in using it instead of the current one?  Jujutacular  T · C 16:39, 22 January 2010 (UTC)
 * It's a very nice drawing, but I would pretty much always prefer a daguerreotype or photograph to a drawing, if one is available. There are several in the case of Clay.  Powers T 15:36, 23 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I suspected that would be the preference of most. Thank you for the follow-up.  Jujutacular  T · C 21:12, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

Muhammad Ali
Is it true that Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali] is a descendant of Henry Clay? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.178.144.159 (talk) 02:16, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Trouble in the infobox
There seems to be some confusion on the information on the side. Henry Clay's position in the US House for Kentucky's 5th district from 1811-1813 does not appear for some reason (though it does appear when you go to edit it). Additionally, the successor/predecessor information for his term as the 8th Speaker of the House is inconsistent with the Wikipedia page for the Speaker. Perhaps there are more errors? I don't have any references for Henry Clay, so perhaps someone who does can take a good look at this infobox? Andypar (talk) 06:37, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
The article says that "Clay's most famous deed in the assembly was the part he played in the passage of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions." But weren't the Resolutions in 1798-99, and he was elected to the legislature in 1803? Can this be right? Sajita (talk) 21:04, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Charlotte Dupuy section?
The following section was removed on 1 January 2011 per this edit diff. I am preserving the information here on the article's talk page so interested editors can discuss the issue and reach consensus as to whether or not this section should be included in the article. In my opinion the subject matter speaks to the times that Henry Clay lived in and to the character of the man himself. Charlotte Dupuy was important enough for Henry Clay to spend considerable time, money and legal bills on, important enough for him to fight for...it just seems odd to me that the woman & her legal battle with Clay do not even get a mention in the man's article.

To be listed along with the content, the section's references & 'reflist' as well as the headers have been altered so the this talk page's Table of Contents works for this page itself (the references still exist in their entirely within the Wiki-code of the deleted section). Thanks for listening. Shearonink (talk) 02:09, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Deleted Section follows...

Charlotte Dupuy's suit for freedom

During Clay's congressional and Secretary of State terms, he lived on Lafayette Square in Washington, DC, originally called the President's Park, in the house originally built for Stephen Decatur. When Clay relocated to Washington from Kentucky, he brought with him slaves Aaron and Charlotte Dupuy to work in his household, as well as their two children Charles and Mary Ann. Living there for nearly two decades, they enjoyed the relative freedoms of urban life as part of a community of blacks, both enslaved and free, in the city.

As Clay was preparing to leave Washington to return to Kentucky in 1829, Charlotte Dupuy had an attorney file a lawsuit in district court for her freedom. Her legal challenge to slavery preceded the more famous Dred Scott case by 17 years. Unlike the latter, it never reached the US Supreme Court. Dupuy accused Henry Clay of wrongful enslavement and demanded freedom for her and her children, based on a promise of freedom by her previous owner James Condon. Many details of the case are unknown, but there is evidence that the case received a fair amount of attention in the press. It lasted quite a while, and the court ordered that Charlotte Dupuy remain in DC until the case was settled. Clay returned to his plantation in Lexington with Aaron, Charles and Mary Ann Dupuy.

The Court ruled against Dupuy, arguing that any agreement with Condon did not bear on her next owner. Because she refused to return voluntarily to Kentucky, Clay had his agent arrest her. Dupuy was imprisoned in Alexandria, Virginia before Clay arranged for her transport to New Orleans, where he placed her with his daughter and son-in-law Martin Duralde. She worked there for another decade. Her daughter was sent to join her there. Dupuy's case has not been well known. The Decatur House Museum now has a permanent exhibit on urban slavery and Dupuy's legal challenge of her powerful master. Restored areas of the house museum include the kitchen, where Dupuy would most likely have worked.

In 1840 Henry Clay finally gave Charlotte and her daughter Mary Ann Dupuy their freedom in New Orleans. He kept Charles Dupuy with him as a servant during his speaking engagements, frequently citing him as an example of how well he treated his slaves. Clay granted Charles Dupuy his freedom in 1844.

References(Charlotte Depuy section)

"Charlotte Dupuy",  'The Half Had Not Been Told Me': African American History of Lafayette Square (1795-1965). Retrieved 21 April 2009 "First Page of a Letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, Regarding Charlotte Dupuy's Petition for Freedom, 10 Sept 1830", Transcription and Digital Image at Decatur House on Lafayette Square, "The Half Had not Been Told Me": African Americans on Lafayette Square (1795-1965). Retrieved 21 April 2009.

Comments below this line please....

Found additional references to Charlotte Dupuy and Henry Clay:
 * The Dupuy family is mentioned in the African Americans at Ashland section of the Ashland (Henry Clay's home) website.
 * Charlotte Dupuy is mentioned at The Decatur House website as a "well-known woman enslaved at Decatur House by Henry Clay".
 * Charlotte Dupuy and her court case are mentioned in "Black men built the Capitol: discovering African-American history" by Jesse J. Holland, found here in Google Books
 * Charlotte Dupuy and her lawsuit (along with its political implications) are mentioned in "Henry Clay: The Essential American" by David S. Heidler & Jeanne T. Heidler on Pages 217 & 218, the family members having four separate Index citations on ten different pages.
 * Charlotte's connection with Clay & The Decatur House is mentioned on Pages 10-11 of "On the road to freedom: a guided tour of the civil rights trail" by Charles E. Cobb (Jr.) found here

Shearonink (talk) 22:00, 3 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Agree - the information on Charlotte Dupuy and her suit should be included in the Henry Clay article - as you note, it is now part of the history of the National Historic Landmark Decatur House, and other sources are referring to it. It was not every day that a Secretary of State was sued by a slave. I had added the material in the first place to this article, and still think it belongs here - as also seems demonstrated by its inclusion in the variety of sources above.Parkwells (talk) 23:42, 7 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Parkwells - since you & I are the only two editors who have responded to this editing query and both of our responses were favorable, I am going to go ahead and place information about Charlotte Dupuy back into the article. The article already mentions Clay's ownership of slaves 5 times, his connections with slavery 14 times, one of his best-known piece of legislation is The Compromise of 1850...it just seems to me that deleting Charlotte Dupuy from the article (and the details her section gives about Clay's personal/legal experience with being a slaveholder) is inappropriate. Shearonink (talk) 14:35, 9 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Done. Have also added a "Category:Freedom suits in the United States", as a sub-category of "Legal history of the United States", and added it to this, the Dupuy, Dred Scott, Polly Berry and Lucy Ann Delaney articles. I'm working on others coming out of the St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project.Parkwells (talk) 17:40, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Henry Clay Infobox painting
Does anyone know where the portrait in the Infobox came from? It's in Commons as 'unknown' painter, but seems to be fairly monumental in size and high-quality, I find it hard to believe that no one knows any more information about this painting. I think that if the painter can't be sourced then at least the painting's location (Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery?.. US Capitol?.. wherever.) could be added to the Commons information. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 03:13, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm starting to answer my own question. Apparently the painting is a Matthew Jouett original painting that now hangs in Morrison Hall at Transylvania University in Kentucky, as seen here.  Still looking for a full-length image online/further information to confirm. Shearonink (talk) 05:54, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Infobox seems too long
With all these various offices, and having preceding and succeeding people, the Infobox is really too large. There must be some alternative way to display this, or, rather, not to display all the associated data. I think the higher offices are shown, and lesser offices included at the bottom of the page or something.Parkwells (talk) 14:37, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I hadn't noticed because I've been mesmerized by the provenance of the Infobox portrait but you're right... The Henry Clay Infobox is probably the longest I've ever seen. I don't know if it should be trimmed or how it could be trimmed hmmm... maybe some of the content could be collapsed?  I'll ask some other editors to take a look at it, maybe they can figure out what could/should be done. Shearonink (talk) 15:51, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Delete photo
Deleted volunteered photo of painting from National Portrait Gallery, as original artist wasn't listed, the photo of the painting was not very clear, and the photo was the wrong proportion.Parkwells (talk) 14:37, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Too many images? and recent change in infobox image
Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this. I personally liked the Jouett portrait in the infobox, but the photo (apparently taken within a few years of Clay's death) is ok...maybe the image itself a little too big? Also with the Jouett portrait being shifted to lower in the article, the images are looking a tad bunched. Shearonink (talk) 14:18, 4 September 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree - can the image be made smaller? I'm not sure about having an image when he was past his peak of influence and out of office; prefer the Jouett painting. Also, is it necessary to have an image of his wife's home farm just because it exists? Can't see it adds much to this article.  The infobox is so big, because of every position, with those he replaced and who succeeded him. I thought on some other politicians that they only put the most important positions in the Infobox, but am not sure. That and his gazillion children overwhelm the page.  The Jouett painting was made closer to his years as Speaker of the House and Secretary of State. Let's use it.Parkwells (talk) 13:24, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Lincoln's Eulogy
Lincoln Eulogized Clay after his death. It contains some interesting perspectives about Clay and patriotism in general. Should we include it in a new section? CropseyMopsie (talk) 14:50, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
 * good idea--it shows Clay's long-term impact Rjensen (talk) 15:02, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I'll type something up and put it on the talk page for feedback. CropseyMopsie (talk) 15:09, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Some link trouble
The link about Mt. Clay and the Presidential mountain in Vermont leads to a dead end. I'm studying for a U.S. History AP, so I really don't have time to tinker with it. Maybe someone who is a registered user here would like to fix that and put a feather in their cap. ~Regulus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.84.149.190 (talk • contribs) 02:50, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Length of Infobox
I collapsed sections within the (getting very very long) Infobox, would welcome others' opinions if this is a good change or not.Shearonink (talk) 15:52, 5 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Excellent! Definitely better -Parkwells (talk) 18:37, 6 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Not better. Looks even more visually disorganized, IMO. Infoboxes are meant to provide easy access to term lengths/biodata, this is unnecessary. Also creates a hell of a lot of problems for the mobile version. Also may be a problem for those without javascript (not sure on this one). – Connormah (talk) 22:26, 4 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The issue was discussed on this talkpage by various editors, so that seemed to be consensus to me as to how the Infobox could/should be used on the Henry Clay article. This Infobox is the longest I have ever seen for an individual, in its original incarnation the size of the box itself seemed to overwhelm the first several paragraphs and sections of text, so I looked for ways to preserve the Infobox content other editors had come up with and to also preserve the visual clarity of the text as well.  Collapsing the content seemed to fill the bill, so I was bold and went ahead and did that, keeping in mind that I am unaware of any prohibitions as to collapsing content within Infoboxes. According to Manual of Style/Infoboxes:
 * "The use of infoboxes is neither required nor prohibited for any article. Whether to include an infobox, which infobox to include, and which parts of the infobox to use, is determined through discussion and consensus among the editors at each individual article."
 * So perhaps the issue for this particular article's Infobox is that all of Henry Clay's many elected offices have been included. Perhaps they do not all have to be included but then the concern becomes which ones to remove and which ones to keep.  Clay held so many elected offices that maybe they could have a stand-alone article with a link standing in the stead of that single inclusive Infobox.  Shearonink (talk) 23:35, 4 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I'd be open to a discussion of eliminating some offices, but the collapsing creates way too many style/accessibility/forma issues. – Connormah (talk) 03:20, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

How about something like this (Henry Clay Infobox changes)? Per the Manual of Style (Infoboxes):
 * "to summarize key facts about the article in which it appears. The less information it contains, the more effectively it serves that purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance. Of necessity, some infoboxes contain more than just a few fields; however, wherever possible, present information in short form, and exclude any unnecessary content."

The preceding and succeeding officeholders are all in the succession and navigation boxes at the end of the article anyway, so duplicating every single office's information within the Infobox (which is supposed to be succinct) seems somewhat redundant. The separate parameters for each term of office has been retained. Would welcome any thoughts about these possible changes. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 05:33, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

 *(For any further replies, please see "Proposed Infobox editing" section.)  Shearonink (talk) 18:06, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Proposed Infobox editing
I posted this elsewhere on this page a couple of days ago and have not gotten any replies, so am repeating the gist of my comments in a separate section here.

I think the Infobox is too long and unwieldy. It bunches up the beginning sections of text and visually overwhelms the article. I would like interested editors to chime in with thoughts on overhauling the Infobox so it more readily complies with the Manual of Style (Infoboxes):
 * "to summarize key facts about the article in which it appears. The less information it contains, the more effectively it serves that purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance. Of necessity, some infoboxes contain more than just a few fields; however, wherever possible, present information in short form, and exclude any unnecessary content."

I have saved a possible Infobox at  (Henry Clay Infobox changes). This change would preserve the important information of each of Clay's individual terms of office. But since the complete lists of successor/predecessor officeholders already appear within the nav boxes at the end of the article, in the interest of succinctness, the change also removes all the officeholders' names from the Infobox.

Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 17:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC) ''* Please see NOTE below about Henry Clay Navboxes. ''
 * I originally posted about my proposed change to this article's Infobox on October 16th. No replies have been posted on this talk page since.  I am assuming, therefore, that there are no objections to this change and so have changed the Infobox to a more streamlined appearance.


 *  NOTE: I also wanted to add that I was mistaken about the Henry Clay nav boxes being complete - Speakers of the House, United States Senators from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State are all listed, Members of the House (Kentucky 3rd and 2nd Districts) are not. Shearonink (talk) 18:06, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

article is severely compromised ! !
Just look at the top screen's worth, and you'll see it has been destroyed. I've never written on any Talk page, but this needs the attention of those who do.

183.63.184.171 (talk) 00:34, 16 October 2012 (UTC) Steven Lauridsen Guangzhou, China
 * Reverted and protected. – Connormah (talk) 00:37, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Ashland Avenue, Chicago
Ashland Avenue in Chicago is named as the line that divided the ash from the Chicago Fire damaged and where the fire ended. Henry Clay has nothing to do with the name. Ashland comes from Virginia, where his family lived. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.137.100.48 (talk) 01:16, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Infobox
Is it now too just right? Is it too long? Would like to get other editors thoughts about the Infobox's present length. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 20:52, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
 * To compare, here is the previous Infobox. Shearonink (talk) 20:55, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 23 March 2013
Please add Kansas to the list of states having counties named after Henry Clay. Source: http://www.claycountykansas.org/

Clayheather (talk) 12:57, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Thanks, &mdash; KuyaBriBri Talk 17:29, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

Conflicting Day of Birth
The Infobox has April 13th listed as his birth date, but says April 12th in other instances. 99.26.120.68 (talk) 00:27, 11 April 2013 (UTC)

Clay: First Person To Lie In State In Capitol?
This article previously included a statement that Clay was the first person to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol. However, John Quincy Adams, who died on February 23, 1848, "...lay in state in the Capitol's rotunda..." Source: Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic, p. 291, by Charles N. Edel, published by Harvard University Press. (I have no idea whether Adams was the first person to lie in state there.) 166.170.33.108 (talk) 07:00, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

If Clay did lie in state, I guess that might be worth mentioning, but I'd to see a reference for that. 166.170.33.108 (talk) 07:03, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Edit Request / Section on Death and memorial
By the time of his death, his only surviving sons were James Brown Clay and John Morrison Clay, who inherited the estate and took portions for use."' This quote appears in the section of Henry Clay's biography titled.  "Death and Memorials."     Another, earlier  paragraph, in the section titled "Marriage and Family,"   Clay's children are listed;  among them,  Theodore Clay, who lived until 1870.   Since Henry Clay died in 1852,  it follows that Theodore Clay was also a surviving son, along with his brothers James Brown  Clay and John Morrison Clay.  I submit this information to request a correction.   The two paragraphs result in a discrepancy: either the death date for Theodore Clay is incorrect,  or there is an omission in the listing of Clay's surviving sons.

Sue Spaulding 10 October, 2015 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Suegrace (talk • contribs) 21:51, 10 October 2015 (UTC)

EDITING REQUEST
''By the time of his death, his only surviving sons were James Brown Clay and John Morrison Clay, who inherited the estate and took portions for use."' This quote appears in the section of Henry Clay's biography titled. "Death and Memorials." Another, earlier paragraph, in the section titled "Marriage and Family," Clay's children are listed; among them, Theodore Clay, who lived until 1870. Since Henry Clay died in 1852, it follows that Theodore Clay was also a surviving son, along with his brothers James Brown Clay and John Morrison Clay. I submit this information to request a correction. The two paragraphs result in a discrepancy: either the death date for Theodore Clay is incorrect, or there is an omission in the listing of Clay's surviving sons. I submit this request for editing

Sue Spaulding 10 October 2015 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Suegrace (talk • contribs) 00:01, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

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Minor Edits in Trivia
Alexander Clay and Lucius D. Clay were not descendants of Henry Clay. If they were kin at all, the relationship was very distant; so I removed that bullet from the Trivia section. I also added a link to the new entry on Henry's son, James Brown Clay. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JamestownArarat (talk • contribs) 03:59 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Photo
Does the image at top have to show Clay in black and white and nearly at death's door? Doesn't it seem like a full-colour portrait from when Clay was in his prime would be a better illustration? But if this has already been argued over and settled, I don't want to make it a thing. Q·L·1968 ☿ 21:14, 24 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Keep. I don't know that it's really been settled. This issue has come up once before and at that time I liked the Jouett portrait more for the infobox than the present daguerrotype but I have changed my mind since. This daguerrotype was taken in 1848 and Clay did live another 4 years so I'm not sure it's fair to say he was at death's door.
 * I think it is a magnificent likeness and we are very lucky to have any photographic/daguerrotype images of him at all, especially considering how delicate daguerrotypes are. This is a man born in the middle of the American Revolution, but who knew Jefferson & Madison & Monroe, who studied law with George Wythe of Virginia, who probably held the most national level offices of any one person in the history of the United States and we have photographic images of him! It's amazing to me - daguerrotypes weren't even generally available until 1839. If you and other interested editors think one of his painted portraits - I am rather fond of the Jouett one - would be more suitable well, that's what consensus is all about. You might want to open an RfC if this thread doesn't get enough responses. Shearonink (talk) 05:30, 25 July 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much for this thoughtful and considerate reply! I really don't disagree with much of what you've said. The daguerreotype is undoubtedly valuable, and I do think should be included in the article (I moved it into the 1848 section). However, what you say about the length of Clay's career also speaks to my point: some of his best days, politically, were during his speakership during the Madison and Monroe administrations! So an image showing him in the middle of his life, where you can see resemblances to both the younger and the older man, seems inherently more illustrative – to say nothing about the greater value of a colour image. I realize that he wasn't literally on death's door in 1848, but he had sadly declined from his earlier charming, jovial self. Years of poor health, grief, and stress had taken their toll and it showed. It just seems unkind to showcase the great man looking so poorly. Q·L·1968 ☿ 22:12, 26 July 2019 (UTC)

PLEASE CLARIFY THE ANTECEDENT OF "HE" OR CHANGE IT TO A NOUN
Article says, Q: His father, a Baptist minister nicknamed "Sir John", died in 1781, leaving Henry and his brothers two slaves each; he also left his wife 18 slaves and 464 acres (188 ha) of land /Q..
 * Who are "he" and "his"??? The closest antecedent possible is Henry -- so the article seems to abruptly state something about Henry's legacy:
 * Henry left Henry's wife 18 slaves! (PeacePeace (talk) 03:22, 5 July 2020 (UTC))