Henry Clay Preventing An American Civil War

[BornAgainBeliever]

Henry Clay served the Union he loved so dearly representing his beloved Kentucky until he died in June of 1852 at the age of 75-

Imagine if the Great Compromiser had lived only eight years longer. What effect, if any, could a southern 83 year old Speaker of the House dedicated to a United States have on preventing a divided house?

[Nicomacheus]

The last time Clay was Speaker was 1825. After his stint as Secretary of State for John Quincy Adams, he spent most of his time as a Senator.

The question of Clay's longevity and the Civil War turns on the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The question is whether Clay would side with Douglas or oppose him, or whether his presence changes the debate enough to alter the sides altogether. Either way, you'd have a significant impact on the course of events that led to the Civil War before you even got to the war's outbreak. If you can get the K-N Act stalled, then it's possible you can alter the Presidential election of 1856 (OTL James Buchanan became a popular candidate in part because he had been out of the country when the K-N Act had been passed, and thus hadn't taken a side on the issue). You could even end up with President Stephen Douglas in 1856 (which may in turn lead to Senator Abraham Lincoln in 1858), which significantly alters the events of 1860 and so the beginning of the Civil War that we know.