So I'm working my way through the new Henry Clay biography,"Henry Clay: The Essential American," by David and Jeanne Heidler, and I found myself wondering what the United States would look like without The Western Star.
No great fan of his am I, but he no doubt left a mark on the American landscape. He was the representative of the West in the Great Triumvirate, he worked on the Compromises of 1820 and 1850, was a representative and senator from Kentucky, Secretary of State to J.Q. Adams and allegedly delivered the presidency to him, formed the Whig Party to oppose Jackson, and the list goes on and on. So the question begs where are we as a country without Clay and his American system?
Does the South secede earlier, in spite of Calhoun's early advice not to do so? Who can legitimately stand up to Andrew Jackson in the House if not Clay? Is there any form of internal improvement to the country? Does slavery actually get dealt with before there is a major national conflict?
I know Clay didn't singlehandedly hold the United States together, but I think without his presence the country turns out quite differently. I have some ideas of my own, but I want to hear some others first.