Beschreibung:

Black printed on white silk broadside, 15.25 x 18.75 in., with heading: Valedictory of Henry Clay, in the Senate of the United States, Thursday, March 31, 1842. Marked J & G.S. Gideon Printers, Ninth Street, Washington. (See Collins Threads of History, 1979: fig. 154.) This valedictory was given at the end of Clay's third stint in the Senate, when he was relinquishing his seat in anticipation of receiving the Whig nomination for president in 1844. He did receive the nomination but narrowly lost the general election to James K. Polk. After failing to secure the Whig nomination in 1848, which went to Zachary Taylor, Clay came out of retirement to serve another term, which ended with his death in 1852. In the speech, Senator Clay discusses the role of the Senate relative to other governmental bodies, some specifics of his own career, and even addresses critics who charged he acted as a dictator. He then offers an apology to those colleagues who may have gotten the worst of his temper and offensive language, and closes by introducing his successor, John J. Crittenden. Condition: Scattered small stains, mostly in the margins.