Henry Clay

Broadside (18 x 14 in.; 457 x 355 mm) on silk, text enclosed in elaborate architectural border, mounted on board; occasional light spotting and soiling, but condition very good.  

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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HENRY CLAY RETIRES AS SECRETARY OF STATE WITH AN ANTI-JACKSON RANT. "I deprecated the election of the present President of the United States, because I believe he had neither the temper, the experience, nor the attainments requisite to discharge the complicated and arduous duties of chief magistrate."

This broadside, printed on silk in Xenia, Ohio, reproduces the text of Clay's speech upon "retiring" from the State Department. He delivered it at a dinner party, given ostensibly to thank Clay for his public service, on 7 March 1829. Clay used the opportunity to issue a stinging indictment of Jackson, comparing him to the military dictators of South America and expressing apprehension that Jackson's elevation to the presidency set a bad precedent as the result of "gratitude for military service".  It is little wonder that, at the end of his life, Jackson reportedly said one of his chief regrets was not shooting Henry Clay.