Clement Comer Clay
| Clement Comer Clay | |
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| United States Senator from Alabama |
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| In office June 19, 1837 – November 15, 1841 |
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| Preceded by | John McKinley |
| Succeeded by | Arthur P. Bagby |
| 8th Governor of Alabama | |
| In office November 21, 1835 – July 17, 1837 |
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| Preceded by | John Gayle |
| Succeeded by | Hugh McVay |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 1st district |
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| In office March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1835 |
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| Preceded by | Gabriel Moore |
| Succeeded by | Reuben Chapman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 17, 1789 Halifax County, Virginia |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Huntsville, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Susanna Claiborne Withers (1798–1866) (her death) |
| Alma mater | East Tennessee University |
| Profession | Politician,Governor of Alabama |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Clement Comer Clay (December 17, 1789 – September 7, 1866) was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837. An attorney, judge and politician, he also was elected to the state legislature, as well as to the House of Representatives and the US Senate.
Contents
Early years
Clay was born in Halifax County, Virginia. His father, William Clay, was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, who moved to Grainger County, Tennessee. Clay attended the local schools and graduated from East Tennessee College in 1807. He was admitted to the bar in 1809 and moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he began a law practice in 1811.
Marriage and family
Clay married Susannah Claiborne Withers on April 4, 1815.[1] They had three sons: Clement Claiborne Clay, John Withers Clay, and Hugh Lawson Clay.
Alabama House of Representatives
Clay served in the Alabama Territorial Legislature in 1817–1818. He was a state court judge and served in the Alabama House of Representatives.
In 1828 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from March 4, 1829 and through re-elections until March 3, 1835, when he started as governor of Alabama.[2]
Governor of Alabama
In 1835 Clay was elected Governor. Clay's term as governor ended early when he was appointed by the state legislature to the United States Senate in 1837 (this was before popular election of senators).
Spring Hill College
In 1836, Governor Clay signed a legislative act which chartered Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States. The charter gave it "full power to grant or confer such degree or degrees in the arts and sciences, or in any art or science as are usually granted or conferred by other seminaries of learning in the United States." The college resulted from the strong French Catholic traditions in the city, founded as a French colony.
Creek War of 1836
Clay’s term in office was dominated by the Creek War of 1836 arising from resistance to Indian Removal, which had taken place in the Southeast since 1830. During Clay’s administration, the United States Army removed the Creek Indians from Southeastern Alabama under the terms of the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta. The Creek were relocated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi. Confrontations between Indians and white settlers occurred.[3]
Panic of 1837
During the Panic of 1837, the United States suffered a financial crisis brought on by speculative fever. This crisis caused a run on the Bank of the State of Alabama. Clay ordered the bank to provide a detailed report of its finances, but it was unable to do so.[4]
United States Senate
After election by the state legislature, Clay served in the United States Senate from June 19, 1837 until his resignation on November 15, 1841.
In the year after the end of the Civil War, Clement died of natural causes in September 1866, aged 76. His wife Susanna had died earlier the same year.
Notes
References
- Clement Comer Clay at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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External links
| Legal offices | ||
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| New title | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama 1820–1823 |
Succeeded by Abner Smith Lipscomb |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 1st congressional district March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1835 |
Succeeded by Reuben Chapman |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Alabama 1835–1837 |
Succeeded by Hugh McVay |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by | United States Senator from Alabama (Class 3) 1837–1841 with William R. King (1837–1841) |
Succeeded by Arthur P. Bagby |
| Class 2 |
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| Class 3 | ||
- 1789 births
- 1866 deaths
- People from Halifax County, Virginia
- Alabama state court judges
- Members of the Alabama Territorial Legislature
- Members of the Alabama House of Representatives
- Governors of Alabama
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama
- United States Senators from Alabama
- Alabama Democrats
- Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama
- Alabama Jacksonians
- Democratic Party United States Senators
- Democratic Party state governors of the United States
- Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives
