Im robert door. I would like to start this morning by reading from doctor cheneys opening paragraph draws into map of virginia, George Washingtons boyhood home and extend the lake of the compass so it reaches out 60 miles an dry circle. With it in it not only washington but thomas jefferson, James Madison and james monroe were born more and. From this small expanse of land on the north American Continent came four of the nation first five president s, the dynasty whose members secured independence, crated the constitution and building the republic. What a great way to start a book. I have spent most of last night reading it and its wonderful chronicle, for major leaders in the interconnected network that tied them together at the founding of the country, a story that evokes the spirit of hope and perseverance that runs straight through the american experience. Dr. Cheney is a longtime member of the faculty so i wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how much we appreciate her scholarsh
And now the contenders. Our series on key political figures who ran for president and lost, but who nevertheless changed political history. Tonight we feature former House Speaker henry clay of kentucky, known as the great compromiser. The program was recorded at clays ashland estate in lexington, kentucky, its about 90 minutes. This is an encore presentation of cspans original 14week series which first aired in 2011. This is a portrait of kentuckys henry clay, known to us in our history books as the great compromiser. During his 49year political career clay served as secretary of state, speaker of the house and as a u. S. Senator and he was a contender, making five president ial bids, including the election of 1824, 1832 against Andrew Jackson, and 1844 when he ran against james k. Polk. Tonight we are on location at ashland, henry clays home in lexington, kentucky and for the next 90 minutes we will explore the life and legacy of this man. Unsuccessful in his long quest for the white
Then im going to introduce a new concept to you, and thats the idea of political culture. And i will compare that concept to something weve encountered before, Political Parties. And finally, the bulk of the lecture is going to be presenting new evidence, in fact on the antebellum political culture. I have three major areas of evidence to talk about today, one, Tobacco Culture, two, political friendships, and, three, affairs of honor. And well conclude there after getting through that evidence. All right. Like we obvious do in the class, im going to start today with an image on the screen and im going to ask you to tell me what you see. This is Lady Washingtons reception from 1861. Take it in. Who can point out something that you see right away that strikes you . There we go. Lady washington is on a platform. Yeah. How high do you think she is, maybe, off the ground . Like, i dont know, a foot. A good foot. Thats a good piece there. What else do you see . Another one down there. Thank
Rise of Andrew Jackson and his presidency. He focuses on Andrew Jacksons clashes with wig Party Members such as henry clay and Daniel Webster in the bank wars of the 1830s. This class is about 55 minutes. Well, good morning, everybody. And welcome to American History. My name is jonathan barth. You all know me as professor barth. And i am a history professor at Arizona State university. In conjunction with two very stellar world class programs, and there they are. On the screen. The school of historical philosophical and religious studies, quite a mouthful, so we call this shippers, great program, and then also the center for political thought and leadership. Or ptl. Another stellar program. If this lecture intrigues you, you should check out our center. Were doing some big things. And finally, if you are interested in learning more about yours truly, there we are, www. Professor barth. Com, you can read about me on that web site. Well, a generation of politicians has passed. Alexander
Ashland. Henry clays home in lexington, kentucky, and for the next 90 minutes we will explore the life and legacy of this man, unsuccessful in his long quest for the white house, yet having an outsized influence on American History. And we are in henry clays parlor r parlor right now. Let me introduce you to jim plotter, historian. Thank you for being with us. Good to be here. Why is he relevant to americans living in our time . On a couple of accounts, his famous quote, i would rather be right than be president. Its a call to people whatever were doing, which is to do the right thing. In a sense, politicians need to remember the country and sacrifice for the country and i think that is still something that we need to remember, as well and the man known as the great compromiser, and a man that forges these compromises that not only kept the nation together, but were constructive and those are the kinds of things we need to remember about henry clay as well as the things that he did in