As part of the "Great Triumvirate" of American politics from the War of 1812 to the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay has had many accomplishments. His greatest accomplishment I believe is the Compromise of 1850, where he helped prevent the Civil War from happening for a little bit longer. He has had his share of failures also. His greatest failure though, is that he never won the Presidency of the United States, which I believe he wanted really badly. .
Henry Clay's greatest accomplishment was the Compromise of 1850. With the union at stake, he rose to the occasion and saved the day. On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented a compromise. For eight months members of Congress, led by Clay, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, debated the compromise. With the help of Stephen Douglas, a young Democrat from Illinois, a series of bills that would make up the compromise were ushered through Congress. According to the compromise, Texas would relinquish the land in dispute but, in compensation, the Union would take over the debt Texas had with Mexico. Also, the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would be organized without mention of slavery. The slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, although slavery would still be permitted. Finally, California would be admitted as a free state. The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do, by keeping the nation united, but the solution was only temporary. Over the following decade the country's citizens became further divided over the issue of slavery and made the rift between the states bigger, causing the Civil War.
Clay's greatest failure was never winning the presidency after running so many times. In his first presidential run, he ran against John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William Harris Crawford in the year of 1824. He was at a disadvantage with Jackson also being from the West.
