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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 20, 2007 17:59:09 GMT -5
I'm posting this here only because Clay served with Crockett and DC saw him as an ally, so it's at least marginally Alamo related. I'm curious if anyone has read Remini's Clay biography. Remini is such an apologist for Jackson, I wondered about his take on one of Jackson's greatest political foes. Jim
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 20, 2007 20:23:37 GMT -5
I didn't know Remini wrote on anything but Jackson. He is a total shill for Old Hickory. He wrote a particularly disturbing article for American History or one of its other mags explaining how the removal of the eastern tribes was a really benevolent act by Jackson. He did them a favor (the ones who lived, anyway, I suppose). I think the gist of the argument was that there was no way the government could stop white encroachment on Indian land and, in the end, they'd suffer more at home than in a "new land." I think Jackson just caved to big-land interests and those who wanted the gold discovered on Cherokee land. Jackson was willing to go to the mat on nullification and I just don't buy Remini's rationalization for Indian Removal, especially in the Cherokee case.
I think the roots of Crockett's early distrust of Jackson and his machine was Crockett's suspicion that the Tennessee government, heavily influenced by the Jacksonians, would weigh in on the side of wealthy land interests and never do anything to secure the land already settled by "squatters," who made up a huge part of Crockett's district. The deal-breaker on the land bill between Crockett and Polk (Jackson's man) was turning the vacant lands over to the Tennessee legislature, instead of the Feds. guaranteeing some of it to the people already living on it.
AW
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Post by marklemon on Jun 20, 2007 20:40:58 GMT -5
Henry Clay is my great-great-great uncle. My grandmother, Ruth Clay, was directly descended from him. The strange, and admittedly unforgivable thing is, that I know almost nothing about him, other than he was known for his skill in striking a compromise between various political factions. In fact, hanging in "the old (1856) family homeplace" is a huge 1853 colored lithograph in it's original frame, of Henry Clay addressing congress. Most of my time over the years has been absorbed in studying my G-G-Grandfather, who had such a brilliant war record (a recipient of the latter day Conferate Medal of Honor) that any and all other interests have regrettably fallen by the wayside...
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Post by TRK on Jun 20, 2007 20:51:19 GMT -5
Henry Clay is my great-great-great uncle. Mark, were you aware that his son, Henry Clay, Jr., was one of the heroes of the Battle of Buena Vista? He was killed in action late on the second day of the battle. There's a daguerreotype at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth showing his temporary grave on the outskirts of Saltillo, Mexico, near Buena Vista. It's a melancholy scene.
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Post by marklemon on Jun 20, 2007 21:19:27 GMT -5
Henry Clay is my great-great-great uncle. Mark, were you aware that his son, Henry Clay, Jr., was one of the heroes of the Battle of Buena Vista? He was killed in action late on the second day of the battle. There's a daguerreotype at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth showing his temporary grave on the outskirts of Saltillo, Mexico, near Buena Vista. It's a melancholy scene. No, sad to say, I didn't know this. I am sure that one day in the future, I'll have the time to explore this part of the family history much more thoroughly. I do know that General Lucius Clay, USA, was also descended from Henry Clay. He was the architect of the Berlin Airlift.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jun 21, 2007 7:36:18 GMT -5
A while back I mentioned a new article on the Battle of Buena Vista ("Military Heritage" magazine; June 2007 issue). On page 32 There is a small copy of a painting of Clay, Jr., dying on the battlefield (no artist is given).
AW
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