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Clement Comer Clay

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Clement Comer Clay
8th Governor of Alabama
In office
1835–1837
LieutenantNone
Preceded byJohn Gayle
Succeeded byHugh McVay
Personal details
Born(1789-12-17)December 17, 1789
Halifax County, Virginia
DiedSeptember 7, 1866(1866-09-07) (aged 76)
Huntsville, Alabama
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSusanna Claiborne Withers (1798–1866) (her death)
Alma materEast Tennessee University
ProfessionPolitician,Governor of Alabama

Clement Comer Clay (December 17, 1789 – September 7, 1866) was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837.

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.

Alabama House of Representatives

Clay served in the Alabama Territorial Legislature 1817-1818. He was a state court judge and served in the Alabama House of Representatives. Prior to being governor of Alabama he had served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1829 until March 3, 1835.[1]

Governor of Alabama

In 1835 Clay was elected Governor. Clay's term as governor ended early when he was appointed to the United States Senate.

Spring Hill College

In 1836, Governor Clay signed a legislative act which chartered the third oldest Jesuit college in the United States, Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and 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."

Creek War of 1836

Clay’s term in office was dominated by the Creek War of 1836. 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 Indians were relocated to the west of the Mississippi. Confrontations between Indians and white settlers occurred.[2]

Panic of 1837

During the Panic of 1837, the United States experienced a financial crisis brought on by speculative fever. This crisis caused a run on the Bank of the State of Alabama. 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 and the bank was unable to do so.[3]

United States Senate

Clay served the United States Senate from June 19, 1837 until his resignation on November 15, 1841.

Personal life

Clay married Susannah Claiborne Withers on April 4, 1815.[4] They had three sons - Clement Claiborne Clay, John Withers Clay and Hugh Lawson Clay. Clement died of natural causes in September 1866, aged 76. Susanna had died earlier the same year.

Notes

  1. ^ The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, pp. 89-92
  2. ^ "Clement Comer Clay". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  3. ^ "Clement Comer Clay". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  4. ^ Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 Record

References

Legal offices
New title Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Alabama
1820–1823 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Alabama
1835–1837 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by United States Senator
from Alabama (Class 3)
1837–1841
with William R. King (1837–1841) 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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