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Cassius Marcellus Clay (abolitionist)
Encyclopedia
Cassius Marcellus Clay (October 19, 1810 – July 22, 1903), nicknamed "The Lion of White Hall", was an emancipationist
from Madison County
, Kentucky
, United States
who served as the American minister to Russia
. He was a cousin of Henry Clay
and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay
.
, one of the wealthiest landowners and slaveholders in Kentucky. Clay worked toward emancipation, both as a Kentucky state representative and as an early member of the Republican Party
.
Clay attended Transylvania University
and then graduated from Yale College
in 1832. While at Yale, he heard abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
speak, and Garrison's lecture inspired Clay to join the antislavery movement. Garrison’s arguments were to him “as water is to a thirsty wayfarer”. Clay was politically pragmatic, supporting gradual legal change rather than the immediacy of the Garrisonians.
Clay served three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives
, but he lost support among Kentucky voters as his platform became more focused on ending slavery. In 1845, he began publishing an anti-slavery newspaper called the True American in Lexington, Kentucky
. Within a month he received death threats, had to arm himself, and had to barricade the doors of his newspaper office for protection. Shortly after, a mob of about sixty men broke into his office and seized his printing equipment, which they shipped to Cincinnati, Ohio
. Clay continued publication there.
In 1853 Clay granted 10 acres to John G. Fee, an abolitionist, who founded the town of Berea, Kentucky
, and in 1855, Berea College
.
Even though he opposed the annexation
of Texas
, Clay served in the Mexican-American War. His connections to the northern antislavery movement remained strong, and he was a founder of the Republican party
and a friend of Abraham Lincoln
, supporting him for the presidency
. Clay was briefly a candidate for the vice presidency
at the 1860 Republican National Convention
, but lost the nomination to Hannibal Hamlin
.
began in April 1861, Lincoln nominated Clay as ambassador to Spain
, but Clay declined it.
Instead, he became Minister
to the Russian court at St. Petersburg, where he witnessed the Tsar's emancipation edict
. Recalled to the United States to accept a commission as a major general from Lincoln, Clay publicly refused to accept it unless Lincoln would sign an emancipation proclamation
. Lincoln sent Clay to Kentucky to assess the mood for emancipation there and in the other border states. Following Clay's return, Lincoln issued the proclamation.
Clay returned to Russia in 1863 and remained until 1869. He was influential in the negotiations for the purchase
of Alaska
.
n independence movement of Jose Marti
. He also spoke out against robber barons
and in favor of nationalizing the railroads. In 1869, Clay left the Republican Party. This was partly due to President Grant's
military interference in Haiti
. He also disapproved of the Republican reconstruction policy.
In 1872, he was one of the organizers of the
Liberal Republican revolt, and was largely instrumental in securing the
nomination of Horace Greeley
for the presidency. In the
political campaigns of 1876
and 1880
, he supported the Democratic Party
candidate, but rejoined the Republican party in the campaign of 1884
.
In Clay's later years, his wife, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, daughter of Dr. Elisha Warfield
, divorced him and he fell deeply into debt, causing him to sell much of his property. In 1894, he married 15 year-old Dora Richardson, but they soon divorced.
Cassius Clay died at his White Hall home on July 22, 1903. Survivors included his daughters, women's rights
activists Laura Clay
and Mary Barr Clay
.
, is maintained by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as White Hall State Historic Shrine.
Cassius Marcellus Clay
, father of boxer Muhammad Ali
, was named after the politician and he gave the same name to his son, who changed it when he converted to Islam.
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
from Madison County
Madison County, Kentucky
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2008, the population was 82,192. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the fourth President of the United States. This is also where famous pioneer Daniel...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who served as the American minister to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He was a cousin of Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and Alabama governor Clement Comer Clay
Clement Comer Clay
Clement Comer Clay was the eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1835 to 1837.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, after the war. Clay attended public schools and...
.
Emancipationist
Cassius Clay was a paradox - a southern aristocrat who became a prominent anti-slavery crusader. He was a son of Green ClayGreen Clay
Green Clay was a United States politician and a soldier in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812....
, one of the wealthiest landowners and slaveholders in Kentucky. Clay worked toward emancipation, both as a Kentucky state representative and as an early member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Clay attended Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
and then graduated from Yale College
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1832. While at Yale, he heard abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
speak, and Garrison's lecture inspired Clay to join the antislavery movement. Garrison’s arguments were to him “as water is to a thirsty wayfarer”. Clay was politically pragmatic, supporting gradual legal change rather than the immediacy of the Garrisonians.
Clay served three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives
Kentucky House of Representatives
The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...
, but he lost support among Kentucky voters as his platform became more focused on ending slavery. In 1845, he began publishing an anti-slavery newspaper called the True American in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. Within a month he received death threats, had to arm himself, and had to barricade the doors of his newspaper office for protection. Shortly after, a mob of about sixty men broke into his office and seized his printing equipment, which they shipped to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Clay continued publication there.
In 1853 Clay granted 10 acres to John G. Fee, an abolitionist, who founded the town of Berea, Kentucky
Berea, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,851 people, 3,693 households, and 2,426 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,055.4 people per square mile . There were 4,115 housing units at an average density of 440.9 per square mile...
, and in 1855, Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
.
Even though he opposed the annexation
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Clay served in the Mexican-American War. His connections to the northern antislavery movement remained strong, and he was a founder of the Republican party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and a friend of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, supporting him for the presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Clay was briefly a candidate for the vice presidency
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
at the 1860 Republican National Convention
1860 Republican National Convention
The 1860 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States, held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wigwam, nominated former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President and U.S. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President...
, but lost the nomination to Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
.
Minister to Russia
When the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
began in April 1861, Lincoln nominated Clay as ambassador to Spain
United States Ambassador to Spain
-Ambassadors:*John Jay**Appointed: September 29, 1779**Title: Minister Plenipotentiary**Presented credentials:**Terminated mission: ~May 20, 1782*William Carmichael**Appointed: April 20, 1790**Title: Chargé d'Affaires...
, but Clay declined it.
Instead, he became Minister
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
to the Russian court at St. Petersburg, where he witnessed the Tsar's emancipation edict
Emancipation reform of 1861
The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia was the first and most important of liberal reforms effected during the reign of Alexander II of Russia. The reform, together with a related reform in 1861, amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by peasants of the Russian Empire...
. Recalled to the United States to accept a commission as a major general from Lincoln, Clay publicly refused to accept it unless Lincoln would sign an emancipation proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
. Lincoln sent Clay to Kentucky to assess the mood for emancipation there and in the other border states. Following Clay's return, Lincoln issued the proclamation.
Clay returned to Russia in 1863 and remained until 1869. He was influential in the negotiations for the purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Later political activities
Later, he founded the Cuban Charitable Aid Society to help the CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n independence movement of Jose Marti
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
. He also spoke out against robber barons
Robber baron (industrialist)
Robber baron is a pejorative term used for a powerful 19th century American businessman. By the 1890s the term was used to attack any businessman who used questionable practices to become wealthy...
and in favor of nationalizing the railroads. In 1869, Clay left the Republican Party. This was partly due to President Grant's
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
military interference in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. He also disapproved of the Republican reconstruction policy.
In 1872, he was one of the organizers of the
Liberal Republican revolt, and was largely instrumental in securing the
nomination of Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
for the presidency. In the
political campaigns of 1876
United States presidential election, 1876
The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes uncounted...
and 1880
United States presidential election, 1880
The United States presidential election of 1880 was largely seen as a referendum on the end of Reconstruction in Southern states carried out by the Republicans. There were no pressing issues of the day save tariffs, with the Republicans supporting higher tariffs and the Democrats supporting lower...
, he supported the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate, but rejoined the Republican party in the campaign of 1884
United States presidential election, 1884
The United States presidential election of 1884 saw the first election of a Democrat as President of the United States since the election of 1856. New York Governor Grover Cleveland narrowly defeated Republican former United States Senator James G. Blaine of Maine to break the longest losing streak...
.
Later years
Clay had a reputation as a rebel and a fighter. There were threats on his life, compelling him to carry two pistols and a knife for protection; in addition, he used a cannon to protect his home and office. As he aged, Clay became increasingly eccentric and paranoid.In Clay's later years, his wife, Mary Jane Warfield Clay, daughter of Dr. Elisha Warfield
Elisha Warfield
Elisha Warfield, Jr. was an American physician and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder whom Thoroughbred Heritage calls "one of the most important early figures in Kentucky racing and breeding."...
, divorced him and he fell deeply into debt, causing him to sell much of his property. In 1894, he married 15 year-old Dora Richardson, but they soon divorced.
Cassius Clay died at his White Hall home on July 22, 1903. Survivors included his daughters, women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
activists Laura Clay
Laura Clay
Laura Clay , co-founder and first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, was a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement...
and Mary Barr Clay
Mary Barr Clay
Mary Barr Clay was a leader of the American women’s suffrage movement. She also was known as Mary B. Clay and Mrs. J. Frank Herrick....
.
Legacy
His family home, White HallWhite Hall, Kentucky (home of Cassius Marcellus Clay)
White Hall was the home of Cassius Marcellus Clay. He was an abolitionist, newspaper publisher and Minister to Russia. His daughter, Laura Clay , was born at White Hall in 1849....
, is maintained by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as White Hall State Historic Shrine.
Cassius Marcellus Clay
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr.
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. was the father of American three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali and Rudolph Valentino Clay, who is now named Rahman Ali, and also was the grandfather of Muhammad's daughter Laila Ali. He married Odessa Grady Clay in the 1930s and worked as a painter and a...
, father of boxer Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, was named after the politician and he gave the same name to his son, who changed it when he converted to Islam.
Books
- The Life, Memoirs. Writings, and Speeches of Cassius Marcellus Clay (Cincinnati, 1896), his autobiography
- The Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay (edited with a Memoir by Horace GreeleyHorace GreeleyHorace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
. New York, 1848). - The Other Cassius Clay (Kalamazoo: Brian Tice, 2002), an original musical stage production based on his life.
- Cassius M. Clay: Freedom's Champion (Turner Publishing Company Keven McQueen, 2001), A look at the life of Cassius Clay by fellow Kentuckian, researcher, and former tour guide of Whitehall, Keven McQueen.
- A Man Seen But Once: Cassius Marcellus Clay by Betty Boles Ellison (AuthorHouse, 2005)
- Cassius Marcellus Clay: Firebrand of Freedom by H. Edward Robinson (University Press of Kentucky, 1976)
- The Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay by Fletcher Brennan (Negro Universities Press, 1970)
- "Kentucky Lion: The True Story of Cassius Clay" (Morrison McNae Publishing, 2007) authored by Richard Kiel and Pamela Wallace http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979494818
External links
- On-line version of the Columbia EncyclopediaColumbia EncyclopediaThe Columbia Encyclopedia is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its important relationship with Columbia University, the encyclopedia underwent major revisions in 1950 and 1963; the current edition is...
6th Edition on the origin of boxer Muhammid Ali's birth name - Whitehall
- Cassius M. Clay biography (maintained by Kentucky Educational Television)