# 151 - 1870-71 12c Clay, dull violet
1870-71 12¢ Clay
National Bank Note Printing
Earliest Known Use: July 9, 1870
Quantity issued: 3,263,845 (estimate)
Printed by: National Bank Note Company
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: Dull violet
Death Of Henry Clay
Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia. The seventh of nine children, Clay began working as a secretary at the Virginia Court of Chancery at a young age. From there he went on to work for the attorney general, where he developed an interest in and began studying the law. He was admitted to the bar in 1797.
That same year, Clay moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he quickly became well known for his legal skills and courtroom speeches. Over the years many of his clients paid him with horses and plots of land. So by 1812, Clay had a 600-acre plantation known as Ashland.
Clay’s popularity rose quickly in the coming years, so that when a Senate seat needed to be filled, he was selected and sworn in on December 29, 1806. Once again he was under the required age, but no one objected. He served the last two months of that term before returning to Kentucky in 1807. After that, Clay was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
In 1814, Clay helped negotiate and later signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Two years later he worked with John C. Calhoun to pass the Tariff Act of 1816. The act was part of Clay’s national economic plan he called The American System, which was designed to help America compete with British manufacturing through tariffs. These tariffs, as well as the sale of public lands, would then go toward internal improvements such as new roads and canals.
Clay was still serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives when he campaigned for President in 1824. Four candidates split the field, with no one receiving a majority of Electoral votes. The top two candidates were presented to the House of Representatives to decide the outcome of the election. Clay’s political views were closer to those of John Quincy Adams than Andrew Jackson, and the Speaker used his influence to elect Adams. President John Quincy Adams appointed Henry Clay as his Secretary of State, a position he’d long desired. Jackson and his supporters called the move a “corrupt bargain.”
By this time, America had received new land following the Mexican-American War. The issue of slavery spreading to new territories was again a concern. In response, Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850, which was as controversial as the slavery debate itself. Clay’s bill proposed the organization of Utah and New Mexico, leaving the decision of slavery to the people. The bill would also make California a free state and prohibit slave auctions in the District of Columbia. Additionally, the bill would introduce a new fugitive slave law. This ordered runaway slaves found anywhere in the United States be returned to their masters if a board of commissioners declared them fugitives. The bill would allow authorities to arrest African Americans and return them to slave territory, whether they were slaves or not. President Taylor refused to take a side on the issue, while Vice President Fillmore urged him to pass the bill.
1870-71 12¢ Clay
National Bank Note Printing
Earliest Known Use: July 9, 1870
Quantity issued: 3,263,845 (estimate)
Printed by: National Bank Note Company
Method: Flat plate
Watermark: None
Perforation: 12
Color: Dull violet
Death Of Henry Clay
Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia. The seventh of nine children, Clay began working as a secretary at the Virginia Court of Chancery at a young age. From there he went on to work for the attorney general, where he developed an interest in and began studying the law. He was admitted to the bar in 1797.
That same year, Clay moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he quickly became well known for his legal skills and courtroom speeches. Over the years many of his clients paid him with horses and plots of land. So by 1812, Clay had a 600-acre plantation known as Ashland.
Clay’s popularity rose quickly in the coming years, so that when a Senate seat needed to be filled, he was selected and sworn in on December 29, 1806. Once again he was under the required age, but no one objected. He served the last two months of that term before returning to Kentucky in 1807. After that, Clay was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
In 1814, Clay helped negotiate and later signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Two years later he worked with John C. Calhoun to pass the Tariff Act of 1816. The act was part of Clay’s national economic plan he called The American System, which was designed to help America compete with British manufacturing through tariffs. These tariffs, as well as the sale of public lands, would then go toward internal improvements such as new roads and canals.
Clay was still serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives when he campaigned for President in 1824. Four candidates split the field, with no one receiving a majority of Electoral votes. The top two candidates were presented to the House of Representatives to decide the outcome of the election. Clay’s political views were closer to those of John Quincy Adams than Andrew Jackson, and the Speaker used his influence to elect Adams. President John Quincy Adams appointed Henry Clay as his Secretary of State, a position he’d long desired. Jackson and his supporters called the move a “corrupt bargain.”
By this time, America had received new land following the Mexican-American War. The issue of slavery spreading to new territories was again a concern. In response, Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850, which was as controversial as the slavery debate itself. Clay’s bill proposed the organization of Utah and New Mexico, leaving the decision of slavery to the people. The bill would also make California a free state and prohibit slave auctions in the District of Columbia. Additionally, the bill would introduce a new fugitive slave law. This ordered runaway slaves found anywhere in the United States be returned to their masters if a board of commissioners declared them fugitives. The bill would allow authorities to arrest African Americans and return them to slave territory, whether they were slaves or not. President Taylor refused to take a side on the issue, while Vice President Fillmore urged him to pass the bill.