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Abraham Lincoln is admired by many. (Lincoln Memorial at Louisville Waterfront Park) 2

Ohio River at Rockport, Indiana 3

4 Historical Marker at Rockport, Indiana

The earliest known image of Abraham Lincoln was taken around 1847 and is from the Library of Congress collection. 5

Henry Clay from Kentucky was a well-known United States congressman and senator. 6

Statue of Henry Clay given by Kentucky to the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. 7

Mary Todd Lincoln lived in this home in Lexington, Kentucky, before her marriage to Abraham. 8

The Todd House in Lexington, Kentucky, was located near the home of Henry Clay. 9

Tall trees provide a serene setting at Ashland, home of Henry Clay in Lexington, Kentucky. 10

Ashland was the home of Henry Clay who was deeply admired by Abraham Lincoln. 11

Henry Clay ran for President of the United States three times but was never elected. 12

Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in honor of Henry Clay when he died in

A Civil War monument is located in the backyard at Ashland. 14

The monument was erected to commemorate a skirmish that occurred here following Kentucky’s largest Civil War battle at Perryville. 15

Ten years after Henry Clay died, his own backyard at Ashland was the site of a skirmish following the Battle of Perryville in

IRONY Henry Clay, known as “The Great Compromiser,” had helped postpone civil war between states for slavery and states against slavery through the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of After his death, his own family—like many families in Kentucky—was divided, some members supported the North and some supported the South. Irony is an outcome opposite of what was expected to happen. 17

Find the irony. Why is the placement of a Civil War monument in the backyard of Henry Clay’s home ironic? Do you think Abraham Lincoln would have been surprised to have seen the monument in his hero’s backyard? Why or why not? 18

Statues of Abraham Lincoln and Henry Clay can be seen in the rotunda of Kentucky’s capitol at Frankfort. 19

Sources Jones, Edgar DeWitt. THE INFLUENCE OF HENRY CLAY UPON ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Lexington, Kentucky. Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, 2007 (reprinted from original edition, 1952). Photographs: Mary Louise Majors

Created by Mary Louise Majors Participant: Lincoln Tri-State Summer Institute and Life-long Learner 21