Present and former House Speakers honor Henry Clay with discussion on history, role of Speaker of the House
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner, R-Ohio, joined with former Speaker and current House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Speaker, Republican Dennis Hastert from Illinois, in a moderated discussion on the history and nature of the Speaker position that attracted a capacity audience to Transylvania University’s Haggin Auditorium Friday, June 24. The forum, titled “The Role of the Speaker of the House: A Tribute to Henry Clay,” was the culminating event in Lexington’s first Henry Clay Week and was an observance of the 200th anniversary of Clay becoming the first Speaker of the House in 1811. Historians have said it was Clay, Kentucky’s leading politician in the early 1800s, who made the Speakership the powerful position it is today. Known as the “Great Compromiser,” Clay is remembered for his skill at reconciliation, peacemaking and beneficial compromise. In his introductory remarks to the evening, Robert Clay, co-chair of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship, pointed out the close relationship that Transylvania enjoyed with Clay in its formative years. Clay joined the university’s seminal law department as a professor in 1805 and was elected a trustee in 1807. Although Clay left Kentucky to become nationally prominent as a statesman, he maintained a home in Lexington at beautiful Ashland and always kept Transylvania in his thoughts, remaining a trustee and friend of the university until his death in 1852. “Henry Clay was committed to education,”