1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [23]
Clay, Henry (1777–1852) Clay was born in Virginia, but lived most of his life in Kentucky, which sent him to the House of Representative (1811–1814, 1815–1821, 1823–1825) and the Senate (1806–1807, 1810–1811, 1831–1842, 1849–1852). In a struggle to find a compromise on the slavery issue and thereby avoid civil war, Clay became the chief promoter of the Missouri Compromise (1820), the compromise tariff of 1833 (which ended the Nullification crisis that threatened secession), and the Compromise of 1850, another effort to reconcile the claimed rights of free and slave states.
Cleveland, Grover (1837–1908) The only president to serve two discontinuous terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), Cleveland is remembered as that rarest of commodities of the so-called “Gilded Age”: an honest politician. He approached the presidency as a genuine conservative, believing that the chief executive’s function was mainly to check the excesses of the legislative branch. He won a majority of popular votes for reelection, but came in second to Republican Benjamin Harrison in the Electoral College.
Clinton, Bill (1946– ) Clinton grew up poor in Arkansas but went on to become a Rhodes Scholar. As a young man, he deeply admired John F. Kennedy and resolved to embark on a life of public service. He served five two-year terms as Arkansas governor, then survived a sex scandal to win election as president in 1992. Through two terms, this moderate, centrist, and business-friendly Democrat presided over the nation’s longest peacetime economic expansion. In 1998, however, a new sex scandal—a liaison with White House intern Monica Lewinsky followed by the president’s efforts to cover it up—resulted in his impeachment by a Republican-controlled Congress. Voting along party lines, the Senate failed to obtain the two-thirds majority necessary for removal from office, and Clinton was acquitted in 1999.
Clinton, DeWitt (1769–1828) As a New York state legislator, Clinton promoted the construction of a canal across New York State to link the Northeast coastal trade with the Great Lakes via Lake Erie. He won legislative approval in 1816 to finance the canal, and his election as governor in 1817 ensured that he would be able to oversee the enormous project personally. The opening of the canal on October 25, 1825, made New York City a key trading port with the Midwest and opened the American frontier to eastern commerce.
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (1947– ) Hillary Rodham was an attorney and advocate of children’s rights, who, in 1975, married Bill Clinton, three years before he was elected governor of Arkansas. Hillary Clinton was active in children’s rights during her husband’s gubernatorial tenure, and she played a major strategy and public role in his 1992 campaign for the presidency. She was an active first lady, heading up the Task Force on National Health Care and working on other initiatives. Opinions about her tended to break down along party lines and she was often vilified by members of the conservative press. During the Monica Lewinsky scandal that rocked the Clinton presidency, she remained firmly behind her husband. In 2000, Hillary Clinton was elected junior senator from New York and, as of 2007, is thought to be one of the leading contenders for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination in 2008.
Cobb, Ty (1886–1961) A Georgia native, Tyrus Raymond Cobb was dubbed the “Georgia Peach.” During 24 seasons in the American Baseball League, he scored of 2,245 runs (surpassed in 2001 by Rickey Henderson), stole 892 bases (surpassed in 1979 by Lou Brock), and achieved a lifetime batting average of .366 (unsurpassed as of 2007). A great ball player, Cobb was a miserable human being, outspoken in his racism and misogyny and often given to violence.
Cochise (d. 1874) Cochise was widely admired by the Chiricahua