Cassius Marcellus Clay

Politician

Cassius Marcellus Clay was born in Madison County, Kentucky, United States on October 19th, 1810 and is the Politician. At the age of 92, Cassius Marcellus Clay biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
October 19, 1810
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Madison County, Kentucky, United States
Death Date
Jul 22, 1903 (age 92)
Zodiac Sign
Libra
Profession
Diplomat, Lawyer, Military Officer, Photographer, Politician, Slave Owner
Cassius Marcellus Clay Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 92 years old, Cassius Marcellus Clay physical status not available right now. We will update Cassius Marcellus Clay's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Height
Not Available
Weight
Not Available
Hair Color
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Eye Color
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Build
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Measurements
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Cassius Marcellus Clay Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Transylvania University, Yale College
Cassius Marcellus Clay Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Mary Jane Warfield (1833–1878, divorced), Dora Richardson (1894–1897, divorced)
Children
Elisha Warfield Clay, Green Clay, Mary Barr Clay, Sally Clay, Laura Clay, Brutus J. Clay II, Anne Clay, David Kevin Clay (adopted)
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Cassius Marcellus Clay Career

Cassius Clay was an early Southern planter who became a prominent anti-slavery crusader. Clay worked toward emancipation, both as a Kentucky state representative and as an early member of the Republican Party.

Clay was elected to three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives, but he lost support among Kentuckian voters as he promoted abolition. His anti-slavery activism earned him violent enemies. During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, a hired gun. The scabbard of Clay's Bowie knife was tipped with silver and, in jerking the Bowie knife out in retaliation pulled this scabbard up so that it was just over his heart. Brown's bullet struck the scabbard and embedded itself in the silver. Despite having been shot in the chest, Clay tackled Brown, and with his Bowie knife removed Brown's nose and one eye and possibly an ear before he threw Brown over an embankment.

In 1845, Clay began publishing an anti-slavery newspaper, True American, in Lexington, Kentucky. Within a month, he received death threats, had to arm himself, and regularly barricaded the armored doors of his newspaper office for protection, besides setting up two four-pounder cannons inside. Shortly afterward, a mob of about 60 men broke into his office and seized his printing equipment. To protect his venture, Clay set up a publication center in Cincinnati, Ohio, a center of abolitionists in the free state but continued to reside in Kentucky.

Clay served in the Mexican–American War as a captain with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry from 1846 to 1847. He had opposed the annexation of Texas and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest, but had volunteered because of Mexico’s attempt to seize the state, which it still claimed. While making a speech for abolition in 1849, Clay was attacked by the six Turner brothers, who beat, stabbed, and tried to shoot him. In the ensuing fight, Clay fought off all six and, using his Bowie knife, killed Cyrus Turner.

In 1853, Clay granted 10 acres of his expansive lands to John G. Fee, an abolitionist who founded the town of Berea. In 1855 Fee founded Berea College, open to all races. Clay's connections to the northern antislavery movement remained strong. He was a founder of the Republican Party in Kentucky and became a friend of Abraham Lincoln, whom he supported for the presidency in 1860. Clay was briefly a candidate for the vice presidency at the 1860 Republican National Convention, but lost the nomination to Hannibal Hamlin.

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