View source for Cassius Marcellus Clay (politician)

{{Short description|American politician (1810–1903)}}
{{about|the 19th-century emancipationist and politician|the boxer who was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.|Muhammad Ali}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Cassius Marcellus Clay
| image               = Cassius Marcellus Clay.jpg
| caption             = Clay, {{circa}} 1855–1865
| image_size          =
| office              = [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Russia|United States Ambassador to Russia]]
| term_start          = May 7, 1863
| term_end            = October 1, 1869
| president           = [[Abraham Lincoln]]<br />[[Andrew Johnson]]<br />[[Ulysses S. Grant]]
| predecessor         = [[Simon Cameron]]
| successor           = [[Andrew Gregg Curtin]]
| term_start2         = July 14, 1861
| term_end2           = June 25, 1862
| president2          = [[Abraham Lincoln]]
| predecessor2        = [[John Appleton]]
| successor2          = [[Simon Cameron]]
| office3             = Member of the <br>[[Kentucky House of Representatives]]
| term_start3         = 1835
| term_end3           = 1841
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1810|10|19}}
| birth_place         = [[Madison County, Kentucky|Madison County]], [[Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1903|07|22|1810|10|19}}
| death_place         = [[Madison County, Kentucky|Madison County]], [[Kentucky]], U.S.
| known_for           = Being a staunch abolitionist and U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Duels with slaveowners & slavery advocates—zero losses
| spouse              = [[Mary Jane Warfield Clay|Mary Jane Warfield]] (1833–1878, divorced)<br />Dora Richardson (1894–1897, divorced)
| children            = Elisha Warfield Clay<br />Green Clay<br />[[Mary Barr Clay]]<br />Sally Clay<br />[[Laura Clay]]<br />[[Brutus J. Clay II]]<br />Anne Clay<br />David Kevin Clay (adopted)
| alma_mater          = [[Transylvania University]]<br />[[Yale College]]
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] {{small|(1854–1870; 1884–1903)}}<br />[[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican]] {{small|(1870–1872)}}<br />[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] {{small|(1872–1884)}}
| occupation          = Lawyer, politician, [[newspaper publisher]], soldier, farmer
| branch              = 1st Kentucky Mounted Volunteers<br> Clay's Washington Guards
| serviceyears        = 1846–1847<br />1861–1863
| rank                = [[File:Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg|border|23px]] [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]]<br />[[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|border|23px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major general]]
| battles             = [[Mexican–American War]]
*[[Battle of Buena Vista]]
[[American Civil War]]
*[[Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War#Early stages of war|Defense of Washington]]
| signature           = Signature of Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810–1903).png
}}
[[Major general (United States)|Major General]] '''Cassius Marcellus Clay''' (October 19, 1810 – July 22, 1903) was an American planter, politician, military officer and abolitionist who served as the [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Russia|United States ambassador to Russia]] from 1863 to 1869. Born in [[Kentucky]] to a wealthy [[Planter class|planter family]], Clay entered politics during the 1830s and grew to support the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist cause in the U.S.]], drawing ire from fellow [[Southern United States|Southerners]]. A founding member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in Kentucky, he was appointed by President [[Abraham Lincoln]] as the U.S. minister to [[Russia]].  Clay is credited with influencing [[Russian Empire|Russian]] support for the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] during the [[American Civil War]].
==Early life, family, and education==
Cassius Marcellus Clay was born on October 19, 1810, in [[Madison County, Kentucky]], to Sally Lewis and [[Green Clay]], one of the wealthiest planters and [[History of slavery in Kentucky|slave owners in Kentucky]], who became a prominent politician. He was one of six children who survived to adulthood, of seven born.
Clay was a member of a large and influential [[Clay family|Clay political family]]. His older brother [[Brutus J. Clay]] became a politician at the state and federal levels. They were cousins of both Kentucky politician [[Henry Clay]] and Alabama governor [[Clement Comer Clay]]. Cassius's sister Elizabeth Lewis Clay (1798–1887) married [[John Speed Smith]], who also became a state and US politician.<ref name="eliza">[http://kentuckyonlinearts.wordpress.com/tag/john-speed-smith/ "KOAR's Russian Connection"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112223639/https://kentuckyonlinearts.wordpress.com/tag/john-speed-smith/ |date=November 12, 2018 }}, Kentucky Online Arts Resource Blog, 15 October 2012</ref> Their son, [[Green Clay Smith]], became a state politician and was elected to Congress.
The younger Clay attended [[Transylvania University]] and then graduated from [[Yale University|Yale College]] in 1832. While at Yale, he heard abolitionist [[William Lloyd Garrison]] speak, and his lecture inspired Clay to join the anti-slavery movement. Garrison's arguments were to him "as water is to a thirsty wayfarer."<ref>Brennan 20</ref> Clay was politically incrementalist, supporting gradual legal change rather than calling for immediate abolition the way Garrison and his supporters did. He thought this more likely to bring success.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
==Marriage and family==
In 1833, Clay married [[Mary Jane Warfield Clay|Mary Jane Warfield]], daughter of Mary Barr and Dr. [[Elisha Warfield]] of [[Lexington, Kentucky]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smiley |first1=David L. |title=Lion of White Hall: the life of Cassius M. Clay |url=https://archive.org/details/lionofwhitehalll0000smil |url-access=registration |date=1962 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |page=[https://archive.org/details/lionofwhitehalll0000smil/page/31 31]}}</ref> They had ten children, six of whom lived to adulthood:
*Elisha Warfield Clay (1835–1851)
*Green Clay (1837–1883)
*[[Mary Barr Clay]] (aka Mrs. J. Frank Herrick) (1839–1924)
*Sarah "Sallie" Lewis Clay Bennett (1841–1935)
*Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. (1843–1843)
*Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. (1845–1857)
*Brutus Junius Clay (1847–1932)
*[[Laura Clay]] (1849–1941)
*Flora Clay (1851–1851)
*Anne Clay Crenshaw (1859–1945)
Later, he adopted Henry Launey Clay, believed to be his son by an extra-marital relationship while in Russia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=H. Edward |title=Cassius Marcellus Clay: Firebrand of Freedom |date=1976 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington |page=145}}</ref>
In 1878 after 45 years of marriage, Clay divorced his wife, [[Mary Jane Warfield Clay|Mary Jane (Warfield) Clay]], claiming abandonment after she no longer would tolerate his marital infidelities.<ref>Cassius Marcellus Clay, ''The Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay: Memoirs, Writings, and Speeches, showing ...'', p. 542</ref> In 1894, the 84-year-old Clay married Dora Richardson, the orphaned sister of one of his [[sharecropping]] tenants. According to newspaper reports at the time, Dora was 15 to 16 years old. Her age varies in the few extant records; the 1900 US Census indicates that she was born in May 1882, suggesting that she may have been as young as 12 when she married Cassius M. Clay. Her age was a contentious issue, leading the minister who was initially to marry them to bow out. Clay's children also objected, and Clay reportedly mounted a cannon in his doorway to deter anyone who intended to interfere with the wedding. The cannon had been long mounted on a high crow's nest on the stately home's roof, and was used to deter mobs that would attack the Clay home for Clay's opposition to slavery (and later support of a fully integrated college in the area) in his political activities and newspaper. The home -- White Hall, near Lexington, Kentucky -- is a State Historic site.
==Early political career==
Cassius Clay was a member of the [[planter class]] who later 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 (United States)|Republican Party]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
Clay was elected to three terms in the [[Kentucky House of Representatives]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/clarken-claytee.html|title=The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Clarke-street to Claytee|first=Lawrence|last=Kestenbaum|access-date=2010-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224175645/http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/clarken-claytee.html|archive-date=2010-12-24|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 gunman. Jerking his [[Bowie knife]] out for retaliation, Clay happened to pull its silver-tipped scabbard up over his heart. Brown's bullet struck the scabbard and embedded in the silver. Despite having been shot in the chest, Clay tackled Brown. He cut off Brown's nose, took out one eye, and possibly cut off an ear before throwing Brown over an embankment.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lockwood|first1=John|title=The Siege of Washington |url=https://archive.org/details/siegeofwashingto0000lock|url-access=registration|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/siegeofwashingto0000lock/page/95 95]|isbn=978-0-19-975989-7 }}</ref><ref name="BorgenichtRegan2010">{{cite book|author1=David Borgenicht|author2=Turk Regan|title=The Worst-Case Scenario Almanac: Politics|series=[[The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTuoRnaZ0FMC&pg=PA94|access-date=20 July 2013|year=2010|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|isbn=978-0-8118-7359-8|pages=94–|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627143254/http://books.google.com/books?id=cTuoRnaZ0FMC&pg=PA94|archive-date=27 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
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.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
Clay served in the [[Mexican–American War]] as a [[captain (United States O-3)|captain]] with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry from 1846 to 1847. He had opposed the [[annexation of Texas]] and the expansion of slavery into the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]], but had volunteered because of [[Mexico]]'s attempt to seize Texas, which it claimed as its historic territory.⁰
In 1853, Clay granted 10 acres of his expansive lands to [[John G. Fee]], an abolitionist who founded the town of [[Berea, Kentucky|Berea]]. In 1855 Fee founded [[Berea College]], open to all races.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.berea.edu/about/history.asp |title=Berea.edu |access-date=2011-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610154102/http://www.berea.edu/about/history.asp |archive-date=2011-06-10 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Clay's connections to the northern antislavery movement remained strong. He was a founder of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in Kentucky and became a friend of [[Abraham Lincoln]], whom he supported for the [[president of the United States|presidency]] in 1860. Clay was briefly a candidate for the [[vice president of the United States|vice presidency]] at the [[1860 Republican National Convention]],{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} but lost the nomination to [[Hannibal Hamlin]].
==Civil War and Minister to Russia==
[[File:Cassius M. Clay Battalion Defending White House, April 1861. Washington, DC, 1961 - 1986 - NARA - 518141.tif|right|thumb|Clay's Battalion in front of the White House, April 1861]]
President Lincoln appointed Clay to the post of [[Diplomatic rank|Minister]] to the Russian court at [[St. Petersburg, Russia|St. Petersburg]] on March 28, 1861. The [[American Civil War|Civil War]] started before he departed and, as there were no federal troops in Washington at the time, Clay organized a group of 300 volunteers to protect the [[White House]] and U.S. Naval Yard from a possible [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] attack. These men became known as Cassius M. Clay's Washington Guards. President Lincoln gave Clay a presentation [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]] revolver in recognition. When federal troops arrived, Clay and his family embarked for Russia.<ref>Clay, ''Memoirs'', pp. 260–264</ref> As Minister to Russia, Clay witnessed the [[Emancipation reform of 1861|Tsar's emancipation edict]].
During the Civil War, Russia came to the aid of the Union, threatening war against Britain and France if they officially recognized the Confederacy. Cassius Clay, as minister to Russia during that time, was instrumental in securing Russia's aid.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=H. Edward |title=Cassius Marcellus Clay: Firebrand of Freedom |date=1976 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington |pages=89–92}}</ref> Emperor [[Alexander II of Russia]] gave [[sealed orders]] to the commanders of both his Atlantic and Pacific fleets, and sent them to the East and West coasts of the United States. They were instructed that the sealed orders were to be opened only if Britain and France entered the war on the side of the Confederacy.<ref>[http://tarpley.net/2013/09/27/tarpley-at-national-press-club-for-150th-anniversary-of-russian-fleets-of-1863/ Webster G. Tarpley: Speech for 150th Anniversary of Russian Fleets of 1863] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927131412/http://tarpley.net/2013/09/27/tarpley-at-national-press-club-for-150th-anniversary-of-russian-fleets-of-1863/ |date=September 27, 2013 }}, [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]], September 27, 2013</ref> When the Russian Atlantic fleet entered New York harbor, Secretary of the Navy [[Gideon Welles]] wrote in his diary:
<blockquote>In sending these ships to this country, there is something significant. What will be its effect on France, and French policy, we shall learn in due time. It may be moderate, it may exacerbate. God bless the Russians.</blockquote>
The action of Alexander II was confirmed in 1904 by [[Wharton Barker]] of Pennsylvania, who in 1878 was the financial agent in the United States of the Russian government.<ref>[http://tarpley.net/2013/09/23/american-banker-wharton-barkers-first-person-account-confirms-russian-tsar-alexander-ii-was-ready-for-war-with-britain-and-france-in-1862-1863-to-defend-lincoln-and-the-union-americans-will-und/ "American Banker Wharton Barker's First-Person Account Confirms: Russian Tsar Alexander II Was Ready for War with Britain and France in 1862–1863 to Defend Lincoln and the Union"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928055927/http://tarpley.net/2013/09/23/american-banker-wharton-barkers-first-person-account-confirms-russian-tsar-alexander-ii-was-ready-for-war-with-britain-and-france-in-1862-1863-to-defend-lincoln-and-the-union-americans-will-und/ |date=September 28, 2013 }}, (March 24, 1904), Webster G. Tarpley website</ref>
[[File:Офицеры фрегата Ослябя (Бостон, 1863 год).jpg|left|thumb|Russian frigate visits Boston, 1863]]
Recalled to the United States in 1862 to accept a commission from Lincoln as a [[Major general (United States)|major general]] with the Union Army, Clay publicly refused to accept it unless Lincoln would agree to emancipate slaves under Confederate control. Clay was nonetheless commissioned a Major General of the US Volunteers General Staff on April 11, 1862, and Lincoln sent him to Kentucky to assess the mood for emancipation there and in the other border states. Following Clay's return to Washington, D.C., Lincoln issued the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in late 1862, to take effect in January 1863.<ref>Clay, ''Memoirs'', pp. 305–312</ref>
Clay resigned his commission on March 11, 1863, and returned to Russia, where he served until 1869. {{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} For his service in the Civil War, Clay received a pension noting his service as a Major General of Volunteers, as well as his service in the Mexican–American War. He was influential in the negotiations for the [[Alaska Purchase|purchase]] of [[Alaska]].<ref>Frank A. Golder. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1836879?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents The Purchase of Alaska.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221080045/http://www.jstor.org/stable/1836879?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents |date=December 21, 2016 }} ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 25, No. 3 (April 1920), pp. 411–425.</ref>
{{clear}}
==Later years==
[[File:Grave of Cassius Marcellus Clay - October 2023 - Sarah Stierch 02.jpg|thumb|Clay's gravesite at Richmond Cemetery in Richmond, Kentucky.]]
Later, Clay founded the Cuban Charitable Aid Society to help the [[Cuban independence]] movement of [[José Martí]]. He also spoke in favor of [[nationalization|nationalizing]] the railroads and later against the power being accrued by industrialists. Clay left the Republican Party in 1869.<ref>Clay, ''Memoirs''</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2014}} He also disapproved of the [[Radical Republicans|Republican Radicals']] reconstruction policy after Lincoln's assassination.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
In 1872, Clay was one of the organizers of the [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|Liberal Republican]] revolt. He was instrumental in securing the nomination of [[Horace Greeley]] for the presidency. In the political campaigns of [[1876 United States presidential election|1876]] and [[1880 United States presidential election|1880]], Clay supported the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] candidates. He rejoined the Republican Party in the [[1884 United States presidential election|campaign of 1884]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} At the [[Kentucky Constitution#The 1891 Constitution|1890 Kentucky Constitutional Convention]], Clay was elected by the members as the Convention's president.<ref>{{cite book |title=Official Report of the Proceedings And Debates In the Convention Assembled At Frankfort, On the Eighth Day of September, 1890, to Adopt, Amend, Or Change the Constitution of the State of Kentucky |date=1891 |publisher=E. P. Johnson, printer to the Convention |location=Frankfort, Kentucky |page=25 |hdl=2027/njp.32101079239008?urlappend=%3Bseq=35 }}</ref>
Clay had a reputation as a rebel and a fighter.<ref name="Clay 1984">"Clay, Cassius Marcellus", by Frank L. Klement, in ''[[The World Book Encyclopedia]]'', Chicago: World Book Inc, 1984</ref> Due to threats on his life, he had become accustomed to carrying two pistols and a knife for protection. He installed a cannon to protect his home and office.<ref name="Clay 1984"/> Cassius Clay died at his home on July 22, 1903, of "general exhaustion." He was 92 years old. Survivors included his daughters, [[Laura Clay]] and [[Mary Barr Clay]], who were both [[women's rights]] activists.<ref>[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/560330162.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+23,+1903&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution+(1881-2001)&desc=DEATH+HAS+GRIPPED+GEN.+CASSIUS+CLAY&pqatl=google Newspaper article, Death Has Gripped Gen. Cassius Clay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104134039/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/560330162.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+23,+1903&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution+(1881-2001)&desc=DEATH+HAS+GRIPPED+GEN.+CASSIUS+CLAY&pqatl=google |date=November 4, 2012 }}, ''Atlanta Constitution'', July 23, 1903</ref>
==Legacy==
[[File:White Hall Mansion.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[White Hall State Historic Site|White Hall]]]]
His family home, [[White Hall State Historic Site|White Hall]], is maintained by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as White Hall State Historic Site.
In 1912, Herman Heaton Clay, a descendant of an African-American slave owned by Henry Clay,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eig |first1=Johnathan |title=Ali: A Life |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=Boston |pages=3}}</ref> named his son [[Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr.|Cassius Marcellus Clay]] in tribute to the abolitionist, who had died nine years earlier.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harnden |first1=Toby |title=Muhammad Ali Never Knew Grandfather Was Jailed for 25-Cent Murder |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/06/13/muhammad_ali_never_knew_grandfather_was_jailed_for_25-cent_murder_130861.html |website=Real Clear Politics |access-date=15 December 2019 |date=June 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="rohleder">{{cite news|author=Anna Rohleder|title=Muhammad Ali's Boxing Day Gloves|work=[[Forbes]]|url=https://www.forbes.com/2001/12/19/1219pow.html|access-date=2008-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004223645/http://www.forbes.com/2001/12/19/1219pow.html|archive-date=2008-10-04|url-status=live}}</ref> This Cassius Clay gave the same name to his son, [[Muhammad Ali|Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.]], who became an internationally renowned world heavyweight champion boxer. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 upon converting to [[Islam]] and joining the [[Nation of Islam]],<ref>[http://www.biographyonline.net/sport/muhammad_ali.html "Muhammad Ali"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117013504/http://www.biographyonline.net/sport/muhammad_ali.html |date=January 17, 2011 }}, Biography Online</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/muhammad-ali-key-chapters "From the Vietnam war to Islam – the key chapters in Ali’s life"], Kevin Mitchell, ''The Guardian'', June 4, 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190150/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/04/muhammad-ali-key-chapters |date=February 2, 2018 }}, accessed February 1, 2018</ref> as he considered his earlier name a "[[slave name]]", adding that "I didn't choose it and I don't want it." He further asserted in his autobiography that while Clay may have gotten rid of his slaves, he "held on to [[white supremacy]]." This led Ali to conclude: "Why should I keep my white slavemaster's name visible and my black ancestors invisible, unknown, unhonored?"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014mvdx |title=History website, Muhammad Ali: "Cassius Clay is my slave name" |publisher=BBC |access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>https://news.yale.edu/2016/06/09/muhammad-ali-originally-named-ardent-abolitionist-and-yale-alumnus-cassius-clay. Muhammad Ali originally named for ardent abolitionist and Yale alumnus Cassius Clay. http://news.yale.edu/. Susan Gonzalez. Date: june 9, 2016.</ref><ref>https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/25/specials/ali-heritage{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Heritage of a Heavyweight. http://nytimes.com/. John Egerton. Accessed: March 18, 2020.</ref>
==Writings==
* {{cite book |last=Clay|first=Cassius Marcellus|year=1886 |title=The Life, Memoirs. Writings, and Speeches of Cassius Marcellus Clay showing his Conduct in Overthrow of American Slavery, the Salvation of the Union and the Restoration of the Autonomy of the States |publisher=J. Fletcher Brennan & Co. |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeofcassiusmar00inclay#page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=4 June 2016 |via=Internet Archive}}
* ''The Writings of Cassius Marcellus Clay'' (edited with a memoir by [[Horace Greeley]]. New York, 1848)
==See also==
{{commons category}}
* [[Clay family]]
* [[Lucy Walker steamboat disaster|''Lucy Walker'' steamboat disaster]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
;Attribution
{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Clay, Cassius Marcellus|volume=6|page=470}}
==Further reading==
<!--put author name first and in alphabetical order-->
* {{cite book | last= Carlée| first = Roberta Baughman | title = The Last Gladiator: Cassius M. Clay | place=Berea, Ky. | publisher = Kentucke Imprints | year=1979 | isbn = 0935680004}}
* {{cite book |last=Ellison |first=Betty Boles |year=2005 | title=A Man Seen But Once: Cassius Marcellus Clay | place=Bloomington, Ind. | publisher= AuthorHouse | isbn= 1420890174}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=E. Polk |title=A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities |publisher= Lewis Publishing Company |year=1912 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_FXQUAAAAYAAJ |access-date=2008-11-10 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_FXQUAAAAYAAJ/page/n195 744]–745}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kiel |first1=Richard |last2=Wallace |first2=Pamela |author-link1=Richard Kiel |author-link2=Pamela Wallace |title="Kentucky Lion": The True Story of Cassius Clay |date=2007 |publisher=Morrison McNae Pub. |location=New York |isbn=978-0979494819}} (historical fiction)
* {{cite book|last=Kirchner|first=Paul|title=Bowie Knife Fights, Fighters, and Fighting Techniques |publisher=Paladin Press|place=[[Boulder, CO]]|isbn=978-1-58160-742-0|year=2010}}
* {{cite book | last = McQueen | first = Keven | title=Cassius M. Clay, "Freedom's Champion" : The Life-story of the Famed Kentucky Emancipationist | publisher= Turner Publishing Company | place= Paducah, Ky. | year= 2001 | isbn= 1563116677}}
* {{cite book | first=Florence Bangert | last=Pattock |title=Cassius M. Clay's Mission to Russia: 1861-1862; 1863-1869 |place=Lexington | publisher= Filson Club History Quarterly |year=1969 |url=https://filsonhistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/publicationpdfs/43-4-4_Cassius-M.-Clays-Mission-to-Russia-1861-1862-1863-1869_Pattock-Florence-Bangert.pdf}}
* {{cite book | first=H. Edward | last=Richardson |title=Cassius Marcellus Clay: Firebrand of Freedom |place=Lexington | publisher= University Press of Kentucky |year=1976 | isbn=0813114187}}
* {{cite book | first=David L. | last=Smiley | title=Lion of White Hall: the Life of Cassius M. Clay | url=https://archive.org/details/lionofwhitehalll0000smil | url-access=registration | place= Madison | publisher = University of Wisconsin Press | year= 1962 }}
* {{cite book | first=	William H. | last= Townsend | title=The Lion of Whitehall | url= https://archive.org/details/lionofwhitehall00town | url-access=registration | place= Dunwoody, Ga. | publisher= N.S. Berg | year= 1967}} (originally delivered as an address before the Chicago Civil War Round Table, October 17, 1952.)
==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Cassius Marcellus Clay |birth=1810 |death=1903}}
* [http://www.whitehallclermontfoundation.org/html/green_clay.html White Hall-Clermont Foundation], official website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110129022500/http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/histparks/wh/ White Hall – home of Cassius M. Clay], Kentucky Parks
* [https://archive.today/20130624231130/http://www.shapell.org/manuscript.aspx?humblest-abraham-lincoln-writes-to-rival-cassius-clay Original Letters: Abraham Lincoln to Cassius Marcellus Clay, 1860], Shapell Manuscript Foundation
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061201155721/http://www.ket.org/Trips/whitehall/clay_1.htm Cassius M. Clay biography], Kentucky Educational Television
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312015833/http://www.bartleby.com/65/cl/Clay-Cas.html "Cassius M. Clay"], ''[[Columbia Encyclopedia]]'' 6th Edition, online at Bartleby website
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box |
before= [[John Appleton]]  |
title= [[List of United States Ambassadors to Russia|United States Ambassador to Russia]] |
years= March 28, 1861 – June 25, 1862 |
after= [[Simon Cameron]]
}}
{{succession box |
before= Simon Cameron  |
title= United States Ambassador to Russia |
years= March 11, 1863 – October 1, 1869 |
after= [[Andrew Gregg Curtin]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Russia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Cassius Marcellus}}
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[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the Russian Empire]]
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