Famous Americans of Recent Times

Famous Americans of Recent Times is by James Parton and carries the year 1867. The contents list names, among others, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and John Randolph. A note says the papers in the volume were originally published in the North American Review, with four exceptions.

A passage on Mr. Clay says his public life proper began in November, 1811, when he appeared in Washington as a member of the House of Representatives and was immediately elected Speaker by the war party. The text says it is agreed that to Henry Clay, Speaker of the House of Representatives, more than to any other individual, “we owe the war of 1812.” A passage about Girard says Girard, in the ancient and honorable acceptation of the term, was a merchant, “a man who sent his own ships to foreign countries.” A young man asks his friend how it was possible to begin such a business without capital, and the stranger tells him that no great capital was required for a beginning.