Kentucky v. Tennessee

I'm doing some research on Henry Clay for the next Heath Post entry regarding the Bunning Seat. This is great stuff. Clay and Jackson really, really hated each other at a level that is rare among successful American politicians. Plus, they were two of the greatest American politicians who ever lived, and it is fascinating to see them go head-to-head. It's like watching the old battles between MJ and Charles Barkley -- if those two guys had really despised one another. I just learned that Clay, in his letters to his supporters, sarcastically referred to Jackson simply as "the Hero." I really like that.

I just read about how in the fall of 1829 Clay went down to Russellville (which is, of course, right on the Tennessee border) to denounce the Hero, and he apparently received a very enthusiastic reception. I'm still waiting to see if he goes to Paducah.

By the way, here's how you got from Lexington, Kentucky to DC in the 1830s. You went up what is presumably now U.S. 68 to Maysville, on the Ohio River. Then you took a steamboat up the river to Wheeling, Virginia (now Wheeling, West Virginia). And then you took the National Road by stagecoach down to Cumberland, Maryland, from which you could continue on to Washington. (I love knowing stuff like this.)