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Excerpt from Henry Clay's Remarks in House and Senate, by Henry Clay

Standing securely upon our conscious rectitude, and bearing aloft the
shield of the Constitution of our country, your puny efforts are
impotent; and we defy all your power. Put the majority of 1834 in one
scale, and that by which this Expunging resolution is to be carried in
the other, and let truth and justice, in heaven above and on earth
below, and liberty and patriotism, decide the preponderance.

What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by the Expunging
resolution? Is it to appease the wrath and to heal the wounded pride
of the Chief Magistrate? If he be really the hero that his friends
represent him, he must despise all mean condescension, all grovelling
sycophancy, all self-degradation and self-abasement. He would reject,
with scorn and contempt, as unworthy of his fame, your black scratches
and your baby lines in the fair records of his country. Black lines!
Black lines! Sir, I hope the Secretary of the Senate will preserve the
pen with which he may inscribe them, and present it to that Senator of
the majority whom he may select, as a proud trophy, to be transmitted
to his descendants. And hereafter, when we shall lose the forms of our
free institutions, all that now remain to us, some future American
monarch, in gratitude to those by whose means he has been enabled, upon
the ruins of civil liberty, to erect a throne, and to commemorate
especially this Expunging resolution, may institute a new order of
knighthood, and confer on it the appropriate name of "the Knights of
the Black Lines."

But why should I detain the Senate, or needlessly waste my breath in
fruitless exertions? The decree has gone forth. It is one of urgency,
too. The deed is to be done--that foul deed which, like the blood,
staining the hands of the guilty Macbeth, all ocean's waters will
never wash out. Proceed, then, to the noble work which lies before
you, and, like other skilful executioners, do it quickly. And when
you have perpetrated it, go home to the people, and tell them what
glorious honors you have achieved for our common country. Tell them
that you have extinguished one of the brightest and purest lights that
ever burned at the altar of civil liberty. Tell them that you have
silenced one of the noblest batteries that ever thundered in defence of
the Constitution, and bravely spiked the cannon. Tell them that,
henceforward, no matter what daring or outrageous act any president may
perform, you have forever hermetically sealed the mouth of the Senate.
Tell them that he may fearlessly assume what powers he pleases, snatch
from its lawful custody the public purse, command a military detachment
to enter the halls of the Capitol, overawe Congress, trample down the
Constitution, and raze every bulwark of freedom; but that the Senate
must stand mute, in silent submission, and not dare to raise its
opposing voice. Tell them that it must wait until a House of
Representatives, humbled and subdued like itself, and a majority of it
composed of the partisans of the President, shall prefer articles of
impeachment. Tell them, finally, that you have restored the glorious
doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance. And, if the people
do not pour out their indignation and imprecations, I have yet to learn
the character of American freemen.

Explanation ​

Henry Clay’s fiery speech, delivered in the U.S. Senate in 1837, is a scathing condemnation of the "Expunging Resolution", a political maneuver by President Andrew Jackson’s allies to erase a Senate censure against him from the official record. The censure, passed in 1834, rebuked Jackson for removing federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States—an act Clay and his Whig Party opponents viewed as an unconstitutional abuse of power. Jackson’s Democratic supporters, now in control of the Senate, sought to retroactively erase the censure, symbolically (and literally) striking it from the Senate Journal with black ink.

Clay’s speech is a masterclass in rhetorical invective, blending patriotic indignation, sarcasm, historical allusion, and apocalyptic warning to frame the Expunging Resolution as an assault on democracy itself. Below is a detailed breakdown of the excerpt, focusing on its textual strategies, themes, and implications.

1. Context: The Political Battle Over the Expunging Resolution ​

  • The Censure of 1834: The Senate, then controlled by Jackson’s opponents (Whigs and anti-Jackson Democrats), formally censured him for overstepping his authority by defunding the national bank—a move they saw as economically reckless and constitutionally dubious.
  • Jackson’s Revenge: By 1837, Jackson’s allies had regained Senate control and pushed to expunge (erase) the censure from the record, both as a symbolic victory and to undermine future checks on presidential power.
  • Clay’s Role: As a leading Whig and Jackson’s arch-rival, Clay saw the expunging as a dangerous precedent—one that would enable unchecked executive power and silence congressional dissent.

2. Themes in the Excerpt ​

A. The Corruption of Power and the Death of Liberty ​

Clay frames the expunging as a moral and political crime, not just a procedural one. He invokes:

  • Tyranny vs. Republic: The act is portrayed as a step toward monarchy, with his sarcastic reference to a future "American monarch" instituting a "Knights of the Black Lines"—a mock-chivalric order for those who helped destroy democracy.
  • Silencing Dissent: The Senate’s complicity is cast as hermetically sealing its own mouth, rendering it powerless against presidential overreach. This echoes Whig fears of Jackson as a would-be dictator (they called him "King Andrew I").

B. Shame and Historical Infamy ​

Clay uses shame as a weapon, predicting that the expungers will be remembered as traitors to liberty:

  • "Black lines!": The literal black ink used to strike the censure becomes a symbol of moral stain, akin to Macbeth’s bloody hands ("all ocean’s waters will never wash out").
  • "Baby lines": A dismissive taunt—suggesting the expunging is a petty, childish act unworthy of serious statesmen.
  • "Proud trophy": The pen used to expunge becomes a relic of shame, to be passed down to descendants as evidence of their ancestors’ betrayal.

C. Patriotism vs. Sycophancy ​

Clay contrasts true patriotism (defending the Constitution) with groveling loyalty to Jackson:

  • "If he be really the hero his friends represent": A backhanded challenge—if Jackson is truly great, he wouldn’t need his allies to erase criticism like cowards.
  • "Grovelling sycophancy": The expungers are framed as toadies, degrading themselves to please a president who, in Clay’s view, is acting like a tyrant.

D. Apocalyptic Warnings ​

Clay escalates to catastrophic imagery, predicting the expunging will:

  • "Extinguish one of the brightest lights of civil liberty": The censure was a defense of constitutional limits; erasing it dims that light.
  • "Spike the cannon": A military metaphor—silencing the Senate’s ability to fire back against executive abuses.
  • "Trample down the Constitution": The expunging is the first step toward full-blown despotism, where Congress becomes a rubber stamp for presidential whims.

3. Literary and Rhetorical Devices ​

Clay’s speech is a tour de force of persuasive techniques, including:

A. Antithesis (Contrast for Emphasis) ​

  • "Standing securely upon our conscious rectitude" vs. "your puny efforts are impotent": Clay positions himself as morally unassailable, while his opponents are weak and corrupt.
  • "Truth and justice" vs. "black scratches and baby lines": The noble vs. the petty.

B. Anaphora (Repetition for Rhythm and Impact) ​

  • "Tell them that you have extinguished..." / "Tell them that you have silenced..." / "Tell them that, henceforward...": The relentless repetition hammers home the Senate’s betrayal, making it sound like a litany of crimes.
  • "Black lines! Black lines!": The echoing phrase makes the act sound sinister and indelible.

C. Allusion (Historical and Literary References) ​

  • Macbeth’s Bloodstained Hands: The expunging, like Duncan’s murder, is a stain that can never be washed clean—a permanent mark of guilt.
  • "Passive obedience and non-resistance": A reference to divine-right monarchy, where subjects must blindly obey the king. Clay accuses the Senate of restoring this anti-republican doctrine.

D. Sarcasm and Irony ​

  • "Noble work" / "glorious honors": The expunging is anything but noble; Clay’s mock praise exposes its shamefulness.
  • "Skilful executioners": The Senate is compared to hangmen, carrying out a political assassination of liberty.

E. Hyperbole (Exaggeration for Effect) ​

  • "All ocean’s waters will never wash out": The expunging is eternally damning, like original sin.
  • "Future American monarch": A deliberate overstatement to shock the Senate into seeing the slippery slope they’re on.

F. Apostrophe (Addressing an Absent Entity) ​

  • "Let truth and justice... decide the preponderance": Clay invokes abstract virtues as judges, implying the Senate has already failed in its duty.

4. Significance of the Speech ​

A. Defense of Congressional Power ​

Clay’s speech is a manifesto for legislative independence. He argues that erasing criticism sets a precedent where:

  • Presidents can act with impunity, knowing Congress will cover for them.
  • The Senate becomes a toothless body, unable to check executive overreach.

B. Whig Philosophy in Action ​

The Whig Party (Clay’s faction) believed in:

  • Strong Congress (not a strong presidency).
  • Economic nationalism (hence their support for the national bank).
  • Moral leadership (they saw Jackson as a demagogue). Clay’s speech embodies these principles, framing the expunging as both unconstitutional and un-American.

C. Prophetic Warnings About Executive Overreach ​

While Clay’s doomsday rhetoric was hyperbolic, his core fear—that erasing accountability would embolden future presidents—was prescient. The expunging did set a precedent for partisan rewriting of history, a tactic later used by other administrations.

D. Legacy of the Expunging Resolution ​

  • The censure was physically scratched out of the Senate Journal, but the controversy haunted Jackson’s legacy.
  • The Whigs used the issue to paint Jackson as a tyrant in the 1836 and 1840 elections.
  • The episode became a symbol of partisan warfare, showing how institutional norms could be weaponized.

5. Textual Deep Dive: Key Lines Explained ​

"Put the majority of 1834 in one scale, and that by which this Expunging resolution is to be carried in the other..." ​

  • Clay frames the debate as a moral weighing: the principled majority (1834) vs. the corrupt majority (1837).
  • He appeals to higher authorities ("truth and justice... in heaven above and on earth below"), suggesting the expungers are defying divine and natural law.

"Black lines! Black lines! Sir, I hope the Secretary of the Senate will preserve the pen..." ​

  • The repetition makes the act sound ominous and ritualistic.
  • The pen as a "trophy" is a dark joke—future generations will see it as a relic of treachery, like a traitor’s signature.

"Proceed, then, to the noble work which lies before you, and, like other skilful executioners, do it quickly." ​

  • "Noble work": Sarcasm—the expunging is anything but noble.
  • "Skilful executioners": The Senate is killing democracy, and Clay urges them to get it over with (like a merciful hanging).

"Tell them that you have extinguished one of the brightest and purest lights that ever burned at the altar of civil liberty." ​

  • The censure was a "light"—a beacon of resistance against tyranny.
  • "Altar of civil liberty": Sacred imagery—Clay frames the expunging as sacrilege.

"Tell them that you have restored the glorious doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance." ​

  • A direct attack on the Senate’s surrender to Jackson.
  • "Passive obedience": A term from monarchical absolutism, implying the Senate is abandoning republican principles.

6. Conclusion: Why This Speech Matters ​

Clay’s remarks are more than a partisan tirade; they are a defense of institutional integrity against short-term political expediency. His warnings about erasing accountability resonate today in debates over:

  • Presidential power (e.g., executive orders, defiance of Congress).
  • Historical revisionism (e.g., whitewashing records, "alternative facts").
  • Partisan weaponization of institutions (e.g., court-packing, impeachment as a tool of retaliation).

The speech’s rhetorical brilliance lies in its moral clarity—Clay doesn’t just argue policy; he frames the expunging as a betrayal of America’s soul. Whether one agrees with his politics, his mastery of language makes this one of the most scathing and memorable political speeches in U.S. history.

Final Thought: The Pen as a Symbol ​

Clay’s fixation on the pen used to expunge is telling. In his hands, it becomes:

  • A weapon (used to strike out truth).
  • A trophy (for future tyrants to admire).
  • A curse (passed down to descendants as a mark of shame).

It’s a reminder that words—and their erasure—have power. The expunging resolution may have physically removed the censure, but Clay’s speech ensured it would never be forgotten.