It was but natural that Clay's ardent nature and his love of liberty
would incline him to aid the people of Central and South America in
their efforts to free themselves from Spanish oppression and misrule.
Effective here as in all things undertaken by him, his name must always
be linked with the cause of Southern American independence. Richard
Rush, writing from London to Clay in 1825, says: "The South-Americans
owe to you, more than to any other man of either hemisphere, their
independence." His speeches, translated into Spanish, were read to the
revolutionary armies, and "his name was a household name among the
patriots." Bolivar, writing to him from Bogota in 1827, says:--"All
America, Colombia, and myself, owe your Excellency our purest gratitude
for the incomparable services which you have rendered to us, by
sustaining our cause with sublime enthusiasm."
In one of his speeches on this subject Clay foreshadows a great American
Zollverein. The failure of the Spanish-American republics to attain the
high ideals hoped for by Clay caused him deep regret in after years.