Henry Clay on the role of trust in a representative form of government

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”

– Henry Clay

Henry Clay (1777-1852) was Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, and a US senator during his long career in public service. Clay played a major role in both the Missouri Compromise (1820) and the Compromise of 1850.