Henry Clay, speech before the U.S. Senate (1850); reported in The American Whig Review (1850), volume 11, page 229
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The Constitution was not made merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity — unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.

— Henry Clay on United States Constitution

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The Constitution was not made merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity — unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity." in the context of "Henry Clay, speech before the U.S. Senate (1850); reported in The American Whig Review (1850), volume 11, page 229" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "United States Constitution" (Quotes about the United States Constitution, Others) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Henry Clay

About Henry Clay

Henry Clay (12 April 1777 – 29 June 1852) was a leading American statesman and orator who served in both the House of Representatives and Senate. Known as "The Great Compromiser" and "The Great Pacifier" for his ability to bring others to agreement, he was the founder and leader of the Whig Party and a leading advocate of programs for modernizing the economy, especially tariffs to protect industry, a national bank and internal improvements to promote canals, ports and railroads.