Thirty years before Abraham Lincoln was elected President, a Congressman named Henry Clay was doing everything he could to address the American states' growing divisions. The story of Henry Clay is next in our podcast series on The Losers, the people who ran for President and lost.

JB Shreve and Ben Lagrone look at the life and times of Henry Clay and the fantastic potential for "what ifs" that exist in his multiple presidential runs. If Clay had become President, the Civil War might not have been avoided, but the Civil War outcome may undoubtedly have been different. The story of Henry Clay is the store of one of the most outstanding Congressmen to work in the US legislative branch. It is also the story of a conflicted, contradicting figure who owned slaves but supported abolition.

The podcast episode also touches on a few strange birds from American history from Aaron Burr to Andrew Jackson.

This is part three in our podcast series The Losers.

Find the other episodes from The Losers podcast series here.