In volume 5 of The Papers of Henry Clay, the second of the series to cover Clay's role as Secretary of State, problems arising from domestic political pressures become significant in the conduct of national affairs both at home and abroad.

With the president absent from Washington one-third of the year, Clay's burden and his personal role in the conduct of office are evident. His health becomes precarious, he neglects to take action to forestall embarrassing ministerial faux pas in several areas, and he misjudges the gravity of British alienation—all of these handicaps to the future course of his administration here become manifest.