so kennedy's committee quickly decided on the top three, webster, clay, calhoun. they had a longer debate on the next two, and even back at that point kennedy would prefer a gentleman by the fame of george norris -- by the name of george norris, but there were some hint that is the nebraska senators might filibuster, so he had to back off. even back then there were some subtle hints of filibusters in the senate. >> what would you say was one of president ken pity's most substantive pieces of legislation in the senate. >> well, he was very activity on labor issues, and that was the one domestic issue that he really, really dug into. it was a huge issue back at the time. it was the one maybe domestic issue he mastered, and even his contemporaries said he understood the nuances of labor law better than anyone. it just seems he got caught in a complex kind of political battle, and the final bill didn't really resemble what he wanted. so i would say labor law but also on foreign policy. i mean, he gave, i think, some really marvelous speeches on indochina, the french i

but the big ones were john calhoun, daniel webster, henry clay.the great triumvirate of the pre-civil war era. so kennedy's committee quickly decided on the top three, webster, clay, calhoun. they had a longer debate on the next two, and even back at that point kennedy would prefer a gentleman by the name of george -- [inaudible] to be the leading progressive, but there was some hint that the nebraska senators might filibuster, so kennedy had to back off. so even back then there were some subtle hints of filibusters and delays in the senate. >> what would you say was one of president kennedy's most substantive pieces of legislation in the senate? >> well, i would say two things. first of all, he was very active on labor issues. he was the chairman of a labor subcommittee, and that was the one domestic issue that he really, really dug into. it was a huge issue back at the time. he mastered it. it was the one maybe domestic issue he mastered, and even his contemporaries said that he understood the nuances of labor law better than anyone. interesting

clay hated jackson. and calhoun. >> i looked into that. it was a powerful statement. i hadn't realized the hatred, one example, of john quincy adams and daniel webster. adams called daniel webster the man with the rotten heart. it was daniel webster who blocked john quincy adams' one major aspiration, to be a united states senator. daniel webster did not want his other deligate from massachusetts to be john quincy adams, a former president whom he couldn't manipulate. he wanted somebody less threatening and got somebody less threatening. for the rest of his life, john quincy adams resented webster for that particular action. they hated each other. they also loved each other. it was daniel webster who wrote who wrote the inscription that is on john quincy adams about the accomplishments. >> hated and loved each other? >> it was a love and hate relationship. >> another one. clay could be savage. there was a fistfight on the senate floor. who was benton? >> thomas hart benton a democrat , from missouri. henry clay was a whig. they were opposing parties. benton was a larg

so kennedy's committee quickly decided on the top three webster, clay calhoun. they had a longer debate on the next two and even back at that point, kennedy would prefer george forest to be the leader but there were senators that might filibuster that choice, so kennedy had to back off and go with robert. so even back then there were some hints of filibuster in the senate. >> why would you say was one of president kennedy's most substantive pieces of legislation in the senate? >> well i would say two things. first of all he was active in the leader issues. he was the chairman of the labor subcommittee, and about was the one domestic issue that he really dug into. it was a huge issue back at the time. he mastered it. was maybe the one domestic issue he mastered. and it's contemporary that he understood the nuances of the labor law more than anyone. interestingly, he got caught in a political battle and the final bill didn't really resemble what he wanted. so that was a labor law and also in the florida policy he gave some really marvelous speeches on indochina, t

when sir john calhoun, danny webster, henry clay, the pre-civil war era. kennedy's committee quickly decided on the top three. they had a longer debate on the next two. even back at that point, kennedy would prefer a gentleman by the name of churchgoers to be abating progressive. they resent him for nebraska's senators may filibuster that joy. the kennedy hatch back off. there were some subtle hints of filibusters in the senate. >> what would you say was one of president kennedy's most substantive pieces of legislation in the senate? >> first of all, he was asked about labor issues. he was chairman of the labor subcommittee and i was the one domestic issue that he really dug into. is a huge issue in that time. he mastered it. it was the one domestic issue he mastered. he understood the nuances of labor a lot better than anyone. interestingly, he caught in a complex political battle and the final bill didn't really resemble what he wanted. so i was a vapor lock, but also foreign policy. he gave some really marvelous beaches on the french involvement in chin