Clay v. Lincoln

I'm doing a research paper for my independent study honors English class on two of my favorite figures in history: Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln.
Basically my thesis is going to be that Henry Clay deferred secession while Abraham Lincoln and his election acted as a catalyst. From my research, it doesn't seem that comparing Clay and Lincoln's similarities and exploring their different roles are done very often; I haven't been able to find anything really written on the subject.
Well, what do you think? Any words of wisdom, fun facts?

I'm really excited about this paper!