Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a United States Senator and Secretary of State. Famed for his ability as an orator, Webster was one of the most important figures in U.S. politics in the first half of the 19th century. Like Henry Clay, he had a predisposition to compromises marked by a passionate patriotic devotion to the Union.

As Secretary of State

President William Henry Harrison appointed Webster to the prestigious post of Secretary of State in 1841, a post he retained under President John Tyler after the untimely death of Harrison only a month after his inauguration. In September 1841, an internal division amongst the Whigs over the question of the National Bank caused all the Whigs, barring Webster, to resign from Tyler's cabinet.

Related Topics:
William Henry Harrison - Secretary of State - 1841 - John Tyler - September - Cabinet

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In 1842, he was the architect of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which resolved the Caroline Affair, established the definitive Eastern border between the United States and Canada (Maine and New Brunswick), and sealed the final peace between the United States and Britain. But despite this great success, he succumbed to Whig pressure in May 1842 and finally left the cabinet.

Related Topics:
1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty - Caroline Affair - Canada - Britain - May

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