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.

Early political career

From this point on his reputation as a lawyer grew quickly and he also became a Federalist party leader. In 1812 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on the strength of his opposition to the War of 1812. He served two terms in the House before leaving Congress in 1816 and moving to Boston.

Related Topics:
Federalist party - 1812 - U.S. House of Representatives - War of 1812 - 1816 - Boston

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In 1816, Webster was asked to help in a legal matter representing Dartmouth College. In the wake of the Jeffersonian Republicans' success in the New Hampshire elections (they gained the governorship and a majority in the state legislature) the state decided to declare Dartmouth a public institution. They altered the constitution and size of the College's trustee body and then added a further board of overseers, which they put into the hands of the state senate. In essence they seized control of a private body without consultation or any offer of compensation. Webster assisted his friend Jeremiah Smith in fighting the action all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he personally argued the case. The peroration of his speech http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dwebster/speeches/dartmouth-peroration.html was both emotional and well-reasoned. Due in large part to Webster's efforts, the court decided five to one in Dartmouth's favor.

Related Topics:
1816 - Dartmouth College - Jeffersonian - Republicans' - New Hampshire - Governor - State legislature - Supreme Court of the United States

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In 1822, Webster was returned to U.S. Congress from Boston, and in 1827 he was elected to the Senate from the state of Massachusetts. Shortly after that, in 1828, his first wife, Grace, died. He later married Caroline LeRoy.

Related Topics:
1822 - U.S. Congress - 1827 - Senate - Massachusetts - 1828

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Throughout his life Webster championed American nationalism and after the demise of the Federalist party he joined the National Republican party. Here he chose to ally himself with Henry Clay, endorsing federal aid for projects to build roads in the West (see Internal improvements). In 1828, in response to the changing economic landscape in Massachusetts (there was a shift towards the manufacturing sector), he backed the high-tariff bill. This angered Southern leaders and brought Webster into dispute with South Carolina's Robert Young Hayne, who argued that his state had the right to overturn this particular piece of legislation. Webster, however, was successful in defending his stance in a Senate debate of 1830, culminating in his second reply to Hayne http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dwebster/speeches/hayne-speech.html in which he uttered the famous phrase, "liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable". It is possibly one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in the U.S. Senate.

Related Topics:
Nationalism - National Republican party - Henry Clay - Internal improvements - 1828 - South Carolina - Robert Young Hayne - 1830

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In 1833 he joined forces with President Andrew Jackson to defeat South Carolina's continued attempts at nullifying the tariff. At the same time Webster and his fellow Whigs battled Jackson over other matters, most notably what they saw as Jackson's attack on the National Bank. In 1836 Webster was one of three Whig party candidates to run for the office of President, but he only managed to gain the support of Massachusetts. This was the first of several unsuccessful attempts at gaining the presidency.

Related Topics:
Andrew Jackson - Nullifying - Whigs - President

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