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| Affiliation | Whig |
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| Name | Daniel Webster |
| Address |
Marshfield, Massachusetts , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
January 18, 1782
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| Died | October 24, 1852
(70 years)
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| Contributor | 411 Name Removed |
| Last Modifed | Chronicler
Jan 18, 2025 07:25am |
| Tags |
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| Info | Daniel Webster, b. Salisbury, N.H., Jan. 18, 1782, d. Oct. 24, 1852, statesman, lawyer, and orator, was his era's foremost advocate of American nationalism. A farmer's son, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. After a legal apprenticeship, Webster opened a legal practice in Portsmouth, N.H., in 1807.
US House (F-NH) 1813-11817
Relocated to Boston
In his legal career, Webster won major constitutional cases before the Supreme Court (most notably, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE V. WOODWARD, GIBBONS V. OGDEN, and MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND), establishing himself as the nation's leading lawyer and an outstanding orator. In several cases, sections of Webster's argument were incorporated directly into the final decision.
US House (F,NR-MA) 1823-1827
US Senate (NR, W-MA) 1827-1841. In 1828, the dominant economic interests of Massachusetts having shifted from shipping to manufacturing, Webster backed the high-tariff bill of that year. Angry Southern leaders condemned the tariff, and South Carolina's John C. CALHOUN argued that his state had the right to nullify the law. Replying to South Carolina's Robert HAYNE in a Senate debate in 1830, Webster triumphantly defended the Union. His words "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" won wide acclaim.
Webster and President Andrew Jackson joined forces in 1833 to suppress South Carolina's attempt to nullify the tariff. But Webster and other opponents of Jackson--now known as Whigs --battled him on other issues, including his attack on the National Bank. Webster ran for the presidency in 1836 as one of three Whig party candidates but carried only Massachusetts. For the remainder of his career he aspired vainly to the presidency.
Secretary of State 1841-1843. In 1841, President William Henry Harrison named Webster secretary of state. The death of Harrison (April 1841) brought John Tyler to the presidency, and in September 1841 all the Whigs but Webster resigned from the cabinet. Webster remained to settle a dispute with Great Britain involving the Maine-Canada boundary and successfully concluded the WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY (1842). Whig pressure finally induced Webster to leave the cabinet in May 1843.
US Senate (W-MA) 1845-1850. The annexation of Texas in 1845 and the resulting war with Mexico, both opposed by Webster, forced the country to face the issue of the expansion of slavery. Webster opposed such expansion but feared even more a dissolution of the Union over the dispute. In a powerful speech before the Senate on Mar. 7, 1850, he supported the COMPROMISE OF 1850, denouncing Southern threats of secession but urging Northern support for a stronger law for the recovery of fugitive slaves.
US Secretary of State 1850-1852. He supervised the strict enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. Webster's stand alienated antislavery forces and divided the Whig party, but it helped to preserve the Union. The Union Party nominated Webster for president in 1852, but he died just before the election.
First Appeared on a United States Postage Stamp in 1870.
Vote totals for elections in which was nominated for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1900-1965): 1900-96.
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