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[[image: webster.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

[[image: webster.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

'''Daniel Webster''' (1782-1852) was an American statesman and conservative leader of the [[Whig Party]] in opposition to the liberalism of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. The greatest orator of his day, Webster was one of the most influential [[United States Senators]] in history.  He also served as [[Secretary of State]] for Presidents [[William Henry Harrison]], [[John Tyler]] and [[Millard Fillmore]], and his statue stands in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall.  

'''Daniel Webster''' (1782-1852) was an American statesman and conservative leader of the [[Whig Party]] in opposition to the liberalism of [[Jacksonian Democracy]] during the [[Second Party System]]. The greatest orator of his day, Webster was of the most influential [[United States Senators]] in history.  He also served as [[Secretary of State]] for Presidents [[William Henry Harrison]], [[John Tyler]] and [[Millard Fillmore]], and his statue stands in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall.  

A leading Boston attorney, Webster was an opponent of the [[slavery|slave trade]] and of [[secession]]. In response to [[South Carolina]]'s threats of nullification, he declared, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" Webster also negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty to fix the country's northeast boundary.

A leading Boston attorney, Webster was an opponent of the [[slavery|slave trade]] and of [[secession]]. He declared in response to [[South Carolina]]'s threats of nullification, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" Webster also negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty to fix the country's northeast boundary.

Webster was famous for his oratory, his legal and diplomatic skills, and his efforts to avoid the Civil War in the name of American nationalism. In an era that appreciated long complex speeches, Webster was acclaimed the greatest of all orators. He was one of the nation's most prominent conservatives, as an opponent of [[Andrew Jackson]] and the [[Democratic party]], a spokesman for modernization and the industrial interests of New England, and a leader of the [[Whig Party]]. Webster spent 40 years in national politics; he served in the House of Representatives for ten years (representing New Hampshire), the Senate for nineteen years (representing Massachusetts), and served as Secretary of State for three presidents. He aspired to the White House but was an elitist, not a "man of the people," and the people knew it.  

Webster was famous for his oratory, his legal and diplomatic skills, and his efforts to avoid the Civil War in the name of American nationalism. In an era that appreciated long complex speeches, Webster was acclaimed the greatest of all orators. He was one of the nation's most prominent conservatives, as an opponent of [[Andrew Jackson]] and the [[Democratic party]], a spokesman for modernization and the industrial interests of New England, and a leader of the [[Whig Party]]. During his forty years in national politics Webster served in the House of Representatives for ten years (representing New Hampshire), the Senate for nineteen years (representing Massachusetts), and served as Secretary of State for three presidents. He aspired to the White House but was an elitist, not a "man of the people," and the people knew it.  

==Early Career==

==Early Career==

He was born on January 18, 1782, in Salisbury, New Hampshire, the ninth of the ten children of Ebenezer Webster, a prominent local politician. Webster attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. After teaching school briefly in Maine, he studied law with the noted politician Christopher Gore in Boston, where he was admitted to the bar in 1805.  Webster practiced law in Boscawen, N.H., and then (1807-1816) in Portsmouth, N.H. He became a spokesman for the merchants and shipowners who objected to the embargo and other commercial restrictions imposed by the federal government under presidents [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]]. They opposed the [[Embargo of 1807]] and the [[Nonintercourse Acts]]. At this time an advocate of states rights, Webster suggested that New Hampshire might "interpose" to protect its citizens from unconstitutional measures of the federal government. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire as a [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] in 1812 and again in 1814. In the House of Representatives he criticized the war with England and opposed conscription and other measures for carrying it on, but he did not support the [[Hartford Convention]] of 1814 as did some of the more extreme Federalists.

He was born on January 18, 1782, in Salisbury, New Hampshire, the ninth of the ten children of Ebenezer Webster, a prominent local politician. Webster attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. After teaching school briefly in Maine, he studied law with the noted politician Christopher Gore in Boston, where he was admitted to the bar in 1805.  Webster practiced law in Boscawen, N.H., and then (1807-1816) in Portsmouth, N.H. He became a spokesman for merchants and shipowners who objected to the embargo and other commercial restrictions imposed by the federal government under presidents [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]]. They opposed the [[Embargo of 1807]] and the [[Nonintercourse Acts]]. At this time an advocate of states rights, Webster suggested that New Hampshire might "interpose" to protect its citizens from unconstitutional measures of the federal government. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire as a [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] in 1812 and again in 1814. In the House of Representatives he criticized the war with England and opposed conscription and other measures for carrying it on, but he did not support the [[Hartford Convention]] of 1814 as did more extreme Federalists.

==Senator==

==Senator==

Webster indulged his extravagant tastes (he spent enormous sums on wine, boats, and improvements to his Marshfield estate). A poor money manager, he relied on wealthy friends for indefinite "loans" to sustain his spendthrift lifestyle, a phenomenon that led his enemies to call him "Black Dan." Historians have not found any positions that he adjusted to curry favor with his rich friends, who saw it their duty to see what they considered the greatest man of the era be able to stay in office--they called him "Godlike Dan."  "Black Dan" had several mistresses, and drank excessively, but did not dramatically differ from other Senators in these regards.  

Webster indulged his extravagant tastes (he spent enormous sums on wine, boats, and improvements to his Marshfield estate). A poor money manager, he relied on wealthy friends for indefinite "loans" to sustain his spendthrift lifestyle, a phenomenon that led his enemies to call him "Black Dan." Historians have not found any positions that he adjusted to curry favor with his rich friends, who saw it their duty to see what they considered the greatest man of the era be able to stay in office--they called him "Godlike Dan."  "Black Dan" had several mistresses, and drank excessively, but did not dramatically differ from other Senators in these regards.  

==Rhetoric==

==Rhetoric==

Webster's "Reply to Hayne" in 1830 was generally regarded as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress," and was a stock exercise for oratory students for 75 years.<ref> Allan Nevins, ''Ordeal of the Union" (1947) 1:288</ref>

Webster's "Reply to Hayne" in 1830 was generally regarded as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress," and was a stock exercise for oratory students for 75 years.<ref> Allan Nevins, ''Ordeal of the Union'' (1947) 1:288</ref>

In a speech to the New York Historical Society shortly before he died, Webster stated:  

In a speech to the New York Historical Society shortly before he died, Webster stated:  

* McIntyre, J.W., ed. ''The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster''. 18 vols. 1903.  

* McIntyre, J.W., ed. ''The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster''. 18 vols. 1903.  

==See also==

==See also==

[[Category: Attorneys]]

[[Category: Attorneys]]

[[Category: Conservatives]]

[[Category: Conservatives]]