Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster
Daguerreotype of Senator Webster circa 1847
14th United States Secretary of State
In office
March 6, 1841 – May 8, 1843
PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Preceded byJohn Forsyth
Succeeded byAbel P. Upshur
19th United States Secretary of State
In office
July 23, 1850 – October 24, 1852
PresidentMillard Fillmore
Preceded byJohn M. Clayton
Succeeded byEdward Everett
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office
June 8, 1827 – February 22, 1841
Preceded byElijah H. Mills
Succeeded byRufus Choate
In office
March 4, 1845 – July 22, 1850
Preceded byRufus Choate
Succeeded byRobert C. Winthrop
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1823 – May 30, 1827
Preceded byBenjamin Gorham
Succeeded byBenjamin Gorham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Hampshire's At-large district
In office
March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1817
Preceded byGeorge Sullivan
Succeeded byArthur Livermore
Personal details
Born(1782-01-18)January 18, 1782
Salisbury, New Hampshire
DiedOctober 24, 1852(1852-10-24) (aged 70)
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Political partyFederalist
National Republican
Whig
Spouse(s)Grace Fletcher Webster
Caroline LeRoy Webster
Alma materDartmouth College
ProfessionPolitician, Lawyer
Signature

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an important American statesman. He first became famous because of his defense of New England shipping interests. In his life, he became more and more nationalistic, and convinced many people to become nationalists too. This made Webster one of the most famous orators and powerful Whig leaders of the Second Party System. Webster did not like slavery, but he thought it was more important for the Union (the United States) to stay together than anything else.

Webster became the northern member of a group known as the "Great Triumvirate". They included his colleagues Henry Clay from the west and John C. Calhoun from the south. His "Reply to Hayne" in 1830 was generally seen as "the most eloquent (powerful, fluent, well-spoken) speech ever delivered in Congress."[1] Webster tried to keep the nation from civil war, and make them have a firm peace. His efforts did not succeed, but he was still respected for them. He was officially named by the U.S. Senate in 1957 as one of its five best members.[2]

  1. Allan Nevins, Ordeal of the Union" (1947) 1:288
  2. "U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > People > Senators > The "Famous Five" Now the "Famous Nine"". senate.gov. Retrieved 28 May 2010.

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