Daniel Webster - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

shipping interests. Webster's increasingly nationalistic

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

views, and his effectiveness as a speaker, made him one of the most famous orators and influential Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

leaders of the Second Party System

Second Party System

The Second Party System is a term of periodization used by historians and political scientists to name the political party system existing in the United States from about 1828 to 1854...

. He was one of the nation's most prominent conservatives, leading opposition to Democrat Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

and the Democratic Party.

Unanswered Questions

What did he debate about during the cold war?

Daniel webster argued against nullification on the grounds that

What did he believe about California & Mexico as free states?

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Quotations

Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.

Speech at Plymouth, MA (December 22, 1820)

Labor in this country is independent and proud. It has not to ask the patronage of capital, but capital solicits the aid of labor.

Speech (April 2, 1824)

It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment — Independence now and Independence forever.

Discourse in Commemoration of Adams and Jefferson, Faneuil Hall, Boston (August 2, 1826)

He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet.

Speech on Hamilton (March 10, 1831)

God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.

Speech (June 3, 1834)

One country, one constitution, one destiny.

Speech (March 15, 1837)

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