Editing Daniel Webster (section)

{{short description|American lawyer and statesman (1782–1852)}}
{{other people}}
{{redirect|Senator Webster}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Daniel Webster - circa 1847.jpg
| caption             = Webster, {{circa|1851}}
| office              = 14th & 19th [[United States Secretary of State]]
| president           = [[Millard Fillmore]]
| term_start          = July 23, 1850
| term_end            = October 24, 1852
| predecessor         = [[John M. Clayton]]
| successor           = [[Edward Everett]]
| president1          = {{ubl|[[William Henry Harrison]]|[[John Tyler]]}}
| term_start1         = March 6, 1841
| term_end1           = May 8, 1843
| predecessor1        = [[John Forsyth (Georgia)|John Forsyth]]
| successor1          = [[Abel P. Upshur]]
| office2             = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]]
| term_start2         = December 2, 1833
| term_end2           = December 5, 1836<ref name=fincommem>{{cite web|url=https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/MembershipbyCongress.pdf|title=Membership of the Finance Committee (By Congress and Session)|publisher=United States Senate Committee on Finance|access-date=May 2, 2016}}</ref>
| predecessor2        = [[John Forsyth (Georgia)|John Forsyth]]
| successor2          = [[Silas Wright]]
| jr/sr3              = United States Senator
| state3              = [[Massachusetts]]
| term_start3         = March 4, 1845
| term_end3           = July 22, 1850
| predecessor3        = [[Rufus Choate]]
| successor3          = [[Robert Charles Winthrop]]
| term_start4         = June 8, 1827
| term_end4           = February 22, 1841
| predecessor4        = [[Elijah H. Mills]]
| successor4          = [[Rufus Choate]]
| office5             = Chair of the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]]
| term_start5         = 1823
| term_end5           = 1827
| predecessor5        = [[Hugh Nelson (congressman)|Hugh Nelson]]
| successor5          = [[Philip P. Barbour]]
| office6             = Member of the {{nowrap|[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]}}
| constituency6       = {{ushr|MA|1|A}}
| term_start6         = March 4, 1823
| term_end6           = May 30, 1827
| predecessor6        = [[Benjamin Gorham]]
| successor6          = [[Benjamin Gorham]]
| constituency7       = {{ushr|NH|AL|A}}
| term_start7         = March 4, 1813
| term_end7           = March 3, 1817
| predecessor7        = [[George Sullivan (New Hampshire politician)|George Sullivan]]
| successor7          = [[Arthur Livermore]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1782|1|18}}
| birth_place         = [[Salisbury, New Hampshire]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1852|10|24|1782|01|18}}
| death_place         = [[Marshfield, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| party               = [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]
| spouse              = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|[[Grace Fletcher Webster|Grace Fletcher]]|May 24, 1808|January 21, 1828|end=died}}|{{marriage|[[Caroline LeRoy|Caroline LeRoy Webster]]|December 1829}}}}
| children            = 5, including [[Fletcher Webster|Fletcher]]
| module              = [[File:Coat of Arms of Daniel Webster.svg|100px|alt=Webster's heraldic achievement. For a full description including blazon, see the image description page.]]<br />[[Coat of arms]]
| education           = {{unbulleted list|[[Dartmouth College]]}}
| signature           = Daniel Webster Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| otherparty          = {{plainlist|
* [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] (before 1825)
* [[National Republican Party|National Republican]] (1825–1833)
}}
| parents             = [[Ebenezer Webster]]
}}

'''Daniel Webster''' (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented [[New Hampshire]] and [[Massachusetts]] in the [[U.S. Congress]] and served as the 14th and 19th [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. secretary of state]] under presidents [[William Henry Harrison]], [[John Tyler]], and [[Millard Fillmore]]. Webster was one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over 200 cases before the [[United States Supreme Court]] in his career. During his life, Webster had been a member of the [[Federalist Party]], the [[National Republican Party]], and the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]]. He was among the three members of the [[Great Triumvirate]] along with [[Henry Clay]] and [[John C. Calhoun]].

Born in [[Salisbury, New Hampshire]], in 1782, Webster established a successful legal practice in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], after graduating from [[Dartmouth College]] and serving a legal apprenticeship. A prominent opponent of the [[War of 1812]], he won election to the [[United States House of Representatives]], where he served as a leader of the Federalist Party. Webster left office after two terms and moved to [[Boston]], Massachusetts. He became a leading attorney before the U.S. Supreme Court, winning cases such as ''[[Dartmouth College v. Woodward]]'', ''[[McCulloch v. Maryland]]'', and ''[[Gibbons v. Ogden]]''.

Webster returned to Congress in 1823 and became a key supporter of President [[John Quincy Adams]]. He won election to the [[United States Senate]] in 1827 and worked with [[Henry Clay]] to build the National Republican Party in support of Adams. After [[Andrew Jackson]] defeated Adams in the [[1828 U.S. presidential election]], Webster became a leading opponent of Jackson's domestic policies. He strongly objected to the theory of [[Nullification (U.S. Constitution)|nullification]] espoused by [[John C. Calhoun]]. His 1830 ''[[Second Reply to Hayne]]'' speech is widely regarded as one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in Congress.

Webster supported Jackson's defiant response to the [[Nullification Crisis]] but broke with the president due to disagreements over the [[Second Bank of the United States]]. Webster joined with other Jackson opponents in forming the Whig Party, and unsuccessfully ran in the [[1836 U.S. presidential election]]. He supported Harrison in the [[1840 U.S. presidential election]] and was appointed secretary of state after Harrison took office. Unlike the other members of Harrison's Cabinet, he continued to serve under President Tyler after Tyler broke with congressional Whigs. As secretary of state, Webster negotiated the [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]], which settled border disputes with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]]. In 1837, Webster was elected as a member to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1837&year-max=1837&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|title=APS Member History|publisher=American Philosophical Society|access-date=August 24, 2022}}</ref>

Webster returned to the Senate in 1845 and resumed his status as a leading congressional Whig. During the [[Mexican–American War]], he emerged as a leader of the "Cotton Whigs", a faction of Northern Whigs that emphasized good relations with the South over anti-[[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] policies. In 1850, President Fillmore appointed Webster as secretary of state, and Webster contributed to the passage of the [[Compromise of 1850]], which settled several territorial issues and enacted a new [[fugitive slave law]]. The Compromise proved unpopular in much of the North and undermined Webster's standing in his home state. Webster sought the Whig presidential nomination in the [[1852 U.S. presidential election]], but a split between supporters of Fillmore and Webster led to the nomination of Major General [[Winfield Scott]]. Webster is widely regarded as an important and talented attorney, orator, and politician, but historians and observers have offered mixed opinions on his moral qualities and ability as a national leader.