Editing Daniel Webster (section)

==Rise to prominence==
{{see also|Origins of the War of 1812}}
[[File:FRONT ELEVATION - Daniel Webster House, Hancock Street, Portsmouth, Rockingham County, NH HABS NH,8-PORT,136-1.tif|thumb|left|Daniel Webster's home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  The home has since been restored and is now part of the [[Strawbery Banke]] museum complex.]]
Immediately after winning admission to the bar, Webster set up a legal practice in [[Boscawen, New Hampshire]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=78–79}} He became increasingly involved in politics and began to speak locally in support of Federalist causes and candidates.<ref>Cheek, H. Lee Jr. "Webster, Daniel." In Schultz, David, ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Law,''New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Facts On File, Inc. American History Online</ref> After his father's death in 1806, he handed over his practice to his brother, Ezekiel, and opened a new practice in the larger town of [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=83–84}} Over the decade-long period he lived in Portsmouth, he handled over 1700 cases, becoming one of the most prominent attorneys in New Hampshire.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=89–90}} Along with two other lawyers, he was appointed to revise the New Hampshire criminal code and devise regulations for state prisons.{{sfn|Remini|1997|p=97}}

[[File:Daniel Webster as a Young Man Alt Oval.png|thumb|right|The earliest known likeness of Webster, as a young man in the early Portsmouth era<ref>{{cite web |title=Daniel Webster Image Gallery |url=https://1215.org/lawnotes/devil/gallery/index.html |website=1215.org |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Daniel Webster Lost in Portsmouth |url=https://www.seacoastnh.com/history/as-i-please/daniel-webster-lost-in-portsmouth/ |website=seacoastnh.com |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref>]]

During this time the ongoing [[Napoleonic Wars]] began to more strongly affect Americans, as Britain impeded U.S. trade with France and [[Impressment|impressed]] sailors on American ships who they alleged had deserted from the [[Royal Navy]]. President [[Thomas Jefferson]] retaliated with the [[Embargo Act of 1807]], cutting off all American trade with Britain and France. As New England relied on commerce with the two nations, the region strongly suffered from the embargo, and Webster wrote an anonymous pamphlet attacking Jefferson's policies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Norton|title=A People & A Nation| year=2005| page=228}}</ref> He also campaigned for various Federalist candidates, including presidential candidate [[Charles Cotesworth Pinckney]] and gubernatorial candidate [[Jeremiah Smith (lawyer)|Jeremiah Smith]]. Although Jefferson's [[Democratic-Republican Party]] dominated national elections, the Federalist Party was competitive throughout the states of New England.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=95–96}} In 1812, the United States declared war on Britain, beginning the [[War of 1812]]. On July 4, 1812, Webster was invited to give a speech before the [[Washington Benevolent Societies|Washington Benevolent Society]]. His speech, which strongly attacked the war but warned against [[Secession in the United States|secession]], was reprinted in newspapers throughout New England.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=96–99}}

After the speech, he was selected as a delegate to the [[Rockingham Convention]], a local assembly that issued a report critical of Jefferson's Democratic-Republican successor, [[James Madison]].<ref name=Discovering/> The Rockingham Memorial, which was largely written by Webster, challenged Madison's reasons for going to war, arguing that France had been just as culpable in impeding American trade as Britain had and raising the specter of secession. The Rockingham Memorial gained nationwide notoriety as a document exemplifying New England's opposition to the war.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=100–101}} After the convention, the state Federalist Party nominated him as a candidate for the [[U.S. House of Representatives]]. Though Madison won re-election in the [[1812 U.S. presidential election]], the Federalist-backed presidential candidate won New England, and Federalists swept the New Hampshire elections for the House of Representatives.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=101–102}}