27 Facts About Daniel Webster

1. Daniel Webster is the major character in a fictional short story, The Devil and Daniel Webster, by Stephen Vincent Benet.

2. All of Daniel Webster's living descendants trace their ancestry through Julia.

3. Daniel Webster sought to block the adoption of Polk's domestic policies, but Congress, controlled by Democrats, reduced tariff rates through the Walker tariff and re-established the Independent Treasury system.

4. Daniel Webster considered retiring from public office after the 1844 election, but he accepted election to the United States Senate in early 1845.

5. Daniel Webster campaigned on behalf of Clay, telling one crowd, "I know of no great national constitutional question; I know of no great interest of the country.

6. Daniel Webster served as a prominent campaign surrogate for Harrison in the 1840 election, although he disliked the party's new, popular style of campaigning that made use of songs and slogans like "Tippecanoe and Tyler too.

7. Daniel Webster entertained hopes of winning the Whig nomination in the 1840 United States presidential election, but ultimately declined to challenge Clay or Harrison, both of whom commanded broader support within the party.

8. Daniel Webster objected to the sectional attack on the North, but even more strongly objected to Hayne's pro-states' rights position.

9. Daniel Webster was elected as a delegate to the 1820 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention.

10. Daniel Webster played an important role in eight of the most celebrated constitutional cases decided by the Court between 1814 and 1824.

11. Daniel Webster represented numerous clients outside of Supreme Court cases, including prominent individuals such as George Crowninshield, Francis Cabot Lowell, and John Jacob Astor.

12. Daniel Webster continued to practice law while serving in the House of Representatives, and he argued his first case before the Supreme Court of the United States in early 1814.

13. Daniel Webster was appointed to a steering committee that coordinated Federalist actions in the House of Representatives and, by the end of the Thirteenth Congress, he had emerged as a respected speaker on the House floor.

14. On July 4, 1812, Daniel Webster was invited to give a speech before the Washington Benevolent Society.

15. Daniel Webster became increasingly involved in politics and began to speak locally in support of Federalist causes and candidates.

16. Daniel Webster graduated from Dartmouth in 1801 and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

17. Daniel Webster was chosen Fourth of July orator in Hanover, the college town, in 1800, and in his speech appears the substance of the political principles for the development of which he became famous.

18. Daniel Webster was particularly close to his older brother, Ezekiel, who was born in 1780.

19. Daniel Webster was the son of Abigail and Ebenezer Webster, a farmer and local official who served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.

20. Daniel Webster sought the Whig nomination in the 1852 presidential election, but a split between supporters of Fillmore and Webster led to the nomination of General Winfield Scott.

21. Daniel Webster supported Harrison in the 1840 presidential election and was appointed secretary of state after Harrison took office.

22. Daniel Webster joined with other Jackson opponents in forming the Whig Party, and unsuccessfully ran in the 1836 presidential election.

23. Daniel Webster strongly objected to the theory of Nullification espoused by John C Calhoun, and his Second Reply to Hayne speech is widely regarded as one of the greatest speeches ever delivered in Congress.

24. Daniel Webster became a leading attorney before the Supreme Court of the United States, winning cases such as Dartmouth College v Woodward, McCulloch v Maryland, and Gibbons v Ogden.

25. Daniel Webster left office after two terms and relocated to Boston, Massachusetts.

26. Daniel Webster emerged as a prominent opponent of the War of 1812 and won election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served as a leader of the Federalist Party.

27. Daniel Webster was a prominent attorney, especially during the period of the Marshall Court.