Webster's Great Speeches

Object NameBook

Publisher Little, Brown, & Co. (American, founded 1837)

Date1882

MediumPaper

Dimensions9 3/8 × 2 × 6 1/2 in. (23.8 × 5.1 × 16.5 cm)

ClassificationsBooks, Manuscripts, Documents, Personal Symbol & Correspondence

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Phillip Allen. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number80.12.22

Status

On view

Collections

Books, Magazines, & Documents

CultureAmerican

Label TextDaniel Webster became one of the most influential American statesmen of the early 19th century. A gifted lawyer and orator, he rose to prominence in New England before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1813–1817, 1823–1827) and the U.S. Senate (1827–1841, 1845–1850). As a senator, Webster fiercely defended the Union during the Nullification Crisis of 1832–33. In his famous exchange with Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina, he declared, “It is, sir, the people’s Constitution, the people’s government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.” Historians later celebrated his words as among the most powerful in American history, echoed decades later in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Webster also served twice as Secretary of State under Presidents Harrison, Tyler, and Fillmore. During the Fillmore administration, he actively supported the Compromise of 1850, aiming to preserve peace between North and South. Critics heavily criticized his stance on this controversial issue, tarnishing his reputation by the time he died in 1852. Although controversy surrounded him in the lead-up to the American Civil War, people widely celebrated Webster after the war’s conclusion. Americans remembered him as a steadfast defender of the Union and a masterful orator. Scholars compiled his speeches into volumes, and citizens honored his likeness in homes, schools, and institutions across the country, including by Dean Curtiss during his residency at the Farm House. Webster’s enduring legacy lies in how his words shaped the nation’s understanding of the Constitution, the Union, and the meaning of American democracy. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/webster-daniel https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_Webster.htm https://archive.org/details/greatspeechesorat00webs/page/n7/mode/2up

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