Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was an American statesman, lawyer, and orator who played a crucial role in the early history of the United States. Here are some key points about Daniel Webster:
1. Early Life: Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782, in Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire, USA. He grew up in a farming family.
2. Education: Webster attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1801. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1805.
3. Legal Career: Webster started his legal practice in Boscawen, New Hampshire. He gained a reputation as an eloquent and persuasive lawyer.
4. Political Career: Webster entered politics and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1813. He later served in the Senate, representing Massachusetts, with periods of service from 1827 to 1841 and 1845 to 1850.
5. Constitutional Lawyer: Webster was known for his expertise in constitutional law. He argued several cases before the Supreme Court and became one of the leading constitutional lawyers of his time.
6. Webster-Hayne Debate: In 1830, Webster engaged in a famous debate with Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina. The debate centered on issues of states' rights and nullification, with Webster defending the Union.
7. Dartmouth College Case: Webster argued the landmark Dartmouth College v. Woodward case in 1819 before the U.S. Supreme Court, successfully defending the sanctity of contracts and private charters.
8. Secretary of State: Webster served as the Secretary of State under three presidents: William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. His tenure as Secretary of State was particularly notable for his diplomatic skills.
9. Seventh of March Speech: One of Webster's most famous speeches was the "Seventh of March Speech" in 1850, where he urged sectional compromise and advocated for the preservation of the Union.
10. Presidential Ambitions: Webster sought the presidency several times but was unsuccessful. He was, however, one of the leading figures in national politics.
11. Death: Daniel Webster died on October 24, 1852, in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
12. Legacy: Webster is remembered as one of the greatest orators in American history. His contributions to constitutional law, diplomacy, and his defense of the Union during a time of increasing sectional tensions have left a lasting impact.
Daniel Webster's speeches and writings are still studied for their eloquence and their insights into the challenges facing the United States during a critical period in its history.
1. "The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it."
2. "Labor is the great producer of wealth; it moves all other causes."
3. "Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth."
4. "An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy."
5. "Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what they may."
6. "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
7. "The contest, for ages, has been to rescue Liberty from the grasp of executive power."
8. "There is nothing so powerful as truth—and often nothing so strange."
9. "I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence."
10. "The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."
11. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
12. "God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it."
13. "I shall stand by the Union, and by all constitutional means, endeavor to resist and overthrow the power that seeks to overthrow the Constitution."
14. "A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
15. "Miracles do not cluster. Hold on to the Constitution of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands—what has happened once in six thousand years may never happen again."
16. "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."
17. "The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."
18. "The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God."
19. "There is nothing so powerful as truth—and often nothing so strange."
20. "I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American."
21. "I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence."
22. "The most perfect maxims and examples for regulating your social conduct and domestic economy, as well as the best rules of morality and religion, are to be found in the Bible."
23. "Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens."
24. "The contest, for ages, has been to rescue Liberty from the grasp of executive power."
25. "There can be no permanent disfranchised peasantry in the United States."
26. "Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth."
27. "A country cannot subsist well without liberty, nor liberty without virtue."
28. "It is, Sir, the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people."
29. "Labor is the great producer of wealth; it moves all other causes."
30. "If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy, if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will."
31. "The law: it has honored us; may we honor it."
32. "Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."
33. "I should be ashamed to say that I have found any group of Christians, however small, who cling to a name."
34. "Hold on to the Constitution of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands—what has happened once in six thousand years may never happen again."
35. "Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered."
36. "If we work upon marble, it will perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving
that upon tablets which no time will efface, but will brighten and brighten to all eternity."
37. "There is room and enough for all of us to be blessed in, if we will only be content to bless others."
38. "I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American."
39. "I shall stand by the Union, and by all constitutional means, endeavor to resist and overthrow the power that seeks to overthrow the Constitution."
40. "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."
41. "The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."
42. "The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God."
43. "There is nothing so powerful as truth—and often nothing so strange."
44. "I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American."
45. "I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence."
46. "The most perfect maxims and examples for regulating your social conduct and domestic economy, as well as the best rules of morality and religion, are to be found in the Bible."
47. "Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens."
48. "The contest, for ages, has been to rescue Liberty from the grasp of executive power."
49. "Justice, sir, is the great interest of man on earth."
50. "A country cannot subsist well without liberty, nor liberty without virtue."50 Quotes attributed to Daniel Webster:
