Daniel Webster

died suddenly on July 9, 1850, and this event led to an immediate and complete reorganization of the cabinet. Mr. Fillmore at once offered

nt of State, but there were a number of important and some very complicated affairs, which Mr. Webst

y de facto revolutionary government, and to seek information in all proper ways in order to guide their action. The argument on this point was admirably and forcibly stated, and it was accompanied by a bold vindication of the American policy, and by some severe and wholesome reproof. Mr. Webster had two objects. One was to awaken the people of Europe to a sense of the greatness of this country, the other to touch the national pride at home. He did both. The foreign representatives learned a lesson which they never forgot, and which opened their eyes to the fact that we were no longer colonies, and the national pride was also aroused. Mr. Webster admitted that the letter was, in some respects, boastful and rough. This was a fair criticism, and it may be justly said that such a tone was hardly worthy of the author. But, on the other hand, Hülsemann's impertinence fully justified such a reply, and a little rough domineering was, perhaps, the very thing needed. It is certain that the letter fully answered Mr. Webster's purpose, and excited a great deal of popular enthusiasm. The affair did not, however, end here. Mr. Hülseman

pect in which he was held by that experienced diplomatist. Besides this discussion with England, there was a sharp dispute with Mexico about the right of way over the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the troubles on the Texan boundary before Congress had acted upon the subject. Then came the Lopez invasion of Cuba, supported by bodies of volunteers enlisted in the United States, which, by its failure and its results, involved our government in a number of difficult questions. The most serious was the riot at New Orleans, where the Spanish consulate was sacked by a mob. To render due reparation for this outrag

te, who was to lead the Webster delegates, went to Washington the day before the convention assembled. He called on Mr. Webster and found him so filled with the belief that he should be nominated that it seemed cruel to undeceive him. Mr. Choate, at all events, had not the heart for the task, and went back to Baltimore to lead the forlorn hope with gallant fidelity and with an eloquence as brilliant if not so grand as that of Mr. Webster himself. A majority[1] of the convention divided their votes very unequally between Mr. Fillmore and Mr. Webster, the former receiving 133, the latter 29, on the first ballot, while General Scott had 131. Forty-five ballots were taken, without any substantial change, and then General Scott began to increase his strength, and was nominated on the fifty-third ballot, receiving 159 votes. Most of General Scott's supporters were opposed to resolutions sustaining the compromise measures, while those who voted for Mr. Fillmore and Mr. Webster favored that policy. General Scott owed his nomination to a compromise, which consisted in inserting in the platform a clause strongly approving Mr. Clay's measures. Mr. Webster expected the Fillmore delegates

hest number reached by the combined Webster and Fillmore votes, on any one ballot, was 162, three more than was received on t

ter was too great a man to be bound by party usages, and that he owed it to himself to rise above them, and refuse his support to a poor nomination and to a wrangling party. If Mr. Webster could no longer act with the Whigs, then his name had no business in that convention at Baltimore, for the conditions were the same before its meeting as afterward. Great man as he was, he was not too great to behave honorably; and his refusal to support Scott, after having been his rival for a nomination at the hands of their common party, was neither honorable nor just. If Mr. Webster had decided to leave the Whigs and act independently, he was in honor bound to do so before the Baltimore convention assembled, or to have warned the delegates that such was his intention in the event of General Scott's nomination. He had no right to stand the hazard of the die, and then refuse to abide by the result. The Whig party, in its best estate, was not calculated to excite a very warm enthusiasm in the breast of a dispassionate posterity, and it is perfectly true that it was on the eve of ruin in 1852. But it appeared better then, in the point of self-respect, than four years before. In 1848 the Whigs nominated a successful soldier conspicuous only for his availability and without knowing to what party he belonged. They maintained absolute silence on the great question of the extension of slavery, and carried on their campaign on the personal popularity of their candidate. Mr. Webster was righteously d

is physical injury was followed by the keen disappointment of his defeat at Baltimore, which preyed upon his heart and mind. During the summer of 1852 his health gave way more rapidly. He longed to resign, but Mr. Fillmore insisted on his retaining his office. In July he came to Boston, where he was welcomed by a great public meeting, and hailed with enthusiastic acclamations, which did much to soothe his wounded feelings. He still continued to transact the business of his department, and in August went to Washington, where he remained until the 8th of September, when he returned to Marshfield. On the 20th he went to Boston, for the last time, to consult his physician. He appeared at a friend's house, one evening, for a few moments, and all who then saw him were shocked at the look of illness and suffering in his face. It was his last visit. He went back to Marshfield the next day, never to return. He now failed ra

ne. Men remembered the grandeur of his form and the splendor of his intellect, and felt as if one of the pillars of the state had fallen.

y light. There is a sense of infinite rest and peace on such a day which seems to shut out the noise of the busy world and breathe the spirit of unbroken calm. As the crowds poured in through the gates of the farm, they saw before them on the lawn, resting upon a low mound of flowers, the majestic form, as impressive in the repose of death as it had been in the fullness of life and strength. There was a wonderf

*

ed ambition. A sense of mistake and failure hung heavily upon his spirits, and the cry of "vanity, vanity, all is vanity," came readily to his lips. There is an infinite pathos in those melancholy words which have just been quoted. The sun of life, which had shone so splendidly at its meridian, was setting amid clouds. The darkness which overspread him came from the action of the 7th of March, and the conflict which it had caused. If there were failure and mistake they were there. The presiden

ew of the whole career. Mr. Webster's success had, in truth, been brilliant, hardly equalled in measure or duration by that of any other eminent man in our history. For thirty years he had stood at the head of the bar and of the Senate, the first lawyer and the first statesman of the United States. This is a long tenure of power for one man in two distinct depar

t of Jove

ars to threat

ike the her

on a heaven-

ion and a

od did seem t

world assura

ription a voice of singular beauty and power with the tone and compass of an organ. The look of his

onservative. There was nothing of the reformer or the zealot about him. He could maintain or construct where other men had built; he could not lay new foundations or invent. We see this curiously exemplified in his feeling toward Hamilton and Madison. He admired them both, and to the former he paid a compliment which has become a familiar quotation. But Hamilton's bold, aggressive genius, his audac

e was needed to rouse his intellect or touch his heart. Once stirred, he blazed forth, and, when fairly engaged, with his intellect in full play, he was as grand and effective in his eloquence as it is given to human nature to be. In the less exciting occupations of public life, as, for instance, in foreign negotiations, he showed the same grip upon his subject, the same capacity and judgment as in his speeches, and a mingling of tact and dignity which proved the greatest fitness for the conduct of the gravest public affairs. As a statesman Mr. Webster was not an "opportunist," as it is the fashion to call those who live politically from day to day

not a fiery nature, although there is often so much warmth in what he said. He was neither high tempered nor quick to anger, but he could be fierc

and in his more unstudied efforts would provoke mirth by some happy and playful allusion, some felicitous quotation or ingenious antithesis, he was too stately in every essential respect ever to seek to make mere fun or to excite the laughter of his hearers by deliberate exertions and with malice aforethought. He had, nevertheless, a real and genuine sense of humor. We can see it in his letters, and it comes out in a thousand ways in the details and incidents of his private life. When he had thrown aside the cares of professional or public business, he

What Lord Melbourne said of the great Whig historian, "that he wished he was as sure of anything as Tom Macaulay was of everything," could not be applied to Mr. Webster. He owed his freedom from such a weakness partly, no doubt, to his natural indolence, but still more to the fact that he was not only no pedant, but not even a very learned man. He knew no Greek, but was familiar with Latin. His quotations and

the sense of infinite space is strongest. It was the same in regard to animals. He cared but little for horses or dogs, but he rejoiced in great herds of cattle, and especially in fine oxen, the embodiment of slow and massive strength. In England the things which chiefly appealed to him were the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Smithfield cattle market, and English agriculture. So it was always and everywhere. He loved mountains and great trees, wide horizons, the ocean, the western plains, and the giant monuments of literature and art

ey were part of the deterioration of the last years, and they furnish in a certain way the key to his failure to attain the presidency. The country was proud of Mr. Webster; proud of his intellect, his eloquence, his fame. He was the idol of the capitalists, the merchants, the lawyers, the clergy, the educated men of all classes in the East. The politicians dreaded and feared him because he was so great, and so little in sympathy with them, but his real weakness was with the masses of the people. He was not popular in the true sense of the word. For years the Whig party and Henry Clay were almost synonymous terms, but this could never be said of Mr. Webster. His following was strong in quality, but weak numerically. Clay touched the popular heart. Webster never did. The people were proud of him, wondered at him, were awed by him, but they did not love him, and that was the reason he was never President, for he was too great to succeed to the high office,

ed, he lived habitually beyond his means. He did not become poor by his devotion to the public service, but by his own extravagance. He loved to spend money and to live well. He had a fine library and handsome plate; he bought fancy cattle; he kept open house, and indulged in that most expensive of all luxuries, "gentleman-farming." He never stinted himself in any way, and he gave away money with reckless generosity and heedless profusion, often not stopping to inquire who the recipient of his bounty might be. The result was debt; then subscriptions among his friends to pay his debts; then a fresh start and more debts, and more subscriptions and funds for his benefit, and gifts of money for his table, and checks or notes for several thousand dollars in token of admiration of the 7th of March speech.[1] This was, of course, utterly wrong and demoralizing, but Mr. Webster came, after a time,

Corcoran's request." This version is substantially correct. The morning of March 8 Mr. Corcoran inclosed with a letter of congratulation some notes of Mr. Webster's amounting to some six thousand dollars. Reflecting that this was not a very solid tribute, he opened his letter and put in a check for a thousand dollars, and sent the notes and the check to Mr. Webster, who wrote him a letter expressing his gratitude, which Mr. Tayloe doubtless saw, and which is still in existence. I give the facts in this way because Mr. George T. Curtis, in a newspaper interview, referring to an article of mine in the Atlantic Monthly, said, "With regard to the story of the ten thousand dollar check, which story Mr. Lodge gives us to understand he found in the pages

cket. A fee of that sort he certainly received either then or afterwards. Every ugly public attack that was made upon him related to money, and it is painful that the biographer of such a man as Webster should be compelled to give many pages to show that his hero was not in the pay of manufacturers, and did not receive a bribe in carrying out the provisions of the treaty of Guadaloupe-Hidalgo. The refutati

t moral forces which move the world. If Mr. Webster's moral power had equalled his intellectual greatness, he would have had no rival in our history. But this combination and balance are so rare that they are hardly to be found in perfection among the sons of men. The very fact of his greatness made his failings all the more dangerous and unfortunate. To be blinded by the splendor of his fame and the lustre of his

aiting for death, he looked through the window at the light which showed him the national flag fluttering from its staff, his first thought was of a united country. To his large nature the Union appealed powerfully by the mere sense of magnitude which it conveyed. The vision of future empire, the dream of the destiny of an unbroken union touched and kindled his imagination. He could hardly speak in public without an allusion to the grandeur of American nationality, and a fervent appeal to keep it sacred and intact. For fifty years, with reiteration ever more frequent, sometimes with rich elaboration, sometimes with brief and simple allusion, he poured this message into the ears of a listening people. His words passed into text-books, and became the first declamations of school-boys. They were in every one's mouth. They sank into the hearts of the people, and became unconsciously a part of their life and daily th

DE

Lord Palmerston as Secr

5

lel, in accordance with

6

Massachusetts

ter on Plymout

y on,

speech

140; message on Georgia and Creek Indians, 142; Webster's opposition to, 145; bitter tone toward Webster in Edwards's affair, 147; interview with Webster, 148, 149; conciliates Webster, 149; real hostility to Webster,

ared with Webster

er, daughter of Mr. W

1; arrives in Washington, 253; negotiation with Mr.

e, defends Mr

mary of Mr. Webster's

3-

Minister, description o

tic cor

Whig Conven

es, debate on establish

-15,

lishe

of attac

counsel for State a

n Mr. We

s to Webster before

ly opponent of El

221; fails in first attempt to carry expunging resolution, 232; carries second expungin

Webster's corres

Memori

ior counsel in Rho

ollege, 78; refuses to obey new board of trustees, 79

Mr. Clay, 251; attacks

y, respect for M

r compared with as an

solution, 172; compared with Webster as an orator, 201; resigns vice-presidency and returns as Senator to support nullification, 212; alarmed at Jackson's attitude and at Force Bill, 214; consults Clay, 215; nullification speech on Force Bill, 215; merits of speech, 216; supports compromise, 219; alliance with Clay, 222; and Webster, 226; attitude in regard to France, 230; change on bank question, 236; accepts secretaryship of

ssion as a state, 299; s

, description o

ffair of st

tack upon Ashbu

te for presidency

parison of Webster with

ompared with Webste

n orator, 202; resigns senatorship, 262;

ise bill, 215; carries Compromise bill, 218, 219; alliance with Calhoun, 222; opinion of Webster's course in 1833, 222, 223; alliance with Webster, 226; introduces resolutions of censure on Jackson, 228; attitude in regard to France, 230; declines to enter Harrison's cabinet, 240; attacks President Tyler, 250, 251; movement in favor of, in Massachusetts

, advocates slavery

power and politics of

thirteenth, 49; leade

, Webster's speech, at

, gift to Mr. We

147; bids for support of Webster and Federalists, 146; defend

e of the, 2

s Act

ehead's letter to, about

nvention, t

Road, bil

, 234; describes New York movement for Taylor as a blunder, 273; says majority disapproved 7th of March spe

ster to China, 260;

ege case, acco

Danie

iendship and corresponde

at Boston bar, 30; practi

S., attack upon

free trade a questio

, offers amendment

acks Webster for de

n citizen killed

pposed to Dartmo

senting op

rges against Mr. Cra

er of,

e, case o

pared with Webster

desires appointment of

3

to Engl

hinese mi

port of Dartmouth C

ion for college, 92-94; position of in 1823, 130, 131; hostility to John Quincy Adams, 145, 146; attemp

ip of state, 333; candidate for Whig nomination,

efer admission of Californi

esolution regarding

l, introd

d, 215

s Mr. Adams's message

y Webster,

s, "no good speec

Webster as a

tatesm

minister at Harrison's

ps,

lease of M

tions in 1848 do not ob

, 2

gard to slaver

th of March

and vict

ne, Webster's

fore citiz

. Ogden, c

nion of Mr. Webster's at

8,

ed passage about free n

7th of March

with Mr. W

ll case,

ption of close of Mr. Webster's a

Major, ca

ts Mr. Webster as a stu

cter

e clerkship, moves his a

evolution

201; as a financier, 208, 226, 228; in regard to attack

on before citi

higs again in 1839; elected President, 240; character of inaugural spe

tion, Mr. Webst

racter of his remi

nd, 172; second speech, 173; Webster's repl

mpared with Webste

reatment of at

or State at Washington,

Mr. Webster in Dartmouth

ent o

Chargé, Mr. Webster's c

country in

attack on Mr. W

's opposition to as cand

o the presi

g remov

tack on b

renewal of ban

aintain integri

s proclam

ce Bill, cannot hold h

ter,

to hang Ca

for compro

h Webster im

the depo

st" to Senat

ate and policy to

, intends an unli

y on,

erse at first to Da

support of

or, brought over to s

in, opposed to W

nd reception of in

ere, Mr

treatment of by

iss, second wife o

t P., opinion

party, 2

s, opinion of Webs

senator from Massachu

rst to Dartmouth college, 87; co

ds, affair

vasion of

to call on, 60; vetoes Bank Bill, 6

f Glasgow, Webste

ard to northeastern b

ympathy for Dartm

ejudices aroused

t decision is

to hear P

ecisi

Webster's firs

ection

o Mr. Webs

returns to,

r buried a

2; allied with trustees of college, 76; advises delay in removal of Wheelock, 78; appears for college, 79; brief in college case, 80; attaches but little importance to doctrin

dvocates slavery

iment to on 7th

ts, settlem

convention of

s defenc

to northeastern

of, declares aga

r's reply to, on Cumberl

ons of Van Buren to, as

7; arrested in New York, 247; habeas corpus refu

d, ministry of

with, declar

ling health, lea

it to the North ur

people of, 4; bar of, 35, 36; Webster refuses to

lavery, 298; quarrel with Texas

uction of Spanish

de of, in McLeod

's visit to, and

Mr. Webster's

itish protect

pupil of Bellamy and oppo

arly assistance

er's discussion, and

aunders, ca

bster's opinion in regard to boundary of, 265; claims of Bri

ray, a leader at

nited States, 248; assails Ashburt

debate on missi

Justice, in Massachus

tts, 30; practice in New Hampshire, 36; argument

iption of Webster at

of Evidence," Webs

fect of his obtainin

thy, unwavering

ess, 64; counsel of State in Dartmouth, case

g lawyer in New Hampshi

bs

of Web

bster's attack

d unable to act

or and attacks

ration at,

264; declarations as to Oregon, 265; accepts Lord Aberdeen's offer of forty-ninth parallel, 266; real intentions as to Mexico and Engla

treaty w

Judge, Webster'

gress, 64; challenges Webster, 67; takes

se of, 104, 105;

ham Memo

' Range

lution against extension

nominated, for pr

Webster at h

advises Taylor as to

ared with Webster as

istory of Dartmouth

Mr. Webster's remark to

; allied with trustees of the college, 76; appears

mark on Webster's

h clai

pointment of boundary com

lar," debate

iff in 1828, 171; ordinance of nullification

., Earl of

and, unconciliatory, 248; retires,

, 102; Webster's obligations to, 108; a member of Massachusetts convention, 111; supports property qualification for the Senate, 115; opinion of Webster's work in the convention, 116, 117; Webster's remarks on deat

w Hampshire, 36; counsel for Woodward

an, Ja

removes the

dote of Mr. Corcoran'

tempting candidat

or, in New

for presid

Presid

Southern

ssion of Cal

policy in 1

th,

to Hungar

Webster's reply to o

hmus of, right o

Mr. Webster's warning against annexation, 288; admission as a

, Webster a student

ccount of Plymouth

f Plymouth o

f Webster at

pearance in eulogy on A

5

posed to Dartmo

at deci

rison; vetoes Bank Bill, 250; quarrels with Whigs,

sed, 210; confirmation of, defeated, 211; elected President, character of his administrat

friendly to college, 87; opi

pearance of, and societ

e, opinion of Ebe

n upon

, second wife of Ebeneze

kiel's going t

ngress, 129; political position in 1823, 130; placed at head of Judiciary Committee, 131; speech on revolution in Greece, 132; its objects and purposes, 133, 134; withdraws his resolutions, success of his speech, 135; speech against tariff of 1824, defends Supreme Court, 136; speech on the Cumberland Road Bill, 137; carries through the Crimes Act, 138; carries Judiciary Bill through House, lost in Senate, 139; supports mission to Panama Congress, 140, 141; supports reference of message on Georgia and Creek Indians, 142; tone of his speech, 143; elected senator from Massachusetts, 144; early inclination to support Calhoun, opposition to Jackson and Adams, 145; to Clay, relations with Crawford, 146; on committee to examine charges of Edwards, defends Crawford, 147; wishes Mr. Mason to be Attorney-General, and English mission for himself, takes but little part in election, 148; interview with Mr. Adams, 148, 149; friendly relations with Mr. Adams, supports administration, 149; real hostility to, feels that he is not properly recognized, and accepts senatorship, 150; inactive in election, allied with Clay and Adams, and founders of Whig party, 161; Spanish claims, first sees Marshfield, English friends, Niagara, oration at Bunker Hill, and eulogy on Adams and Jefferson, 152, 153; grief on death of his wife, 154; appearance in Washington after death of his wife, 155; speech on bill for revolutionary officers, on tariff of 1828, 156, 165; free-trade Federalist when he entered Congress, 157; remarks in 1814 on protective duties, 158, 159; advocates modifications in tariff of 1816, 160; speech at Faneuil Hall against tariff in 1820, 160-163; speech against tariff of 1824, 163-165; reasons for his change of position, as to tariff in 1828, 166, 167; speech at Boston dinner, 167; character of this change of policy, and question of consistency, 168; treats free trade or protection as a question of expediency, 169; change on the constitutional question, 170; opposes Jackson's removals from office, 172; first speech on Foote's resolution, 173; second speech, reply to Hayne, 174; argument on nullification, 175; weak places in his argument, 176; intention in this speech, definition of the Union as it is, 179, 180; scene of the speech and feeling at the North, 181; opening sentence of the speech, 182; manner and appearance on that day, 183; variety in the speech, 184; sarcasm, defence of Massachusetts, 185; character of his oratory, 186, 187; of his imagination, 188; of his style, 189; preparation of speeches, 190; physical appearance and attributes, 191, 192; manner with and effect on children, 193; effect of his appearance in England, 194; anecdotes of effect produced by his look and appearance, 195; constitutional indolence, needs something to excite him in later life, anecdote, 196; defence of Prescott, 197; Goodridge case, White case, greatness of argument in latter, 198; opening passage compared with Burke's description of Hyder Ali's invasion, 199; as a jury lawyer, 200; compared in eloquence with other great orators, 201, 202; perfect taste of as an orator, 203; rank as an orator, 204; change made by death of Ezekiel and by second marriage, 205; general effect on the country of reply to Hayne, 206; ambition for presidency begins, desires consolidation of party, no chance for nomination, 207; advocates renewal of bank charter, 208; overthrows doctrines of bank veto, 209; opposes confirmation of Van Buren as minister to England, 210; defeats confirmation, 211; predicts trouble from tariff, 212; sees proclamation, wholly opposed to Clay's first Compromise Bill, 213; sustains the administration and supports the Force Bill, 214; reply to Calhoun, "the Constitution not a compact," 216, 217; opposes the Compromise Bill, 218; Benton's view of, 219, 220; impossible to ally himself with Jackson, 221; joins Clay and Calhoun, 222; soundness of his opposition to compromise, 223; falls in behind Clay, tour in the West, nominated by Massachusetts for presidency, 224; no chance of success, effect of desire for presidency, 225; alliance with Clay and Calhoun, opinion as to the bank, 226; presents Boston resolutions against President's course, 227; speaks sixty-four times on bank during session, 228; speech on the "protest," 229; attitude in regard to troubles with France, 230; defeats Fortification Bill, speech on executive patronage, 231; defeat of Benton's first expunging resolution, 232; defence of his course on Fortification Bill, 233; speech on "Specie Circular" and against expunging resolution, 234; desires to retire from the Senate but is persuaded to remain, 235; efforts to mitigate panic, 236; visits England, hears of Harrison's nomination for presidency, 237; enters campaign, speech of 1837 at Niblo's Garden, 238; speeches during campaign, 239; accepts secretaryship of state, 240; modifies Harrison's inaugural, "kills proconsuls," 244; De Bac

orn in Kingston, enl

at Salis

, serves in R

d mental qu

a jud

o educate

t Ezekiel go t

Daniel's refusal

th,

eralist, a

ard, Major,

s consent of his father to go to college, 24; teaches school in Bo

er of Daniel Webster,

wife of Mr. Webster; marriage a

omas, first

, founder of Dart

Webster, 76; writes to Webster to appear before legislative committee, 77; removed from presidency and goes over

Webster's remaining in Tyler's cabinet, 267; attacks of, in Massachusetts, upon Tyler, 258; silence about slavery and Texas, are defeated in 1844, 262, 289; no

murder of, Webster's spe

f

's fee

died in Oregon Bill, 295; shall it be applied to New

l for State in Dartmo

akes poor arg

ghter of and Mr

scawen, Webster'

retary of new board of tr

Mr. Stu

m L., attack o