The Letters of Daniel Webster; From Documents Owned Principally by the New Hampshire Historical Society

by Daniel Webster

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1902 ...to know that you are already appraised of the substance of what I have now related, and to be assured that the explanation is satisfactory and that I still enjoy a portion of your respect and esteem, which I can assure you I value very highly. I am frank to say there is no man in the nation for whom I have entertained, and still entertain, so high a regard. My respect has bordered upon veneration, and my esteem upon admiration, and though this estrangement to which you allude, has prevented all correspondence and intercourse, yet it has not prevented me from noticing and admiring your uniform high and statesmanlike course in the Senate which has uniformly met my entire approval. I sympathize with you most deeply in your domestic afflictions, and would that it was in my power to offer consolation, but that must come from a higher source. I write in much haste without time to copy and beg leave to subscribe myself Your devoted friend Millard Fillmore (To D. Fletcher Webster.) Monday Eve' May 15. '48. My Dear I have reed yours of yesterday, & a parcel of speeches from Mr Kingsbury, which I have franked, & shall send off by this mail.--It will give me pleasure to oblige a son of Mr Shaw, & a daughter of Genl Lyman; & I shall not fail to remember Col. Andrews.--I cannot comply with Mr. Ketchum's suggestion to frank the "address." It would be out of character.--Whatever I can properly do, I am ready to attempt; but I must maintain an elevated position Yrs D. W. (To D. Fletcher Webster.) Astor House May 25. 48. Thursday mor'g Dear Fletcher We must leave Albany to Mr. Ketchum, or to chance. Mr Clingman M. C. is here. He is a member of the Convention. He says if a Northern Candidate be nominated at Baltimore, many Southern Whigs will s...

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Daniel Webster, was a leading American statesman during the nation's Antebellum Period. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests. His increasingly nationalistic views and the effectiveness with which he articulated them led Webster to become one of the most famous orators and influential Whig leaders of the Second Party System.

Daniel Webster was an attorney, and served as legal counsel in several cases that established important constitutional precedents that bolstered the authority of the Federal government. As Secretary of State, he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty that established the definitive eastern border between the United States and Canada. Primarily recognized for his Senate tenure, Webster was a key figure in the institution's "Golden days". So well-known was his skill as a Senator throughout this period that Webster became a third and northern counterpart of what was and still is known today as the "Great Triumvirate," with his colleagues Henry Clay from the west and John C. Calhoun from the south. His "Reply to Hayne" in 1830 was generally regarded as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress."

As with Henry Clay, Webster's desire to see the Union preserved and conflict averted led him to search out compromises designed to stave off the sectionalism that threatened war between the North and South. Webster tried three times to achieve the Presidency; all three bids failed, the final one in part because of his compromises. Similarly, Webster's efforts to steer the nation away from civil war toward a definite peace ultimately proved futile. Despite this, Webster came to be esteemed for these efforts and was officially named by the Senate in 1957 as one of its five most outstanding members.