Opinion of Daniel Webster

[Storebought]

You don't hear very much about Daniel Webster. I recall being introduced to him as a personality in middle school civics class (a long time ago), but as little else. Here is the wiki if you need to jog your memory.

[H. Ross Peron]

FF

[TDAS04]

FF.

[Storebought]

I think of Daniel Webster even less highly than I do Henry Clay, co-author of the 1850 fugitive slave act.

This was a man whose principles of government were based entirely on the concerns of increasing his own wealth through government policy.

He loudly and bombastically defended the second Bank because he was a shareholder in it; the Union because of personal investments in territory real estate; high tariffs because of shipping contracts, etc.

You could argue that he "Invested in America," and wanted to secure his own returns by strengthening federal institutions, but by that logic, if he had been born in Virginia, he would have loudly and bombastically supported cotton slavery and Southern sectionalism.

His best legacy, one that didn't involve self-seeking or getting rich at national expense, was settling the Maine boundary dispute. But even that was canceled out by turning into a Doughface at the end of his career.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The first MA flip flopper.

When he was in NH he was free trader, but switched to protectionism just as Calhoun flipped the other way.

I lean positive but his last actions were an unfortunate way to end his career with the fugitive slave act.

I think of Daniel Webster even less highly than I do Henry Clay, co-author of the 1850 fugitive slave act.

This was a man whose principles of government were based entirely on the concerns of increasing his own wealth through government policy.

He loudly and bombastically defended the second Bank because he was a shareholder in it; the Union because of personal investments in territory real estate; high tariffs because of shipping contracts, etc.

You could argue that he "Invested in America," and wanted to secure his own returns by strengthening federal institutions, but by that logic, if he had been born in Virginia, he would have loudly and bombastically supported cotton slavery and Southern sectionalism.

His best legacy, one that didn't involve self-seeking or getting rich at national expense, was settling the Maine boundary dispute. But even that was canceled out by turning into a Doughface at the end of his career.

"Cotton" slavery was not real big in VA for obvious reasons, nor was southern sectionalism (until the end of his career at least).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Pretty low. Scary looking guy as well.

_{(and welcome back to a poster from the good (?) old days)}