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Webster Library: Daniel Webster’s Early Life, Time at Dartmouth, and Time in Washington
Daniel Webster was born on January 18th, 1782 in Salisbury, New Hampshire. He was a frail and sickly child. He was given only light chores to do and spent much of his time playing, fishing, and roaming the countryside, often in the company of his older brother, Ezekiel. During this period, while he was building his physical strength, he also developed a deep love of literature from reading the family Bible and books borrowed from neighbors. This early interest in knowledge led him to attend Phillips Exeter Academy in 1796, at the age of fourteen. After graduating from Exeter after one year, he moved to Hanover and began classes at Dartmouth.
Webster attended Dartmouth from 1797 to 1801. During this time Webster became known for his skills as a public speaker. In the year 1800, he gave his first speech as the orator for the town on July 4th. This early speech was the beginning of an illustrious career that revolved around public speaking and writing. In his senior year, Webster came to live in this house. His room was the South Bedchamber. He only lived here a year, but it was enough to have the cottage named after him in later years. The German grandfather clock lived in Webster’s room while at Dartmouth. The clock originally belonged to Webster’s older brother Ezekiel, and then was passed to the Sanborn family. It was later bought at auction by three Dartmouth students in 1988, one of whom donated the clock to Webster Cottage where it remains.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Webster briefly moved to Boston to teach and read law, before moving to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to begin his law practice in 1807. This is where he met his wife Grace Fletcher. She was the daughter of a clergyman. Here, they had their first children, Grace and Daniel. Born later were three more children: Julia, Edward, and Charles. Pictured here is the family of Julia, who married Mr. Samuel Appleton. Their daughter Caroline is also shown in the silhouettes copied from originals dated 1842 hanging in the Webster Library.
While living in Portsmouth, Webster became involved in local politics. He spent much of his first years as a lawyer following Supreme Court sessions throughout the state. He eventually became the spokesperson for the Federalist Party and was subsequently elected to Congress as the representative for New Hampshire in 1812. This was brought about by his opposition to the War of 1812 which was in line with the beliefs of the Federalist party at the time. In his first term he was able to vote down a conscription bill and pushed a largely states rights platform.
While the War of 1812 was Webster’s entrance point to Washington, his career extended well beyond the years of the war. In all, he spent forty years in public service, helping to mold the loose collection of states into a single, unified nation. One theme in particular stands out from his many impassioned speeches: “The Union, one and inseparable, now and forever.”
One of the most important parts of his time in Washington was his involvement in the Supreme Court case Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward. The case was between Dartmouth and the state legislature of New Hampshire. The state wanted to make Dartmouth a public university. This was of course opposed by the trustees of the college. They enlisted Webster to argue their case against the state. He stood up in front of the court and delivered a speech so moving, that it convinced the justices to rule in his favor. This meant that Dartmouth was able to remain the private institution it is today.
Another important moment in Webster’s career in Washington, was his involvement in the Compromise of 1850. This package of laws concerned whether or not slavery would be legal in the territories acquired through the American-Mexican War. Henry Clay, another senator, proposed this series of compromises that were meant to please both the anti-slavery senators of the North, and the pro-slavery senators of the South. This led to some of the states being free states, while others were allowed to decide for themselves. The last part of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Law. This made kidnapping both escaped enslaved people and free people of color and “returning” them to their former masters, or reselling them into enslavement, legal. While the Compromise lasted for only four years, it still resulted in countless escaped enslaved people having their freedom taken from them again.
Webster’s reasons for supporting the Compromise was in part his belief in States rights, but also his goal was to keep the country together. The Compromise did stave off the Civil War for some time. It is sometimes argued that this delay in the start of the war gave the North time to prepare, but it also is important to remember its devastating effects on escaped enslaved people and free people of color. This story highlights how Webster was a complicated figure with a mixed legacy.