Daniel Webster and the Rise of National Conservatism

This short work details the life and experiences of statesman Daniel Webster and his influence on the American political conservatism of the late-nineteenth century. Born in New England on January 18, 1782, Webster demonstrated startling powers of assimilation and retention even as a child. He received the best of his early education from newspapers, his mother's Bible, the political gossip of wayfarers at the farmhouse tavern and his father's exciting tales of great men and great battles. During his formal education at Dartmouth, Webster refined his prowess at public speaking, eventually evolving into one of the most skilled orators in America. He was to play a crucial role in the development of a conception of national conservatism that remains significant to our own times. Constructed from the building blocks of expansive but peaceful Americanism, popular self-discipline, Constitution worship, beneficent technology, realizable harmony of group interests, and power linked to property, Webster's conservative philosophy was embraced by the prominent New England merchants and prosperous country squires. His experience reveals the difficulties and dilemmas encountered by the people in our past who sought to develop a conservative philosophy for American politics. In examining Webster's vital philosophy, Richard Current's incisive analysis has a direct and continuing pertinence for the citizens of a democratic republic.