Daniel Webster : The Man and His Time

“Robert V. Remini’s splendid biography of Daniel Webster completes his triptych of the three men who dominated American politics in the first half of the nineteenth century. In a work that matches his earlier fine portraits of Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay, he brings Webster to vigorous and poignant life, a man massive in his power, massive in his frustrations and faults, massive in his impact on his times.” ―Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

In this monumental new biography, Robert V. Remini gives us a full life of Webster from his birth, early schooling, and rapid rise as a lawyer and politician in New Hampshire to his equally successful career in Massachusetts where he moved in 1816. Remini treats both the man and his time as they tangle in issues such as westward expansion, growth of democracy, market revolution, slavery and abolitionism, the National Bank, and tariff issues. Webster's famous speeches are fully discussed as are his relations with the other two of the "great triumvirate," Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Throughout, Remini pays close attention to Webster's personal life―perhaps more than Webster would have liked―his relationships with family and friends, and his murky financial dealings with men of wealth and influence.

Robert V. Remini is professor of history and research professor of humanities at the University of Illinois in Chicago.