The author of the highly acclaimed biography, Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union, reveals Daniel Webster as a major player in American politics up to the Civil War, renowned for his oratory but also his political conniving In almost every respect, Daniel Webster was larger than life: an intellectual colossus, a statesman of the first rank, and a man of towering and finally unfulfilled ambition. In this new biography, Remini portrays Webster as a major player in the entire spectrum of American politics between the War of 1812 and the beginning of the Civil War. Photos. Preface 7(4) Acknowledgments 11(2) Genealogy of the Webster Family 13(2) Chronology of Webster's Life, 1782-1852 15(8) Abbreviations and Short Titles Used in the Notes 23(4) The Godlike Daniel and Black Dan 27(16) Dartmouth 43(15) ``School Keeping'' and the Law 58(20) Portsmouth 78(25) Congress 103(12) The Supreme Court 115(18) The Dartmouth College Case 133(30) Nationalism and Conservatism 163(15) The Plymouth Oration 178(10) An Expanding Reputation 188(8) The Steamboat Case 196(13) ``The Demosthenes of America'' 209(20) The Bunker Hill Oration 229(24) The ``Godlike Daniel'' 253(15) Election to the Senate 268(14) ``Poor Grace Has Gone to Heaven'' 282(10) Marriage 292(20) The Webster-Hayne Debate 312(20) Presidential Politics 332(14) Marshfield 346(10) The Bank War 356(13) Nullification 369(19) On the Presidential Trail 388(10) The Great Triumvirate 398(15) The Whig Party 413(12) The Presidential Nomination 425(16) A Humiliating Defeat 441(11) The Charles River Bridge Case 452(10) Panic! 462(19) Europe 481(20) Secretary of State 501(22) ``I Will Stay Where I Am'' 523(12) The Webster-Ashburton Treaty 535(30) Formulating Foreign Policy 565(18) ``The Return of the Prodligal Son'' 583(20) Charges of Official Misconduct 603(16) A Tour of the South 619(15) A Double Tragedy 634(11) ``I Am Old, and Poor, and Proud'' 645(17) The Seventh of March Speech 662(20) ``Union, Union, Union, Now and Forever'' 682(24) Exploring New Channels for Commerce 706(16) ``A Disappointed, Heart-Stricken Man'' 722(19) ``That Voice, Alas! We Shall Hear No More Forever'' 741(24) Bibliographical Essay 765(8) Index 773