Who is Daniel Webster?

Question

What did he do?? Who was he? Can anyone tell me in a summary cause everything I find is tooo long.

Answer 1

The man who not only wrote the first American English dictionary, but single handedly changed the United State's way of speaking.  See, prior to the 1840's, yes, its true, virtually all American colonists spoke with a British accent.  So, any assumptions you have, that all the founding fathers of this country sounded British, are indeed correct in fact, because the majority were "gentleman farmers," as Jefferson envisioned, the majority of Americans of the time actually spoke better English than the British.  A visitor from the King's court in fact, commented on how highly refined American English was when compared to that of his country men back in England.

So when, from the British viewpoint, did American English "deteriorate" to the state its in now?  In the 1840's when, backed by congress, Webster re-engineered America's schools to teach a simpler version of English.  By the 1850's, an entire generation of American children spoke the English that we would recognize today as sounding American.  The American sound to English, was indeed deliberately engineered by Webster, he was the man who gave American English its modern sound.  So, while we would mistake the founding fathers for Britons, Civl War era Americans, sounded much like us.

Actually, a little worse; civil war era Americans were actually far worse than modern when it came to swearing, and the liberal use of swear words.  In fact, in civil war era letters to fellow soldiers, a historian counted the word "f*ck" a total of 60 times in a single page.  I'm not making this up; when it came to using swear words, the civil war era was pretty bad and an embarassment to American english in fact, it was during the civil war that most of the swear words we use now were invented, and they even used some exotic "archaic" ones.

Yes that is correct; the united state's contribution to English, its most significant contribution, was swear words.

peace.

Answer 2

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a leading American statesman during the nation's Antebellum Period. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests. His increasingly nationalistic views and the effectiveness with which he articulated them led Webster to become one of the most famous orators and influential Whig leaders of the Second Party System.

Daniel Webster was an attorney, and served as legal counsel in several cases that established important constitutional precedents that bolstered the authority of the Federal government. As Secretary of State, he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty that established the definitive eastern border between the United States and Canada. Primarily recognized for his Senate tenure, Webster was a key figure in the institution's "Golden days". So well-known was his skill as a Senator throughout this period that Webster became a third and northern counterpart of what was and still is known today as the "Great Triumvirate," with his colleagues Henry Clay from the west and John C. Calhoun from the south. His "Reply to Hayne" in 1830 was generally regarded as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress."[1]

As with Henry Clay, Webster's desire to see the Union preserved and conflict averted led him to search out compromises designed to stave off the sectionalism that threatened war between the North and South. Webster tried three times to achieve the Presidency; all three bids failed, the final one in part because of his compromises. Similarly, Webster's efforts to steer the nation away from civil war toward a definite peace ultimately proved futile. Despite this, Webster came to be esteemed for these efforts and was officially named by the Senate in 1957 as one of its five most outstanding members.

Answer 3

He was an American Statesman that during the Antebellum Period

He was an attorney and served as a legal council that helped develop more authority for the Federal Government

Answer 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webs...

Answer 5

He was a legislator (member of Congress, served in both the House & Senatve), as well as the Secretary of State for Presidents Filmore, Harrison & Tyler.  

He is often linked to Henry Clay & John C Calhoun (Webster represented the North, Clay the West, and Calhoun the South).  

There's a famous speech he made called the "Reply to Hayne" which was party of the Hanye-Webster debate.  His speech is known as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress."

He, with Clay (^), desperately wanted to preserve the Union when the issues of Slavery & Sectionalism threatened to tear the Union apart.

He ran for the presidency 3 times, but never won the election.

Hope that breaks it down for you!  Good luck.