Daniel Webster was one of the most notable Northern statesmen of his day. He was an American lawyer who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress. His list of accomplishments is impressive: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts’s 1st district; Chair of the House Judiciary Committee; United States Senator from Massachusetts; Chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
He was no friend of the South, but on March 7, 1850, Webster gave a speech in the Senate which many say cost him his Senate seat. It appears he was too honest for his fellow Northern politicians who sought to consolidate the Northern vote by playing upon the racist fears of Northerners. Their strategy was to claim that the South intended on expanding slavery into the territories and all over the US. Lincoln used this same fabrication to resurrect a political career on life support. This fabrication horrified Northerners who did not want to live or compete with blacks. It was a fabrication these politicians hoped would coalesce and sectionalize Northern voters against the South for the purpose of political control and economic exploitation of the country.
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