Chapter 29

With a skill and judgment which Chief Justice Marshall said he never saw equalled, Mr. Webster outlined the question at issue, and by his marvellous adroitness in arranging, and clearness in presenting the facts, together with that wealth of legal and historical illustration with which he was always so well endowed, he seemed to carry with him every man in the court-room. Such was the ease, grace, and fascination of his argument, that Justice Story, who sat, pen in hand, to take notes, was completely absorbed and forgot his pen and paper.

[1]P. 58, l. 15. I. Here, the argument being ended, Mr. Webster stood still for some time before the court, while every eye was fixed upon him, and then addressing the Chief Justice, he proceeded with that noble peroration which has become one of the masterpieces of eloquence, and which is an expansion of the closing argument which he delivered at the previous trial in New Hampshire. This does not appear in the printed argument; I have added it from the report of Dr. Goodrich.

[2]P. 59, l. 5. 1. I give the beautiful description which Dr. Goodrich wrote to Mr. Choate in 1853. "Here the feelings, which he had thus far succeeded in keeping down, broke forth. His lips quivered; his firm cheeks trembled with emotion; his eyes were filled with tears; his voice choked, and he seemed struggling to the utmost simply to gain that mastery over himself which might save him from an unmanly burst of feeling. I will not attempt to give you the few broken words of tenderness in which he went on to speak of his attachment for the college. The whole seemed to be mingled throughout with recollections of father, mother, brother, and all the privations and trials through which he had made his way into life. Every one saw that it was wholly unpremeditated, a pressure on his heart, which sought relief in words and tears." The court-room during these two or three minutes presented an extraordinary spectacle. Chief Justice Marshall, with his tall and gaunt figure, bent over as if to catch the slightest whisper, the deep furrows of his cheek expanded with emotion, and his eyes suffused with tears; Mr. Justice Washington at his side, with his small and emaciated frame, and countenance more like marble than I ever saw on any other human being--leaning forward with an eager troubled look; and the remainder of the Court at the two extremities, pressing, as it were, toward a single point, while the audience below were wrapping themselves around in closer folds beneath the bench, to catch each look and every feature of the speaker's face. If a painter could give us the scene on canvas,--those forms and countenances, and Daniel Webster as he there stood in their midst,--it would be one of the most touching pictures in the history of eloquence. One thing it taught me, that the _pathetic_ depends not merely on the words uttered, but still more on the estimate we put upon him who utters them. There was not one among the strong-minded men of that assembly who could think it unmanly to weep, when he saw standing before him the man who had made such an argument, melted into the tenderness of a child. Mr. Webster had now recovered his composure, and, fixing his keen eye on the Chief Justice, in that deep tone with which he sometimes thrilled the heart of an audience, continued."[3] L. 10. 2. When Mr. Webster sat down, there was a stillness as of death in the court-room, and when the audience had slowly recovered itself the replies of the opposing counsel were made, but seemed weak indeed in comparison to what had just been heard. On the conclusion of the arguments, the Chief Justice announced that the Court could not agree, and that the case must be continued to the next term. During the interim, the utmost effort was used by the friends of the College, the press, and the Federalists, to bring the matter before the public, and to impress the judges with the condition of the public mind. The defence prepared to renew the contest, and able counsel was secured. At the next term, however, the Chief Justice ruled that the Acts of the Legislature were void, as they impaired the right of private contract. Of this argument Mr. Justice Story said: "For the first hour we listened with perfect astonishment; for the second hour with perfect delight; and for the third hour with perfect conviction."

Mr. Lodge says: "From the day when it was announced, to the present time, the Doctrine of Marshall in the Dartmouth College Case has continued to exert an enormous influence."

After the trial Mr. Hopkinson wrote to the President of the College and said: "I would have an inscription over the door of your building: 'Founded by Eleazor Wheelock, Refounded by Daniel Webster.'"

Cf. Curtis's _Life of Webster_, Ch. VIII.; Lodge's _Webster_, Ch. III.; Everett's _Memoir_, in Vol. I. of Webster's Works; Shirley's _Dartmouth College Causes; Correspondence of Webster_, Vol. I., pp. 266-70; Magruder's _Life of John Marshall_.

* * * * *

_FIRST SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND_.

December, 1820.

The "Old Colony Club," formed for social intercourse in 1769, was the first to celebrate Forefathers' Day. Although the club was dissolved in 1773, the anniversary celebrations were continued until 1780; between this time and 1820, when the "Pilgrim Society" was founded, they were held with but few interruptions.

The foundation of the "Pilgrim Society" in 1820 gave a new impetus to the celebrations, and in that year Mr. Webster was chosen to give the address.

[1]P. 64, l. 17. 1. The allusion is to the painting by Sargent; it was presented by him to the Society in 1824.

[2]L. 22. 2. Cf. Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

[3]L. 30. 3. Cf. the report of the Pilgrim Society on the correct date of the landing of the Pilgrims. The 21st is now considered to be the date.

[4]P. 66, l. 31. 1. Cf. _Herodotus_, Ch. VI., § 109.

[5]P. 70, l. 23. 1. Cf. "The Start from Delfshaven," by Rev. D. Van Pelt, in the _New England Magazine_, November, 1891. For a through treatment of the whole subject read Chapter II., "The Puritan Exodus" in _Beginnings of New England_, by John Fiske.

[6]P. 77, l. 13. 1. Cf. _Beginnings of New England_, by John Fiske, pp. 12-20, "The Roman Method of Nation-Making."

[7]P. 81, l. 18. 1. Cf. _Beginnings of New England_, pp. 20-49, "The English Method of Nation-Making."

[8]P. 82, l. 30. 1. Cf. Hutchinson's _History_, Vol. II., App. I. "The men who wrote in the cabin of the _Mayflower_ the first charter of freedom, were a little band of protestants against every form of injustice and tyranny. The leaven of their principles made possible the Declaration of Independence, liberated the slaves, and founded the free Commonwealths which form the Republic of the United States."--C. M. DEPEW, Columbian oration.

[9]P. 83, l. 15. 1. Cf. _Germanic Origin of New England Towns_, H. B. Adams.

[10]P. 108, l. 7. 1. Cf. Cicero's _Oratio pro Flacco_, § 7.

[11]L. 29. 2. The first free public school established by law in Plymouth Colony was in 1670.

[12]P. 111, l. 17. 1. Cf. _Beginnings of New England_, p. 110, "Founding of Harvard College." Lowell's "Harvard Anniversary."

In 1647 the Colony of Massachusetts Bay passed the law requiring every town of one hundred families to set up a grammar school which should prepare youth for the university.

If Mr. Webster by his handling of the Dartmouth College Case founded a new school of constitutional law, by the Plymouth Oration he founded a new school of oratory. This field of occasional oratory was a new and peculiar one for him. He had never before spoken upon a great historical subject demanding not only wealth of imagination, but the peculiar quality of mind and heart which unites dignity and depth of thought with ease and grace of manner. But he was equal to the task. The simplicity and beauty of the thought, the grand and inspiring manner of presentation, gave evidence of commanding genius, and gave Mr. Webster a place in the front rank of orators and stylists.

"I never saw him," says Mr. Ticknor, "when he seemed to me to be more conscious of his own powers, or to have a more true and natural enjoyment from their possession."

John Adams, who had heard Pitt and Fox, Burke and Sheridan, says: "It is the effort of a great mind, richly stored with every species of information. If there be an American who can read it without tears, I am not that American. Mr. Burke is no longer entitled to the praise--the most consummate orator of modern times. What can I say of what regards myself? To my humble name '_Exegisti monumentum ære perennius_.' The oration ought to be read at the end of every century."

"It is doubtful," says Edward Everett, "whether any extra-professional literary effort by a public man has attained equal celebrity."

Cf. Curtis's _Life of Webster_, Ch. IX.; Lodge's _Webster_, Ch. IV.; De Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_, Vol. I.; Whipple's _American Literature_, "Webster as a Master of English Style"; Bancroft's _History of the United States_, Vol. I., Chs. XII., XIII., XIV.; Burke's _Orations on the American War_, edited by A. J. George; Fiske's _Beginnings of New England_.

* * * * *

_THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT._

June, 1825.

As early as 1776, the Massachusetts Lodge of Masons, over which General Warren had presided, asked the Government of Massachusetts for permission to take up his remains, which were buried on the hill the day after the battle, and bury them with the usual solemnities. The request was granted on condition that the government of the colony should be permitted to erect a monument to his memory.

The ceremonies of burial were performed, but no steps were taken to build the monument. General Warren was, at the time of his death, Grand Master of the Masonic Lodges of America, and as nothing had been done toward erecting a memorial, King Solomon's Lodge of Charlestown voted to erect a monument. The land was purchased, and a monument dedicated by the Lodge Dec. 2, 1794. It was a wooden pillar of Tuscan order, eighteen feet high, raised on a pedestal ten feet in height. The pillar was surmounted by a gilt urn. An appropriate inscription was placed on the south side of the pedestal.

The half-century from the date of the battle was at hand, and, despite a resolution of Congress and the efforts of a committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, no suitable monument had been erected by the people. It was then that, at the suggestion of William Tudor, the matter was taken up in earnest and an association was formed known as the Bunker Hill Monument Association. Ground was broken for the monument June 7, 1825. On the morning of the 17th of June, 1825, the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone of the monument took place. It was a typical June day, and thousands flocked to see the pageant and to hear the greatest orator in the land.

The procession started from the State House at ten o'clock. The military led the van. About two hundred veterans of the Revolution rode in carriages, and among them were forty survivors of the battle. Some wore their old uniform, others various decorations of their service, and some bore the scars of honorable wounds. Following the patriots came the Monument Association, and then the Masonic fraternity to the number of thousands. Then came the noble Frenchman, Lafayette, the admiration of all eyes. Following him were numerous societies with banners and music. The head of the procession touched Charlestown Bridge before the rear had left the State House, and the march was a continual ovation. Arriving at Breed's Hill, the Grand Master of the Masons, Lafayette, and the President of the Monument Association laid the corner-stone, and then moved to the spacious amphitheatre on the northern side of the hill, where the address was delivered by Mr. Webster.

[1]P. 122, l. 7. 1. An account of the voyage of the emigrants to the Maryland Colony is given by the report of Father White, written soon after the landing at St. Mary's. The original in Latin is still preserved by the Jesuits at Rome.

The _Ark_ and the _Dove_ occupy the same place of interest in the memory of the descendants of the colony as does the _Mayflower_ with us.

[2]L. 18. 2. Mr. Webster was at this time President of the Monument Association.

[3]P. 125, l. 13. 1. Even the poetical nature of Webster would not have been equal to the conception, that within the century the number would reach sixty million.

[4]L. 16. 2. "The first railroad on the continent was constructed for the purpose of accelerating the erection of this monument."--EVERETT.

[5]P. 127, l. 15. 1. The allusion is, of course, to the ships about the Charlestown Navy Yard, which is located at the base of Breed's Hill. [6]L. 21. 2. This magnificent address to the "Venerable Men" was composed while Mr. Webster was fishing in Marshpee brook.

[7]P. 128, l. 4. 1. Milton's _Paradise Lost_, V.

[8]L. 17. 2. Cf. Bancroft's _History of the United States_, Vol. IV., p. 133. A prelude to Warren's patriotism at Bunker Hill is well illustrated in his oration at the old South Meeting House, commemorating the Boston Massacre; in the presence of British soldiers he said: "Our streets are again filled with armed men, our harbour is crowded with ships of war; but these cannot intimidate us; my fellow-citizens, you will maintain your rights or perish in the generous struggle."

[9]P. 130, l. 9. 1. Cf. Burke's _Orations on the American War_, edited by A. J. George.

[10]P. 131, l. 32. 1. Virgil's _Aeneid_, VI. 726. Compare Burke's use of this same quotation in his speech on American Taxation, page 13, line 13. Edited by A. J. George.

[11]P. 133, l. 9. 1. Cf. Bancroft's _History of the United States_, Vol. IV., Ch. XIV.

[12]L. 22. 2. General Lafayette had arranged his progress through the other States so that he might be present on the 17th.

[13]P. 140, l. 22. 1. Homer's _Iliad_, Book XVII.

[14]P. 141, l. 13. 1. Cf. account of Webster's speech on the Revolution in Greece, made on the 19th of January, 1824, in Everett's _Memoir_, Vol. I. of Webster's Works.

Great as the Plymouth Oration was acknowledged by all to be, the Bunker Hill Address was a distinct advance upon it, both in the scope of the ideas and in the skill with which they are wrought into an organic whole. It is more compact, more picturesque, more vigorous, more finished. In this field of oratory he probably has never had any equal in the English-speaking world.

Mr. Everett said of the Address: "From such an orator as Mr. Webster, on such a platform, on such a theme, in the flower of his age, and the maturity of his faculties, discoursing upon an occasion of transcendent interest, and kindling with the enthusiasm of the day and the spot, it might well be regarded as an intellectual treat of the highest order. Happy the eyes that saw that most glorious gathering! Happy the ears that heard that heart-stirring strain!"

Lafayette wrote to Webster on the 28th of December, 1825, from La Grange, saying: "Your Bunker Hill has been translated into French, and other languages, to the very great profit of European readers."

Mr. Hillard, in his Eulogy on Webster, says: "His occasional discourses rise above the rest of their class, as the Bunker Hill Monument soars above the objects around it."

Mr. Choate, in his address to the students of Dartmouth College in 1853, in that sublime paragraph in which he reviews the history of oratory and contrasts the eloquence of despair with the eloquence of hope, says: "Let the downward age of America find its orators, and poets, and artists, to erect its spirit, or grace and soothe its dying; be it ours to go up with Webster to the rock, the monument, the capitol, and bid the distant generations hail."

Cf. Curtis's _Life of Webster_, Ch. XI.; Everett's _Memoir_, in Vol. I. of Webster's Works; Lodge's _Webster_, Ch. IV.; Memorial of Webster; Mr. Hillard's and Mr. Choate's Address; J. Fiske's _The American Revolution_.

* * * * *

_THE REPLY TO HAYNE_.

January, 1830.

The third period of Mr. Webster's life and work may be said to begin with his new honor--his election to the United States Senate in 1827, and his changed attitude toward the question of the tariff as seen in his great speech on the tariff of 1828.

To understand Mr. Webster's position on the question of the tariff, one must remember that he insisted upon the principle that the question of the tariff was purely a business question, and that it was to be determined by the conditions affecting business. Up to this time Webster had opposed Protection, but now as the business of New England required assistance, he boldly stood forth as the champion of a Protective Tariff. It was in connection with the tariff legislation of 1816, 1824, and 1828 that the monster Nullification--carefully disguised until 1830--had its birth. In this year it was found stalking abroad, and in the halls of Congress menacing the bulwark of our liberties--the Constitution of the country. It fell to the lot of Mr. Webster to grapple with this monster and to strangle it in his giant grasp.

On the 29th of December, 1829, Senator Foot of Connecticut moved a resolution in regard to the Public Lands, and a long and weary discussion followed until Mr. Hayne, a Senator from South Carolina, on June 19, 1830, took part and introduced a new element into the discussion by making an elaborate attack on the New England States. Mr. Webster had taken no special interest in the question, and on the day in which Mr. Hayne began his speech he was engaged in the Supreme Court, but came into the Senate in season to hear the closing paragraphs. Thinking that such an attack upon New England required a reply, Mr. Webster at once rose, but yielded to a motion to adjourn. On the next day, the 20th, Mr. Webster proceeded with his reply, in which he showed the absurdity of Hayne's accusations and by which he completely shattered his whole elaborate argument. There was hardly an allusion in Mr. Webster's speech to the question of the tariff as it concerned South Carolina, but so aroused was Hayne by Webster's defence of New England, that on the following day he spoke a second time and in a tone of even greater severity and bitterness than that which marked his previous speech; he indulged in personal allusion to Mr. Webster, and strove to bring odium upon him and the State which he represented; he openly espoused the cause of Nullification and declared war upon the tariff. Before he concluded the Senate adjourned until the 25th, when he completed his speech; Mr. Webster immediately rose to reply, but as it was late yielded to a motion to adjourn. Mr. Hayne's speech had caused the greatest alarm throughout the North; many were afraid that it was unanswerable. This was an evidence that the true nature of the Constitution was not thoroughly understood. "It is a critical moment," said Mr. Bell of New Hampshire to Mr. Webster on the morning of the 26th, "and it is time, it is high time, that the people of this country should know what this Constitution _is_." "Then," said Mr. Webster, "by the blessing of Heaven, they shall learn, this day, before the sun goes down, what I understand it to be." With this utterance upon his lips, he entered the Senate Chamber, which was already crowded. Every seat on the floor and in the galleries was occupied; the House of Representatives was deserted; the lobbies and staircases were packed. The vast audience was composed, on the one hand, of those who feared and trembled lest the rushing tide of hostility to the Constitution and the Union should sweep over the country; and on the other, of those who believed that New England had no champion strong enough to stand in the breach. This scene in the Senate Chamber is rivalled only by that in the House of Commons, when Burke, in 1774, stood forth as the defender of the American colonies. Such was the anxiety to hear the speech that all the ordinary preliminaries of senatorial action were postponed, and Mr. Webster began his "Second Speech on Foot's Resolution," better known as "The Reply to Hayne."

[1]P. 146, l. 10. 1. Mr. Webster rose with great calmness, and in the majesty of that personal presence which could cause the English navvy to shout as he saw him, "By Jove, there goes a king!" with a confidence in his own resources which was the result of experience, in a clear, calm, and firm tone pronounced this magnificent exordium which was such a piece of consummate art that its effect was electric; all who feared, and all who hated, knew that he was master of the situation.

[ 2] P. 147, l. 27. 1. When on the 21st Mr. Chambers asked that there be a delay to enable Mr. Webster, who had engagements out of the house, to be present, Mr. Hayne was unwilling to grant the request, saying that the gentleman (Mr. Webster) has discharged his fire in the presence of the Senate, and he wanted an opportunity to return it. Mr. Webster said, "Let the discussion proceed: I am ready now to receive the gentleman's fire."

[3] P. 149, l. 8. 1. The notes, covering only five sheets of ordinary letter paper, from which Webster developed the entire speech of seventy pages, contain no hint of the exordium, but begin with

"No man hurt. If his 'rankling' is relieved, glad of it."

"I have no 'rankling' fear, anger, consciousness of refutation."

"No 'rankling,' original, or received--bow not strong enough."

[4]L. 12. 2. Mr. Benton.

[5]L. 27. 3. Mr. Webster's preparation for this reply lay in the nature of his thought and reading from his first entrance into public life, and especially from the nature of the constitutional questions which he has argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.

[6]P. 152, l. 1. 1. Should not this be "_more_"?

[7]L. 24. 2. This was a political cry raised against President Adams, who was elected by the House of Representatives. Clay had been a candidate, and because Adams gave him a seat in his Cabinet, a cry went up that they had made a bargain, by which Mr. Clay's friends were to vote for Adams in the House, and in return Clay was to receive a Cabinet position. This was a piece of political clap-trap. Cf. _American Politics_, Johnston, Ch. XI.

[8]P. 155, l. 5. 1. If there had been a coalition and it was killed, it was killed by Calhoun, who threw all his influence against Adams and for Jackson. But at the time of this speech Calhoun was treated somewhat cavalierly by Jackson, and had not much reward in party succession.

[9]P. 157, l. 13. 1. "The Missouri Compromise." Cf. _American Politics_, Johnston, Ch. VIII.

[10]P. 162, l. 22. 1. This Convention of 1814 was composed of men of the old Federal party, strongly opposed to war with Great Britain. Cf. _American Politics_, Johnston, Ch. VIII.

[11]P. 170, l. 3. 1. The "South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company" had on Jan. 9, 1830, asked Mr. Webster to present its claims to government assistance.

[12]P. 179, l. 5. 1. Calhoun, Vice-President, and President of Senate.

[13]P. 180, l. 5. 1. Mr. Forsyth.

[14]L. 25. 2. Cf. Calhoun's speech in the House of Representatives in April, 1816.

[15]P. 182, l. 6. 1. Mr. McDuffie.

[16]P. 186, l. 12. 1. Letter of the Federal Convention to the Congress of the Confederation transmitting the plan of the Constitution.

[17]P. 188, l. 4. 1. Cf. Lodge's _Webster_, Ch. VI.

[18]P. 197, l. 1. 1. President Jackson, who had been an avowed Federalist all his life.

[19]L. 15. 2. A Portuguese prince, who led the revolutionists against the constitutional government.

[20]P. 198, l. 1. 1. A body of Federalists in Essex County, Massachusetts, strongly opposing the Embargo of 1807, and the War of 1812.

[21]P. 199, l. 24. 1. After the passage of the Tariff of 1828, the legislature of South Carolina set forth a "Protest" asserting the principle of Nullification.