The Poetry of Events: Daniel Webster's Rhetoric of the Constitution and Union (review)

80CIVIL WAR HISTORY Ross spent the last years ofhis life in Philadephia and Washington trying to heal the tribe's internal disputes and develop a plan for Cherokee reconstruction . Gary E. Moulton, professor of history at the University of Nebraska, is well qualified to edit Ross's papers. A longtime student of Ross and the Cherokees, Moulton published a splendid biography of Ross in 1978. The editor states that he omitted nothing of importance from these volumes, and that does seem to be the case. Moulton has refrained from elaborate explanatory footnotes, which at times would have been useful, but each item's location is indicated. These two volumes of documents are important research tools for students of nineteenth-century Indian affairs and they belong on the shelves of all university libraries. Gerald Thompson The University of Toledo The Poetry ofEvents: Daniel Webster's Rhetoric ofthe Constitution and Union. By Paul D. Erickson. (New York and London: New York University Press, 1986. Pp. 224. $32.00.) Daniel Webster was unquestionably one of the seminal figures ofthe early national period of American history. Indeed, without Webster's determined efforts to maintain the union ofthe states, even at the cost oftolerating the continued existence ofslavery, the early national period might have been the only national period. In The Poetry ofEvents: Daniel Webster's Rhetoric of the Constitution and Union, Paul D. Erickson suggests that although Webster may have actually helped to cause the very Civil War he worked so hard to avoid, he also deserves much of the credit for the fact that the Union emerged from that crisis intact and triumphant. Beginning with the common premise that the source of Webster's power was in his use of language, Erickson takes a closer look at the imagery, rhetoric, and oratorical devices that recur in Webster's speeches. He concludes that Webster had a particular genius for combining legal arguments with poetic images, a talent that allowed him to speak to Americans' deepest impulses in a uniquely powerful way. Erickson suggests that Webster's greatest legacy was the communication of a mythic idea of the constitutional Union, an idea at the core of Americans' self-image in the nineteenth century. The book begins with a consideration of Webster's formal education and his early interest in the uses of language, then outlines the oratorical and political milestones in his public career which culminated in his acquisition of, and subsequent dedication to, the famous title "Defender ofthe Constitution ." In the first two chapters Erickson discusses Webster's conscious- BOOK REVIEWS81 ness of the value of dramatic rhetoric, and argues that Webster utilized a deliberately selective "aesthetic of history" to promote his own strongly Federalist politics. The second halfofthe book analyzes the contours ofthe themes of Constitution and Union so passionately articulated by Webster. Erickson focuses his attention on three of Webster's most common motifs: the Pilgrims, George Washington, and the "semi-divine" nature of the Union itself. The final chapter ties everything together by asking the questions "Why was the constitutional Union so important to Daniel Webster, and why were Webster's representations so meaningful to liis listeners?" Erickson finds the answers in Webster's juxtaposition of grim prophecies with positive alternatives, his effective combination oflegal and poetic imagery , and his ability to impart to his audience a sense of participation in—and responsibility for—the outcome of an unfolding drama of momentous significance. The Poetry ofEvents is a valuable book, whether for students of Daniel Webster the man, nineteenth-century political and intellectual history, or American political rhetoric. It is not without its flaws: some of Erickson's arguments seem overdrawn and exaggerated, particularly those on religious motifs and Webster's depiction ofthe Union as a divine entity. The book could also have profited from some attention to the ideas about law, commerce, and nationalism that Webster expressed in his work as an attorney . Webster's greatest impact may have been his influence on shaping American legal doctrines, and his legal rhetoric was as much informed with the imagery of Constitution and Union as his political rhetoric; yet Erickson 's examination ofthese subjects is virtually nonexistent. All things considered , however, Erickson...