Daniel Webster and Jacksonian Democracy (review)

176CIVIL WAR HISTORY What the author does treat in the book shows merit, especially in the literary sense. What the book omits must dictate that the serious students of history continue to rely upon other authorities. Richard Allen Heckman University of Southern California Daniel Webster and Jacksonian Democracy. By Sydney Nathans. ( Baltimore : The John Hopkins University Press, 1973. Pp. xii, 249. $10.50. ) Sydney Nathans has written a fascinating yet, to this reviewer, unconvincing interpretation of the role of Daniel Webster in national politics from the election of Andrew Jackson through 1845. The author presents Webster as a Federalist gentleman of the old school, struggling to survive politically in the age of Jacksonian Democracy. Refusing to worship at the shrine of party, Webster shared the traditional view that parties were dangerously destructive of unity, and that government was rightfully entrusted to "public men" of high character, acting in a spirit of "selfless stewardship." Because he aspired to the presidency, Webster was forced by the late 1830's to modify his style to suit the times. In the "log cabin and hard cider" campaign, "the Whig philosopher became 'the Whig rabble -rouser,' " as Nathans concedes. But, he argues, Webster yielded to demagogic tactics with "deep misgivings," then returned as quickly as possible to the more congenial role of "practical statesman." As a cabinet member in the Harrison and Tyler administrations, Webster attempted to defuse conflict through conciliation. His willingness to compromise on the vital issue of a national bank did not endear him to his fellow Whigs, intent on implementing their party program following the victory of 1840. By 1844 he was an "outcast" from his own party, forced to recant his independence and return to Whig orthodoxy . Webster's experience made it clear that "the day of the public man was past," the author concludes a little sadly; in the future no man could afford the luxury of placing himself above party. The difficulty with Nathans' interpretation is that it gives Webster a heroic, even tragic, dimension that is not demonstrated by the evidence . There is too little here to support his theme that Webster thought deeply or anguished long in his journey from elitist to democrat . Indeed, one is tempted to the opposite, perhaps overly cynical conclusion that Webster may have talked like George Washington, but he acted like Martin Van Buren. His strategy was different, to be sure, but Nathans' narrative makes it clear that Webster was an accomplished political tactician who gave as good as he got. It is questionable whether Webster disdained disciplined party organization for the lofty motives the author suggests. With Henry Clay, the architect of the Whig program, as his chief rival for the presidential nomination, Webster had more to gain as a trimmer than as a loyal party man. BOOK REVIEWS177 Webster may have believed that "character is power," as Nathans tells us, but his own reputation for integrity was not beyond reproach. An avaricious man, Webster resigned the Senate in order to speculate wildly in western lands before the Panic of 1837, then encouraged rich friends to put up a slush fund to save him. As Secretary of State, he was not too high minded to bribe newspaper editors with government funds. Webster deplored class conflict, yet played upon rich men's fears for his own political advantage. He adopted the rhetoric of patriotism when it suited his national ambitions, yet fell back upon a potentially dangerous game of sectional politics when his interest required it. The author himself gives us these and other examples of Webster's questionable personal and political ethics. Unfortunately, too often, he does not analyze their significance in relation to his central thesis. Despite these reservations, Nathans has made an outstanding contribution to the literature of the second American party system. The book is richly researched, skillfully written, and judicious in much of its analysis. University of Connecticut Kim T. Phillips Gilbert Haven, Methodist Abolitionist: A Study in Race, Religion, and Reform, 1850-1880. By William Gravely. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1973. Pp.272. $8.95.) Winner of the biennial Jesse Lee Prize in American Methodist History, Gravely has written a fascinating intellectual portrait of Haven's...