Daniel Webster Quotes (1782-1852)


About Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster (18 January 1782 – 25 October 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as a Senator and as Secretary of State. Famed for his ability as an orator, Webster was one of the most important figures in the Second Party System from the 1820s to the 1850s.

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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Daniel Webster quotes.

β€œI still live.”
β€œSea of upturned faces.”
Daniel Webster
β€œWashington is in the clear upper sky.”
β€œFearful concatenation of circumstances.”
β€œThe law: It has honored us; may we honor it.”
Daniel Webster
β€œLiberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint.”
β€œOne country, one constitution, one destiny.”
Daniel Webster
β€œWhatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.”
β€œI was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American!”
β€œThere is no refuge from confession but suicide; and suicide is confession.”
Daniel Webster
β€œIt is, Sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it!”
Daniel Webster
β€œA strong impression that something must be done, is the origin of many bad measures.”
β€œSink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote.”
Daniel Webster
β€œThere is nothing so powerful as truth β€” and often nothing so strange.”
β€œInconsistencies of opinion, arising from changes of circumstances, are often justifiable.”
β€œGod grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.”
Daniel Webster
β€œThe people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people.”
Daniel Webster
β€œLabor in this country is independent and proud. It has not to ask the patronage of capital, but capital solicits the aid of labor.”
Daniel Webster
β€œIt is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment,β€”Independence now and Independence forever.”
Daniel Webster
β€œThe Bible is a book of faith, and a book of doctrine, and a book of morals, and a book of religion, of especial revelation from God.”
Daniel Webster
β€œVenerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation. Heaven has bounteously lengthened out your lives, that you might behold this joyous day.”
Daniel Webster
β€œThe gentleman has not seen how to reply to this, otherwise than by supposing me to have advanced the doctrine that a national debt is a national blessing.”
β€œIf there be any thing in my style or thought to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents in instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures.”
β€œHe smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet.”
β€œI shall defer my visit to Faneuil Hall, the cradle of American liberty, until its doors shall fly open on golden hinges to lovers of Union as well as lovers of liberty.”
Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster Quotes by Topic

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Daniel Webster on Liberty 6 quotes

β€œLiberty exists in proportion to wholesome restraint.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Government 6 quotes

β€œHe touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Patriotism 4 quotes

β€œThank God, Iβ€”I alsoβ€”am an American!”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Work 3 quotes

β€œThey are usually denominated labor-saving machines, but it would be more just to call them labor-doing machines.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on United States Constitution 2 quotes

β€œOne country, one constitution, one destiny.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Unity 2 quotes

β€œOne Country, one Constitution, one Destiny.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Money 2 quotes

β€œHe who tampers with the currency robs labor of its bread.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Truth 2 quotes

β€œThere is nothing so powerful as truth; and often nothing so strange.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Knowledge 2 quotes

β€œKnowledge is the only fountain, both of the love and the principles of human liberty.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Mind 2 quotes

β€œMind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human ends are alternately answered.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Monuments 2 quotes

β€œLet it rise! let it rise, till it meet the sun in his coming; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and the parting day linger and play on its summit.”
Daniel Webster
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Daniel Webster on Credit 2 quotes

β€œHe smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet.”
Daniel Webster
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What Daniel Webster Said About Others

Discover personal opinions Daniel Webster shared regarding contemporaries.

Daniel Webster on George Washington 4 quotes

β€œAmerica has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind.”
Daniel Webster
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Quotes About Daniel Webster

Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Daniel Webster from others.

Stephen Vincent BenΓ©t on Daniel Webster

β€œIt's a story they tell in the border country, where Massachusetts joins Vermont and New Hampshire. Yes, Dan'l Webster's dead β€” or, at least, they buried him. But every time there's a thunderstorm around Marshfield, they say you can hear his rolling voice in the hollows of the sky. And they say that if you go to his grave and speak loud and clear, "Dan'l Webster β€” Dan'l Webster!" the ground'll begin to shiver and the trees begin to shake. And after a while you'll hear a deep voice saying, "Neighbor, how stands the Union?" Then you better answer the Union stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible, or he's liable to rear right out of the ground. At least, that's what I was told when I was a youngster.”
Daniel Webster

Misattributed Quotes

Quotes mistakenly credited to Daniel Webster

β€œIf we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”
β€œHold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”

About Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster (18 January 1782 – 25 October 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as a Senator and as Secretary of State. Famed for his ability as an orator, Webster was one of the most important figures in the Second Party System from the 1820s to the 1850s.
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