AND THE SENTIMENT OF UNION 371 



account the rapid and powerful development of national 

 feeling in the United States which the war called forth, 

 it would have modified his view ; for it is clear that the 

 war party, represented by Henry Clay and his friends, 

 was at that moment the truly national party, and Mr. 

 Webster's sympathies were then, as always, in favour of 

 the broadest nationalism, and entirely opposed to every 

 sort of sectional or particularist policy. This broad 

 national spirit, which was strong enough in the two 

 Adamses to sever their connection with the Federalists 

 of New England, led Mr. Webster to use his influence 

 successfully to keep New Hampshire out of the Hart- 

 ford convention. In the i3th Congress, however, we 

 find him voting 191 times on the same side with 

 Timothy Pickering, and only 4 times on the opposite 

 side. Other questions were discussed besides those 

 relating to the war. In this and the next Congress 

 the most important work done by Mr. Webster was 

 concerned with the questions of currency and a 

 national bank. He did good service in killing the 

 pernicious scheme for a bank endowed with the power 

 of issuing irredeemable notes and obliged to lend 

 money to the government. He was even disposed to 

 condemn outright the policy of allowing the govern- 

 ment to take any part whatever in the management of 

 the bank. He also opposed a protective tariff, but by 

 supporting Mr. Calhoun's bill for internal improve- 

 ments he put himself on record as a loose construc- 

 tionist. In the light of subsequent events it seems 

 odd to find Mr. Calhoun defending the policy of inter- 

 nal improvements on the ground of its tendency to 

 consolidate the Union, and it seems odd to find Mr. 

 Webster in cordial alliance with the great South 



