202 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
ORATOR, PATRIOT, STATESMAN 
79. The first American statesman really to become prominent 
as a director of opposition, during the successes of JEFFERSON, 
Mapison, Monroe and Jackson, was DANIEL WEBSTER. He was 
born in Salisbury (Now Franklin), N. H., January 18, 1782. 
As a child he was very sickly and was allowed much leisure 
time which he spent in fishing, hunting, roaming the woods and 
reading. His thirst for knowledge was insatiable, and he read 
every book that came within his reach, conning his favorite 
authors until their most salient thoughts were permanently 
stored in his memory. In 1796 he was sent to Exeter Academy 
where he overcame a natural timidity and developed a real 
gift as an orator. Although very poor, his father felt that there 
was great promise in young DANIEL, and decided to send him 
to college. After six months preparation under a private tutor 
he entered Dartmouth where he graduated in 1801. While in 
college he was not considered a thorough scholar but his mem- 
ory was prodigious, and power of convincing statement 
unrivalled. He became recognized as a remarkable speaker, 
and, although at the time an undergraduate, he was selected by 
the Hanover townspeople to deliver the Fourth of July oration 
in 1800. 
After leaving college he read law with SenaToR THomas W. 
THompson in Salisbury, and taught school at Fryeburg, Me., 
for a few months in order to send his brother EZEKIEL to college. 
In 1804 he removed to Boston where he entered the office of 
CHRISTOPHER GORE, as student and clerk. One year later he 
was admitted to the bar and practiced his profession at Bos- 
cawen, N. H. In 1807 he turned his business over to his brother 
EZEKIEL and located in Portsmouth, where his reputation as a 
barrister grew rapidly. He was soon considered a worthy antag- 
onist to JEREMIAH Mason, one of the ablest lawyers produced 
in America. 
