When the United States was founded in 1776, its citizens didn’t think of themselves as “Americans.” They were New Yorkers or Virginians or Pennsylvanians. It was decades later that the seeds of American nationalism—identifying with one’s own nation and supporting its broader interests—began to take root. But what kind of nationalism should Americans embrace? The state-focused and racist nationalism of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson? Or the belief that the U.S. Constitution made all Americans one nation, indivisible, which Daniel Webster and others espoused? 

In Indivisible, historian and law professor Joel Richard Paul tells the fascinating story of how Webster, a young New Hampshire attorney turned politician, rose to national prominence through his powerful oratory and unwavering belief in the United States and captured the national imagination. In his speeches, on the floors of the House and Senate, in court, and as Secretary of State, Webster argued that the Constitution was not a compact made by states but an expression of the will of all Americans. As the greatest orator of his age, Webster saw his speeches and writings published widely, and his stirring rhetoric convinced Americans to see themselves differently, as a nation bound together by a government of laws, not parochial interests. As these ideas took root, they influenced future leaders, among them Abraham Lincoln, who drew on them to hold the nation together during the Civil War.

As he did in Without Precedent and Unlikely Allies, Joel Richard Paul has written in Indivisible both a compelling history and a fascinating account of one of the founders of our national perspective.

Praise for INDIVISIBLE

"...a tour de force of compact narrative..." ~ Wall Street Journal

“With a lucidity of the written word to match his subject’s famed eloquence of the spoken word, Joel Richard Paul shows how Webster’s oratorical brilliance helped to define the meaning of the Union in the antebellum era.” ~ James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

“Joel Paul’s Indivisible tells the remarkable story of Daniel Webster, a towering American whose hypnotic oratory in the 19th century helped to define the character of the American nation. A stirring and monumental achievement.” ~ Congressman Jamie Raskin

“Indivisible is an impressively researched book that is also a fine example of narrative analysis and old-fashioned storytelling.  With a clear-eyed assessment of Daniel Webster’s political brilliance and disappointments, Paul centers Webster in the 19th-century debate over young America’s identity.  Indivisible recounts how the moderate anti-slavery Webster made nationalism a “civic religion” in a country with deep political division over questions of racial equality.   Indivisible is a must-read as issues related to race and America's national identity continue to vex the country.”  ~ Anita F. Hill, University Professor of Social Policy, Law and Women's Studies, Brandeis University and author of Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence.

“In this compelling narrative, Paul portrays the tragedy of the man whose devotion to “liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable” could not overcome the strident demands of slave-holders and the populist racism of whites North and South. This insightful account gives Webster his due in a cautionary tale for a nation once again struggling to sustain constitutional liberty for all its people.” ~ Robert A. Gross, Bancroft Prize-winning author of The Minutemen and Their World and The Transcendentalists and Their World

“Joel Richard Paul’s wonderful book blends episodes from the life of Daniel Webster, the silver-tongued orator who defined American national identity as “liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable” with kaleidoscopic coverage of other leaders and the events that nearly tore the country apart during the first half of the 19th century.” ~ William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era.

“Distinguished author Joel Richard Paul has given us an elegant, highly-readable new biography of the greatly influential New England leader Daniel Webster (1782-1850). Webster was a fervent advocate of saving the national union when arguments over continuing or ending slavery were threatening to tear the republic apart. Webster favored a political compromise that ultimately failed, all masterfully explained by Paul in this gripping volume….highly recommended!"  ~ James Kirby Martin, Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Houston and author of Surviving Dresden.

“Daniel Webster was never a president, general, or Supreme Court justice. But he did more than perhaps any other individual to create an American nationality. Joel Richard Paul's richly contextual biography vividly captures the flawed, brilliant leader who forged American institutions and identity around his motto, 'Liberty and Union.' From incandescent oratory to morally muddled compromises, Webster did everything he could to battle extremism and division, a struggle all too resonant in our own polarized times." ~ T.J. Stiles, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The First Tycoon and Custer's Trials 

“Historian Paul (Without Precedent) examines in this intriguing study the role that 19th-century lawyer, congressman, and orator Daniel Webster played in promoting the idea of American nationalism based on the Constitution…..Full of fascinating digressions and astute analysis, this is a rewarding look at one of America’s most enduring fault lines.” ~ Publisher's Weekly

"A majestic history of “the development of American nationalism from the War of 1812 to 1852. Though Daniel Webster (1782-1852) is mentioned in the subtitle, this book is about far more than one man’s influence, significant as it was. In his latest examination of a specific period of American history, constitutional and international law professor Paul, author of Without Precedent and Unlikely Allies, fashions an impressively multilayered narrative. Focusing on a series of crucial figures and historical moments in the first half of the 19th century—e.g., the War of 1812; the Monroe Doctrine and Transcontinental Treaty, through which Secretary of State John Quincy Adams “had committed the United States to becoming a hegemon”; and the rise of Andrew Jackson’s “toxic populism”—the author shows how American citizens began to gain a sense of common community and purpose, as opposed to identifying with a particular region. As a lawyer and senator, Webster made an early impression as “a leading opponent of slavery and the voice of New England.” During the Jackson administration, he helped to lead the charge against Jackson’s “mean-spirited campaign[s] against civil servants, bankers, foreigners, and Native Americans.” Webster opposed the annexation of Texas as a needless provocation of war with Mexico and the extension of slavery into new territory. However, he also defended the property of slave owners in the case of the slave uprising aboard the Creole in 1841. That incident, coupled with his later defense of the Fugitive Slave Act, tainted his glorious reputation. Indeed, in the years to come, many believed that Webster sold his soul for Southern votes in his quest for the presidency. Following the biographical thread of “one of the most influential statesmen of the antebellum period,” Paul delivers important historical context along the way, showing how “while the Union was falling apart, our American identity was taking shape. An ambitious work that wonderfully delineates the formative years of the nation’s character." ~ Starred Kirkus Review

“Joel Richard Paul’s Indivisible: Daniel Webster and the Birth of American Nationalism is such an important read, for both the historically inclined and Dartmouth undergraduates… It is an accessible book that paints an absorbing picture of American politics in the antebellum period… Indivisible is a collection of vignette-type stories, stitched together into a thematic but largely chronological history of early American nationalism, in which history Webster regularly appears… an engaging and important work of popular history. I must confess that, in first reading the book, it seemed Webster was less a main character than a supporting player who kept popping up in odd places. However, I now recognize that this is just the point. Indeed, Webster wrought a profound impact on our nation’s self-conception by inspiring an American nationalism, and, in so doing, he helped keep the country united in the first half of the nineteenth century.” ~ Dartmouth Review

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 Q. Who was Daniel Webster, and why does he matter?

A. Ralph Waldo Emerson called Daniel Webster “the completest man.” Born in New Hampshire during the American Revolution, Webster grew up to be an influential congressman, senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate and was at the center of American politics from 1812-1852 when the United States was struggling to determine the kind of nation it wanted to be. He fought slavery, Andrew Jackson, and American expansionism. He argued some of the most famous cases before the Supreme Court and earned the reputation as the “defender of the Constitution.” As secretary of state, Webster skillfully averted a third war with Britain. Perhaps most important, Webster was universally acknowledged as the greatest orator of the age, celebrated throughout Europe as well as the United States.

Q. How does Webster’s legacy resonate today?

A. We are living in a time of hostility to democratic values, pluralism, and immigration. Extreme partisanship has paralyzed Congress and infected the Supreme Court, undermining its legitimacy. Webster, too, lived in a deeply polarized time that threatened the Union. Still, he believed in the possibility of finding consensus, and his rhetoric and ideas appealed to Americans’ faith in our nation’s founding. In the process, Webster defined what it meant to be an American.

Q. What did it mean to be an American at the beginning of our republic?

A. The least self-evident truth in our Declaration of Independence were the words, “United States.” People considered themselves Virginians or New Yorkers, not Americans. We were divided by region, ethnicity, faith, and race. Our national identity did not begin to take hold until sometime after the War of 1812, more than three decades after the Declaration was signed.

Q. How did we become “American” then?

A. During the period from 1820 to 1850 competing ideas of American identity were put forth by men like Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John O’Sullivan, Walt Whitman, and Andrew Jackson. Some argued that the land made us American, that we were destined to occupy the whole continent, and that tribal nations were mere obstacles to our development. Others argued that our nation was defined by race, and there was no room for Mexicans or African Americans in a white America. Against this populist, expansionist, and racist argument, Webster popularized the idea that it was the Constitution that made all Americans one nation indivisible, regardless of race, ethnic origin, or faith. While the Union was unraveling, our national identity was taking shape. By the time the Civil War erupted in 1861, Webster’s vision of constitutional nationalism defined Americans.

Q. What’s Daniel Webster’s significance in American history?

A. Webster’s passionate and lifelong defense of the Union shaped the thinking of the men who waged the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln modeled his speeches on Webster’s, and many of his most memorable lines were chosen from Webster. The generation that fought the Civil War were taught in grade school to recite portions of Webster’s speeches extolling the virtue of the Union. Webster’s most famous line, “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable” inspired the Union’s resolve to defeat the secessionists. Even in civil war,we were now all “Americans.”

Q. What kind of man was Webster?

A. Webster was complicated. He was a brilliant orator, a passionate patriot, and a deeply flawed man. He could speak extemporaneously for hours in prose that was sheer poetry. In an age of great orators, even his rivals admitted that no one was his equal. But Webster had a dark shadow. He lived extravagantly, far beyond his means, and depended on the generosity of wealthy businessmen who in turn relied on him to support tariffs that favored their industries. He was tainted by unfounded gossip and sexual scandal, and in his later years, he drank to excess. After he endorsed the Compromise of 1850, he was vilified by his friends and died a broken man.

Q. Why did Webster’s support for the Compromise of 1850 destroy his political career?

A. Webster was an eloquent and impassioned opponent of slavery and a staunch defender of the Union. In 1850, California sought statehood, but the South did not want to admit another free state to the Union and threatened to secede. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky approached Senator Webster with a proposed compromise that included the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which would compel the North to return fugitive slaves. Webster was torn between his hatred of slavery and his love of the Union. He understood that endorsing the fugitive slave law would cost him support in New England and end his political career, but his support would be critical to persuading other northern Whig senators to back the compromise. In the end, Webster was persuaded there was no other way to save the Union. His friends and supporters turned against him. Emerson wrote that “the word liberty in the mouth of Mr. Webster sounds like the word love in the mouth of a courtesan.” And John Greenleaf Whittier penned a poem titled “Icarus,” in which he wrote that “When faith is lost when honor dies, The man is dead!”

Q. If there had been no compromise, what would have happened?

A. Without the fugitive slave law, the South would likely have seceded in 1850, it would have fallen to President Millard Fillmore, rather than Lincoln, to defend the Union. Though the Compromise only succeeded in holding the Union together for a decade, during that time three important developments occurred. First, the abolitionist movement gained strength in the North. Second, the North’s armaments industry dramatically outpaced the South assuring that the North would have a military advantage over the South. Third, a whole generation of men who went on to fight the Civil War were indoctrinated in the belief that “Liberty and Union” were inextricably bound together. Webster’s rhetoric forged the resolve to defend the Union. By postponing the Civil War, the Compromise of 1850 likely saved the Union.

Q. How is this book relevant to our present day?

A. Once again issues of race and national identity are dividing us. Finding consensus seems impossible, and the institutions of government are losing legitimacy. Our political leaders are failing the test of whether to put the country before party and their own political ambition.  Daniel Webster’s story demonstrates that even in these dark times of division it is possible for people of good faith to find common ground. Webster reminds us that despite our differences, the Constitution made us one nation indivisible.

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