The tighter the US Government’s stranglehold on dissent grew, the harder Daniel Webster fought for freedom of speech.
In 1814, the USA was still embroiled in the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Many citizens of east coast States were dismayed, holding that the war was wrecking the economy for no demonstrable gain. President James Madison’s pro-France hawks in Washington responded by trying to silence critics as traitors, but young Daniel Webster, recently elected to Congress as Member for New Hampshire, was defiant.