"Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" Daniel Webster's famous epigram, according to historian Joel Richard Paul in Indivisible, is just one of the countless contributions the American statesman made to helping unite the United States. Paul (Without Precedent; Unlikely Allies) reintroduces a new generation to Webster--a man often eclipsed in history by his contemporary, Abraham Lincoln--in this impressively researched and engaging study.
Universally acknowledged as "the 'guardian' of the Constitution, the greatest orator of the English language, and the finest constitutional advocate in our history," Webster was one of the most influential politicians of his age. His long career as an "evangelist for the Union" inspired and enraged fellow citizens in equal measure. Paul writes a larger history than the subtitle implies, spanning the development of American nationalism from 1812 to 1852; indeed, readers will learn as much about the presidencies of John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and John Tyler as they will about Webster. However, Paul highlights the relevance of Webster as the scintillating orator who, with great emotion, swept his listeners away from their "dominant instinct" of regionalism toward one national identity. Webster, a man of failed presidential ambitions and sometimes ill-advised associations, possessed true talents in "the power of his imagery" in speeches that espoused his nationalist vision. Indivisible, which is not a biography of Webster in any sense, will appeal to history readers who want to learn how "while the Union was falling apart, our American identity was taking shape." --Peggy Kurkowski, book reviewer and copywriter in Denver