Editing Daniel Webster (section)

==Early life==
Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782, in [[Salisbury, New Hampshire]], at a location within the present-day city of [[Franklin, New Hampshire|Franklin]]. He was the son of Abigail (née Eastman) and [[Ebenezer Webster]], a farmer and local official who served in the [[French and Indian War]] and the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Ebenezer's ancestor, the [[England|English]]-born Thomas Webster, had migrated to North America around 1636. Ebenezer had three children from a previous marriage who survived to maturity, as well as five children from his marriage to Abigail; Webster was the second-youngest of the eight siblings.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=29–33}} He was particularly close to his older brother, Ezekiel, who was born in 1780.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=47–48}} As a youth, he helped work the family farm but was frequently in poor health. With the encouragement of his parents and tutors, he often read works by authors such as [[Alexander Pope]] and [[Isaac Watts]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=35–37}}[[File:Danielwebsterbirthplace.JPG|thumb|[[New Hampshire historical marker]] ([[List of New Hampshire historical markers (76–100)#91|number 91]]) at his birthplace in present-day [[Franklin, New Hampshire]]|left]]

In 1796, he attended [[Phillips Exeter Academy]], a preparatory school in [[Exeter, New Hampshire]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=38–40}} Exeter's Daniel Webster Debate Society, founded in 1818, is generally regarded as the oldest secondary school debate society in the nation. After studying the [[classics]] and other subjects for several months under a clergyman, Webster was admitted to [[Dartmouth College]] in 1797.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=41–42}}  During his time at Dartmouth, he managed the school newspaper and emerged as a strong public speaker.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=49–53}} He was chosen as the Fourth of July orator in the college town of [[Hanover, New Hampshire|Hanover]] in 1800, and his speech contained the substance of the political principles which he would later become famous for developing.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Webster, Daniel|volume=28 |pages=459–462}}</ref> Like his father, and like many other [[New England]] farmers, Webster was firmly devoted to the [[Federalist Party]] and favored a strong central government.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=53–54}} He graduated from Dartmouth in 1801 and was elected to the [[Phi Beta Kappa]] honor society.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=55–56}}

After graduating from Dartmouth, he apprenticed under Salisbury lawyer [[Thomas W. Thompson]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=58–59}} Though unenthusiastic about studying the law, he believed that becoming a lawyer would allow him to "live comfortably" and avoid the bouts of poverty that had afflicted his father.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=58–59, 66–67}} In order to help support his brother Ezekiel's study at Dartmouth, Webster temporarily resigned from the law office to work as a schoolteacher at [[Fryeburg Academy]] in [[Maine]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=60–61}} In 1804, he obtained a position in [[Boston]] under the prominent attorney [[Christopher Gore]]. Clerking for Gore—who was involved in international, national, and state politics—he learned about many legal and political subjects and met numerous New England politicians.{{sfn|Lodge|1883|p=12}} He grew to love Boston, and, in 1805, was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=73–77}}