Editing Daniel Webster (section)

====Bank War and 1832 election====

By 1830, he considered Clay to be the likely National Republican nominee in the [[1832 U.S. presidential election]], though he was skeptical that Clay would be able to defeat the Democratic nominee.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=336–337, 341}} The establishment of the [[Anti-Masonic Party]], a [[Third party (United States)|third party]] opposed to both Jackson and Clay, added a new factor into the election. Some Anti-Masonic leaders attempted to recruit him to run for the presidency,{{efn|Unlike Jackson and Clay, he was not a member of a [[Masonic]] fraternity.{{sfn|Remini|1997|p=339}}}} but he ultimately declined to run for fear of alienating Clay and other National Republicans.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=339–340}} Instead, he undertook a subtle campaign to win the National Republican nomination, planning a tour of the Northeast and the [[Old Northwest|Northwest]]; His angling for the presidency marked the start of an ambivalent relationship between Clay and Webster.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=341–342}} Nonetheless, he urged Clay to accept election to the Senate, and the two convinced [[Nicholas Biddle (banker)|Nicholas Biddle]], the president of the national bank, to apply for an early renewal of the national bank's charter. As Jackson had a long record of opposing the national bank, both hoped to make the national bank an issue in the 1832 presidential election. Clay was formally nominated by the National Republicans in December 1831, while Jackson was nominated for a second term in 1832.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=344–345}}

Biddle requested a renewal of the national bank's charter in January 1832, setting off what became known as the "[[Bank War]]."{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=345, 356}} With Clay focusing on a tariff bill, Webster became the unofficial leader of pro-national bank forces in the Senate. He helped ensure that Congress approved a renewal of the charter without making any major modifications, such as a provision that would allow states to prevent the national bank from establishing branches within their borders.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=360–363}} Congress approved the charter renewal, but, as was expected, Jackson vetoed the bill in July 1832; Jackson argued the bank was unconstitutional and served to "make the rich richer and the potent more powerful." On the Senate floor, Webster attacked the veto, arguing that only the judicial branch could judge a bill's constitutionality.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=363–368}} Afterward he supported Clay's presidential campaign and continued his efforts on behalf of the national bank, but Jackson was re-elected by a decisive margin.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=370–371}}