Editing Daniel Webster (section)

===Van Buren administration, 1837–1841===
{{See also|Presidency of Martin Van Buren}}
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?93567-1/daniel-webster-man-time Presentation by Robert Remini on ''Daniel Webster: The Man and His Time'', October 5, 1997], [[C-SPAN]]}}
Shortly after Van Buren took office, a major economic downturn known as the [[Panic of 1837]] began. Webster and his Whig allies blamed Jackson's policies, including the [[Specie Circular]], for the panic, but a worldwide economic downturn was a major contributing factor. The panic hit the country hard and proved disastrous for Webster's personal finances.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=466–467}} With the help of Nicholas Biddle and other friendly bankers, Webster had gone into debt to engage in [[land speculation]] on a broad scale.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=452–453}} His debt was exacerbated by his propensity for lavishly furnishing his estate and giving away money with "reckless generosity and heedless profusion," in addition to indulging the smaller-scale "passions and appetites" of gambling and alcohol.{{sfn|Lodge|1883|p=118}} The panic resulted in many creditors calling in their loans and, according to Remini, Webster would never emerge from debt after 1837.{{sfn|Remini|1997|p=466}} Nonetheless, he remained focused on his political career.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=466–467}} While Whigs promoted the American System as the means for economic recovery, Van Buren's response to the panic focused on the practice of "strict economy and frugality."{{sfn|Howe|2007|pp=505–506}} Webster attacked Van Buren's proposals to address the economic crisis, including the establishment of an [[Independent Treasury]] system,{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=470–472}} and he helped arrange for the rescinding of the Specie Circular.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=478–479}}

He entertained hopes of winning the Whig nomination in the [[1840 U.S. presidential election]] but ultimately declined to challenge Clay or Harrison, both of whom commanded broader support within the party.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=483–484}} He remained neutral between Clay and Harrison, instead departing for a trip to Europe, where he attended his daughter's wedding and befriended [[Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton]].{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=487–497}} While he was abroad, the [[1839 Whig National Convention]] nominated Harrison for president. Although many Whigs favored a Harrison-Webster ticket, the convention instead nominated John Tyler of Virginia for vice president.{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=501–502}} Webster served as a prominent campaign surrogate for Harrison in the 1840 election, although he disliked the party's new, popular style of campaigning that made use of songs and slogans like "Tippecanoe and Tyler too."{{sfn|Remini|1997|pp=505–507}} The Whigs enjoyed great success in the 1840 elections, as Harrison took a majority of the popular and electoral vote and the party won control of Congress.{{sfn|Howe|2007|p=575}}