Master's Theses

Department

Communication Studies

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

Daniel Webster remains a source of fascination and controversy 150 years after the death of this spokesperson of Constitutional unionism. This duality is no doubt due to the tremendous acclaim he received after his expression of Unionist sentiment in 1830, the patriotic feeling that he both expressed and created, and the opprobrium he received after the delivery of the "Constitution and Union", a speech better known to history as the "Seventh of March" speech that urged reconciliation, compromise and suggested also and most damningly that was Incumbent upon northern citizens to catch and return runaway slaves. The purpose of this thesis was to compare the content in the two speeches most responsible for Webster's fame and infamy with regard to the questions that have plagued Webster and historians since; namely, was Webster consistent in his approach to the issue of slavery and was he consistent and sincere in his fealty and devotion to the Union? Using the method of content analysis, the conclusion of this study, based solely upon examination and categorization of themes within the texts, was that he was indeed consistent regarding those two issues.

Keywords

Communication

Advisor

Dr. Mahboub Hashem

Date of Award

Summer 2000

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

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