- Date:
- 1953
- Summary:
- Teaching Film Custodians abridged classroom version of a Cavalcade of America television episode, "The Last Will of Daniel Webster" (season 2, episode 8), which first aired November 14th, 1953 on ABC-TV. The film is a re-enactment of Webster's political career, as it influenced and was influenced by the slavery issue from 1830 until his death in 1852. It presents his relationships with Senators William Seward and Henry Clay and provides a basis for assessing his motivation in supporting Clay's Compromise of 1850. The film begins with an 1830 meeting between Webster, the presidential hopeful, and a newspaper publisher who offers support if Webster compromises in order to unite factions; Webster refuses. The film later presents Webster's conflicting stands on slavery before, after, and as communicated in, his controversial speech of March 7, 1850 that supported Senator Clay's compromise bill.