Joel Richard Paul- INDIVISIBLE DANIEL WEBSTER AND THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN NATIONALISM

What was an American after the United States was founded in 1776? Most Americans of the day would be stumped by that question. They tended to think of themselves more as Virginians or New Yorkers, not Americans. That is until Massachusetts Senator and later Secretary of State Daniel Webster entered the scene, popularizing the ideas of American nationalism that helped forge a sense of national identity, one that would later inspire Abraham Lincoln to fight to preserve the union and launch the Civil War.  Considered one of the greatest orators of his time and a statesman in the same league as Washington, Hamilton and Madison, who earned the reputation “defender of the Constitution,” Webster is a profoundly influential but often overlooked titan of American history.  And that is why we are delighted to share with you here from historian and constitutional scholar Joel Richard Paul—INDIVISIBLE: Daniel Webster and the Birth of American Nationalism, a fascinating account of the brilliant and complex figure who defined what it means to be an American. ABOUT JOEL RICHARD PAUL Joel Richard Paul is a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of California Hastings Law School in San Francisco. He is the author of Without Precedent: Chief Justice Marshall and His Times, and Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright and a Spy Saved the American Revolution. He lives in Northern California.