Judiciary Square in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Senator Daniel Webster
"Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable,"
Senator Daniel Webster, January 1830
Senator Daniel Webster, eloquent advocate for the preservation of the Union and a political giant in pre-Civil War America, lived and worked here. His home and office buildings, now demolished, were similar to the two surviving pre-Civil War buildings alongside this sign. Wester's buildings began where the ally is today, stretching to the west. In the mid-19th century this was a fashionable neighborhood of fine homes and magnificent churches within easy walking distance to the Capitol and near Washington’s City Hall/Courthouse.
Webster's unmatched speaking ability helped bring about the Compromise of 1850. The compromise helped delay the Civil War for about ten years and ended the notorious slave trade in District of Columbia. But at the same time strengthened the fugitive slave law that compelled citizens to help capture and return individuals fleeing slavery.
In 1850, at 69 years of age and near the end of his life, Webster made his last great speech on the floor of the Senate in defense of the Union. He filled the
this page online
Among the dignitaries who lived nearby were Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, John C. Calhoun, vice president under President John Quincy Adams; and Salmon P. Chase, President Lincoln’s secretary of the Treasury. President Lincoln attended the wedding of Kate Chase in the family home at Sixth and D Streets, now demolished. Lincoln attended the wedding of Chase's daughter Kate at the family home at Sixth and E Streets, now demolished.
In Webster's day, the First Unitarian Church of Washington stood at the corner of Sixth and D. The Unitarians were among the city's loudest anti-slavery voices. When they tolled the church bell endlessly the day abolitionist John Brown was executed in 1859, the city ordered the bell silenced for good. The former Recorder of Deeds building now occupies the church site.
Erected by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number e.3.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic
![Senator Daniel Webster Marker [Reverse] image. Click for full size.](Photos6/694/Photo694004.jpg?122202233300PM "Senator Daniel Webster Marker [Reverse]. Click for full size.")
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 2, 2022
2. Senator Daniel Webster Marker [Reverse]
Location. 38° 53.69′ N, 77° 1.151′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Judiciary Square. It is on D Street Northwest just west of 5th Street Northwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 501 D St NW, Washington DC 20549, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Daniel Webster (here, next to this marker); DC Recorder of Deeds Building / WPA Era Murals (a
Another marker is no longer nearby. Senator Daniel Webster (has been replaced with this marker).
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has replaced the linked marker.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2022, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 374 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 2, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
