Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College and by 1805 had passed the bar. He practiced law in both Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Boston and served in the House of Representatives twice. In 1827 he was elected to the United States Senate, where he quickly became a leader thanks in part to his stirring speeches. In 1836 he ran for the presidency but bowed out early, and in 1841 he was appointed Secretary of State to President William Henry Harrison and his successor, John Tyler. Webster returned to the Senate in 1844 and vowed his opposition to the annexation of Texas and the subsequent Mexican War. He supported the Fugitive Slave Law in March 1850, a highly unpopular move, and left the Senate again to become Secretary of State under Millard Fillmore. Although he sought the presidency again in 1852, he was passed over and died just before the election in October of that year. Webster was seen as one of the great leaders of his time for his work in forging a series of compromises that delayed the outbreak of war.