Three great Senators dominated what has come to be called the Senate's "Golden Age of Oratory," from the 1830s to the 1850s. The legendary orator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts spoke for industrial New England. Henry Clay of Kentucky, the "Great Compromiser," represented the Western frontier. The Southerner John C. Calhoun of South Carolina defended states' rights and the institution of slavery. Yet all three represented the United States. Alternately feuding and cooperating, this "great triumvirate" helped forge major legislative agreements, culminating with the Compromise of 1850.

The compromise included the Fugitive Slave Act, which required Northern states to return escaped slaves to their owners. By supporting it, Webster defied his antislavery constituents in Massachusetts, sacrificing his political career. The Massachusetts Senator believed passionately that he should defend the interests of the whole nation.

"I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American."
—Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, March 7, 1850

"I owe a paramount allegiance to the whole Union—a subordinate one to my own State."
—Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, July 22, 1850