Dictionary.net

(1799-1859) of Massachusetts, lawyer. He was graduated as valedictorian, at Dartmouth, in 1819, when he was already remarkable for scholarship. In 1821 he studied law with William Wirt in Baltimore, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1823, at which he soon took the foremost place as an advocate. He was a member of Congress 1831-35, and of the U. S. Senate 1841-45, in which he made many brilliant speeches, notably one against the annexation of Texas.