"United States" in the Singular

More than any single American (excepting, perhaps, admirer Abraham Lincoln), Daniel Webster 1801 talked the United States into becoming a single nation. Before Webster's unparalleled career, "United States" was for most citizens a plural noun.

"One country, one constitution, one destiny" was the central purpose of his 27 years in the House and Senate, his three attempts at the Presidency, his two terms as Secretary of State, the 200 cases he argued before the Supreme Court, and his countless public addresses all of which constitute Webster's gift to us all.