DANIEL WEBSTER The Man and His Time By Robert V. Remini Norton. 704 pp. $38.95 TROUBLED by the fact that so few Americans really know much about their history, or about the men and women who shaped that history, Robert Remini has set for himself the admirable task of writing about selected individuals who, in his opinion, should not be allowed to disappear from our collective memory. This most recent volume by the prize-winning biographer of Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay is a thoroughly researched and well-written life of the gifted New Englander Daniel Webster (1782-1852), a highly influential figure in the history of the young nation as it struggled to find itself, to establish its own identify, and to assure its survival and advancement, as well as its unity. Webster's extraordinary career is well worth recalling. After graduation from Dartmouth College -- where, in addition to having been elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, he had established his reputation as the most skillful debater and most popular public speaker on campus -- he began what was to become a spectacular political career, first representing New Hampshire and then his adopted state, Massachusetts, in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1827, he won election to the U.S. Senate, where he was destined to spend much of the rest of his life, deeply involved in all of the major conflicts and controversies that threatened the new nation and earning for himself the enviable and well-deserved reputation as one of the half-dozen greatest senators in the entire history of the U.S. Congress. He was also twice appointed secretary of state and served in that capacity under three different presidents. His greatest accomplishment in the diplomatic arena was the successful negotiation of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), a stunning triumph that not only spared the republic a third war with England but also brought to an end the feeling of intense hostility between the young nation and its mother country, providing the base for that special Anglo-American relationship that has lasted to this very day. Among his other enduring diplomatic achievements were the initiation of our first policy toward China and his subsequent role in the opening of Japan to Western trade, which, taken in combination, clearly mark Webster as the original architect of American foreign policy in the Far East. As was true of his talented contemporary and sometime rival Henry Clay, Webster displayed what can only be described as a positive lust for the presidency. While he would never hold that office, his courtship of it was a long and devoted one. In fact, he sought by every means available to insert himself into at least five consecutive presidential contests. Perhaps the greatest irony in that chapter of his life was his haughty refusal in 1840 to accept the vice-presidential nomination on the Whig ticket headed by William Henry Harrison, who died within one month of having taken the oath of office. THE FAILURE of Webster's substantial presidential ambitions resulted from a combination of circumstances. Basically, he was not "a man of the people." Aloof, reserved, aristocratic in bearing and manner, Webster often came across as arrogant toward those not his social or intellectual equal. In an "age of the common man," he was a most uncommon man: an elitist who not only held but publicly expressed such unsettling views as "the road to despotism leads through the mire and dirt of uncontrolled democracy." He was a "conservative" who lived in a "democratic age," out of touch with the egalitarian surge that swept across the nation in the first half of the 19th century. In short, Webster was, in a fundamental way, disconnected from his own time, not the first nor the last American statesman to be so afflicted. In his case, it seems, the voters dearly loved to listen to him campaign but almost always voted for someone else. In addition to his prominence as a political leader, Webster was also widely known and acclaimed as one of this country's foremost lawyers. He built a highly successful private practice and was the acknowledged leader of the American bar pleading before the Supreme Court. Between 1815 and 1852, he appeared in almost every session of the court, arguing more than 200 cases, many of which involved constitutional issues. It is not to claim too much to say that Webster provided the Marshall Court with the basic arguments for many of its major decisions. The echo of his powerful voice can still be heard in the court's findings in such diverse and vital areas as the supremacy of federal over state laws, the Constitution as supreme law of the land, the Supreme Court as the final arbiter in constitutional disputes, limitations on the exercise of executive power, the inviolability of contracts, and, above all, the perpetuity of the Union. There is more than a little truth in the comment attributed to a contemporary wag that "the Constitution means whatever Daniel Webster says it means." Webster was also a magnificent orator, arguably the greatest this nation ever produced. "The Demosthenes of America" was a spellbinder who captivated and held his audiences for hours at a time. His admirers often referred to him as "the god-like Daniel." That there was another, and darker, side to Webster's nature is reflected in Remini's balanced account of the actions and attitudes that earned him his other nickname, "Black Dan." Supercilious, intellectually arrogant, and something of a snob, Webster was a shameless user of people, especially for his own advancement or enrichment. Many of his contemporaries thought him to be untrustworthy; some actually despised him. Flinty old John Quincy Adams, for example, claimed that Webster had "a rotten heart." Perhaps his most serious defect was his carelessness about money and his constant pursuit of those who had it. His financial recklessness led into a spiral of indebtedness from which he was never able to escape. He was a frequent borrower who grew increasingly indifferent about repaying what he owed. He not only accepted money and expensive gifts from friends and supporters, he grew to expect them as his due. For more than 30 years, a network of wealthy and influential men in Boston and New York made gifts, loans and contributions to supplement his income. Nicholas Biddle, the powerful president of the Bank of the United States, who hired Webster as the bank's attorney and later arranged his election to its board of directors, frequently came to Webster's financial rescue. On one occasion, Biddle bought up $114,000 of his lawyer's outstanding notes to the bank. To this sorry story it can be added that, as secretary of state, Webster sold several diplomatic posts for personal gain and that when he ran for re-election to the Senate in 1845, he accepted a $100,000 "subscription" from his business friends. Whatever the legality of these actions, they clearly fixed upon Webster the unambiguous image of being the candidate of the rich and powerful. Nor was his personal life unblemished. There were frequent comments about his excessive drinking, and, as a matter of fact, his drinking grew progressively worse as he experienced the depths of political frustration, the loss of a beloved wife and four of his five children, and the growing dissatisfaction of an unhappy second marriage. Medical evidence at the time of his death confirmed that an advanced case of cirrhosis of the liver had shortened his life. Early on in his Washington days, Webster gained something of a reputation as a "ladies man" and a philanderer. One of the more vicious (and unsubstantiated) rumors charged him with fathering an illegitimate child. The record does suggest an on-again, off-again "liaison" with Sarah Goodridge, an accomplished miniaturist who not only executed portraits of Webster and his family, but also made him a personal gift of a self-portrait exposing an impressive expanse of what might be referred to as her "distinguishing physical characteristics." There were also some who charged Webster with political hypocrisy. Some of the Southerners in Congress often taunted him during the increasingly hostile debates over the extension of slavery and the nature of the Union. They were quick to remind him, for instance, of his noticeable silence when his fellow New Englanders, upset by the severe economic dislocations to their region by the War of 1812, met in the infamous Hartford Convention to consider "appropriate action," which some delegates openly wished might lead to secession. Sen. Robert Hayne of South Carolina, in the course of their famous debate over "nullification" in 1829, referred directly to that "awful and melancholy period of our national history." Hayne pointedly asked why "the gentleman from Massachusetts, who now manifests such great attachment to the Union" did not exert his talent or influence with his "deluded friends" and point out to them its transcendent value. Indeed, there was vulnerability in Webster's position, and neither he nor his apologists ever provided a satisfactory response to his critics. WEBSTER's faults were many and real, but it is relatively easy to agree with the author's conclusion that his undeniable talents and his valuable contributions to the nation more than offset them. His unique qualities -- intellectual power, unsurpassed oratorical skills, understanding of and devotion to the Constitution, passionate attachment to his beloved Union -- combined in such a way as to produce one of the greatest and most effective teachers of history this nation has ever known. All Americans were his students. Through his speeches, debates and court appearances, he helped give the American people their own past, even as he instructed them in their proper relationship to their federal government. In that splendid voice, he set forth, in language that will never be surpassed, the nation's very best image of itself, and, in so doing, fired the pride of everyday Americans in the very real accomplishments of their young and struggling nation. Robert Remini has been more than successful in reminding us of the turbulent life and valuable works of "one of the most gifted and extraordinary people our country has ever produced." This is a superb biography, one that will surely secure Remini's already established reputation as one of this country's pre-eminent historians of the Age of Jackson. Otis Singletary, president emeritus of the University of Kentucky and president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, served as first director of the Job Corps Program and is the author of "The Mexican War." CAPTION: Portrait of Daniel Webster by Adrian Lamb