ABSTRACT
In 1816, the state legislature of New Hampshire took control of Dartmouth College and acted as its new board of trustees because the college was in financial disarray. 1 Dartmouth viewed the takeover as a political move by the newly empowered Democratic-Republicans (Smith 1989, 14) and sued the state. At the outset, the case looked dim for the college. However, after losing at trial, Daniel Webster joined Dartmouth’s counsel (Jeremiah Mason and Jeremiah Smith) and argued the case on initial appeal. They lost there, too, as the Exeter Court upheld the trial court’s decision allowing the state government to continue its oversight of the college (Smith 1989, 14).
