. . The senator from Massachusetts, in denouncing what he is pleased to call the Carolina doctrine,[5] has attempted to throw ridicule upon the idea that a state has any constitutional remedy by the exercise of its sovereign authority against a gross, palpable, and deliberate violation of the Constitution. He called it an idle or a ridiculous notion, or something to that effect; and added, that it would make the Union a mere rope of sand. It was of a partizan and censorious character and drew nearly all the chief senators out. When the honorable member rose, in his first speech, I paid him the respect of attentive listening; and when he sat down, though surprised, and I must say even astonished, at some of his opinions, nothing was farther from my intention than to commence any personal warfare: and through the whole of the few remarks I made in answer, I avoided, studiously and carefully, everything which I thought possible to be construed into disrespect. More specifically, some of the issues facing Congress during this period included: Robert Y. Hayne served as Senator of South Carolina from 1823 to 1832. I hold it to be a popular government, erected by the people; those who administer it responsible to the people; and itself capable of being amended and modified, just as the people may choose it should be. . Hayne argued that the sovereign and independent states had created the Union to promote their particular interests. Even more pointedly, his speech reflected a decade of arguments from other Massachusetts conservatives who argued against supposed threats to New England's social order.[2]. It impressed on the soil itself, while it was yet a wilderness, an incapacity to bear up any other than free men. At the time of the debate, Webster was serving his term as Senator of Massachusetts. Neither side can be said to have 'won' the debate, but Webster's articulation of the Union solidified for many the role of the federal government. It is to state, and to defend, what I conceive to be the true principles of the Constitution under which we are here assembled. Webster spoke in favor of the proposed pause of federal surveyance of western land, representing the North's interest in selling the western land, which had already been surveyed. The Senate debates between Whig Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Democrat Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina in January 1830 started out as a disagreement over the sale of Western lands and turned into one of the most famous verbal contests in American history. Sir, I deprecate and deplore this tone of thinking and acting. Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives. But to remove all doubt it is expressly declared, by the 10th article of the amendment of the Constitution, that the powers not delegated to the states, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.. The people of the United States cherish a devotion to the Union, so pure, so ardent, that nothing short of intolerable oppression, can ever tempt them to do anything that may possibly endanger it. This leads, sir, to the real and wide difference, in political opinion, between the honorable gentleman and myself. Thousands of these deluded victims of fanaticism were seduced into the enjoyment of freedom in our Northern cities. But I do not admit that, under the Constitution, and in conformity with it, there is any mode in which a state government, as a member of the Union, can interfere and stop the progress of the general government, by force of her own laws, under any circumstances whatever. . I now proceed to show that it is perfectly safe, and will practically have no effect but to keep the federal government within the limits of the Constitution, and prevent those unwarrantable assumptions of power, which cannot fail to impair the rights of the states, and finally destroy the Union itself. . Rather, the debate eloquently captured the ideas and ideals of Northern and Southern representatives of the time, highlighting and summarizing the major issues of governance of the era. So they could finish selling the lands already surveyed. Available in hard copy and for download. . I understand the honorable gentleman from South Carolina to maintain, that it is a right of the state legislatures to interfere, whenever, in their judgment, this government transcends its constitutional limits, and to arrest the operation of its laws. . There was no winner or loser in the Webster-Hayne debate. . Finding our lot cast among a people, whom God had manifestly committed to our care, we did not sit down to speculate on abstract questions of theoretical liberty. The Confederation was, in strictness, a compact; the states, as states, were parties to it. The Most Famous Senate Speech January 26, 1830 The debate began simply enough, centering on the seemingly prosaic subjects of tariff and public land policy. [2] We deal in no abstractions. Religious Views: Letter to the Editor of the Illin Democratic Party Platform 1860 (Douglas Faction), (Northern) Democratic Party Platform Committee. Wilmot Proviso of 1846: Overview & Significance | What was the Wilmot Proviso? The excited crowd which had packed the Senate chamber, filling every seat on the floor and in the galleries, and all the available standing room, dispersed after the orator's last grand apostrophe had died away in the air, with national pride throbbing at the heart. Post-Civil War, as the nation rebuilt and reconciled the balance between federal and state government, federal law became the supreme law of the land, just as Webster desired. . Let's start by looking at the United States around 1830. Who, then, Mr. President, are the true friends of the Union? To them, this was a scheme to give the federal government more control over the cost of land by creating a scarcity. . . It is, sir, the peoples Constitution, the peoples government; made for the people; made by the people; and answerable to the people. He must say to his followers [members of the state militia], defend yourselves with your bayonets; and this is warcivil war. President Andrew Jackson had just been elected, most of the states got rid of property requirements for voting, and an entire new era of democracy was being born. Noah grew a vineyard, got drunk on wine and lay naked. . But, sir, the gentleman is mistaken. Connecticut and other northeastern states were worried about the pace of growth and wanted to slow this down. Create your account, 15 chapters | For all this, there was not the slightest foundation, in anything said or intimated by me. . Southern states advocated for strong, sovereign state governments, a small federal government, the western expansion of the agricultural economy, and with it, the maintenance of the institution of slavery. The Destiny of America, Speech at the Dedication o An Address. Daniel webster, in a dramatic speech, showed the. Sir, I should fear the rebuke of no intelligent gentleman of Kentucky, were I to ask whether, if such an ordinance could have been applied to his own state, while it yet was a wilderness, and before Boone had passed the gap of the Alleghany, he does not suppose it would have contributed to the ultimate greatness of that commonwealth? . Sir, if we are, then vain will be our attempt to maintain the Constitution under which we sit. They will also better understand the debate's political context. Representatives of the northern states were concerned by the rapid growth of the nation; just 27 years earlier, the Louisiana Purchase had nearly doubled the size of the nation, and the newly elected President Andrew Jackson was hungry for more territory. I deem far otherwise of the Union of the states; and so did the Framers of the Constitution themselves. Strange was it, however, that in heaping reproaches upon the Hartford Convention he did not mark how nearly its leaders had mapped out the same line of opposition to the national Government that his State now proposed to take, both relying upon the arguments of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 179899. . Speech of Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, January 20, 1830. By means of missionaries and political tracts, the scheme was in a great measure successful. By establishing justice, promoting domestic tranquility, and securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. This is the true reading of the Constitution. . . . Tariff of 1816 History & Significance | What was the Tariff of 1816? Webster was eloquent, he was educated, he was witty, and he was a staunch defender of American liberty. . . The measures of the federal government have, it is true, prostrated her interests, and will soon involve the whole South in irretrievable ruin. But his calm, unperturbed manner reassured them in an instant. In January 1830, a debate on the nature of sovereignty in the American federal union occurred in the United States Senate between Senators Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina. But still, throughout American history, several debates have captured the nation's attention in a way that would make even Hollywood jealous. . I must now beg to ask, sir, whence is this supposed right of the states derived?where do they find the power to interfere with the laws of the Union? If this is to become one great consolidated government, swallowing up the rights of the states, and the liberties of the citizen, riding and ruling over the plundered ploughman, and beggared yeomanry,[8] the Union will not be worth preserving. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. . He speaks as if he were in Congress before 1789. The great debate, which culminated in Hayne's encounter with Webster, came about in a somewhat casual way. The Constitutional Convention: The Great Compromise, The Webster-Hayne Debate of 1830: Summary & Issues, The History of American Presidential Debates, Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening: Sermons & Biography, Who Was Susan B. Anthony? But, sir, we will pass over all this. Webster's description of the U.S. government as "made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people," was later paraphrased by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address in the words "government of the people, by the people, for the people." Hayne quotes from the Virginia Resolution (1798), authored by Thomas Jefferson, to protest the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798). . The Webster-Hayne debate was a famous debate in the United States between Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina.It happened on January 19-27, 1830. . Sir, I cordially respond to that appeal. I know, full well, that it is, and has been, the settled policy of some persons in the South, for years, to represent the people of the North as disposed to interfere with them, in their own exclusive and peculiar concerns. Conversation-based seminars for collegial PD, one-day and multi-day seminars, graduate credit seminars (MA degree), online and in-person. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. sir, this is but the old story. I understand him to insist, that if the exigency of the case, in the opinion of any state government, require it, such state government may, by its own sovereign authority, annul an act of the general government, which it deems plainly and palpably unconstitutional. I distrust, therefore, sir, the policy of creating a great permanent national treasury, whether to be derived from public lands or from any other source. MTEL Speech: Notable Debates & Speeches in U.S. History, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858: Summary & Significance, Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, The Significance of Daniel Webster's Argument, MTEL Speech: Principles of Argument & Debate, MTEL Speech: Understanding Persuasive Communication, MTEL Speech: Public Argument in Democratic Societies. . . Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. See what I mean? Hayne and the South saw it as basically a treaty between sovereign states. Sir, an immense national treasury would be a fund for corruption. Let us look at the historical facts. What followed, the Webster Hayne debate, was one of the most famous exchanges in Senate history. This episode was used in nineteenth century America as a Biblical justification for slavery. In coming to the consideration of the next great question, what ought to be the future policy of the government in relation to the public lands? All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. We do not impose geographical limits to our patriotic feeling or regard; we do not follow rivers and mountains, and lines of latitude, to find boundaries, beyond which public improvements do not benefit us. Battle of Fort Sumter in the Civil War | Who Won the Battle of Fort Sumter? It was not a Union to be torn up without bloodshed; for nerves and arteries were interwoven with its roots and tendrils, sustaining the lives and interests of twelve million inhabitants. Hayne launched his confident javelin at the New England States. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. It was a great and salutary measure of prevention.