The people of the United States have declared that this Constitution shall be the Supreme Law. . The Confederation was, in strictness, a compact; the states, as states, were parties to it. In this regard, Webster anticipated an argument that Abraham Lincoln made in his First Inaugural Address (1861). I will struggle while I have life, for our altars and our fire sides, and if God gives me strength, I will drive back the invader discomfited. . TeachingAmericanHistory.org is a project of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, 401 College Avenue, Ashland, Ohio 44805 PHONE (419) 289-5411 TOLL FREE (877) 289-5411 EMAIL [emailprotected], The Congress Sends Twelve Amendments to the States, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 3rd Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 3rd Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 4th Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 4th Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 6th Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 6th Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 7th Debate Part I, National Disfranchisement of Colored People, William Lloyd Garrison to Thomas Shipley. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you . In whatever is within the proper sphere of the constitutional power of this government, we look upon the states as one. The significance of Daniel Webster's argument went far beyond the immediate proposal at hand. In The Webster-Hayne Debate, Christopher Childers examines the context of the debate between Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and his Senate colleague Robert S. Hayne of South Carolina in January 1830 . . Consolidation, like the tariff, grates upon his ear. Finally, sir, the honorable gentleman says, that the states will only interfere, by their power, to preserve the Constitution. . . . He must say to his followers [members of the state militia], defend yourselves with your bayonets; and this is warcivil war. I admit that there is an ultimate violent remedy, above the Constitution, and in defiance of the Constitution, which may be resorted to, when a revolution is to be justified. . Speech of Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, January 27, 1830. . 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. In fact, Webster's definition of the Constitution as for the People, by the People, and answerable to the People would go on to form one of the most enduring ideas about American democracy. This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our minds, led each state in the Convention to be less rigid, on points of inferior magnitude, than might have been otherwise expected.. If slavery, as it now exists in this country, be an evil, we of the present day found it ready made to our hands. Create your account, 15 chapters | The purpose of the Constitution was to permit cooperation between states under a shared political standard, but that meant that any growth in a federal government threatened the sovereignty of the states. Now, have they given away that right, or agreed to limit or restrict it in any respect? All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Differences between Northern and Southern ideas of good governance, which eventually led to the American Civil War, were beginning to emerge. Though Webster made an impassioned argument, the political, social, and economic traditions of New England informed his ideas about the threatened nation. They will also better understand the debate's political context. . The Webster Hayne Debate. He was dressed with scrupulous care, in a blue coat with metal buttons, a buff vest rounding over his full abdomen, and his neck encircled with a white cravat. Speech of Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, January 25, 1830. . They undertook to form a general government, which should stand on a new basisnot a confederacy, not a league, not a compact between states, but a Constitution; a popular government, founded in popular election, directly responsible to the people themselves, and divided into branches, with prescribed limits of power, and prescribed duties. She has a BA in political science. . The Webster-Hayne debate concluded with Webster's ringing endorsement of "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." In contrast, Hayne espoused the radical states' rights doctrine of nullification, believing that a state could prevent a federal law from being enforced within its borders. . This is the sense in which the Framers of the Constitution use the word consolidation; and in which sense I adopt and cherish it. If I had, sir, the powers of a magician, and could, by a wave of my hand, convert this capital into gold for such a purpose, I would not do it. Sir, when the gentleman provokes me to such a conflict, I meet him at the threshold. The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions Add Song of the Spinners from the Lowell Offering. Create your account. . Webster's speech aroused the latent spirit of patriotism. . The WebsterHayne debate was a debate in the United States between Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina that took place on January 1927, 1830 on the topic of protectionist tariffs. . Will it promote the welfare of the United States to have at our disposal a permanent treasury, not drawn from the pockets of the people, but to be derived from a source independent of them? The faction of voters in the North were against slavery and feared it spreading into new territory. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. The Northwest Ordinance. When the gentleman says the Constitution is a compact between the states, he uses language exactly applicable to the old Confederation. And now, Mr. President, let me run the honorable gentlemans doctrine a little into its practical application. Sir, I deprecate and deplore this tone of thinking and acting. I understand the gentleman to maintain, that, without revolution, without civil commotion, without rebellion, a remedy for supposed abuse and transgression of the powers of the general government lies in a direct appeal to the interference of the state governments. Nor shall I stop there. . As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 But his reply was gathered from the choicest arguments and the most decadent thoughts that had long floated through his brain while this crisis was gathering; and bringing these materials together in a lucid and compact shape, he calmly composed and delivered before another crowded and breathless auditory a speech full of burning passages, which will live as long as the American Union, and the grandest effort of his life. Most people of the time supported a small central government and strong state governments, so the federal government was much weaker than you might have expected. Sir, the opinion which the honorable gentleman maintains, is a notion, founded in a total misapprehension, in my judgment, of the origin of this government, and of the foundation on which it stands. . 136 lessons It moves vast bodies, and gives to them one and the same direction. Some of his historical deductions may be questioned; but far above all possible error on the part of her leaders, stood colonial and Revolutionary New England, and the sturdy, intelligent, and thriving people whose loyalty to the Union had never failed, and whose home, should ill befall the nation, would yet prove liberty's last shelter. There was no winner or loser in the Webster-Hayne debate. . This leads us to inquire into the origin of this government, and the source of its power. Noah grew a vineyard, got drunk on wine and lay naked. Pet Banks History & Effects | What are Pet Banks? Crittenden Compromise Plan & Reception | What was the Crittenden Compromise? 1. emigration the movement of people from one place to another 2. immigration a situation in which resources are being used up at a faster rate than they can be replenished 3. migration the leaving of one's homeland to settle in a new place 4. overpopulation the movement of people to a new country 5. sustainable development a situation in which the birth rate is not sufficient to replace the . Daniel Webster argued against nullification (the idea that states could disobey federal laws) arguing in favor of a strong federal government which would bind the states together under the Constitution. . 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. . It is not the creature of state Legislatures; nay, more, if the whole truth must be told, the people brought it into existence, established it, and have hitherto supported it, for the very purpose, amongst others, of imposing certain salutary restraints on state sovereignties. . During his first years in Congress, Webster railed against President James Madison 's war policies, invoking a states' rights argument to oppose a conscription bill that went down to defeat.. Most are forgettable, to put it charitably. we find the most opposite and irreconcilable opinions between the two parties which I have before described. In a time when the country was undergoing some drastic changes, this debate managed to encapsulate the essence of the growing tensions dividing the nation. The answer is Daniel Webster, one of the greatest orators in US Senate history, a successful attorney and Senator from Massachusetts and a complex and enigmatic man. . An equally talented orator, Webster rose as the advocate of the North in the debate with his captivating reply to Hayne's initial argument. I have but one word more to add. Webster scoffed at the idea of consolidation, labeling it "that perpetual cry, both of terror and delusion." What Hayne and his supporters actually meant to do, Webster claimed, was to resist those means that might strengthen the bonds of common interest. Connecticut and other northeastern states were worried about the pace of growth and wanted to slow this down. Now, I wish to be informedhowthis state interference is to be put in practice, without violence, bloodshed, and rebellion. Do they mean, or can they mean, anything more than that the Union of the states will be strengthened, by whatever continues or furnishes inducements to the people of the states to hold together? It develops the gentlemans whole political system; and its answer expounds mine. . . This government, sir, is the independent offspring of the popular will. Sir, I cordially respond to that appeal. Consolidation!that perpetual cry, both of terror and delusionconsolidation! [was] fixed, forever, the character of the population in the vast regions Northwest of the Ohio, by excluding from them involuntary servitude. . Who, then, Mr. President, are the true friends of the Union? A speech by Louisiana Senator Edward Livingston, however, neatly explains how American nationhood encompasses elements of both Webster and Hayne's ideas. . Sir, I have had some opportunities of making comparisons between the condition of the free Negroes of the North and the slaves of the South, and the comparison has left not only an indelible impression of the superior advantages of the latter, but has gone far to reconcile me to slavery itself. He joined Hayne in using this opportunity to try to detach the West from the East, and restore the old cooperation of the West and the South against New England. When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in Heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood! All regulated governments, all free governments, have been broken up by similar disinterested and well-disposed interference! In all the efforts that have been made by South Carolina to resist the unconstitutional laws which Congress has extended over them, she has kept steadily in view the preservation of the Union, by the only means by which she believes it can be long preserveda firm, manly, and steady resistance against usurpation. Webster pursued his objective through a rhetorical strategy that ignored Benton, the principal opponent of New England sectionalism, and that provoked Hayne into an exposition and defense of what became the South Carolina doctrine of nullification. . It was a great and salutary measure of prevention. It makes but little difference, in my estimation, whether Congress or the Supreme Court, are invested with this power. The gentleman takes alarm at the sound. On January 19, 1830, Hayne attacked the Foot Resolution and labeled the Northeasterners as selfish and unprincipled for their support of protectionism and conservative land policies. The impression which has gone abroad, of the weakness of the South, as connected with the slave question, exposes us to such constant attacks, has done us so much injury, and is calculated to produce such infinite mischiefs, that I embrace the occasion presented by the remarks of the gentleman from Massachusetts, to declare that we are ready to meet the question promptly and fearlessly. What they said I believe; fully and sincerely believe, that the Union of the states is essential to the prosperity and safety of the states. Edited and introduced by Jason W. Stevens. . The dominant historical opinion of the famous debate between Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Young Hayne of South Carolina which took place in the United States Senate in 1830 has long been that Webster defeated Hayne both as an orator and a statesman. Sir, we narrow-minded people of New England do not reason thus. They attack nobody, and menace nobody. Next, the Union was held up to view in all its strength, symmetry, and integrity, reposing in the ark of the Constitution, no longer an experiment, as in the days when Hamilton and Jefferson contended for shaping its course, but ordained and established by and for the people, to secure the blessings of liberty to all posterity. There was no clear winner of the debate, but the Union's victory over the Confederacy just a few decades later brought Webster's ideas to fruition. Hayne's few but zealous partizans shielded him still, and South Carolina spoke with pride of him. . I say, the right of a state to annul a law of Congress, cannot be maintained, but on the ground of the unalienable right of man to resist oppression; that is to say, upon the ground of revolution. See Genesis 9:2027. God grant that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind. We who come here, as agents and representatives of these narrow-minded and selfish men of New England, consider ourselves as bound to regard, with equal eye, the good of the whole, in whatever is within our power of legislation. . 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. They switched from a. the tariff of 1828 to national power . Robert Young Hayne spent more than two decades in elected offices, including mayor of Charleston, member of South Carolina's legislature, attorney general, and then governor of the state. We found that we had to deal with a people whose physical, moral, and intellectual habits and character, totally disqualified them from the enjoyment of the blessings of freedom. When they shall become dissatisfied with this distribution, they can alter it. Inflamed and mortified at this repulse, Hayne soon returned to the assault, primed with a two-day speech, which at great length vaunted the patriotism of South Carolina and bitterly attacked New England, dwelling particularly upon her conduct during the late war. Excerpts from Ratification Documents of Virginia a Ratifying Conventions>New York Ratifying Convention. . Webster also tried to assert the importance of New England in the face of . It is only by a strict adherence to the limitations imposed by the Constitution on the federal government, that this system works well, and can answer the great ends for which it was instituted. . The gentleman has made an eloquent appeal to our hearts in favor of union. Hayne quotes from Thomas Jefferson to William Branch Giles, December 26, 1825, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-william-branch-giles/?_sft_document_author=thomas-jefferson. . . Can any man believe, sir, that, if twenty-three millions per annum was now levied by direct taxation, or by an apportionment of the same among the states, instead of being raised by an indirect tax, of the severe effect of which few are aware, that the waste and extravagance, the unauthorized imposition of duties, and appropriations of money for unconstitutional objects, would have been tolerated for a single year? Sir, all our difficulties on this subject have arisen from interference from abroad, which has disturbed, and may again disturb, our domestic tranquility, just so far as to bring down punishment upon the heads of the unfortunate victims of a fanatical and mistaken humanity. We will not look back to inquire whether our fathers were guiltless in introducing slaves into this country. . Webster's "Second Reply to Hayne" was generally regarded as "the most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress."[1]. Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) | Case, Significance & Summary. . The states cannot now make war; they cannot contract alliances; they cannot make, each for itself, separate regulations of commerce; they cannot lay imposts; they cannot coin money. . . But, sir, we will pass over all this. Hayne launched his confident javelin at the New England States. At the time of the debate, Webster was serving his term as Senator of Massachusetts. Sir, we will not stop to inquire whether the black man, as some philosophers have contended, is of an inferior race, nor whether his color and condition are the effects of a curse inflicted for the offences of his ancestors. Webster replied to his speech the next day and left not a shred of the charge, baseless as it was. This, sir, is General Washingtons consolidation. Enveloping all of these changes was an ever-growing tension over the economy, as southern states firmly defended slavery and northern states advocated for a more industrial, slave-free market. . . He accused them of a desire to check the growth of the West in the interests of protection. I propose to consider it, and to compare it with the Constitution. 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. Several state governments or courts, some in the north, had espoused the idea of nullification prior to 1828. South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification 1832 | Crisis, Cause & Issues. State governments were in control of their own affairs and expected little intervention from the federal government. 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? The whole form and structure of the federal government, the opinions of the Framers of the Constitution, and the organization of the state governments, demonstrate that though the states have surrendered certain specific powers, they have not surrendered their sovereignty. So soon as the cessions were obtained, it became necessary to make provision for the government and disposition of the territory . . Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions | Overview, Impact & Significance, Public Speaking for Teachers: Professional Development, AEPA Earth Science (AZ045): Practice & Study Guide, ORELA Early Childhood Education: Practice & Study Guide, Praxis Middle School English Language Arts (5047) Prep, MTLE Physical Education: Practice & Study Guide, ILTS Mathematics (208): Test Practice and Study Guide, MTLE Earth & Space Science: Practice & Study Guide, AEPA Business Education (NT309): Help & Review, Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE): Exam Prep & Study Guide, GACE Special Education Adapted Curriculum Test I (083) Prep, GACE Special Education Adapted Curriculum Test II (084) Prep, Create an account to start this course today. In the course of my former remarks, I took occasion to deprecate, as one of the greatest of evils, the consolidation of this government. . What followed, the Webster Hayne debate, was one of the most famous exchanges in Senate history. But, sir, the task has been forced upon me, and I proceed right onward to the performance of my duty; be the consequences what they may, the responsibility is with those who have imposed upon me this necessity. "The most eloquent speech ever delivered in Congress" may have been Webster's 1830 "Second Reply to Hayne", a South Carolina Senator who had echoed John C. Calhoun's case for state's rights.. . - Women's Rights Facts & Significance, Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points: Definition, Speech & Summary, Fireside Chats: Definition & Significance, JFK's New Frontier: Definition, Speech & Program. Well, it's important to remember that the nation was still young and much different than what we think of today. The Webster-Hayne debate laid out key issues faced by the Senate in the 1820s and 1830s. . ", What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?. On the one side it is contended that the public land ought to be reserved as a permanent fund for revenue, and future distribution among the states, while, on the other, it is insisted that the whole of these lands of right belong to, and ought to be relinquished to, the states in which they lie. This would have been the case even if no positive provision to that effect had been inserted in that instrument. . Address to the People of the United States, by the What are the main points of difference between Webster and Hayne, especially on the question of the nature of the Union and the Constitution?