If they mean merely this, then, no doubt, the public lands as well as everything else in which we have a common interest, tends to consolidation; and to this species of consolidation every true American ought to be attached; it is neither more nor less than strengthening the Union itself. Compare And Contrast The Tension Between North And South 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 War With Mexico: Speech in the United States H What Are the Colored People Doing for Themselves? Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you It was plenary then, and never having been surrendered, must be plenary now. . Webster-Hayne debate - Wikipedia Sir, as to the doctrine that the federal government is the exclusive judge of the extent as well as the limitations of its powers, it seems to be utterly subversive of the sovereignty and independence of the states. . The Webster-Hayne Debate | Hopkins Press This feeling, always carefully kept alive, and maintained at too intense a heat to admit discrimination or reflection, is a lever of great power in our political machine. This was the man to fire an aristocracy of fellow citizens ready to arm when their interests were in danger, and upon him, it devolved to advance the cause of South Carolina, break down the tariff, and fascinate the Union with the new rattlesnake theories. . Under that system, the legal actionthe application of law to individuals, belonged exclusively to the states. 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. 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. It is one from which we are not disposed to shrink, in whatever form or under whatever circumstances it may be pressed upon us. Webster stood in favor of Connecticut's proposal that the federal government should stop surveying western land and sell the land it had already surveyed to boost it's revenue and strengthen it's authority. . The Hayne-Webster Debate - Constitution.org But the topic which became the leading feature of the whole debate and gave it an undying interest was that of nullification, in which Hayne and Webster came forth as chief antagonists. Battle of Fort Sumter in the Civil War | Who Won the Battle of Fort Sumter? But, sir, the gentleman is mistaken. Why was the Hayne-Webster debate important? - eNotes.com 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. 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? There yet remains to be performed, Mr. President, by far the most grave and important duty, which I feel to be devolved on me, by this occasion. . Sir, I cordially respond to that appeal. Democratic Party Platform 1860 (Breckinridge Facti (Southern) Democratic Party Platform Committee. The honorable gentleman from Massachusetts while he exonerates me personally from the charge, intimates that there is a party in the country who are looking to disunion. So soon as the cessions were obtained, it became necessary to make provision for the government and disposition of the territory . . Webster-Hayne Debate - Federalism in America - CSF This debate exposed the critically different understandings of the nature of the American. Foot calling for the temporary suspension of further land surveying until land already on the market was sold (to effectively stop the introduction of new lands onto the market). This episode was used in nineteenth century America as a Biblical justification for slavery. So they could finish selling the lands already surveyed. A four-speech debate between Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina, in January 1830. . 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 I do not understand the doctrine now contended for to be that which, for the sake of distinctness, we may call the right of revolution. All rights reserved. That led into a debate on the economy, in which Webster attacked the institution of slavery and Hayne labeled the policy of protectionist tariffs as the consolidation of a strong central government, which he called the greatest of evils. . Eloquence threw open the portals of eternal day. The people of the United States have declared that this Constitution shall be the Supreme Law. Webster and the North treated it as binding the states together as a single union. Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) | Case, Significance & Summary. 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. The great debate, which culminated in Hayne's encounter with Webster, came about in a somewhat casual way. Well, it's important to remember that the nation was still young and much different than what we think of today. The Union to be preserved, while it suits local and temporary purposes to preserve it; and to be sundered whenever it shall be found to thwart such purposes. Sir, I am one of those who believe that the very life of our system is the independence of the states, and that there is no evil more to be deprecated than the consolidation of this government. My life upon it, sir, they would not. If this Constitution, sir, be the creature of state Legislatures, it must be admitted that it has obtained a strange control over the volitions of its creators. One was through protective tariffs, high taxes on imports and exports. . What idea was espoused with the Webster-Hayne debates? . 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. . a. an explanation of natural events that is well supported by scientific evidence b. a set of rules for ethical conduct during an experiment c. a statement that describes how natural events happen d. a possible answer to a scientific question The Webster-Hayne debates began over one issue but quickly switched to another. Webster's Reply to Hayne - National Park Service I love a good debate. . . Our Core Document Collection allows students to read history in the words of those who made it. For one, Hayne and Webster were arguing for the fate of the West and, in particular, whether the North or South would control western development. 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. 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.. I maintain that, from the day of the cession of the territories by the states to Congress, no portion of the country has acted, either with more liberality or more intelligence, on the subject of the Western lands in the new states, than New England. . Who doesn't? I feel like its a lifeline. . Webster's articulation of the concept of the Union went on to shape American attitudes about the federal government. Correct answers: 2 question: Which of the following is the best definition of a hypothesis? . . State governments were in control of their own affairs and expected little intervention from the federal government. 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. Two leading ideas predominated in this reply, and with respect to either Hayne was not only answered but put to silence. On that system, Ohio and Carolina are different governments, and different countries, connected here, it is true, by some slight and ill-defined bond of union, but, in all main respects, separate and diverse. . The gentleman, indeed, argues that slavery, in the abstract, is no evil. On this subject, as in all others, we ask nothing of our Northern brethren but to let us alone; leave us to the undisturbed management of our domestic concerns, and the direction of our own industry, and we will ask no more. The honorable member himself is not, I trust, and can never be, one of these. An accomplished politician, Hayne was an eloquent orator who enthralled his audiences. 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. Webster and Hayne on the American Constitution 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.