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. 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. Speech of Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina, January 19, 1830. Tariff of 1816 History & Significance | What was the Tariff of 1816? . . 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. Why? 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. It has always been regarded as a matter of domestic policy, left with the states themselves, and with which the federal government had nothing to do. Are we in that condition still? . The 1830 WebsterHayne debate centered around the South Carolina nullification crisis of the late 1820s, but historians have largely ignored the sectional interests underpinning Webster's argument on behalf of Unionism and a transcendent nationalism. . Perhaps a quotation from a speech in Parliament in 1803 of Lord Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (17691822) during a debate over the conduct of British officials in India. Webster-Hayne Debates, 1830 - Bill of Rights Institute The Webster-Hayne Debate | Overview, Issues & Significance - Study . This is the sense in which the Framers of the Constitution use the word consolidation; and in which sense I adopt and cherish 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. . Union, of itself, is considered by the disciples of this school as hardly a good. The gentleman, therefore, only follows out his own principles; he does no more than arrive at the natural conclusions of his own doctrines; he only announces the true results of that creed, which he has adopted himself, and would persuade others to adopt, when he thus declares that South Carolina has no interest in a public work in Ohio. I understand him to maintain an authority, on the part of the states, thus to interfere, for the purpose of correcting the exercise of power by the general government, of checking it, and of compelling it to conform to their opinion of the extent of its powers. Help if you can :) please and ty Democratic Party Platform 1860 (Breckinridge Facti (Southern) Democratic Party Platform Committee. . . For the next several days, the men traded speeches which contemporaries of the time described as the greatest orations ever delivered in the Senate. Webster-Hayne debate - Wikisource, the free online library Though the debate began as a standard policy debate, the significance of Daniel Webster's argument reached far beyond a single policy proposal. These debates transformed into a national crisis when South Carolina threatened . The United States' democratic process was evolving and its leaders were putting the newly ratified Constitution into practice. They ordained such a government; they gave it the name of a Constitution, and therein they established a distribution of powers between this, their general government, and their several state governments. If an inquiry should ever be instituted in these matters, however, it will be found that the profits of the slave trade were not confined to the South. . The object of the Framers of the Constitution, as disclosed in that address, was not the consolidation of the government, but the consolidation of the Union. It was not to draw power from the states, in order to transfer it to a great national government, but, in the language of the Constitution itself, to form a more perfect union; and by what means? . Under the circumstances then existing, I look upon this original and seasonable provision, as a real good attained. What a commentary on the wisdom, justice, and humanity, of the Southern slave owner is presented by the example of certain benevolent associations and charitable individuals elsewhere. In this moment in American history, the federal government had relatively little power. What idea was espoused with the Webster-Hayne debates? So they could finish selling the lands already surveyed. Connecticut and other northeastern states were worried about the pace of growth and wanted to slow this down. It was of a partizan and censorious character and drew nearly all the chief senators out. . These verses recount the first occurrence of slavery. 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. 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. The other way was through the sale of federally-owned land to private citizens. . Webster believed that the Constitution should be viewed as a binding document between the United States rather than an agreement between sovereign states. Gloomy and downcast of late, Massachusetts men walked the avenue as though the fife and drum were before them. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. . To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. [O]pinions were expressed yesterday on the general subject of the public lands, and on some other subjects, by the gentleman from South Carolina [Senator Robert Hayne], so widely different from my own, that I am not willing to let the occasion pass without some reply. And now, Mr. President, let me run the honorable gentlemans doctrine a little into its practical application. Webster realized that if the social, political, and economic elite of Massachusetts and the Northeast were to once again lay claim to national leadership, he had to justify New England's previous history of sectionalism within a framework of nationalistic progression. 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. At the foundation of the constitution of these new Northwestern states, . The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions Add Song of the Spinners from the Lowell Offering. Who Won the Webster-Hayne Debate of 1830? - Abbeville Institute Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality: The American Anti-Slavery Society, Declaration of Sent Constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery. 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. The taxes paid by foreign nations to export American cotton, for example, generated lots of money for the government. Daniel Webster - Facts, Career & Legacy - HISTORY . He accused them of a desire to check the growth of the West in the interests of protection. Well, let's look at the various parts. "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.. Nullification, Webster maintained, was a political absurdity. Then he began his speech, his words flowing on so completely at command that a fellow senator who heard him likened his elocution to the steady flow of molten gold. webster hayne debate Flashcards | Quizlet Webster's articulation of the concept of the Union went on to shape American attitudes about the federal government. Thirty years before the Civil War broke out, disunion appeared to be on the horizon with the Nullification Crisis. Sir, I deprecate and deplore this tone of thinking and acting. Webster-Hayne Debate book. Hayne, South Carolina's foremost Senator, was the chosen champion; and the cause of his State, both in its right and wrong sides, could have found no abler exponent while [Vice President] Calhoun's official station kept him from the floor. Even the revenue system of this country, by which the whole of our pecuniary resources are derived from indirect taxation, from duties upon imports, has done much to weaken the responsibility of our federal rulers to the people, and has made them, in some measure, careless of their rights, and regardless of the high trust committed to their care. . 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. . An undefinable dread now went abroad that men were planning against the peace of the nation, that the Union was in danger; and citizens looked more closely after its safety and welfare. It develops the gentlemans whole political system; and its answer expounds mine. Eloquence threw open the portals of eternal day. 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. Rachel Venter is a recent graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver. Webster was eloquent, he was educated, he was witty, and he was a staunch defender of American liberty. By the time it ended nine days later, the focus had shifted to the vastly more cosmic concerns of slavery and the nature of the federal Union. sir, this is but the old story. My life upon it, sir, they would not. Ah! 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. Well, you're not alone. Religious Views: Letter to the Editor of the Illin Democratic Party Platform 1860 (Douglas Faction), (Northern) Democratic Party Platform Committee. But it was the honor of a caste; and the struggling bread-winners of society, the great commonalty, he little studied or understood. Correspondence Between Anthony Butler and Presiden State of the Union Address Part II (1846). Sir, when gentlemen speak of the effects of a common fund, belonging to all the states, as having a tendency to consolidation, what do they mean? 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 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. This is the sum of what I understand from him, to be the South Carolina doctrine; and the doctrine which he maintains. I regard domestic slavery as one of the greatest of evils, both moral and political. Is it the creature of the state legislatures, or the creature of the people? There is not, and never has been, a disposition in the North to interfere with these interests of the South. The Confederation was, in strictness, a compact; the states, as states, were parties to it. . Jackson himself would raise a national toast for 'the Union' later that year. 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. His speech was indeed a powerful one of its eloquence and personality. Webster-Hayne Debate. U.S. Senate: The Most Famous Senate Speech It is only regarded as a possible means of good; or on the other hand, as a possible means of evil. . Webster also tried to assert the importance of New England in the face of . Webster replied to his speech the next day and left not a shred of the charge, baseless as it was. Where in these debates do we see a possible argument in defense of Constitutional secession by the states, later claimed by the Southern Confederacy before, during, and after the Civil War? President John Quincy Adams and the Election of 1824. . In 1830, the federal government collected few taxes and had two primary sources of revenue. . An accomplished politician, Hayne was an eloquent orator who enthralled his audiences. 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.. . South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification 1832 | Crisis, Cause & Issues. It is observable enough, that the doctrine for which the honorable gentleman contends, leads him to the necessity of maintaining, not only that this general government is the creature of the states, but that it is the creature of each of the states severally; so that each may assert the power, for itself, of determining whether it acts within the limits of its authority. Create your account. What started as a debate over the Tariff of Abominations soon morphed into debates over state and federal sovereignty and liberty and disunion. Sir, I may be singularperhaps I stand alone here in the opinion, but it is one I have long entertained, that one of the greatest safeguards of liberty is a jealous watchfulness on the part of the people, over the collection and expenditure of the public moneya watchfulness that can only be secured where the money is drawn by taxation directly from the pockets of the people. But his standpoint was purely local and sectional. 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. She has worked as a university writing consultant for over three years. They will not destroy it, they will not impair itthey will only save, they will only preserve, they will only strengthen it! This leads us to inquire into the origin of this government, and the source of its power. A state will be restrained by a sincere love of the Union. Conversation-based seminars for collegial PD, one-day and multi-day seminars, graduate credit seminars (MA degree), online and in-person. Connecticut's proposal was an attempt to slow the growth of the nation, control westward expansion, and bolster the federal government's revenue. 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? But, sir, the gentleman is mistaken. The tendency of all these ideas and sentiments is obviously to bring the Union into discussion, as a mere question of present and temporary expediency; nothing more than a mere matter of profit and loss. 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 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. We had no other general government. This is the true constitutional consolidation. I'm imagining that your answer is probably 'I do.' Regional Conflict in America: Debate Over States' Rights. Create your account, 15 chapters | 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. . Foote Idea To Limit The Sale Of Public Lands In The West To New Settlers. The real significance of this debate was in each man's interpretation of the United States Constitution. They switched from a. the tariff of 1828 to national power . After his term as a senator, he served as the Governor of South Carolina. But that was found insufficient, and inadequate to the public exigencies. The Webster-Hayne debate, which again was just one section of this greater discussion in the Senate, is traditionally considered to have begun when South Carolina senator Robert Y. Hayne stood to argue against Connecticut's proposal, accusing the northeastern states of trying to stall development of the West so that southern agricultural interests couldn't expand. This, sir, is General Washingtons consolidation. 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. Available in hard copy and for download. Sir, there does not exist, on the face of the whole earth, a population so poor, so wretched, so vile, so loathsome, so utterly destitute of all the comforts, conveniences, and decencies of life, as the unfortunate blacks of Philadelphia, and New York, and Boston. The Webster-Hayne Debate - 1830 - YouTube . . I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Compare And Contrast The Tension Between North And South flashcard sets. The debates between daniel webster of massachusetts and robert hayne of south carolina gave. Webster-Hayne Debate - Federalism in America - CSF . Senator Foote, of Connecticut, submitted a proposition inquiring into the expediency of limiting the sales of public lands to those already in the market. But the gentleman apprehends that this will make the Union a rope of sand. Sir, I have shown that it is a power indispensably necessary to the preservation of the constitutional rights of the states, and of the people. 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 statement, though strong, is no stronger than the strictest truth will warrant. 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's few but zealous partizans shielded him still, and South Carolina spoke with pride of him. 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. In the course of my former remarks, I took occasion to deprecate, as one of the greatest of evils, the consolidation of this government. The Commercial Greatness of the United States, Special Message to Congress (Tyler Doctrine), Estranged Labour and The Communist Manifesto, State of the Union Address Part II (1848). 136 lessons . In contrasting the state of Ohio with Kentucky, for the purpose of pointing out the superiority of the former, and of attributing that superiority to the existence of slavery, in the one state, and its absence in the other, I thought I could discern the very spirit of the Missouri question[1] intruded into this debate, for objects best known to the gentleman himself. 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. This episode was used in nineteenth century America as a Biblical justification for slavery. foote wanted to stop surveying lands until they could sell the ones already looked at . . An equally talented orator, Webster rose as the advocate of the North in the debate with his captivating reply to Hayne's initial argument. [2] We deal in no abstractions. Sir, an immense national treasury would be a fund for corruption. ", What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?. But, the simple expression of this sentiment has led the gentleman, not only into a labored defense of slavery, in the abstract, and on principle, but, also, into a warm accusation against me, as having attacked the system of domestic slavery, now existing in the Southern states. 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. The debate continued, in some ways not being fully settled until the completion of the Civil War affirmed the power of the federal government to preserve the Union over the sovereignty of the states to leave it. 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. The Webster-Hayne Debate: Defining Nationhood in the Early American 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. Daniel webster, in a dramatic speech, showed the. He describes fully that old state of things then existing. . 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? [Its leader] would have a knot before him, which he could not untie. 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The Curious Case of Evangelist Pat Robertson | Winter Watch 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. Pet Banks History & Effects | What are Pet Banks? 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 specific issue that sparked the Webster-Hayne debate was a proposal by the state of Connecticut which said that the federal government should halt its surveying of land west of the Mississippi and focus on selling the land it had already surveyed to private citizens. It would be equally fatal to the sovereignty and independence of the states. . . 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. . . Whose agent is it? Hayne and the South saw it as basically a treaty between sovereign states. 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."
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