Users' questions

How does Webster respond to Hayne?

How does Webster respond to Hayne?

In a packed Senate Chamber, Webster used his organ-like voice to great effect as he began a two-day speech known as his Second Reply to Hayne. When Webster asked the South Carolina senator how he was doing, Hayne relied, “None the better for you, sir.”

What did Daniel Webster defend in his Second Reply to Hayne?

Webster, of Massachusetts, and Robert Hayne, of South Carolina. Hayne maintained that the Union of the States established by the Constitution is merely a compact between independent States, and that lawfully, if they wished, States could withdraw from the Union.

How did Daniel Webster reply to Senator Hayne in his 1830 Senate address?

In Webster’s reply to Hayne, he argued that the southern states secede since the Constitution applies to both the North and the South. This debate brought into question the limits of what the federal government could do.

How did Jackson respond to the Webster Hayne debate?

Jackson’s Response: He said that being able to declare a law unjust gave the states a way to legally protest federal legislation. Even though Andrew Jackson was very strongly against nullification, he was worried about the economic condition of the southern states.

What did Senator Hayne say in the Webster debate?

[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. . . . . . .

Why did Hayne and Webster argue for nullification?

Hayne argued that the sovereign and independent states had created the Union to promote their particular interests. Hayne maintained that the states retained the authority to nullify federal law, Webster that federal law expressed the will of the American people and could not be nullified by a minority of the people in a state.

What was Robert Hayne’s view on nationhood?

Webster’s ideas do share much in common with those of Alexander Hamilton. History has all but forgotten Webster’s debate partner, South Carolina Senator Robert Y. Hayne, who had vastly different ideas about nationhood. A political disciple of John C. Calhoun, Hayne believed that the Union was a confederation of sovereign states.

When did Hayne raise the specter of Civil War?

It is worth noting that in the course of the debate, on the very floor of the Senate, both Hayne and Webster raised the specter of civil war 30 years before it commenced.