Table of Contents
Foreword                                                                                                   vii

Note on the Text                                                                                        xvi

Bibliography                                                                                               xvi

Speech of Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, January 19, 1830                  3
Speech of Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, January 20, 1830                   15
Speech of Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, January 25, 1830                35
Speech of Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, January 26 and 27, 1830        81
Speech of Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, January 27, 1830 155
Speech of Thomas Hart Benton, of Missouri,
                 January 20 and 29, February 1 and 2, 1830                               185
Speech of John Rowan, of Kentucky, February 4, 1830                              257
Speech of William Smith, of South Carolina, February 25, 1830                  307
Speech of John M. Clayton, of Delaware, March 4, 1830                           349
Speech of Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, March 9, 1830                        409
Index                                                                                                         483
               
The Webster-Hayne debate, extending from January thru May 1830, was the most important event to occur in the Twenty-First Congress. In the course of the debate 21 of the Senate's 48 members, in 65 speeches, analyzed, evaluated, and offered predictions concerning the changing political, constitutional, and economic conditions of the country.
Principle subjects discussed in the great debate of 1830 included:
The nature of the Union.
The purpose, extent and limits of the powers of the Federal and State governments.
The scope and character of the exective power.
The role of political parties in the constitutional system.
The significance of geo-political and geo-economic sections as constituent parts of the Union.
The allocation of resources through policies dealing with land distribution, taxation, improvements to    transportation and communication systems.
Public finance.
Other controversial subjects discussed:
Nature of the constitutional construction and interpretation.
The locus of authority for deciding the meaning of the constitution.
The role of the Supreme Court and the federial judiciary in the government of the Union.
The place of social contract theory in the American political tradition.
The scope and effect of majority rule and minority rights in the government of the Union.
The relationship between slavery and republican government.
The Status of the Indian tribes in the American system of government.
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