Union of People or Confederation of States

[Hawk1981]

In January 1830, Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina got into a fierce debate on the floor of the US Senate over the nature of the Union of the United States. Hayne defended the doctrine of John Calhoun, also of South Carolina, and argued that the Union could last only if the rights of the states, including the right to hold slaves, were respected and protected. Since the states were sovereign and the Union was simply a compact of the states, the national government was nothing but the agent of the states.

The Compact Theory regarding the Constitution of the United States, held that the country was formed through a compact agreed upon by all the states, and that the federal government was a creation of the states. Consequently, states should be the final arbiters over whether the federal government had overstepped the limits of its authority as set forth in the compact.

Robert Hayne

Thomas Jefferson was an early proponent of the Compact Theory and as a result of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Jefferson claimed the federal government overstepped its authority, and advocated nullification of the laws by the states. He wrote in the Kentucky Resolutions regarding the powers of the general government "where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy: that every State has a natural right in cases not within the compact, to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits..."

Daniel Webster

Responding to Senator Hayne, Senator Webster denied that the Union was a confederation of states. Rather it was a Union of people. "I go for the Constitution as it is, and for the Union as it is. It is, Sir, the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people." Arguing that the Constitution was established directly by the people, not by the states, and that it constitutes supreme law, not a mere compact, Webster contended that the states do not have the right to determine for themselves the proper scope of federal authority, but instead are bound by the determinations of the federal government.

 

[Hawk1981]

The Tariff Law of 1828 designed ostensibly to protect American commercial and manufacturing interests was opposed in the South and parts of New England. Largely the work of New York Senator Martin Van Buren was also a political ploy to elect Andrew Jackson president. Van Buren calculated that the South would vote for Jackson regardless of the issues so he ignored their interests in drafting the bill. New England, he thought, was just as likely to support the incumbent John Quincy Adams, so the bill levied heavy taxes on raw materials consumed by New England such as hemp, flax, molasses, iron and sail duck. With an additional tariff on iron to satisfy Pennsylvania interests, Van Buren expected the tariff to help deliver Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Kentucky to Jackson.

As expected, Jackson and his running mate John Calhoun carried the entire South and was elected President. The opponents of the tariff expected that the election of Jackson as President would result in the tariff being significantly reduced. The economy of South Carolina was particularly hard hit by the tariff law and South Carolina state politics increasingly organized around the tariff issue. When the Jackson administration failed to take any actions to address their concerns, the most radical faction in the state began to advocate that South Carolina itself declare the tariff null and void within the boundaries of the state. In the national capital an open split on the issue occurred between President Jackson and Vice President John Calhoun, a native South Carolinian and the most effective proponent of the constitutional theory of state nullification.

John Calhoun

Calhoun proposed that the states could reject federal laws which violated their rights, and by using this "interposition" could protect minority rights and prevent the tyranny of the majority. Calhoun maintained that state nullification blocking the central government from assuming absolute authority was an additional check in a federal system of checks and balances, and would help protect liberty and individual rights.

Webster countered that individual liberty depended on the perpetuation of the Union, and would not be safeguarded by strengthening the states. In defending the Constitution as the supreme law, "ordained and established by the people of the United States" and not an establishment of the governments of the several States, Webster concluded his speech noting "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable."

 

[Hawk1981]

President Andrew Jackson thoroughly agreed with Webster’s sentiment, and in a memorable Jefferson birthday celebration toast, addressed Vice President Calhoun with "Our Union, it must be preserved." Calhoun responded with "Our Union, next to our liberty, the most dear; may we all remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the States and distributing equally the benefit and burden of the Union."

Congress attempted to settle the problem by passing the Tariff of 1832 which modified, but did not appreciably lower, the tariff rates of 1828. In response the governor of South Carolina called a special session of the state legislature, which in turn ordered the election of a state convention resulting in the passage of an Ordinance of Nullification declaring the tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 to be "null, void, and no law, nor binding" on South Carolina, its officers, or its citizens.

Additionally, the convention announced that it would be unlawful to collect the tariff duties imposed by the nullified laws in South Carolina and that federal government action would result in the state's secession and the establishment of a separate government.

Andrew Jackson

Jackson responded with a proclamation that as President he had the duty and responsibility of enforcing the laws of the United States, stating "Those who told you that you might peacefully prevent their execution deceived you...Disunion by armed force is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt? On your unhappy State will inevitably fall all the evils of the conflict you force upon the Government of your country."

Affirming that the Union is perpetual and indivisible, President Jackson declared, "I consider the power to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one State, incompatible with the existence of the Union."

Henry Clay

Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, the “Great Compromiser”, shepherded a bill through Congress that provided a ten year truce during which tariff rates would fall to a level acceptable to nullifiers. Jackson signed both this Compromise Tariff and a Force Bill that gave him the authority to deploy the military to put down any attempt at armed rebellion. South Carolina convened another convention that approved the Compromise Tariff law by repealing its Ordinance of Nullification. But it showed its continued defiance by nullifying the Force Bill.

Noting that the tariff crisis had passed, Jackson concluded "Nullification is dead," but sensing that the controversy would linger, "The next pretext will be the negro or slavery question."

 

[Hawk1981]

The wording in Daniel Webster's speech replying to Robert Hayne in January, 1830: "...the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people." is intentionally recalled in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address where he concluded: "...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

 

[Hawk1981]

Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John Calhoun are known as the "Great Triumvirate" who dominated American politics during the first half of the 19th century. All three were extremely active in politics, served at various times as United States Secretary of State, and served together in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The three were reunited in the Senate in 1832, with Calhoun's resignation from the Vice Presidency and election to the Senate in the midst of the Nullification Crisis. With each one representing the three major sections of the United States at that time and their respective mindsets (the Western settlers, the Northern businessmen, and the Southern slaveholders), the Great Triumvirate was responsible for symbolizing the opposing viewpoints of the American people and giving them a voice in the government.

They died within a few years of each other in the early 1850s just as the new generation of Senate leaders, Jefferson Davis, William Seward and Stephen Douglas were emerging.

 

[Hawk1981]

Garry Wills notes in his book Lincoln at Gettysburg that Abraham Lincoln drew much of his inspiration for his defenses of the Union from the speeches and writings of Daniel Webster. Webster was thought of as the leading constitutional lawyer of his day, arguing 180 cases before the Supreme Court, including many landmark cases.

Judge Joseph Story

In turn, Webster was influenced by Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story who was considered the leading academic expert on the Constitution during this period. It is thought that Webster and Story collaborated on some of Webster's major speeches before they were given. Lincoln also knew and studied Story's great work Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States published in 1833.

 

[Gdjjr]

The pre amble to the constitution states the intention quite clearly- "in order to form a more perfect union" - and the ink was barely dry, if it even was dry yet, before they started interpreting the way they wanted to- the constitution, while not perfect, is fine until men and their personal agenda come into play- the Bill of Rights was the ratifying factor. Sadly, they mean nothing to interpreters- I think where the constitution is lacking is the lack of punishment for the usurpation of power/authority. The 10th amendment was a good thought, but, when lawyers (interpreters) believe their own interpretation outweighs the original intent, problems arise.

 

[Wyatt earp]

They use the 10th for anything and everything... Assholes