in opposition to the bill, Webster responded, and the ensuing series of back-and-forth Senate speeches became known as the Webster-Hayne debate. The debate arose over the "Foot resolution," introduced on December 29, 1829 by Senator Samuel A. Foot of Connecticut. Foot's proposal called for a federal government study into restricting the sale of public lands to those lands already surveyed and available for sale, which would prevent states from conducting further land sales. Whether the federal government had the authority to take this action called into question the relationship between the powers of the federal government and the governments of the individual states. Hayne contended that the United States Constitution was only a compact between the national government and the states, and that any state could nullify any federal law which it considered to be in contradiction. Webster argued for the supremacy of the federal government and the Constitution, and against nullification and secession. He concluded his Second Reply to Hayne with the memorable phrase, "Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable." References Further reading Hayne, Paul H. Lives of Robert Y. Hayne and Hugh Swinton Legaré (Charleston, 1878) Jervey, Theodore D. Robert V. Hayne and his Times (New York, 1909). McDuffie, Eulogy upon the Life and Character of the Late Robert Y. Hayne (Charleston, 1840) Sheidley, Harlow W. "The Webster-Hayne Debate: Recasting New England's Sectionalism," New England Quarterly, 1994 67(1): 5–29. ISSN 0028-4866 Fulltext in Jstor Swift, Lindsay. (editor) The Great Debate Between Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, and Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts (Boston, 1898), in the "Riverside Literature Series" External links SCIway Biography of Robert Young Hayne NGA Biography of Robert Young Hayne 1791 births 1839 deaths South Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party United States senators from South Carolina Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees Mayors of Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina Attorneys General Nullifier Party state governors of the United States Nullifier Party politicians 19th-century American politicians Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Pinckney family South Carolina Democratic-Republicans Burials at St. Michael's Churchyard (Charleston) American slave owners United States senators who owned slaves