The Pros And Cons Of Daniel Webster

Many people who live in the United States appreciate the Constitution as well as the supreme power of the government to regulate things. Daniel Webster was an influential man when it came to the authority of the federal government. He voiced his response to Vice President John C. Calhoun after the state of South Carolina resisted the Tariff of 1828 because they believed that it would raise the cost of importing manufactured goods that would benefit the Northern States. The state of South Carolina wanted to nullify it. In fact, in its criticisms about the tariff, the state wanted to weaken the government so it would not take any action against slavery (Fortner 299). Although Calhoun agreed that states should be able to protect themselves from …show more content…
There were two major points that Webster argued; one was that the state of South Carolina was committing treason and it was bad for the whole nation and the second thing is that allowing South Carolina to choose what they do will stop the progress of the nation. Webster argued that the constitution was written by the people, that the government belonged to the people, was made for the people, made by the people, and should be answerable to the people. When the constitution was created, it was agreed upon that it was the supreme law. Webster points out that either all states have to abide by the constitution and its supreme law, or each state would be able to come up with their own laws once again (Webster). The Constitution was created in order to control the power of the states and bring the country together under the same laws and regulations. Webster …show more content…
The people of the United States agreed on and created the constitution so that everyone would be treated fairly and so opportunities were available to every state (Webster). Even though the state of South Carolina may have felt like they were being singled out from this new tariff, there were many more taxes and tariffs that may have greatly impacted other states but no other state had refused to pay until South Carolina did. Allowing certain states to get tax breaks or taxes that benefit them would make the government appear to have favorites. This could also lead to problems because it could cause an uproar among the people and could even lead to the crumble of the United States government. The states and their cooperation are vital to the running and success of the government and the Constitution. The constitution was drawn up and created to protect the rights of the citizens. The states have a right to impose local and state taxes if needed to help with progress. However, the states are not allowed to defy the constitution and try to make laws or taxes that would affect the rest of the nation. That honor goes to the federal government. Allowing states to refuse to pay tariffs or design their own would have created an internal war between states because everyone would be trying to take advantage of the other or try to take out revenge because of a tax