le ideas. His peroration was sublime, and every
loyal American heart has since echoed the last words, "Liberty and
union--now and forever--one and inseparable!"

Mr. Webster's speech, carefully revised by himself, was not published
until the 23d of February, and large editions of it were circulated
throughout the Northern States. The debate was continued, and it
was the 21st of May before Colonel Benton, who had been the first
defamer of New England, brought it to a close. The Northern men
claimed for Mr. Webster the superiority, but General Jackson praised
the speech of Mr. Hayne, and deemed his picture worthy to occupy
a place in the White House, thus giving expression to the general
sentiment among the Southerners. This alarmed Mr. Van Buren, who
was quietly yet shrewdly at work to defeat the further advancement
of Mr. Calhoun, and he lost no time in demonstrating to the imperious
old soldier who occupied the Presidential chair that the South
Carolina doctrine of nullification could but prove destructive to
the Union.

Mr. Calhoun was not aware of this intrigue, and, in order to
strengthen his State Rights policy, he organized a public dinner
on the anniversary of Jefferson's birthday, April 13th, 1830. When
the toasts which were to be proposed were made public in advance,
according to the custom, it was discovered that several of them
were strongly anti-tariff and State Rights in sentiment--so much
so that a number of Pennsylvania tariff Democrats declined to
attend, and got up a dinner of their own. General Jackson attended
the dinner, but he went late and retired early, leaving a volunteer
toast, which he had carefully prepared at the White House, and
which fell like a damper upon those at the dinner, while it
electrified the North, "The Federal Union--it must and shall be
maintained!" This toast, which could not be misunderstood, showed
that General Jackson would not permit himself to be placed in the
attitude of a patron of doctrines which could lead only to a
dissolution of the Federal Government. But the Committee on
Arrangements toned it down, so that it appeared in the official
report of the dinner, "Our Federal Union--it must be preserved!"

This was a severe blow to Mr. Calhoun, who had labored earnestly
to break down Mr. Adams' Administration, without respect to its
measures, that a Democratic party might be built up which would
first elect General Jackson, and then recognize Calhoun as legiti