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Robert Hayne had his eye on a lot of things.

When he stepped on the Senate floor, January 29, 1830.

He was a veteran of the War of 1812.

And his state, South Carolina, had sent him to the Senate with the job of protecting its interest.

As any senator does, then, and really now, but a little more so because the state's champion, John Calhoun, was sitting in the Senate silenced. That's because he had a

gavel in his hand. He had been elected vice president. And therefore just was presiding over the body,

which he was not welcome to speak or opine on matters before that body's consideration.

So it was Robert Hain to speak as what was really a minor matter.

Small and slender, this from Senate.gov, possessed of a refined and charming manner,

Robert Hayne entered the Senate when he was only 31 years old,

one year above the constitutional threshold

for Senate service. Now 38, Hayne entered the Pack Chamber to launch a reply to one of his

fellow senators. Appearing boyish in a suit of coarse homespun, Hayne spoke for several hours.

And then, following a long weekend, concluded his remarks.

Hain eyed Daniel Webster, the senator from Massachusetts, who had artfully defended his state's interest as well,

Haynes sought to challenge his renowned voice

in speaking for his own region. In a sense, he'd call him out.

To what Senate.gov says, he responded in a tone of scarcely suppressed bitterness and rage.

And receive the perpetual encouragement and handwritten notes from the vice president.

This is really a minor matter.

It's about whether land sales should be reviewed by the federal government. He argues, states should have the right to control their own lands within their

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