The Webster–Hayne debate on the topic of protectionist tariffs takes place in the United States Congress from January 12 to January 27, when  Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts debate, the question of states' rights versus federal authority.

The heated speeches between Webster and Hayne themselves are unplanned, and stem from debate over a resolution by Connecticut Senator Samuel A. Foot calling for the temporary suspension of further land surveying until land already on the market is sold (this would effectively stop the introduction of new lands onto the market).

Webster's description of the U.S. government as "made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people," will later be paraphrased by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address in the words "government of the people, by the people, for the people."