Hayne, Robert Young (1791–1839)

US politician and railroad promoter. A prosperous lawyer, he held various state offices in South Carolina before going on to serve as a Democrat-Republican in the US Senate (1823–32). A staunch defender of states' rights, he came to national prominence as the chief adversary of Daniel Webster in the Senate's debates (1830–32) over the issue of whether a state could ‘nullify’ Federal legislation it did not approve of. Hayne resigned from the Senate, and as South Carolina's governor (1832–34), he adopted the nullification ordinance and then called for troops to resist any efforts by President Andrew Jackson to force South Carolina to back down. After Henry Clay managed a compromise, Hayne rescinded the ordinance.

Hayne was born in Colleton District, South Carolina. When he left public office, he directed his energies to establishing railroad links between the South and the West; in 1836he formed the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad Company and became its president, but the financial panic of 1837 ended his ambitious scheme.