Robert Hayne was born on a rice plantation in South Carolina on November 10, 1791. He Grew up and studied law, he was admitted to the bar just before he was even 21. In 1814 he was elected as a Jeffersonian Republican to the lower house of the South Carolina Legislature and only 4 years later became its speaker. After serving as state attorney general for 2 years, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1822, with the backing of John C. Calhoun.

As a young senator, Hayne took a lead in opposing Federal efforts to increase the very controversial tariff. He attracted national attention and became the idol of the South when he joined Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri in opposing a resolution to curtail the sale of western land to people. Hayne based his case on the argument that the Federal government lacked such power, for the territories were joint possessions of all the states. Any restriction on the sale of lands would be an infringement of the rights of citizens of the states. Hayne resigned from the Senate, and as South Carolina's governor from 1832 to 1834.

He led in the adoption of 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 After Henry Clay managed a compromise, Hayne rescinded the ordinance. When he left public office, Hayne concentrated on his business interests. He was an active promoter and directed his energy into establishing a railroad link between the South and the West, and in 1836 he formed the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad Co and became its president, but the financial panic of 1837 ended his ambitious scheme. Hayne later died when a fever suddenly hit him on Sept. 24, 1839.