[Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. 1 (of 2) by James Gillespie Blaine]@TWC D-Link bookTwenty Years of Congress, Vol. 1 (of 2) CHAPTER IX 1/70
CHAPTER IX. The Tariff Question in its Relation to the Political Revolution of 1860 .-- A Century's Experience as to Best Mode of levying Duties .-- Original Course of Federal Government in Regard to Revenue .-- First Tariff Act .-- The Objects defined in a Preamble .-- Constitutional Power to adopt Protective Measure .-- Character of Early Discussions. -- The Illustrious Men who participated .-- Mr.Madison the Leader .-- The War Tariff of 1812 .-- Its High Duties .-- The Tariff of 1816 .-- Interesting Debate upon its Provisions .-- Clay, Webster, and Calhoun take part .-- Business Depression throughout the Country .-- Continues until the Enactment of the Tariff of 1824 .-- Protective Character of that Tariff .-- Still Higher Duties levied by the Tariff of 1828. -- Southern Resistance to the Protective Principle .-- Mr.Calhoun leads the Nullification Movement in South Carolina .-- Compromise effected on the Tariff Question .-- Financial Depression follows .-- Panic of 1837 .-- Protective Tariff passed in 1842 .-- Free-trade Principles triumph with the Election of President Polk .-- Tariff of 1846 .-- Prosperous Condition of the Country .-- Differences of Opinion as to the Causes .-- Surplus Revenue .-- Plethoric Condition of the Treasury .-- Enactment of the Tariff of 1857 .-- Both Parties support it in Congress .-- Duties lower than at Any Time since the War of 1812 .-- Panic of 1857 .-- Dispute as to its causes .-- Protective and Free-trade Theories as presented by their Advocates .-- Connection of the Tariff with the Election of Mr.Lincoln to the Presidency. -- General Review. The Slavery question was not the only one which developed into a chronic controversy between certain elements of Northern opinion and certain elements of Southern opinion.
A review of the sectional struggle would be incomplete if it did not embrace a narrative of those differences on the tariff which at times led to serious disturbance, and, on one memorable occasion, to an actual threat of resistance to the authority of the government.
The division upon the tariff was never so accurately defined by geographical lines as was the division upon slavery; but the aggressive elements on each side of both questions finally coalesced in the same States, North and South.
Massachusetts and South Carolina marched in the vanguard of both controversies; and the States which respectively followed on the tariff issue were, in large part, the same which followed on the slavery question, on both sides of Mason and Dixon's line.
Anti-slavery zeal and a tariff for protection went hand in hand in New England, while pro-slavery principles became nearly identical with free-trade in the Cotton States.
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