Does anybody remember being taught in school that the USA was a protectionist nation until 1913? Does anybody remember learning that import tariffs were the main source of revenues for the federal government until then?
Economics - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
1913 wasn't necessarily the conversion of the United States into a non-protectionist economy, just more open. Revenue Act of 1913 just reallocated where the government gets most of its revenue. Basic tariffs went from 40% to 25% (other kinds of tariffs had their own reductions), and the income tax was instated for a small percentage of the population (the top earners).
2 :
One of the economic factors behind the Revolution was that local manufacturers couldn't compete with those in England. Shortly after the war, the North insisted on protectionist tariffs because that's where the industries were. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariffs_in_American_history The South objected as it meant they would have to pay more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullification_Crisis We studied the economics of American history starting in A.P History in high school. That's also when we first learned that less than half the population supported independence and that behind the Boston Tea party were the smugglers who were going to lose money when the East India Company started shipping tea directly to the colonies, instead of going to England first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Act Before then, it was all mythology - high-minded population, forward looking leaders, dastardly British, etc.
