So let's talk about the first tariff -- the Tariff of 1789:
- "The Tariff Act of 1789 was the first major piece of legislation passed in the United States after the ratification of the United States Constitution.
It had two purposes: to protect manufacturing industries developing in the nation and to raise revenue for the federal government.
It was sponsored by Congressman James Madison, passed by the 1st United States Congress, and signed into law by President George Washington.
The act levied a 50¢ per ton duty on goods imported by foreign ships; American-owned vessels were charged 6¢ per ton."
- Proposed by Southern Congressman (future president, "Father of the Constitution") James Madison.
- Passed by a Congress with 8 slave-states (including NY & NJ), 5 (more or less) free-states.
- Signed by Southern Pres. Washington.
- Included lesser duties in US own ships, which in 1789 were just as likely to be Southern owned & manned as Northern.
- "Charges up to fifty percent were imposed on selected manufactured and agricultural goods, including "steel, ships, cordage, tobacco, salt, indigo [and] cloth."
On the majority of items subject to duty, a five percent fee was levied, ad valorem.[4]
Molasses, an indispensable ingredient for Northeastern rum producers, was lowered from 6¢ per gallon to 2.5¢."
- Ships
- Cordage (hemp)
- tobacco
- indigo
- "James Madison modified the terms of the tariff to balance sectional conflicts[4] but conceded that articles subject to high duties "were pretty generally taxed for the benefit of the manufacturing part of the northern community."[5]
He acknowledged the South, the main wealth-producing part of the nation, would inevitably "shoulder a disproportionate share of the financial burden involved in the transforming the United States into a commercial, manufacturing, and maritime power."[6]"
However, it's not clear to me how Southern exports -- i.e., tobacco, hemp & indigo -- were any less protected than Northern steel.
FLT-bird: "At first it was vastly richer and was willing to subsidize things like restrictions on shipping to only domestic (ie Northern) shipping to maintain that industry for national security."
It's not true that all shipping in 1789 was Northern owned or operated.
In fact, both Charleston, SC, and Baltimore, MD, were major ship builders.
So was New Orleans at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
FLT-bird: "It was also willing to subsidize some mining and manufacturing (again overwhelmingly in the North) as well as infrastructure."
US iron & steel production in 1789 was a big deal, estimated as equal to Britain's, third in the world behind Sweden and Russia. So American steel was protected by tariffs as high as the highest protections on Southern exports like tobacco, hemp and indigo.
FLT-bird: "But time went on the North only ever clamored for even more money.
They tariff of abominations was hugely harmful.
Even the "lower" tariff you refer to was 17%.
That was considerably higher than what the South wanted.
The Confederate Constitution would have limited tariffs to 10% maximum."
The 1828 "Tariff of Abominations" was proposed or supported by the following Southerners:
- VP John C Calhoun from SC
- Sec. of State Henry Clay from KY
- Andrew Jackson from TN
- House representatives from TN and KY
After passage, the 1828 Tariff of Abominations caused South Carolinians to threaten nullification and secession, to which now Pres. Andrew Jackson famously responded:
- "On November 24, [1830] South Carolina had passed the Ordinance of Nullification,[251] declaring both tariffs null and void and threatening to secede from the United States if the federal government tried to use force to collect the duties.[252][253]
In response, Jackson sent warships to Charleston harbor, and threatened to hang any man who worked to support nullification or secession.[254]
- Jackson to South Carolina: "...please give my compliments to my friends in your State and say to them, that if a single drop of blood shall be shed there in opposition to the laws of the United States, I will hang the first man I can lay my hand on engaged in such treasonable conduct, upon the first tree I can reach.[67]"
"On December 10, he issued a proclamation against the "nullifiers",[255] condemning nullification as contrary to the Constitution's letter and spirit, rejecting the right of secession, and declaring that South Carolina stood on "the brink of insurrection and treason".[256]"
Finally, the Confederate constitution says nothing about a 10% maximum tariff rate, though it does attempt to eliminate protectionist tariffs.
In February 1860 Confederates adopted basically the old 15% US tariff from 1857 (passed by Democrats), with some minor changes.
It was replaced by the second Confederate tariff on August 31, 1861.
- "In the beginning of the war, the majority of finance for the Southern government came via duties on international trade.
The [Confederates' second] import tariff, enacted in May 1861, was set at 12.5% and it roughly matched in coverage the previously existing Federal tariff, the Tariff of 1857.[11] "
- "A similar source of funds was to be the tax on exports of cotton.
However, in addition to the difficulties associated with the blockade, the self-imposed embargo on cotton meant that for all practical purposes the tax was completely ineffective as a fund raiser.[1]
Initial optimistic estimates of revenue to be collected through this tax ran as high as 20 million dollars, but in the end only $30,000 was collected.[11]"
Those tariffs took effect on August 31, 1861 and ranged from 25% on some items down to 5% or duty free on others. Confederate tariffs are claimed to "average" 10%, but that is based on assumptions about what volumes & mixes of rates would actually be paid.
In reality, by the time the new rates went into effect, the Union blockade had nearly eliminated Confederate dutiable imports.
US tariff rates, both overall and dutiable averages from 1821 to 2016: