Activities

1. Contrasting Views on Tariffs

Although the issues of this tariff were initially debated at a local level, they later covered broader areas. Thomas Dew, an economist of the period, spoke out against the principles of tariffs:

The vigilant eye of government is not required to watch over any of the departments of industry. Man is governed by interests. His interest will generally prompt him into that employment, where all the advantages taken together are greatest; or in other words, that employment which is most profitable to him. And that will, generally speaking, be the most profitable, whose products are not in sufficient abundance for the demand. It is thus clear, that every individual will prosper most, when his exertions are properly directed by an enlightened self-interest, guided by the principle just stated; and the wants of society, so far as they can be supplied, will be effectually supplied in this manner. Where is the need for the interference of government? It must be a blind director. It cannot produce a better employment of the labor and capital of an individual, than he or his friends can choose.
Another leading economist of that period, Daniel Raymond, defends the principles of tariffs:

A measure of government may interfere with the private interests of an individual, or a class of individuals; but if at the same time, it promotes in a greater degree, the interests of a larger class of individuals, it will be beneficial to the nation, and will promote national wealth. If you would increase the effect, you must add new force and power to the cause. A most effectual method to do this, is to give to national industry a monopoly of the home market.

Now that you've read opposing views, please answer these questions:

  1. How valid is Thomas Dews position?
  2. How valid is Daniel Raymond's position?
  3. To what degree do tariffs protect jobs in this country?
  4. When tariffs are instituted, does the nation as a whole prosper? Explain.
  5. Should we have tariffs to protect those industries that are involved in our national defense?
  6. How are the interests of the consumer affected by tariffs?
  7. If other nations have high tariffs on our goods, should we retaliate by placing high tariffs on their goods? Why?
  8. What leaders today favor each of the above views? Explain their positions.

2. "Meet the Experts" Television Interview on Tariffs

Hold a "Meet the Experts" panel discussion comparable to "Meet the Press." However, rather than only one expert being interviewed, the three experts will include Senators Daniel Webster, representing New England interests; Henry Clay, representing the views of the West; and John C. Calhoun, speaking for the South. Three students, playing the roles of reporters, will ask the questions. Each is employed by a different newspaper, the Southern Gazette, the New England Times, and the Western Bulletin. Another student serves as moderator, to maintain decorum and allow all senators and reporters a fair chance to ask and answer questions. The rest of the class - the audience - is asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the participants and then to vote for the senator who best represents his section. To help the reporters, you may supply them with questions like these:
  1. Senators, is it true that the first tariffs were for revenue purposes only?
  2. Why did Alexander Hamilton, our first Secretary of the Treasury, recommend tariffs on manufactured goods?
  3. Do you think the Tariff of 1816 was justified?
  4. Senators, have tariffs tended to separate this nation?
  5. Senator Clay, will you please explain how the American system would work?
  6. Senator Clay, do you think that tariffs favor one class over another?
  7. Senator Webster, don't you feel that, since the West is in a depression, the rest of the nation should help?
  8. Senator Calhoun, what has been the position of the South, in the past, on tariff issues?
  9. Senator Calhoun, do you feel that Clay's American system will weaken your position on states' rights?

3. Analyzing a Chart on United States Tariff Rates

Above is a graph showing United States tariff rates from the beginning of the 19th century until the end of World War 1. Protectionists - those favoring higher rates on imported goods - have claimed that it is necessary to protect our industries against foreign competition. Free traders claim that placing tariffs on imported goods is bad for the economy.

(Teachers, please download this Adobe Acrobat file to see the graph!)

After studying the graph, please answer the following questions:

  1. Explain what is meant by tariff rates.
  2. Why do you feel that the rates are changed so often?
  3. The United States has witnessed a number of panics and recessions, most notably the Panic of 1837, Panic of 1857, Depression of 1894, Panic of 1893 and the Panic of 1901. Can you draw any correlations between tariffs and panics and depressions?
  4. When did tariffs reach their high and their low points during this time?
  5. According to the chart, whose views were more prevalent, Webster's or Clay's?
  6. Which sections of the nation, before the Civil War, would have favored a tariff and which would have opposed it?
  7. What is meant by the Tariff of Abomination?

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