Tariff Question In The Gilded Age

Protective tariffs were part of American life long before the era of NAFTA and GATT. In the late nineteenth century, the "tariff question" was one of the most controversial issues of the day. As Joanne Reitano shows in this far-reaching study, the ensuing debate was anything but an empty exercise in political rhetoric occupying only politicians and lobbyists. The tariff was of central concern to a broad cross section of people because of its perceived relationship to immediate economic problems, such as wages, prices, and trusts. In fact, it became a means for many Americans to wrestle with the implications of the country's rapid growth and the impact of industrial capitalism on American life. Reitano focuses on the election year of 1888, when the tariff was adopted as a cause célèbre by President Grover Cleveland, Congress, the two major parties, and the press. At the heart of the debate was the Mills Bill for tariff reduction. Although the bill failed to pass, Reitano finds in the rancorous public debate a barometer of changes in the American mind in the Gilded Age. She carefully blends intellectual, political, economic, and social issues through analyses of the Congressional Record, press coverage of the debate, academic and polemical literature, political cartoons, and the presidential campaign. Ultimately, Reitano contends that ideas about political economy have always been central to the American mind. They were so in the Gilded Age as they are today.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Andrew Stewart (1791-1872) advocated protectionist policies for nearly two decades in the House of Representatives, gaining national renown as Chairman of the House Committees on the Tariff and Internal Improvements in the 1820s. Many of Stewart’s congressional speeches on economic doctrine were reproduced in full by newspapers, and he himself collected into one volume, reproduced here, all his speeches relating to tariffs. They demonstrate his belief in protectionism, in the necessity in his eyes of protective tariffs so as to enable American capitalists catch up with their British counterparts.