President James Polk
had a strong and successful presidency, including a victory in the
Mexican-American War and annexation of Texas.
When he was elected
in 1844, tariffs were a major issue. The Tariff of 1842 (also called the Black Tariff) set high tariff rates to protect Northern manufacturing. This hurt agricultural states in the South and Midwest.
Compare this to President Trump’s imminent tariffs on
imported steel and aluminum, and emerging concern from Midwest and Southern states, where there is growing concern about retaliation against corn, wheat, soybeans, sorghum, and Kentucky bourbon.
Like departing Senior
Economic Advisor, Gary Cohn, Polk believed that protective tariffs for American
manufacturing were unfair to other economic activities.
Once he was elected, Polk
directed his Treasury Secretary to draft a new and lower tariff. Polk then had
a friendly congressman propose the lower tariff to strengthen the acceptance of
the policy through legislation. In a razor-thin vote in the Senate, Congress
approved the lower tariff schedule (leading to the Walker Tariff of 1846).
Lower tariffs led to
economic growth. England—so upset with American industrial tariffs that it
passed its “Corn Laws”— repealed their retaliatory tariff on American
agricultural. A boom in Anglo-American trade resulted.
Our new tariffs appear to be on course to revisit the sad history around the Black Tariff of 1842.
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Photo Credit: Chattering Teeth
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