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Lectures on the History of Protection in the United States
Lectures on the History of Protection in the United States Author:William Graham Sumner Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LEOTUEB V. Vacillation1 Op Thb Pfiotectiolt Policy Ik This Country.— Conclusion. At the point which I have now reached, in my review of the history of p... more »rotection in the United States, it is necessary to observe that the (original prejudice of the Americans in favor of liberty of every kind had been crushed out as regards trade. The frequent changes of the tariff had educated the generation which had grown up since the second war to the dogmas and fallacies of protection. These had been preached assiduously by Niles and Carey, and being plausible and popular, and falling in with national prejudices, they had gained great currency. There had, indeed, been no argument for the other side. We are familiar with the fact that a special interest finds ardent advocates and energetic workers, while the public interest lacks defenders. In 1829, Condy Raguet commenced the publication of the Free Trade Advocate, in which he published some of the best writing on financial and economic topics ever produced on this side the water. He wrote above his readers, for whose minds Niles' style and arguments were much better adapted, and his journal soon expired. He continued his work in another journal, called the Banner of the Constitution, for some time longer. Another fact, which it is important to observe for a correct understanding of the movement in this country towards protectionism, is the ' great prosperity which was enjoyed here from the second war until 1837. The advantages of the new country were, of course, enormous, and every improvement in transportation and every new invention tended to bring them within reach. The losses inflicted by a bad tariff belonged in the great margin of what might have been. The people had not lost something which they once had. They had fallen...« less