William K. Bolt is an Assistant Editor at the James K. Polk Project and a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee. His publications have appeared in American Nineteenth Century History and The Journal of East Tennessee History. He is currently completing a dissertation that concerns the rancorous tariff debates in early American history.
Commercial restrictions through tariffs have been an integral part of American history, and Tar Heels have voiced their opinion on tariff legislation since the founding of the United States. The federal government has used tariffs to raise revenue and protect American industry and labor. Before the Civil War, the federal government obtained close to ninety-percent of its revenue from tariffs and avoided instituting income taxation.
Commercial restrictions through tariffs have been an integral part of American history, and Tar Heels have voiced their opinion on tariff legislation since the founding of the United States. The federal government has used tariffs to raise revenue and protect American industry and labor. After the Civil War, Congress intensified its efforts to protect American industry.
Commercial restrictions through tariffs have been an integral part of American history, and Tar Heels have voiced their opinion on tariff legislation since the founding of the United States. The federal government has used tariffs to raise revenue and protect American industry and labor. During the Great Depression, Congress passed the highest tariff in the United States history.
The Graham brothers, James and William, were leaders of the state and national Whig parties during the antebellum era. A Senator and Governor, the younger William, once described as the handsomest man in all of North Carolina, influenced politics more than his older brother. The political biographies of both, however, reveal the history of the Whig Party in the Tar Heel State and explore what issues Whigs deemed most important.
Republicanism is a term for beliefs that have defined the American political experiment. In particular, republicanism stems from a form a government where the people are sovereign. In such a government, virtuous and autonomous citizens must exercise self-control for the common good. Republican citizens should not seek office or use public office for economic gain. Public officials must subordinate their personal ambitions for the good of the community. A republican citizen also must be prepared to thwart corrupting influences that would lead the nation toward tyranny or despotism. Republicanism is based on the assumption that liberty and power continually battle.
The term Whig has had different uses throughout American history. During the American Revolution, patriots used it to symbolize their opposition to the tyrannies of the English crown. After the Revolution, the term fell into disuse, and some even used the term in a pejorative manner.
Originally, the term “Federalist” referred to supporters of the federal constitution of 1787. Though the Federalist Party existed for less than half of a century, it helped define the new nation. Though they may have lost many political battles, Federalists may have won the war, for their vision of a cosmopolitan and industrialized America eventually came to fruition.
Commercial restrictions through tariffs have been an integral part of American history, and Tar Heels have voiced their opinion on tariff legislation since the founding of the United States. The federal government has used tariffs to raise revenue and protect American industry and labor. Before the Civil War, the federal government obtained close to ninety-percent of its revenue from tariffs and avoided insituting income taxation.