William K. Bolt is a professor of history at Francis Marion University. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee and served as an assistant editor at the James K. Polk Project. There, he researched, edited, and transcribed documents that appeared in volume 11 and 12 of Correspondence of James K. Polk. His book, Tariff Wars and the Politics of Jacksonian America, was published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2017. He is also the coauthor of a textbook, The American Road Part 1: Traveling the Early American Byways of a New Nation, published by Kendall Hunt in 2016. He has published articles in American Nineteenth Century History and the Journal of East Tennessee History.
William K. Bolt
North Carolina History Project
Tariffs, Part III (Progressive Era to Present)
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.
Tariffs, Part I (Founding Era to American Civil War)
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.
Tariffs, Part II (American Civil War to Progressive Era)
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 through tariffs, but sometimes met opposition.