The protective tariff was made up to help the United States promote interregional industry. Alexander Hamilton came up with the protective tariff because, as stated on page 136 of our textbook, "he felt that the United States would never become a great power as long as it imported most of its manufactured goods." A protective tariff put a high tariff on imported goods, which makes them more expensive than domestic goods. Therefore, people would be more likely to purchase the domestic goods because they were less expensive, and this would help to promote economic dependence within the United States.
I can see how the protective tariff would work and force people to buy American made products, although this might have limited what some people could have bought. For instance, if you really needed to purchase some type of farming equipment that you knew the British could make really well, but could not afford it because of the tariff, then you would have to settle for the second rate American made version. I am not trying to say that all American equipment would have been made second rate, but I am sure some imported goods were better than domestic versions, and vice versa. .
A surprising insight I discovered from the protective tariff was how good it was for the nation, but there was still such controversy surrounding it. I think Stonewall Jackson would have supported the protective tariff, especially since he was such a dedicated soldier. Although, supplies that he might have needed for his army might not have been able to be supplied by the United States, alone. There probably was some sort of reliance on imported goods during the war. .
The Fugitive Slave Act war developed by Southern leaders to help them, as stated on page 255 in our text, "reinforce their right to seize and return to bondage slaves who had fled to free territory." However, some slave owners did not want to spend the time or money to hunt down and recapture former slaves, especially since most of the escaped slaves went to the North, where the reaction to the Fugitive Slave Act was pretty hostile.
