Although the United States gained independence from Great Britain with the Revolutionary War, the economy still heavily depended on British goods and trade in the country’s early years.  After  the War of 1812, British manufacturers began to offer goods to American markets at low prices to stimulate their economy.  American manufacturers, primarily in the North, could not compete with British prices and the United States government was forced to intervene and protect Northern manufacturers.

On this day, May 19th, in 1828, northern industries in the U.S. were protected with the Tariff of 1828.  The tariff placed a tax on imported goods, forcing southern consumers to by American-made products.  While the tariff was helpful for northern industries, the southern economy was adversely effected in two ways.  The tariff forced the South to pay higher prices for goods and led to less income from cotton exports to the Britain. Despite the South’s problems with the tariff, the US GDP grew from $888 million to $1.118 billion in 1832.

The South highly contested the Tariff of 1828 and claimed it to be unconstitutional.   The Tariff of 1832 reduced tax rates on imported goods and helped to appease the South.