Dallas Tariff

Dallas Tariff

The Dallas tariff (more commonly known as the Tariff of 1816) is notable as the first tariff passed by Congress with an explicit function of protecting U.S. manufactured items from foreign competition. Prior to the War of 1812, tariffs had primarily served to raise revenues to operate the national government. Another unique aspect of the tariff was the strong support it received from Southern states.

The bill was conceived as part of a solution to the purely domestic matter of avoiding a projected federal deficit reported by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander J. Dallas. International developments added key facets to the debate; in 1816 there was widespread concern among Americans that war with Great Britain might be rekindled over economic and territorial issues. A tariff on manufactured goods, including war industry products, was deemed essential in the interests of national defense.

The tariff was approved on April 27, 1816 as a temporary measure, authorized for only three years (until June 1819). Northern efforts to establish permanent protection in 1820, after tensions with Great Britain had eased, provoked a backlash among Southern legislators. The South consistently opposed protective tariffs during the remainder of the ante bellum period.