The Passage of The Tariff
As a protective measure, the tariff legislation was very temperate. It placed a duty of twenty-five percent on cottons and woolens for a period of three years (until June 1819), at which time it would drop to twenty percent. A duty of thirty percent was placed on iron, leather, hats, writing paper and cabinet ware, as well as three cents on a pound of sugar. (Iron duties were further increased in 1818 as a defense measure.)
Low grade printed fabrics from British colonies in India, however cheaply they were priced, were accessed at a fixed rate of twenty-five cents per square yard. This was the only overtly protective feature of the legislation, and served to exclude these foreign textiles altogether from US markets.
The bill - requiring a simple majority for passage – passed 88 yeas to 54 nays in the House (62% to 38%). Both parties were divided, with Republicans voting nationwide 63 yeas to 31 nays, and the Federalists voting 25 yeas to 23 nays.
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