The US used Tariffs to pay War Debt and fund the Federal Government from 1789 to 1913. Tariffs on European Furniture allowed the US furniture industry and other manufacturing to develop to serve the needs of US Citizens. Importing goods was slow, expensive, risky and unreliable.
From
1880 to 1920, tariffs were a major source of US federal revenue,
particularly after the Civil War, but their dominance began to wane with the
rise of the federal income tax in the early 20th century.
Here's a more detailed look:
Dominant
Revenue Source:
For much of the 19th century, tariffs were the primary source of revenue for the US federal government, used to finance government operations and pay off debts.
Post-Civil
War:
After the Civil War, tariff rates rose to finance new programs and pay off the war debt.
Protectionist
Measures:
High tariffs were also used to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.
Examples
of Tariff Acts:
The McKinley Tariff of 1890 and the Dingley Tariff of 1897 raised tariff rates to levels higher than any since the Civil War.
Shifting
Revenue Sources:
The rise of the federal income tax in the early 20th century, particularly after 1913, gradually reduced the importance of tariffs as a revenue source.
Internal
Taxes:
By 1911, internal levies (chiefly alcohol excises, tobacco taxes, and estate/gift levies) surpassed tariffs as the main source of revenue.
Tariff
Revenue as a Percentage of Total Revenue:
In 1880, customs duties and excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco made up nearly 90% of all federal government receipts.
Tariff
Revenue in 1915:
In 1915, tariffs generated 30.1% of federal revenues.
End
of High US Import Tariffs:
The 1913 Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act lowered tariffs and the 1913 Federal Reserve Act established a permanent federal income tax.
Post-WWI
Protectionism:
After WWI, the US reverted to protectionist policies, with the Emergency Tariff Act of 1921 and the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922 raising tariffs again.
In the 1990s, the US began to off-shore manufacturing. The US continued to increase federal spending and put it on the “credit card”. The National Debt increased from $3.2 trillion to $36.6 trillion.
Tariffs were ignored in the US until 2016, when Trump made lowering the US Trade Deficit an issue. Trump also closed the border to end illegal immigration and provide jobs to US citizens.
Now in his Second Term, with a US National Debt approaching $37 trillion. Now in 2025, Trump was reelected to end illegal immigration and restore the US economy by increasing oil and natural gas production, downsizing the bloated $7 trillion federal government and reshoring manufacturing. The US Trade Deficit is now over $1.1 trillion.
Source: Google Search
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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