During John Quincy Adam's final year as President, he signed what was described by Southern opponents as the "Tariff of Abomination". The bill which imposed high import duties on iron, molasses, distilled spirits, cotton and wool is seen as increasing resentment of the South toward the North, a feeling which persisted and led the nation to civil war. Here, in Adam's final State of the Union Address, he ties the tariffs passed by Congress to the deteriorating trade negotiations between the United States and Great Britain following the War of 1812. Adams directs some words of caution to both Congress and the Parliament about the escalating restrictions.
In 1825, the British Parliament passed an Order-in-Council that would open up trade with the Colonies, only if the United States would remove all restrictions on British Vessels. Rather than act immediately on this ambiguous act of parliament, Adams wanted to continue negotiations with Great Britain and Albert Gallatin was sent as "envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary" to renew negotiations. But even before Gallatin arrived, an Order of the British Council under King George IV was given that denied all American vessels from trade with any Colonial British port except those that bordered the United States territory. Thus, opening trade with Canada but closed trade with the West Indies. This infuriated President John Adams and he took a drastic step to rescind the Reciprocal trade act of 1823, opening the door to more restrictive trade agreements with Great Britain and boosting the protective movement that was brewing in the North.
By 1828, the protective movement had a strong hold on the great agricultural states of the middle and the west including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oho and Kentucky. These states wanted protection not only for the manufactured goods needed in the homes and farms, but also to protect their own products such as wool, hemp and wheat. In addition, states like Pennsylvania wanted protection from cheap British Iron. These protective interests though were met with opposition from the New England states that relied on cheap imports of raw materials such as wool and molasses. Molasses in particular was imported from the British West Indies in exchange for fish, provisions and lumber. But this opposition was in decline ever since the Panic of 1819, and in the years since the protective movement led a majority of the Northern congressman to vote in favor of protectionist bills. The South opposed tariffs and other protectionist policies in the 1820s, but not yet with the voraciousness that they would display in the years to come. In this light, the high tariff of 1828 was just one part of a series of tariffs that began after the War of 1812. The first protective tariff was passed by Congress in 1816, and it's rates were later raised in 1824.
On May 19, 1828 President Adams signed the tariff bill that would later become known as the "Tariff of Abominations". The bill was carried by New England 'National Republicans' despite, the addition of a 'poison pill' by John C. Calhoun and the Southern Democratic party. Calhoun inserted very high duties on raw materials which New England manufacturers relied upon into the bill, but the Middle States and the states of the West voted overwhelmingly for the bill and it passed 105 to 94. 16 of the 23 New England Congressman voted for it. Of the 68 Congressmen from the South, only 4 voted for it. Southern opponents felt that the protective features of the tariff were so harmful to their agrarian interests that they balled the bill the "Tariff of Abominations". The tariff placed a 38% tax on 92% of all imported goods. The Northern states on the other hand, including New England saw the bill in a different light. In fact, from 1828 to 1829, there was a 1.72 percent gain in the carriage of cargo imported and a 1.74% of cargo exported. More importantly, the tariff gave the Iron market in America a big boost. American manufacturing discovered that the American Iron was far superior to that of the British market. The British material used prior to 1828 was weak and brittle requiring every bolt to be heated at both ends and pointed in the blacksmith shop before driving else the heads would fly off. American iron on the other hand would drive and clinch without requiring a blacksmith at all. It was a huge savings for American manufacturers. Another industry that was boosted was the Canvas making industry, Canvas makers found that American cotton was also far superior to that of British cotton in making sails for ships.
Despite seeing some benefits, President John Quincy Adams paid a political price for his handling of the trade negotiations with the British, the closing of the British West Indies, and the 'Tariff of Abominations" and these items weighed heavily on his re-election campaign. Perhaps with this in mind, Adams gave a message of caution to both the United States Congress and the Parliament in his final State of The Union Address. First, Adams made a bold statement that the "effect of the interdiction of direct trade, commenced by Great Britain and reciprocated by the United States, has been, as was to be foreseen, only to substitute different channels for an exchange of commodities indispensable to the colonies and profitable to a numerous class of our fellow citizens." In other words, Adams was telling Congress that the United States would not have been hurt by the interdiction of trade with the British West Indies. He is now concerned that the actions of Congress and the parliament were getting out of hand, and seems to be suggesting that this tit for tat fight over duties and imports between the two countries could lead to a further deterioration of trade between the two countries including the termination of the commercial convention signed in 1827.
"Our commercial relations with Great Britain will deserve the serious consideration of Congress and the exercise of a conciliatory and forbearing spirit in the policy of both Governments. The state of them has been materially changed by the act of Congress, passed at their last session, in alteration of several acts imposing duties on imports, and by acts of more recent date of the British Parliament. The effect of the interdiction of direct trade, commenced by Great Britain and reciprocated by the United States, has been, as was to be foreseen, only to substitute different channels for an exchange of commodities indispensable to the colonies and profitable to a numerous class of our fellow citizens. The exports, the revenue, the navigation of the United States have suffered no diminution by our exclusion from direct access to the British colonies. The colonies pay more dearly for the necessaries of life which their Government burdens with the charges of double voyages, freight, insurance, and commission, and the profits of our exports are somewhat impaired and more injuriously transferred from one portion of our citizens to another.
The resumption of this old and otherwise exploded system of colonial exclusion has not secured to the shipping interest of Great Britain the relief which, at the expense of the distant colonies and of the United States, it was expected to afford. Other measures have been resorted to more pointedly bearing upon the navigation of the United States, and more pointedly bearing upon the navigation of the United States, and which, unless modified by the construction given to the recent acts of Parliament, will be manifestly incompatible with the positive stipulations of the commercial convention existing between the two countries. That convention, however, may be terminated with 12 months' notice, at the option of either party."
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). John Quincy Adams: Fourth Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29470 [Accessed 9 Jul. 2018].Bates, W. (1897). American marine; the shipping question in history and politics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, p.165.
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Tariff of Abominations. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff_of_Abominations [Accessed 9 Jul. 2018].
Taussig, F. (1888). The Early Protective Movement and the Tariff of 1828. Political Science Quarterly, 3(1), pp.17-26.
Wagner, D. (2018). 1826 John Quincy Adams - Rescinding Free Trade with Great Britain. [online] Stateoftheunionhistory.com. Available at: http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2018/03/1826-john-quincy-adams-rescinding-free.html [Accessed 9 Jul. 2018].
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