Civil War Caused by Protectionism

23. " Tarif"

When the Saracens and Moors, in the 8th century invaded and devastated the rich and beautiful provinces of Spain, they were commanded by a general whose name was Tarif, who had but one eye (See Anquetil's Universal History) - Our Tariff must be a descendant of this infamous destroyer, and inherits his defect of having but one eye, as it can see but one interest, and in one direction."
(I found the above quote on microfilm at the Tarboro Library, but I either failed to write down the source, or there was none. Also, I failed to write down the date, but remember that it was well before the War, 1823/1833 sticks in my mind. BT)

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The Walker Tariff of 1846 pleased the low-tariff supporters in the South as it promised a departure from the high protectionist tariffs pressed for by New England; by 1857 the tariff was lowered again to the chagrin of New England. With most conservative Southern congressmen gone in late February, 1861, the Republican (in reality high-tariff Whig) dominated Congress passed the protectionist Morrill Tariff. The war ended with some import duties as high as 100 percent and the general average being 47 percent – about double the average in 1857. Thus, trade barriers and protectionism were a prime motivation of Northern war upon the South.

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
www.ncwbts150.com
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Civil War Caused by Protectionism:

“One worldism is not an impossible ideal; but, it is not attainable through the medium of political power. On the contrary, the organization of the world into a single society – which is what the one-worlders really want – can be accomplished only if people can rid themselves of the fetish of authoritarianism. It is not necessary to plan or build a world society; it is only necessary to remove the obstructions to its growth, all of which are political and all of which stem from a belief in authoritarianism.

In the beginning, before Americans had been completely converted to this political paganism, it was stipulated that their marketplace should be as large as the country; the erection of trade barriers between the component commonwealths was prohibited. As the frontiers of the country were extended the marketplace grew apace and, in time, goods, men and ideas moved without hindrance from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Mexico to Canada.

Therefore, an American society grew up. It was not planned; it grew. Several times the little separate political establishments set up blocks to trade at their respective borders, causing friction, but on the whole their efforts were frustrated by the spirit of free trade. (it might be well to mention, in passing, that the prime cause of the Civil War was protectionism, which is a dogma of authoritarianism.)

Let us look at a contrary example. Europe, which, outside of Russia, compares in size to the United States, is cross-checked with trade barriers, and Europe has been a battlefield for centuries. Political particularism has prevented the flowering of a European society. It is impossible for such a thing to get going in an area darkened by passports and customs regulations.

Time and again the doctors of political science have prescribed some sort of political union for the ills of Europe, on the assumption that such a union will be followed by a customs union. Quite the contrary; the borders between countries lose all meaning if the peoples can “do business” with one another, which is another way of saying, if the states get out of the way of society.

No political union can set up a society in Europe; that can only come from uninhibited “haggling and haggling” in a common marketplace.”

(Fugitive Essays, Selected Writings of Frank Chodorov, Charles Hamilton, editor, Liberty Press, 1980, excerpts pp. 125-127)