The Aftermath of Hamilton's “Report on Manufactures”

Abstract

Alexander Hamilton's “Report on Manufactures” (1791) is a classic document of U.S. economic policy, but its fate in Congress is not well known. It is commonly believed that the report was never implemented. Although Hamilton's proposals for bounties (subsidies) failed to receive support, virtually every tariff recommendation was adopted by Congress in early 1792. These tariffs were not highly protectionist because Hamilton feared discouraging imports, which were the critical tax base on which he planned to fund the public debt. As a consequence, protectionist interests shifted their political support from the Federalists to the Jeffersonian Republicans during the 1790s.