The Study Of The United States' Early Tariff Problem With The Perspective Of Constitutionalism

The American Civil War broke out in 1861,and from 1787 to 1861,as many as 9tariff legislation was carried out in the United States.Behind the uncertainty of the "pendulum" of tariff legislation was the endless legislative game of the north and south alliance based on different interest demands in Congress,and the comparison of both sides gradually shifted from the legislative stage of Congress to the constitutional level,and even to the edge of the split Union.With regard to the dispute between the two sides,economists believe that the main problem is the rise of economic nationalism to promote the integration of the new manufacturing industry to the traditional agriculture.Historians believe that the key to the problem is the two sides can not bridge the interests of disputes.As forinternational Relations scholars,they think the main contradiction is the conflict between protectionism and free trade.From the perspective of law,the author believes that whether it is the dispute of interest or the argument of the party,it is still possible to limit its confrontation to the legal framework,and the key is to break through the legal framework and move to the edge of the union.Based on this,from the perspective of constitutionalism,the author tries to clarify the origin of tariff problem.In the early days of the United States,the "constitutional design" of tariffs involved three levels,including the tariff expropriation power,the boundary of powerand the relationship between the federal and state.In the intention of the constitution makers,the right of tax collection does not contain the power to protect the manufacturing industry,but there is a broad explanation and restriction on the boundary of the federal power,and the relationship between the state and the federation also has the differences between the unified state and the contract alliance.After 1789,the "constitutional design" of tariff began to be put into practice,and the successive tariff bills tended to trade protection,which triggered the dissatisfaction of the southerners.The southerners believed that high tariffs could trigger foreign retaliatory tariffs and increased the cost of importing foreign products.When the tax rate of the 1828 year tax act tended to 49%,the South Carolina began to take the tariff issue to the constitutional level,and put forward the theory of "abolition right" on the basis of the state power theory.The South Carolina statesman argued that the protective tariff act was contrary to the intention of the constitution,that federal power could only limit interpretation,and states had the right to determine whether the act was unconstitutional and to decide freely to withdraw from the Federation.After South Carolina put the abolition right theory into practice,the federal government chose to compromise and issued the compromise Tariff Act,but the constitutional issue is still in the air.In 1861,when the tariff rate of the Morrill Tariff Actraised again,it was strongly opposed by the southerners.At that time,the federal government was close to the edge of the civil war,and tariff was one of the reasons why the southerners were dissatisfied.The civil war ended with the victory of the north.The "second constitution" shaped by Lincoln,based on the national state,defined the Federation as a unified national state,and the confrontation on Tariffs was also reformed within the legal framework.But there is still a dispute over whether the federal authority has the right to protect the domestic manufacturing industry after the civil war,and whether the federal power can be broadly explained is not determined until Roosevelt's new deal.