The American System

Andrew Stewart (1791-1872) advocated protectionist policies for nearly two decades in the House of Representatives, gaining national renown as Chairman of the House Committees on the Tariff and Internal Improvements in the 1820s. Many of Stewart’s congressional speeches on economic doctrine were reproduced in full by newspapers, and he himself collected into one volume, reproduced here, all his speeches relating to tariffs. They demonstrate his belief in protectionism, in the necessity in his eyes of protective tariffs so as to enable American capitalists catch up with their British counterparts.