Henry Clay’s American system is a three-part policy that mutually reinforces itself and is tasked with improving America’s economy. The economic sectors to be strengthened included the transport sector, federal revenue collection through taxes, and supporting the American national bank (“A century of lawmaking for a new nation: U.S. congressional documents and debates, 1774 – 1875,” n.d.). The taxation method imposed tariffs on foreign products to protect the local industries by creating less competition. All these parts of the planned system required funds to be obtained from increased taxation due to the new economic policies. Clay stated that although it was erroneous, new and improved transport cannot be achieved without funds; this applied to introducing the federal bank and tariff implementation. The American System was thus perceived as the savior of the American economy in the 19th century and the route via which America would achieve greatness and dominance.
When the Kentucky statesman brought the idea of the American System, North and South America were not in harmony; to make America great, the Northern and the Southern states had to be united. The American system would thus help the U.S. attain self-sufficiency in their economic sector in addition to supporting their internal market growth (Minghi, 2017). Most of the Clay system supporters saw it as a way of eliminating boundaries between the South and North America since policies differentiated them; this would help make America united and more robust. America had industries that were not performing well owing to the excellent relationship that the South had with foreign countries. The tariffs would thus reduce the completion posed by foreign goods and foster local industries. Henry Clay stated that his vision would deviate from public prosperity to public debt to help build the infrastructure required to create a perfect transport system for accessibility.
One of the forefront pillars of the American system encompassed in infrastructural development was mechanization and communication, which Henry Clay envisioned would be the best way to make America great again. Mechanization via the American system was meant to act as leeway for growth and expansion of the American economy; development via this method allowed America to explore its domestic resources and capitalize on the home market and labor that its people could provide. For example, the southern states planted cotton, which was primarily sold to foreign countries owed to their excellent diplomatic relationships. However, Clay so that the North had a better market and even an easier one to reach, this strategy would have seen cotton sold at a lower price in the Northern States and make the South shy away from foreign markets. Mechanization was, therefore, a way to build domestic industries that would offer local markets and create jobs for the local people.
In conclusion, The American System brought to debate by Henry Clay, the Kentucky Statesman, was an economic recovery tool geared towards helping the country recover after the pre and post-independence wars were fought. The proposed economic recovery plan had three main sections; the first was imposing tariffs on foreign goods to help to promote the local industries and interests. The tariff policy was mutually reinforced by establishing the federal bank to manage the collected taxes and bolstering the commerce sector. The last pillar of the system was infrastructural development supported by subsidies in the cost and internal developments to make agriculture profitable. However, the central pillar was tariffs, which would finance the other developments, including mechanization and sound communication systems.
References
A century of lawmaking for a new nation: U.S. congressional documents and debates, 1774 – 1875. (n.d.). American Memory: Remaining Collections. Web.
Minghi, J. (2017). The significance of the frontier in American history. In F. J. Turner (Ed.), The structure of political geography (1st ed.). Routledge.