TJ Nethery Essays (609 words) - , Term Papers

TJ Nethery American Political Thought 3/3/17 Henry Clay Leader of the Whig party and five times and unsuccessful presidential candidate, Henry Clay played a central role on the stage of national politics for over 40 years. He was the secretary of state under John Quincy Adams, Speaker of the House of Representatives longer than anyone else in the nineteenth century, and the most influential member of the Senate during its golden age. Known as the "Great Compromiser" Henry Clay shoed his political power and knowledge by playing a crucial role in brokering a two-part solution known as the Missouri Compromise. First, Missouri would be admitted to the union as a slave state, but would be balanced by the admission of Maine, a free state, that had long wanted to be separated from Massachusetts. Second, slavery was to be excluded from all new states in the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri. People on both sides of the controversy saw the compromise as deeply flawed. Nevertheless, it lasted for over thirty y ears until the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 determined that new states north of the boundary deserved to be able to exercise their sovereignty in favor of slavery if they so choose. But in this reading I will be discussing the American System and the speech that was given to help proctor and broker this ideology. The American System was an economic plan that played a prominent role in American policy during the first half of the 19th century. Rooted in the "American School" ideas of Alexander Hamilton, the plan "consisted of three mutually reinforcing parts: a tariff to protect and promote American industry; a national bank to foster commerce; and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other 'internal improvements' to develop profitable markets for agric ulture". Congressman Henry Clay was the plan's foremost proponent and the first to refer to it as the "American System". The main points of this speech and the main parts of Clay's thinking were set in three main Categories: An establishment of a protective tariff, the idea of having the first national bank, and the improvement of the country's infrastructure. The protective tariff would be a 20% to 25% tax on imported goods, this tax would protect a nations business from any foreign competition. Congress passed a tariff in 1816 which made European goods more expensive and encouraged consumers to by cheaper American- made goods. The establishment of a national bank would promote a s ingle currency, making trade easier, and issue what was called the sovereign credit or credit issued by the national government rather than borrowed from the private banking system. In 1816 Congress created the second bank of the United States. The improvement of the country's infrastructure, especially transportation systems, made trade easier and faster for everyone. The poor roads that were used were costly and made trading slow. Henry Clay's "American System," devised in the burst of nationalism that followed the War of 1812, remains one of the most historically significant examples of a government- sponsored program to harmonize and balance the nation's agriculture, commerce, and industry. This "System" consisted of three mutually re - enforcing parts: a tariff to protect and promote American industry; a national bank to foster commerce; and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other "internal improvements" to develop profitable markets for agriculture. Funds for these subsidies would be obtained from tariffs and sales of public lands. Clay argued that a vigorously maintained system of sectional economic interdependence would eliminate the chance of renewed subservience to the free-trade, laissez-faire "British System." United States Senate website