Frank W. Taussig first taught his half-course “History of U.S. Tariff Legislation” (one hour of class a week for the entire academic year) in 1883-84. Beginning 1886-87 the half-course met two hours per week during the second term only. The previous post provides the entire 28 page printed syllabus with bibliography for this course dated 1888. Today’s post provides enrollment data for the course from 1883-84 through 1889-90 along with all the end-of-term examinations for the course.
_________________
Announcement of new course on Tariff Legislation
The scheme of instruction for the year 1883-84….Of the remaining five courses, of which four are new, two are full courses, with three or two exercises a week, while three, having each one exercise a week, are rated as half-courses. The latter are devoted to the treatment of special topics: The Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France, and Germany, by Professor Laughlin; Tariff Legislation in the United States, by Dr. Taussig; Comparison of the Financial Systems of France, England, Germany, and the United States by Professor Dunbar.”
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1882-1883, p. 73.
_________________
Course Enrollments
Enrollment 1883-84
Dr. Taussig. 6. Lectures on the History of Tariff Legislation, chiefly in the United States with a discussion of the principles of tariff legislation. Hours per week: 1.
Total 17: 13 Seniors, 1 Junior, 3 Graduates
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1883-1884, p. 72.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1884-85
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States, with a discussion of principles.—Lectures. Hours per week: 1. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 40: 26 Seniors, 10 Juniors, 1 Graduate, 3 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1884-1885, p. 86.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1885-86
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.— Discussion of principles. Hours per week: 1. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 35: 17 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 2 Graduates, 5 Others.
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1885-1886, p. 51.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1886-87
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States, and consideration of its economic effects.—Lectures, written exercises, and oral discussion. Hours per week: 2, 2ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 38: 28 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 2 Graduates, 4 Others.
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1886-1887, p. 59.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1887-88
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.—Lectures, required reading, and investigation of special topics. Hours per week: 2, 2ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 58: 31 Seniors, 17 Juniors, 5 Graduates, 5 Others.
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1887-1888, p. 62.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1888-89
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.—Lectures and reports on special topics. Hours per week: 2, 2ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 34: 18 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 1 Other.
Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.
* * * * *
Enrollment 1889-90
Dr. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.—Lectures on the History of Tariff Legislation.—Discussion of brief theses (two from each student).—Lectures on the Tariff history of France and England. Hours per week: 2 or 3, 2ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.
Total 29: 19 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 1 Other.
Source:Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1889-1890, p. 80.
_________________
1883-84.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[Mid-Year]
- Give a brief summary of the contents of Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures. Comment on his discussion of the relative productiveness of agriculture and manufactures; and on the proposition that manufactures are peculiarly productive, and particularly desirable in a country, because they admit of a greater division of labor and more extended use of machinery.
Make some comparison between the general character of Hamilton’s Report and Gallatin’s Memorial, of 1831, on the Tariff. - Describe the tariff act of 1789. Should you consider it a protective measure?
- Give a brief history of the cotton manufacture from 1789 to 1824, and of the tariff legislation on cottons. Comment on the following: “It is seen that the manufacture of coarse cotton cloth has been more efficiently and steadily protected than any other and that such cloths are now supplied so cheaply that as to enter largely into the list of exports….The more perfectly the home market is secured to the domestic artisan, the greater is the tendency to cheapening the commodity.”— H.C. Carey.
- Give an account of the passage of the tariff act of 1828, and of the provisions of that act. Why was it called “the tariff of abominations”? Comment on this statement: “Next came the tariff of 1828, the first that was based on the idea of protection for the sake of protection.”
- What was the “forty-bale theory,” or “export tax theory” of Congressman McDuffie? Discuss, in connection with it, the incidence of taxation by duties on imports.
- Given the important provisions of the Compromise Act of 1833. How long was that act, by its terms, to remain in force, and how long did it remain in force? Criticize the tariff system which the act finally brought into operation. Comment briefly on the following: “Mr. Calhoun introduced and carried the scheme of what is called a revenue tariff, which, taking off by gradations, should finally reduce the income, through the custom house, to the measure necessary to support the Government, and adjust it on the principles of a tariff for revenue only. And how long did it take this beneficent measure…to do its work on the industries of this country? In 1837 a bankruptcy covered the whole land, without distinction of sections, with ruin.”—W.M. Evarts.
Mid-Year. 1884.
_________________
1883-84.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
- Secretary Walker, in his report on the tariff in 1845, laid down these general rules:—
No duty should be imposed above the lowest rate that will yield the largest revenue.
Below such a rate discrimination may be made.
The maximum revenue duty should be imposed on luxuries.
Should you say that these rules were sound, and stated the proper principles applicable to import duties? Should you say that the legislation based on them in the tariff of 1846 was a sound application of the principles of free trade? - Describe and discuss the plan on which the wool and woolens schedule of the existing tariff was formed.
- Compare the tariff history of France during and after the wars of the French Revolution, with that of the United States during and after the war of the rebellion.
- Comment on the following:—
“A tax on raw materials is not like a tax on finished goods. A tax on raw materials is equal to its own amount, plus the usual percentage of gross profit, multiplied by the number of procedures through which it has to pass until it reaches the consumer in the finished state. A protection of $28,000,000 on raw wool [a duty of 10 cents a pound, with a domestic production of 280,000,000 pounds] keeps swelling and swelling at each intermediate stage till it reaches the consumer, and may be called nearly a hundred million dollars when it reaches the consumer it its most finished state.” - What should you say of the tariff as a factor in the general prosperity of the United States during the past hundred years?
Ann. June, 1884.
_________________
1884-85.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[Mid-Year]
(Omit either question 3 or question 4.)
- Comment briefly on the following:—
“There is not a single great branch of domestic manufactures which had not been established in some form in this country long before a protective tariff had been or could have been imposed. The manufacture of iron is nearly as old as the history of every colony or territory in which there is any iron ore. The manufacture of woolens is as old as the country itself, and was more truly a domestic manufacture when our ancestors were clothed with homespun than now. The manufacture of cotton is almost as old as the production of the fibre on our territory.” - Compare the tariff act of 1816 with that of 1824, noting differences in (1) the general range of duties, (2) the circumstances under which they were passed, (3) the action taken in regard to them by the representatives of New England, the Middle States, and the South. It has been said that “the tariff of 1816 marks the beginning of protection in this country,” and that “the tariff of 1824 was our first tariff worthy of the name of protection.” Which of these statements is true, if either?
- Comment on the following:—
“No protective duty was ever levied on a single article, the home manufacture of which grew to large proportions under that duty, without the price to the consumer growing cheaper, the duty thus being a boon instead of a tax.”
“A duty on an imported article is invariably added to its price, at the cost of the buyer, and added also to the price of like articles made here.” - State carefully the argument for the protection of young industries and mention the conditions, if any, which might justify the application of such protection.
- Give a brief critical statement of the views expressed by Hamilton, Gallatin, Clay, and Webster on the protective controversy.
Mid-year. 1885
_________________
1884-85.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
- State as nearly as you can the duties on the following articles from 1846 to 1884: pig-iron, steel-rails, wool, woolen cloths, silks, coffee, copper
Take any one of the following articles: pig-iron, wool, woolen cloths, silks, copper; and say something as the economic effect of the duties on that one between 1860 and 1884. - Give an account of the tariff act of 1864. Compare the tariff policy adopted in the United States after the close of the civil war, and with the policy of France after 1815.
- What has been the practice in our tariff acts since 1842 as regards the imposition of specific and ad valorem duties? Comment on the following: “It is an economic truth that the ad valorem system is the only equitable rule for assessing duties. With the whole power of a great government behind, there is no reason why the laws of the country should not be enforced. The outcry of undervaluation is simply a trick to blind the people, as it would be impossible to enact a law imposing duties of 80, 100, even 200 percent. in the plain unvarnished form of ad valorem duties.”
- Comment briefly on two of the following:—
- “The fairest and most satisfactory test of the effect of the tariff on prices is to compare prices of the same article under high and low tariffs. The average gold price of pig-iron before 1860 was $28.50 per ton; in recent years it has been $33.70. The average is higher by $5.20 under a high tariff than during the period of low duties.”
- “Nothing can be more false than the claim of free trade advocates than that a duty is a tax that comes out of the farmers and artisans of this country. By far the greater part of the revenue collected on importations is the toll paid by people of other countries for the admission of their goods….I was assured by a score of manufacturers in England that the recent increase in the French tariff came out of their pockets, and not from the consumers in France; that they were compelled to sell their goods in France at the same price as before the increase of duty.”
- “A conclusive answer to the assertion that the protective policy secures high wages to the laborers of this country, is found in the fact that wages are higher in the United States—absolutely and in comparison with the old world rates—in those industries which do not have, or confessedly do not need, protection.”
- Compare the grounds on which a policy of protection has been advocated in recent years with the grounds put forward in 1820-30, and give any reasons that may occur to you for changes in the arguments.
Ann. June. 1885.
_________________
1885-86.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[Mid-Year]
- Comment on the following:—
“Beside the protection thrown over the manufacturing interest by Congress during this period (1789-1812), the war which raged in Europe produced a favorable effect. As the United States was a neutral nation, she fattened on the miseries of the European nations, and her commerce increased with astonishing rapidity. Our manufactures flourished from the same cause, though not to a corresponding degree with our commerce.” - Take two of the following:—
(a) Give some account of the sources from which we learn the character of the act of 1828, and the circumstances under which it was passed.
(b) What was Webster’s position on the tariff question, in 1824, in 1828, and in 1833?
(c) What was Clay’s position on the tariff question in 1820, in 1828, and in 1832?
Under (b) and (c) discuss briefly the reasons why Clay and Webster acted as they did at the dates mentioned. - Comment on the following:—
“Whenever we diminish importation by a protective tariff, we must at the same time diminish the production of those goods which, were trade free, we should given in exchange for the goods imported…..It would, however, be a mistake in the other direction to assume that all the industry set in operation by the tariff is withdrawn from other employments, and that there is no increase whatever. The very fact that, under free trade, goods are imported instead of being made at home shows that we find it easier to make the goods which we send abroad than to make those which we receive in exchange for them. Hence when we are forced to make them for ourselves, there must be an increase in the sum total of our industry.” - Comment on the following, and state when and by whom you think it was written:—
“The principal argument for the superior productiveness of agricultural labor turns on the allegation that the labor employed on manufactures yields nothing equivalent to the rent of the land, or to that net surplus, as it is called, which accrues to the proprietor of the soil….It seems to have been overlooked that the land itself is a stock or capital, advanced or lent by its owner to the occupier or tenant, and that the rent he receives is only the ordinary profit of a certain stock in land, not managed by the proprietor himself, but by another, to whom he lends or lets it, and who, on his part, advances a second capital, to stock and improve the land, upon which he also receives the usual profit. The rent of the landlord and the profit of the farmer are, therefore, nothing more than the ordinary profit of two capitals belonging to two different persons, and united in the cultivation of the farm.” - State as nearly as you can what were the duties on cotton goods, woolen goods, bar iron, hemp, and articles not specifically provided for, in the years 1800, 1814, 1820, 1830, and 1837. Mention what tariff act was in force at each date, and whether the duty was specific or ad valorem. Use tabular form if you wish.
Mid-year. 1886.
_________________
1885-86.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
[Omit one question.]
- Does a tax on imports operate as a tax on exports? Apply your reasoning to the exports of Southern cotton in 1830, and to those of Western grain in 1880.
- Assuming that you were called on to reduce duties, state the order of preference in which you would effect reductions in the present duties on iron, sugar, silks. Give your reasons.
- Make a comparison between the general course of tariff legislation in the United States and on the continent of Europe, from 1860 to the present time.
- Make a comparison between the tariff legislation of the United States in 1833 and in 1846.
- Comment on the reasoning and the statement of fact in the following:—
“The duty of 1867 on wool, which gave to wool-growing its greatest encouragement, has added nothing to the cost of wool to the manufacturer or the consumer. On the contrary, the price has been greatly cheapened. In 1867 the price was 51 cents, in 1870 it was 46 cents, in 1875 it was 43 cents. There has been a steady reduction, with occasional fluctuations, since 1867. Free wool will be of no permanent benefit to manufacturer or consumer, but a positive loss to both. On the other hand, the wool-growing interest will be ruined by the competition of Australia, New Zealand, and the South American State.” - Would you impose specific or ad-valorem duties on steel rails, wool, woolen cloths? Give your reasons. What has been the practice in imposing duties on these articles since 1860?
Final. June, 1886.
_________________
1886-87.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
- Comment on the historical statements, and on the reasoning from them, in the following extracts:—
“Such was the state of things [bankruptcy and ruin the most complete] at the date of the passage of the tariff act of 1842. Scarcely had it become a law, when confidence began to reappear and commerce to revive—the first steps toward the restoration of the whole country, in the briefest period, to a state of prosperity the like of which had never before been known. Seeing that these remarkable facts were totally opposed to the free-trade theory, the author was led to study the phenomena presented in the free-trade period from 1817 to 1824, and in the protective one which commenced in 1825 and ended in 1834,–the one terminating in bankruptcy and ruin similar to that which exhibited itself in 1842, and the other giving to the country a state of prosperity such as had again been realized in 1846….The more he studied these facts, the more did he become satisfied that the free-trade theory embodied some great error.” H.C. Carey, Preface to the Principles of Social Science.” - It has been said that protective duties cause the price of the protected articles to fall; and such an effect is said to have been produced on the prices of cotton cloth after 1816, of copper after 1869, and of steel rails after 1870. Comment on the principle, and on its application in these three cases.
- “This ill-understood and much reviled principle [the minimum principle] appears to me to be a just, proper, effective, and strictly philosophical mode of laying protective duties. It is exactly conformable, as I think, to the soundest and most accurate principles of political economy. It is, in the most rigid sense, what all such enactments so far as practical be ought to be: that is to say, a mode of laying a specific duty. It lays the import exactly where it will do good and leaves the rest free. It is an intelligent, discerning, discriminating principle, no a blind, headlong, generalizing, uncalculating operation….The minimum principle, however, was overthrown by the law of 1832, and that law, as it came from the House, and as it finally passed, substituted a general and universal ad valorem duty of fifty per cent.” Webster, Speech in the Senate, 1836.
What were the duties to which Webster refers in this passage? And what should you say to his comments on them? - Explain carefully what is the fundamental proposition in Walker’s Treasury Report of 1845, and discuss its soundness as a principle of tariff reform.
- Explain the present system of duties on woolen cloths, stating briefly its history; and say something as to its effects.
- It has been said that high duties should be levied on manufactured articles and low duties on raw materials, because raw materials, being more bulky, require much shipping to transport them, and their free admission would give increased employment to American vessels. Assuming that the materials would fact be carried in American vessels, should you say the argument was a sound one?
- How can you explain the fact that, while the manufacture of cotton cloths has been little, if at all, dependent on protection, the heavy duties on silk piece-goods have not prevented a continuous large importation?
- It has been proposed to admit sugar from Cuba duty free, by a reciprocity treaty. Should you be in favor of such a measure?
- Discuss on of the following subjects. (Those who have prepared special reports on any one of these subjects are not to select that one for discussion.)
- The financial working of the tariff act of 1846.
- Proposed tariff legislation since 1883
- The circumstances under which the tariff act of 1833 was passed.
Final. 1887.
_________________
1887-88.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
- “I will not argue the question whether, looking to the policy indicated by the laws of 1789, 1817, 1824, 1828, 1832, and 1842, there has been ground for the industrious and enterprising people of the United States, engaged in home pursuits, to expect government protection for internal industry. The question is, do these laws, or do they not, from 1789 to the present time, constantly show and maintain a purpose, a policy, which might naturally induce men to invest property in manufactures, and to commit themselves to those pursuits in life? Without lengthened argument, I shall take this for granted.”—Webster, Speech of 1846.
Was Webster justified in taking so much for granted? - Compare the treatment of the bearing of protective duties on wages in Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures with the treatment of the same topic in Walker’s Report of 1846, and give an opinion on the value of the discussion at the hands of both statesmen.
- What connection has been alleged to exist, and what connection in fact existed, between tariff legislation and general prosperity in 1837-39, in 1843, and in 1857?
- Point out wherein the duties on wool and woolens under the act of 1828 resembled, and wherein they differed from, the duties on the same articles under the act of 1867.
- Compare the effect of the duties on cotton goods between 1816 and 1824, with the effect of the duties on the same goods between 1864 and 1883.
- Point out wherein Mill’s reasoning as to the effect of an import duty on the terms of an international exchange is different from the export tax theory of 1832.
- Explain what conclusions you can draw as to the economic effect of the duties on pig iron between 1870 and 1888, from your knowledge of foreign and domestic prices, duties, domestic production, and imports.
- Explain why the duty on imported sugar has not stimulated the production of beet sugar in the United States. Apply a similar explanation to some other industry, not connected with agriculture, in which high duties have had less effect than might have been expected.
- Point out wherein the course of the tariff legislation of the United States between 1864 and 1883 was similar to the course of legislation in France between 1815 and 1860, and wherein it was not similar.
- “First, there is no sufficient market for our surplus agricultural products except a foreign market, and, in default of this, such surplus will either not be raised, or, if raised, will rot on the ground. Second, the domestic demand for the products of existing furnaces and factories is very far short of the capacity of such furnaces and factories to supply; and, until larger and more extended markets are obtainable, domestic competition will inevitably continue, as now, to reduce profits to a minimum and greatly restrict the extension of the so-called manufacturing industries….Industrial depression, business stagnation, and social discontent in the United States, as a rule, are going to continue and increase until the nation adopts a fiscal and commercial policy more liberal and better suited to the new condition of affairs.”— D.A. Wells, in the North American Review.
Do you think the remedy of lower import duties will remove the difficulties said to arise from excessive production?
Final, 1888.
_________________
1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]
- State the duties on cotton cloths, woolen cloths, pig iron, and coffee, in 1790, 1840, 1850, 1885, noting whether the duties were specific or ad valorem, and what tariff acts were in force at these dates, respectively [Use tabular form if you wish.]
- “Beside the protection thrown over the manufacturing interest by Congress during this period (1789-1812), the war which raged in Europe produced a favorable effect. As the United States was a neutral nation, she fattened on the miseries of the European nations, and her commerce increased with astonishing rapidity. Our manufactures flourished from the same cause, though not to a corresponding degree with our commerce”
Did Congress protect manufactures during this period? Did the wars in Europe have the effect described on our commerce and manufactures? - Wherein were the duties on rolled iron in France, in the first half of this century, similar to those in the United States at the same period? How do you account for the similarity, and what was the effect of the duties in either country?
- Why was a compound duty imposed on wool in 1828? Why in 1867? Is such a duty now imposed on wool?
- Wherein does the present duty on worsted goods differ from that imposed on woolen goods in 1828? wherein from the present duty on woolens? What has been the effect of the difference between the present rates on woolens and worsteds?
- Point out some general features in the tariff act of 1846 which were recommended in Secretary Walker’s Report of the year preceding.
- What would be the effect of a treaty with Spain admitting free of duty sugar from Cuba?
- Wherein has the effect of the duties of the last twenty-five years been different as to cottons, linens, woolens? Why the differences?
[Omit one of the following:—] - Mill says that certain conclusions which he reaches as to the effect on foreign countries of import duties, do not hold good as to protective duties. Is there good ground for distinguishing as he does
[Note: Taussig appears to have pasted questions 10 and 11 below over the last line (or two) of question 9.] - “The only case indeed in which personal aptitudes go for much in the commerce of nations is where the nations concerned occupy different grades in the scale of civilization…In the main it would seem that this cause does not go for very much in international commerce. The principal condition, to which all others are subordinate, must be looked for in that other form of adaptation founded on the special advantages, positive or comparative, offered by particular localities for the prosecution of particular industries.”—Cairnes, Leading Principles.
Discuss, with reference to the general line of reasoning in this passage, the international trade of the United States in (1) glassware, (2) hardware and cutlery, (3) hemp and flax [take any two]. - Comment on the following:—
“The manufacture of silk goods in the United States at the present time [1882] probably supplies an example of an industry which, though comparatively new, can hardly be said to deserve protection as a young industry. The methods and machinery in use are not essentially different from those of other branches of textile manufactures. No great departure from the usual track of production is necessary in order to make silks….Those artificial obstacles which might temporarily prevent the rise of the industry do not exist; and it may be inferred that, if there are no permanent causes which prevent silks from being made as cheaply in the United States as in foreign countries, the manufacture will be undertaken and carried on without needing any stimulus from protecting duties.”— Taussig, Protection to Young Industries.
Final 1889.
Political Economy 6. Grade Distribution 1888-89, 2d half-year.
| Total (32) | Senior (16) | Junior (14) | Other (2) |
| A | 2 | 2 | |
| A- | 1 | ||
| B+ | 3 | 2 | |
| B | 4 | 4 | |
| B- | 1 | 1 | |
| C | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| D | 4 | ||
| E | 2 |
_________________
1889-90.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]
- What grounds are there for believing that the restrictive policy of Great Britain did or did not have a considerable effect on the industrial development of the American colonies?
- What was the effect of the political situation in 1824 on the tariff act of that year? in 1842 on the act of 1842?
- “The tariff of 1846 was passed by a party vote. It followed the strict constructionist theory in aiming at a list of duties sufficient only to provide revenue for the government, without regard to protection.”—Johnston’s American Politics.
Was the act passed by a party vote? Did it disregard protection? Did it succeed in fixing duties sufficient only to provide revenue? - What basis is there for the assertion that the gold premium, in the years after the civil war, increased the protection given by the import duties?
- Under what circumstances was the tariff act of 1864 passed? How long did it remain in force?
- Is there any analogy between the effects of the duties on cotton goods after 1816 and those on steel rails after 1870?
- Wherein would there probably be differences in the effects of reciprocity treaties (1) with Canada, admitting coal free; (2) with Great Britain, admitting iron free; (3) with Brazil, admitting sugar free?
- Apply Gallatin’s test as to the effect of duties on the price of the protected articles, to the present facts in regard to (1) clothing wool, (2) silks.
- On what grounds is the removal of the duty on pig iron more or less desirable than that of the duty on sugar?
- Is it a strong objection to ad valorem duties that they depend on foreign prices and that therefore the duties are fixed by foreigners? Is it a strong objection to specific duties that they operate unequally?
Final. 1890.
Political Economy 6. Grade Distribution 1889-90, 2d half-year.
| Total (27) | Senior (17) | Junior (9) | Other (1) |
| A | 2 | 1 | |
| A- | 1 | ||
| B+ | 4 | ||
| B | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| B- | |||
| C+ | 1 | 1 | |
| C | 3 | 3 | |
| D- | 1 | ||
| E |
Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination papers in economics, 1882-1935. Prof. F. W. Taussig.