134 THE GREEN RISING 



who had opposed the War of 1812, and they were in 

 the minority and their Republican opponents were 

 now in power. The "American System," as advo- 

 cated by Henry Clay and other statesmen of his 

 school, was interpreted to mean that the people of 

 the United States should make their own supplies 

 at home and that every encouragement should be 

 given to industrial enterprise. The Tariff Act of 

 1816 was generally regarded as one expression of this 

 political doctrine. 



It is significant that the agricultural South had 

 never opposed a tariff law up to this time. In fact, 

 the Tariff Act of 1816 was of southern origin. The 

 bill was reported to Congress by Lowndes, of South 

 Carolina, and was supported strongly by Calhoun 

 and Clay. At this time the agricultural interests of 

 the country had more in common with the manufac- 

 turers than with the commercial agencies. The 

 southern people had strongly supported the war 

 policies of the government. It was logical for them, 

 after the war, to favor those measures that would in- 

 crease the economic as well as the political indepen- 

 dence of the country. 



The Tariff Becomes a Sectional Issue 



But it was not long until the agricultural interests 

 of the South began to feel that protection had gone 

 too far. The growth of this sentiment is easily 

 understood when the changing situation is analyzed. 

 The western migration, as previously indicated, 



