THE INFLUENCE OF THE TARIFF 137 



had now become a sectional issue in which agricul- 

 tural producers were arrayed against the manufac- 

 turing interests of the country. 



A close vote on the tariff bill of 1820 made it 

 inevitable that this measure would be taken up 

 again. Several attempts were made but they did 

 not succeed until the bill of 1824 was proposed. This 

 act passed both houses by a very small vote. Its 

 passage was secured by two significant compromises. 

 In the first place, the duties were not so high as 

 those proposed in the bill of 1820; in the second 

 place, by raising the rates on hemp the entire vote 

 of Kentucky was cast in favor of the bill. The duty 

 on raw wool which had appeared in previous bills 

 again secured the solid vote of the Northwest. "Here 

 again/' says Bassett, "was seen a strong opposition 

 in the South and Southwest, and New England was 

 again divided, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and 

 Maine casting in opposition 22 of their 25 votes in 

 the house. In these states the commercial interests 

 were in political control, and Webster, voicing their 

 wishes, made an excellent speech against the bill. 

 Every vote of the Northwest and of Kentucky was 

 in the affirmative and every vote of the South and 

 the Southwest, except three from Maryland, one 

 from Virginia, and two from Tennessee, was in the 

 negative. Save for New England, the tariff had be- 

 come a sectional issue" 3 



"The Tariff of Abominations," as the Tariff Act 



*0p. cit., p. 386. 



