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Even before the United States formed, the British colonial government was charging excise duty on the commerce and trade happening in the country. Almost all kind of goods that were being brought into the country were charged an excise duty.
Tariffs helped the United States government and were a considerable source of income for the government. The taxes were low when tariffs were being charged. However, now people are paying more taxes and the tariffs are low.
In the industrialization era of the United States, which was mainly in the 19th century, the Republican Party was imposing high tariffs on imports. This forced people to grow their own food and manufacture their own needs. This was a much better situation for the United States because they were paying low taxes but things were expensive to buy. Also the quality of goods was much better. However, the Democratic Party thoroughly opposed the Republican Party and favored low tariffs. The tariff rates were raised during the administration of Benjamin Harrison and the highest tariff act was passed in 1890.
During the latter part of the 19th century, the time of the Industrial Revolution, the Republican Party, representing the growing manufacturing interests of the country, became the advocate of high tariffs. The Democratic Party, which had revived after the Civil War as a party of opposition, became the proponent of low tariffs. After that, there were several other tariff plans introduced like the Underwood tariff which was much lower.
However, economists note that lower tariffs did not bring many benefits to the common man. The only entity to benefit from tariffs is the government as they are a source of revenue.
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