It proposed an increase of the duty upon iron,
hemp, cotton bagging, woolens, and cottons. Upon woolen goods, the
friends of protection desired to apply the minimum principle which
the tariff of 1816 had provided for cotton goods. But the cheap
woolens were mostly used for the clothing of southern slaves, and
the proposition for an increase of duty met with so strenuous a
resistance that in the outcome the cheap foreign goods bore a lower
rate of duty than did the high-priced products. Although the act
somewhat increased the protection upon woolen fabrics as a whole,
this was more than offset by the increased duty which was levied
upon raw wool in response to the demand of the wool-raising
interests of the country. [Footnote: Taussig, Tariff Hist., 75.]
Another struggle occurred over the protection of hemp. This product
was used both for the manufacture of the ropes essential to New
England shipping and for the cotton bagging used in the south. Thus
the shipping and the slave-holding sections were brought into union
in opposition to the provision.
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