HIST 405N Week 3 Case Study Assignment Option 1: The American System, Transportation, and Communication – Graded An A+

HIST 405N Week 3 Case Study Assignment Option 1: The American System, Transportation, and Communication – Graded An A+ Describe the idea of Henry Clay's "American System." American manufacturi ng had to develop, or there would be no manufactured goods in America. The young American country had just gained independence in 1776; this celebratory event brought the country closer together and was a significant part of the American Revolution from 1775 through 1783. In addition to the war of 1812, at this time, there was a market revolution taking place that included advances in technologies that manufactured textiles. Innovation in textile machinery increased the efficiency of production methods. The embargos that took place before and during the war had done their job of creating American neutrality. The New England area of the United States dominated the textile industry. Cotton that was grown in the South was manufactured in the North. There were some textile mills in the South, but much of what was processed in the North was produced in the South. After the war of 1812, Henry Clay introduced the American System. Henry Clay was an attorney and statesman representing Kentucky as a United States Senator and a United States Representative. Clay's goal with the proposal of the American System was to unify America with a production cycle that benefited the country with different states working toward a common goal of neutrality and a closed system (Woods, 2019). The American System proposed by Henry Clay was a solution to the United States' current problems. The American System addressed three issues: the renewal of the National Bank, protective tariffs, and internal transportation improvements. The National Bank would aid the economies of all parts of the country, tariffs would primarily help the Northeast, and internal transportation improvements would mainly support the West's and South's growth. Still, they would benefit all parts of the country (Corbett et al., 2014). Based on Clay's economic vision of America, analyze how the American System would build the American market and economy? The charter of the U.S. Bank was allowed to expire in 1811. Although many were against the Bank of the U.S. initially, many were now supporting the idea as it was needed to support the nation's growth. Congress renewed the Bank of the United States in 1816 to make funds and credit more readily available to the American people. Congress also implemented the tariff of 1816 to protect American businesses by making imported goods cost more to the consumer than domestic goods. The purpose of the tariff of 1816 was protection and not to raise revenue. At this time, it was better to purchase imported goods because the poor manufacturing system in the United States caused items made domestically to cost more. The tariff wasn't accepted well and was viewed as sectionalism. The rest of the country, West and South, felt the North was getting all the benefits (Sykes, 2019). Henry Clay felt that America needed to build internal relationships for trade and production. The protective tariff kept out British competition and allowed the American economy to grow. To get people on board to support the tariffs, Clay proposed that the revenue gained from the tariffs be used to implement internal improvements to transportation. This would include roads, bridges, and canals aiding shipping and travel (Sykes, 2019). It was proposed and planned that manufactured goods would be sent from the North East to the South and the West. Whereas food and raw materials would travel from the South and West to the North and East. The first two ideas of the American System were supported by Congress and Presidents, while the last one was not supported. America's political system was down to one party, the Democratic-Republicans, and the part was against the federal government participating in state transportation matters. Analyze the role of mechanization and communication in the American System. Mechanization was essential to decrease manufacturing time for goods. The role of mechanization and communication in the American System was paramount to creating the American System and the economy. Communication lines had to be created. Before the implementation of the American System, travel between areas of the United States was not feasible for trade nor reliable communication. The internal improvements that helped trade and communication were constructing roads, bridges, and canals. With the arguments of whether the federal government could build states roads or not, the states had to start construction on improving their streets during the transportation boom. Though federal money did help, it was nowhere near the help needed, but President Madison vetoed that help in 1817 (Jackson, 1966). Conclusion There was significant debate on the American System. The main points of discussion were whether the new laws were evident of sectionalism and if the United States federal government was overreaching its power. The National Bank and the tariff of 1816 proved suitable measures for the United States and can be attributed to the country's success. The creation of roads and communication routes aided the country's fabric of nationalism and unity. The References Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T., Waskiewicz, S., & Vickery, P. (2014). U.S. History. OpenStax.