Previous to the Civil War it was a party question, the South standing for free trade and regarding a tariff as favorable only to the North.

The sympathy shown by the British Government for the Confederacy, culminating in the escape of the Alabama and other privateers to prey upon American commerce, aroused hostility against that Government, notwithstanding the majority of her common people favored the United States.

The tariff became no longer a party question, but a national policy, approved by both parties.

It had become a patriotic duty to develop vital resources.

No less than ninety Northern Democrats in Congress, including the Speaker of the House, agreed upon that point.
Capital no longer hesitated to embark in manufacturing, confident as it was that the nation would protect it as long as necessary.