After the War: Protecting Home Industry

On a single day in May, 1815, fifty-three cargo ships arrived
in U.S. ports, carrying tons of pottery, iron, paints, drygoods, tea and
pianofortes, according to Justin Winsor's 1883 Memorial History of Boston.

Boston Harbor 1833

William J. Bennett

By December American manufacturers, particularly textile
manufacturers, begged Congress for relief. During the War import taxes doubled, but the extra duty was to expire in 1816. Congress extended taxes on goods such
as iron and sugar, and increased duties on cotton and woolen goods.

Low-grade cotton
cloth from India was a particular target. Indians could produce cloth so
cheaply that no American manufacturer could hope to compete even without the
international shipping costs. Cheap India goods were eventually taxed at 100%
of their value, which put an end to the venerable U.S.- India trade.

While India sold goods at cost, English merchants were so
desperate to sell the tons of fabric stored in their warehouses during the Napoleonic
Wars they were willing to sell for less than the manufacturing cost. Dumping,
defined as selling goods for lower than what it cost to produce them, became a
political issue in the U.S.

We tend to remember Clay as the Great Compromiser

but he ran for President at the Protector of Home Industries

Among the protectionists were Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Dallas, for whom the 1816 tariff was named, and Representative Henry
Clay who had made his reputation by starting the war as a War Hawk, ending the
war on the Ghent peace commission and maintaining the hostilities as an
advocate of Home Industries and tariffs.

New Hampshire's Amoskeag Mill, built 1847

The expected consequence was a welcome increase in American
textile manufacturing. The United States, a minor player, became an industrial
contender by mid-century.

Free Trade vs. Protection of Home Industries

The discussion continues today.

Unexpected consequences were also significant. Tariffs favoring
infant Northern industries penalized Southern consumers, trading raw cotton for
finished goods. The Dallas Tariffs increased sectionalism as Southern politicians
promised to end import taxes and Northern politicians advocated maintaining
them. The North and the South began to see themselves as very different cultures with
different goals.

Another consequence was a decline in value for textiles and
other goods. In 1832 Congress collected information on the topic with
respondents reporting

"In printed goods, a piece of print, (used for ladies'
dresses,) costing then 36s[shillings]. a piece, can now be had for 18s. and
22s. In 1816, a piece of common blue and white calico... 32s. sterling per
piece; the same can now be had for 12s. to 15s..."

"The prices of all the coarse fabric of cotton, such as
shirtings, sheetings, checks, tickings, stuffs for men's wear, such as
granderells, unions &c; and also of calicoes, both gray and printed; it is
universally known have declined...from 25 to 75 per cent. [Gray calicoes are
cotton cloth yet unprinted]

Jane Valentine's quilt dated 1825-1830

Smithsonian Institution

These American quilts reflect the wide range of cotton prints

available after the War of 1812

A drop in price was good news for shoppers--- increasingly cheaper cottons
opened up a whole world of consumerism for people on the lower rungs of the
economic ladder and cheaper cottons probably increased an interest in
patchwork.

Sarah Johnson's quilt dated 1826

Shelburne Museum

Amelia Lauck's quilt dated 1822

But the effects on manufacturing and trade continued a long
financial depression that had begun when France and England went to war in the early 19th
century and drew the United States into the fight. It took decades to recover from the Napoleonic Wars.

I like to blame it all on Boney---years of fabric deprivation.

A Postscript on Henry Clay as the Protector of Home Industries
Thirty years after the War of 1812 Clay received a quilt as a gift, made by Elizabeth Schultz of Pennsylvania, "cloth, thread and every thing of home production." That quilt is in the collection of Clay's Kentucky home Ashland and now on loan to the American Textile History Museum's show Home Front and Battle Field.

Detail of the center of quilt by Elizabeth Schultz

One might understand that Schultz produced the fabrics by homespinning and weaving but what was meant was that these were factory cottons produced in the United States. The quilt was accompanied by a flowery tribute to Schultz's age (76), to Clay and to "the Needle---the NEEDLE, that implement and emblem of industry the source of all prosperity, of which throughout your whole life, you have been recognized and unrivalled advocate, protector and champion."

1 comment:

I wish I had more history of my past relatives since they were sailors and captains, wonder what types of fabrics they might have dealt with or quilts that were made by their wives. Can you imagine what they would think of the prices we pay now, lol.

REPRODUCTION QUILTS CIRCA 1812

FROM BARBARA BRACKMANThis blog was created to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812. The last post was in 2012 but the information is useful. Click on the picture to see a summary post.

The Picture Above

It's a photo-manipulated version of an 1814 peace poster with America and Britannia. I added Judy Severson's 2011 reproduction quilt top The Seaflower.

WHY NOT A BLOCK OF THE MONTH?

Block-style sampler quilts were not yet the fashion. Patchwork circa 1812 was often organized into medallion or strip set. Pattern ideas were rather limited to simple stars & 9-patches. Over the year we'll offer techniques and patterns for more traditional sets.

Search This Blog

"DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY"

Even those of us who know a lot about American history find this era a blur. First of all: Why was everybody so mad? Blame it on Napoleon. Our "War of 1812" was one battle front in the world-wide Napoleonic Wars from 1800-1815. Click on the cartoon to read a more complex version of history from the Library of Congress.

Early Quilts in the Quilt Index

The Quilt Index has a series of essays. See one I've written on Early Quilts by clicking on the photo. As you read the essay click on the quilts in the right column.

LATELY ARRIVED FROM LONDON

My period prints from Moda from Fall, 2011 are still available. Click on the photo to see a PDF with lots of pictures

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAG: ROCOCO

Rococo---Curves & Cartouches. Click on the chintz to read more.

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAG:PILLAR PRINTS

Click on the print to read more about architecural prints.

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAG White-Ground Chintz

Large scale prints, chintzes, were the fashion. Click on the reproduction print to read more.

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAG: BIRD CHINTZ

Game birds and palm trees. They loved it. Click on the picture to read more.

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAGFancy Machine Grounds

The latest technology made roller-printed backgrounds possible. See more about these grounds (backgrounds) by clicking on the photo of a reproduction print.

YOUR 1812 SCRAPBAG: Eccentrics

The teens were a time of great change in printing technology. One innovation: eccentric prints. If you want to be up to date in 1814 you need them. Click on the picture to read more.