LRC just noted it and I made it through about 80 pages so far. It’s a big dissertation, but you can read the introduction and skip to whatever looks interesting. Read the bit on American protectionism if you read nothing else.
I. Between Revenue and Protection………………………………………………………………………… 1
1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
1.3 Borrowing from Economics………………………………………………………………………… 31
1.4 Research Hypotheses …………………………………………………………………………………. 36
II. The Tariff as a Constitutional Problem……………………………………………………………… 41
2.1 Tariffs and Federalism……………………………………………………………………………….. 41
2.2 The Problem of the Faction…………………………………………………………………………. 44
2.3 Between “Imposts” and “Duties”…………………………………………………………………. 50
2.4 The Tariff before 1787……………………………………………………………………………….. 52
2.5 The Tariff at the Constitutional Convention………………………………………………….. 62
2.6 The Tariff during Ratification……………………………………………………………………… 83
III. The Constitution in Practice……………………………………………………………………………. 90
3.1 The Origins of American Protectionism……………………………………………………….. 90
3.2 A Constitutional Counterargument ………………………………………………………………. 98
3.3 The Tariff in Constitutional Crisis……………………………………………………………… 116
3.4 The Tariff and the Laffer Relationship ……………………………………………………….. 144
IV. High Revenue, High Tariff Protectionism………………………………………………………. 153
4.1 The Tariff in the Gilded Age …………………………………………………………………….. 153
4.2 Tariffs, Income Taxes, and Left-Progressivism?………………………………………….. 168
4.3 Testing the Capitations Clause…………………………………………………………………… 179
4.4 A Faulty Design ………………………………………………………………………………………. 193
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V. The “Progressive” Income Tax………………………………………………………………………. 203
5.1 The Great Income Tax Debate of 1909……………………………………………………….. 203
5.2 A Club to Beat Down the Tariff ………………………………………………………………… 239
5.3 What Hath We Wrought?………………………………………………………………………….. 265
5.4 One Last Hurrah………………………………………………………………………………………. 279
VI. EVIDENCE ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 287
6.1 Protection and Revenue: Descriptive Tariff Measures ………………………………….. 287
6.2 Breakeven Revenue and “Scientific” Tariff Adjustment……………………………….. 303
6.3 Tariffs, Revenue, and the Laffer Relationship……………………………………………… 319
6.4 The Income Tax: A Rational Mistake?……………………………………………………….. 333
VII. CONCLUSIONS & POLICY IMPLICATIONS ……………………………………………. 352
7.1 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 352
VIII. Appendixes………………………………………………………………………………………………. 365
Appendix I – Selected Historical Ad Valorem Equivalent Rates …………………………. 365
Appendix II – Revenue Effects of the “Horizontal Tariff” Reduction ………………….. 375