It was a
sectionalism which, if it prevailed, would tend to weaken the Central
Government, but, if overcome by compromise or force, would strengthen
the national authority by the very fact of the victory. At the time
the differences of opinion arising from the various parts seemed so
irreconcilable that Madison frequently confessed his despair of getting
any tariff measure passed at the session; so early did the sectional
interests appear, which were destined later to threaten seriously the
very existence of the Union.
If the distillers of Philadelphia, for example, petitioned for a greater
discrimination in the duties on rum and on molasses, the citizens of
Portland, then in Massachusetts, assured Congress that any duty on the
latter commodity would operate injuriously and be attended with
pernicious consequences to all the New England States. Once entered
upon, this protective policy could not be stopped. By mutually aiding
each other, members could get articles added to the protected list
more easily than the unorganised opposition could keep them out. By
comparing such co-operation with the united efforts by which the first
settlers had cleared their fields, the phrase "log-rolling" was
invented.
Pages:
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207