The American System, Transportation, And Communication

7. Read the following primary source:

Link (website): Of Debates in Congress (Clay’s Debate of the American System in 1832) (Click on “Next Image” to see all pages of the debate: pp.258-262.)
Then, address the following:

Describe the idea of Henry Clay’s “American System.”
Based on Clay’s economic vision of America, analyze how the American System would build the American market and economy?
Analyze the role of mechanization and communication in the American System.

The American System aimed to advance American manufacturing and decrease American dependency on foreign nations. To achieve these goals, Henry Clay and other advocates in the American System suggested three key ideas (Wallis 2022). Infrastructure: by improving American infrastructures, such as canals and highways American products could be transported across the nation faster, efficiently and cheaply than they do today. Protective tariffs are applied to imported goods in the form of a levie. Imposing tariffs on manufactured products would raise the cost of these products which would make American-made products cheaper (Wallis 2022). The more affordable domestically made items would then be purchased by Americans rather than those made overseas. Due to the competition with more expensive foreign products that Americans could then purchase This would help American companies to grow. Cont…