The Tariff Act of 1789, signed by President George Washington on July 4, sought to solve two problems of the early United States. This legislation, which called for import duties on foreign produced products, first and foremost, provided a revenue stream for the federal government. For instance, in 1790, 99.9 percent of federal revenue came from the recently instituted tariffs. Second, tariffs were viewed as a mechanism that would allow the young America to build an industrial base with reduced