ABSTRACT
There are four clearly defined periods in American commercial policy: first, moderate free trade till the conclusion of the war with England; then, protection of native manufacturing industries up to about 1845; then, many of the industries being established, moderate free trade till the war; and thereafter, a reaction to protection, including agricultural protection, which continues and even intensifies, the act of 1883 notwithstanding, up to the present time. Now an examination of American exports shows two general changes in direction in the period from 1826 to 1890. About 1845 they increased rapidly, and after about 1870 the sharp rise came to an end.
