ABSTRACT
It has been stated that the tariff of 1833 was an experiment. No similar measure had been previously tried; and, consequently, its effect and character had to be ascertained by subsequent developments. By the time of the Presidential election of 1840, it had become evident that the country could not recover from the financial difficulty which had existed during Mr. Van Buren's administration, without a change in the tariff policy. The death of General Harrison, before the meeting of Congress, devolved upon Mr. John Tyler the duty of administering the Government as Vice-President and acting President. He had to enter upon this duty under the most embarrassing circumstances. The first palpable fact that arrested Mr. Tyler's attention was that "the fiscal means, present and accruing, are insufficient to supply the wants of the Government for the current year", an admission which he must have felt some degree of mortification at being compelled to make.
