ABSTRACT
Among the first petitions presented to Congress in 1789, immediately after the adoption of the Constitution, was one upon the subject of protecting manufactures. Another petition, from the mechanics and manufacturers of the city of New York, was presented at the same session of Congress, equally expressive of the public desire. The tradesmen and manufacturers of the city of Boston also addressed a petition to the same Congress, wherein they expressed their regret at the decrease of American manufactures and the stagnation of American ship-building. It should not be inferred from the foregoing that this reference to "the wealth and prosperity of the Northern States" was intended to have any sectional meaning. It was not so understood, at the time, by either Congress or the country. Petitions amounted to far more at that day than they do now, - not in the weight that should properly attach to them when fairly obtained.
