Date of Award
7-1936
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
First Advisor
Ernest Mahan
Keywords
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1782-1858, Salt, Taxation, Law and legislation
Abstract
The salt tax originated in 1789, and it amounted to six cents per bushel, but in 1797, it was raised to twenty cents per bushel. In 1807, the tax was repealed, along with the system of fishing bounties and allowances founded upon it, but it was renewed during the War of 1812, and accompanying it were the fishing bounties and allowances. The acts previous to 1807, had granted allowances to the farmers of the West, when they exported provisions cured with alum salt, on which they had paid a duty, but the act of 1813 granted allowances only to the New England fisherman.
Benton's outstanding arguments for the repeal of the salt tax were as follows: The principles of the American System did not extent to salt. A tax, no matter how small, threw the salt into the hands of monopolizers. The Compromise Tariff Act of 1833, which he believed was unconstitutional, provided for a gradual reduction of the salt tax, but it did not provide for a gradual reduction of the fishing bounties and allowances, thereby causing an unreasonable amount of money to be drawn from the government treasury. The navigation of the West demanded a free importation of salt. It was a commodity extremely necessary to the provision of curers of the West, and an insufficient supply of salt forced the farmers to drive their cattle on hoof to find a market thereby losing the by-products, which they might otherwise had had. Domestic salt was exported to Canada, where it competed with British salt, which came in free of duty. The tax pressed most heavily upon a class of people that was least able to pay.
The outstanding arguments of his opponents were as follows: A repeal of the study would destroy the capital which domestic salt manufacturers had invested in their business. In time of war, our nation would have to depend upon a home supply of salt, with no industry to produce it. An increase of the duty would have given the salt market entirely to the home manufacturers, and competition would reduce the price. Salt was a product paying a specific duty, and the Compromise Tariff Act of 1833 prohibited any legislation on salt until 1842. The fishing interest feared the loss of its bounties and allowances which provided an excellent school for the seamen who were necessary in time of war.
Benton realized a considerable degree of success in his efforts to repeal the salt tax. A bill was enacted in 1830, which reduced the duty from twenty to ten cents per bushel. By the tariff act of 1833, the tax on salt underwent a gradual reduction, until, by 1842, the tax amounted to twenty per cent ad valorem. The tariff act of 1842 returned salt to the specific class and levied a duty of eight cents per bushel, but the tariff of 1846 again lowered the duty to twenty per cent ad valorem. This was the amount of the duty on salt at the end of Benton's career in the Senate.
Recommended Citation
Jones, J. Lawrence, "Thomas Hart Benton's struggle to repeal the salt tax" (1936). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 756.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/756
