TY  - JOUR
AU  - Rosenbloom,Joshua L.
TI  - Path Dependence and the Origins of Cotton Textile Manufacturing in New England
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9182
PY  - 2002
Y2  - September 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9182
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9182.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Joshua Rosenbloom
Department of Economics
University of Kansas
Snow Hall 436
1460 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS  66045-2113
Tel: 785/864-2839
Fax: 785/864-5270
E-Mail: jrosenbloom@ku.edu
AB  - During the first half of of the nineteenth century the United States emerged as a major producer of cotton textiles.  This paper argues that the expansion of domestic textile production is best understood as a path- dependent process that was initiated by the proetction provided by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812.  This intial period of protected ended abruptly in 1815 with the conclusion of the war and the resumption of British imports, but the political climate had been irreversibly changed by the temporary expansion of the industry. After 1815 nascent manufacturers sought to protect the investments they had made by lobbying Congress. Their efforts had an important impact on the provisions concerning cotton textiles in the tariff bill of 1816, and during the 1820s manufacturers won increasingly strong protection, culminating in the passage of the  Tariff of Abominations' in 1828.
ER  -