{"product_id":"henry-clay-and-the-american-system-9780813191126","title":"Henry Clay and the American System","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis detailed study of Henry Clay and the American System -- a program of vigorous economic nationalism dependent on active government and constitutional aspects of what was perhaps Clay's greatest contribution to national policy, a contribution that has received surprisingly little study until now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the first half of the nineteenth century the new United States experienced rapid material growth, transforming a largely agrarian, pre-modern economy into a diversified, industrializing one. As Speaker of the House in the years following the War of 1812, and later as founder of the Whig party, Clay argued strongly for the development of a home market for domestic goods so that Americans would not be dependent on foreign imports. This \"American System\" was originally little more than a protective tariff on foreign goods, but it soon came to encompass a collection of policies that included a national banking system and distribution of federal funds to improve transportation. Baxter reveals the inner workings of Clay's program and offers the first careful analysis of its successes and failures.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis lively and incisive account will appeal to anyone interested in American history and the processes that shaped modern America\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaurice G. Baxter\u003c\/b\u003e is professor emeritus of history at Indiana University. He is the author of numerous books, including \u003ci\u003eOne and Inseparable: Daniel Webster and the Union\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Press of Kentucky","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50845509517586,"sku":"9780813191126","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6388285c-41ab-4f69-9e2b-1d7d19c7b61b.jpg?v=1737352382","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/henry-clay-and-the-american-system-9780813191126","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}