The evolution of protectionism in the United States in the period XVIII – 1930

Abstract

Knowledge of the economic evolution of developed countries is necessary to understand how they reached their current stage of economic progress and how this contrasts with the current political discourse. The economic policy adopted by a country in a given historical period indicates its priorities and fundamental economic values, goals. The purpose of this research article is to describe and analyze the evolution of the US protectionist policy in order to identify the key elements of the country's economic development and how this policy is manifested nowadays. Official documents and data from government organizations were analyzed. The scientific literature on the topic under consideration was studied. The research methods include descriptive and comparative-historical methods, revealing the US protectionist policy from 1789 to the early 20th century. In conclusion, it was found that the US protectionist policy at the beginning of the crisis was very tough, and as soon as the country's competitiveness reached an undeniable level compared to the rest of the world, the United States opened its borders and began to promote a similar discourse towards developing countries.