Date: 2020
Type: Working Paper
The fiscal origins of American power : federal tax policy and US territorial expansion in the nineteenth century
Working Paper, EUI RSCAS, 2020/103, [WillingToPay]
WOŹNIAKOWSKI, Tomasz P., The fiscal origins of American power : federal tax policy and US territorial expansion in the nineteenth century, EUI RSCAS, 2020/103, [WillingToPay] - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/69360
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
In this working paper, I argue that United States (US) territory quadrupled within the first three generations since 1789 because, in the nineteenth century, the US developed a fiscal-military state capable of mobilizing considerable resources without provoking any major tax rebellion. Relying on indirect taxes—customs duties and excises—meant that the federal government could draw on a stable and uncontentious stream of revenue. This fiscal capacity allowed the US government to finance different methods of its territorial expansion, including warfare and purchase.
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/69360
ISSN: 1028-3625
Series/Number: EUI RSCAS; 2020/103; [WillingToPay]
Publisher: European University Institute
Keyword(s): US federal tax policy Indirect taxation Customs duties Excises Fiscalization Fiscal-military state US territorial expansion Financial history
Grant number: FP7/295675/EU
Sponsorship and Funder information:
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement n. 295675
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