The American Revolution was motivated by a will for industrial development and for wiping out the trade deficit with Britain , which had grown from less than £70,000 before 1731 to more than £700,000 after 1760 .
The fledgling Republican Party led by Abraham Lincoln , who called himself a `` Henry Clay tariff Whig '' , strongly opposed free trade , and implemented a 44-percent tariff during the Civil War—in part to pay for railroad subsidies and for the war effort , and to protect favored industries .
Protectionism