“No taxation without representation.” That phrase lit the spark of the American Revolution, born out of resentment toward British tariffs. Time and again, tariffs have proved to be more than just economic policy — they are political tinderboxes.
In the 1800s, they split North from South: Manufacturers demanded protectionism, farmers demanded free trade. While slavery was the central cause of the Civil War, tariffs widened the rift and hastened conflict.
The 1930s gave us another lesson. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, sold as protection for American jobs, instead triggered a global trade war, deepened the Great Depression and helped pave the way for World War II.
Today, Donald Trump’s trade war revives that dangerous experiment. Will tariffs once again backfire, burdening consumers, stoking division and destabilizing global markets? Or have we forgotten history’s warnings? One thing is certain: Tariffs don’t just tax goods — they tax nations, and sometimes, they tax peace itself.
William Pecora
North Huntingdon