Trade Disruptions and America's Early Industrialization [report]

Douglas Irwin, Joseph Davis
2003 unpublished
Between 1807 and 1815, U.S. imports of manufactured goods were severely cut by Jefferson's trade embargo, subsequent non-importation measures, and the War of 1812. These disruptions are commonly believed to have spurred early U.S. industrialization by promoting the growth of nascent domestic manufacturers. This paper uses a newly available series on U.S. industrial production to investigate how this protection from foreign competition affected domestic manufacturing. On balance, the trade
more » ... tions did not accelerate U.S. industrialization as trend growth in industrial output was little changed over this period. However, the unchanged trend in aggregate production masks a sharp divergence in the fate of infant industries (which boomed) and trade-dependent industries (which suffered). After the War of 1812, the composition of U.S. industrial output shifted from trade-dependent industries (such as shipbuilding) to domestic infant industries (such as cotton textiles), yet factors other than the trade disruptions themselves appear to have been responsible for this development.
doi:10.3386/w9944 fatcat:73ob4zbf7je4znazrbzsw5ucby