Protectionists often claim that the vibrant post-Civil War economy proves that protectionism can hasten economic growth. But this flawed interpretation of post-bellum progress ignores the massive unrestricted immigration and foreign-capital inflows that fueled the era’s great increase in output.

Cecil E. Bohanon is a professor of economics at Ball State University.
T. Norman Van Cott is a professor of economics at Ball State University.
Defense and Foreign PolicyEconomyFree Market EconomicsImmigrationInternational Economics and DevelopmentLaw and LibertyTrade
Other Independent Review articles by Cecil E. Bohanon
Summer 2022 Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us
Winter 2021/22 Steven G. Horwitz: A Tribute
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Other Independent Review articles by T. Norman Van Cott
Spring 2007 Doomsters, Evil I’s, and Tunnel-Vision Economics
Spring 2003 More on Voting
Spring 2002 Now More Than Ever, Your Vote Doesn’t Matter
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