Woźniakowski on The Fiscal Origins of American Power: Federal Tax Policy and US Territorial Expansion in the Nineteenth Century @RobSchuCentre

Tomasz P. Woźniakowski, Hertie School of Governance, has published The Fiscal Origins of American Power: Federal Tax Policy and US Territorial Expansion in the Nineteenth Century as Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper No. RSCAS 2020/103. Here is the abstract.

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.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.