the 1789 tariff - one of the first laws enacted by the new gov't - taxed steel and cloth, among other goods, at a high tariff... northern manufacturers wanted this to reduce foreign competition while southern planters favored low tariffs because they bought many finished products from Europe...producers who needed overseas raw materials - rum distillers, for example - for their production also desired low rates...so the legislation also set some low tariffs...this compromise reflected what became the norm (exceptions exist, of course) in US policymaking: distributing at least some benefits to most elite factions contending for favorable policy...Michael Hoover