Protectionists like to point to the 19th century. They don’t understand history. Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux at WSJ:
Under the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, the U.S. government had no power to tax income until 1913. Throughout the 19th century tariffs supplied 50% to 95% of federal revenue, but government was small and its revenue demands modest.
While Alexander Hamilton wanted to promote manufacturing with subsidies, which Congress opposed, he was skeptical of high tariffs. No revenue is collected on goods that aren’t legally imported, and Hamilton feared that tariffs would encourage domestic inefficiency. The rising demand for revenue to fund public works and a political effort to protect U.S. producers led to the “Tariff of Abominations” in 1828, which imposed an all-time high average tariff rate of 57.3%. In the following elections tariff supporters suffered devastating electoral defeats as Andrew Jackson and the Democrats were swept into power. From 1830-60 average tariff rates fell by 70%, and industrial production soared at an average annual rate of 6.2%. By 1860 average U.S. tariffs were among the lowest in the world.
In 1842 Congress adopted and Whig President John Tyler signed the so-called “Black Tariff,” the only significant effort to raise tariffs from 1830-60. But less than three months after the enactment of this tariff, the Whigs lost their majority in the House and three seats in the Senate. In the 1844 elections they lost the Senate majority and the presidency. The tariff was repealed.
With the coming of the Civil War, tariffs became a significant revenue source, but from 1870-90 average tariff rates fell by 30% and industrialization surged. The McKinley Tariff, enacted in October 1890, triggered a political bloodbath a month later when William McKinley and 92 other Republican representatives lost their seats and four Republican senators suffered the same fate. In 1892 Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected in a landslide. By 1895 the average tariff rate had fallen by a third.