In 1791, Alexander Hamilton presented to Congress an 11-point plan to foster American manufacturing at the request of Pres. Washington.
The plan put the U.S. on a path of developing the strongest industrial base in the world.
The Hamilton manufacturing plan was based on import taxes, now called tariffs on foreign-made products, prohibitions of exporting raw materials, the encouragement of innovation and the facilitating of a transportation infrastructure.
These policies were soon enacted at the federal and state levels and the U.S. became an industrial super-power. Manufacturing jobs created good jobs and great wealth for the U.S.
But the past 30 years of insane free trade policies are destroying the middle class. Bring back our good jobs!