When George Washington was President, consensus existed that tariffs should be used for both (1) federal revenue purposes, and also (2) to protect domestic production. This consensus was embodied in the first sentence of the first U.S. Tariff Act, passed on July 4, 1789.

While the rough consensus existed, the precise extent to which tariffs should protect domestic producers has been debated in Congress ever since. Tariffs’ suitability as the ideal federal revenue source, however, was accepted from 1789 at least through 1913, when the modern federal income tax was created.

Tariffs for federal revenue are now making a comeback. Recently, former President Trump sat down with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago to talk tariffs. Channeling George Washington and and the founding fathers, Trump educated Micklethwait and his audience on the dual benefits of tariffs, stressing the revenue component to a disinterested Micklethwait.

Trump was able to cite to his real world success with tariffs, which bring in roughly $50 billion annually in federal revenue paid by Chinese producers, as well as offering protection to American industry.