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But the mode in which the Presidential government of America managed its taxation during the Civil War, is even a more striking example of its defects.
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Walter Bagehot
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gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “But the mode in which the Presidential government of America managed its taxation during the Civil War, is even a more…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot points out the flaws in the American government's taxation approach during the Civil War.
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These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
Political philosophy is still more imperfect; it has been framed from observations taken upon regular specimens of politics and States; as to these its teaching is most valuable.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
Just so the lines of our Constitution were framed in old eras of sparse population, few wants, and simple habits; and we adhere in seeming to their shape, though civilisation has come with its dangers, complications, and enjoyments.
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