TAXES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A WAY OF LIFE IN AMERICA

The settlement of Cape Girardeau grew slowly during the first 50 years after Don Louis Lorimier was made commander and founded the district in 1793. It was the last of the original five Spanish districts.

Except for a road that Gov.-Gen. Baron de Carondelet requested Lorimier to build connecting the districts of New Madrid, Ste. Genevieve, and St. Louis to Cape Girardeau there was no direct throughway. Early settlers depended upon Indian and animal trails, rivers and streams to get from one place to another.

Transportation in the Eastern United States was better, and canals were being built. Money for improvements were obtained from tariffs levied by the states and the national government on incoming merchandise as a protection for American business interests. The tariffs were proving satisfactory.

The first tariff act had been passed by Congress in 1789, and was laid on imports to raise money for the government. The War of 1812 caused tariff duties to double, and all of them were made for protection of American manufacturers.

In Cape Girardeau this did not seem as important to the people. It affected business interests in the Eastern United States; Cape Girardeau and other settlements in Upper Louisiana were agricultural.

Farmers were exporting produce, but there was no manufacturing taking place. American farmers were raising sheep for wool and growing cotton for making cotton cloth. Eastern manufacturers wanted more protection from Britain, which was flooding the home market with cotton and wool materials and selling them cheaper.

The government passed the tariff of 1824, and took in more money than expected. Instead of lowering the tariff, Henry Clay said, "Keep the money and build canals and roads." This was done. Clay called it "The American System" and the country agreed the nation was protecting the interests of the American people.

Missouri in 1824 was the 24th state in the Union. The slavery question was quiet. It was an election year and four men were presidential candidates. All of them were Republicans: John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson. Adams was elected president. The old Federal Party had passed from the political stage.

By 1860 Missouri's population had increased. Cape Girardeau was becoming a small city, and boasted an attractive new courthouse. Judge W.C. Ranney was presiding. The building faced the river, and from its site high on a hill on ground given in 1805 to the residents by the old commander, river travelers became familiar with the city of Cape Girardeau. From the time the Court of Common Pleas building was finished until this bi-centennial year of 1992, it has been a tourist attraction.

By 1861 there was trouble mounting across the nation, and Congress, President Lincoln, and no other leaders could stem the tide. Dissatisfaction was mounting between the North and the South. No one wanted war, but the several states were at swords' points. The first income tax in the United States was passed Aug. 5, 1861. It was to finance the Civil War and give aid to the states. Some of the states said they would not pay, and they would withdraw from the Union. The Supreme Court said that was not possible. The United States was a Union of States.

Missouri's residents were divided in their feelings, and this division applied to Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and many of the other smaller communities in Southeast Missouri. War came and it lasted four years. When it was over it took years for the scars to heal. In some families the bitterness continued for generations.

Reconstruction after the war and recession brought additional problems. Much of the United States' war money was borrowed, but the war debt kept growing as millions of dollars were spent over the years in paying Union pensions.

In Cape Girardeau Mrs. Louis Houck was the promoter, organizer, and first president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, composed of women who had family members in the Confederate Army. The purpose was to honor the Confederate soldiers and present a true history of the war between the North and South, and to assist Confederate veterans, their wives and children.

The Cape City Guards and the Grand Army of the Republic and their auxiliaries represented the Northern Army. These organizations financed themselves without government assistance.

The Civil War income tax expired at the end of the war.

When Grover Cleveland became president, a new tariff and an income tax was voted upon. Wool was put on the free tariff list and all those with incomes of more than $4,000 paid an income tax of 2 cents on the dollar. Cleveland did not sign the bill and the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional.

The 16th Amendment established the pay-as-you-go income tax in 1943. This instituted the withholding tax by employers, or the self-employment tax paid by individuals in order to later receive Social Security.

There is a graduated scale of incomes specified by the government and the amount of tax that is due. The taxes collected from the people by these taxes assist the states and the nation on paying obligations. The state and national annual tax is due April 15.

On or before this date every individual in the United States who receives a salary or income will send two checks to pay their share of operating the government, and accept their responsibility of being an American. One payment is directed to the Missouri Department of Revenue, and the other to the Internal Revenue Service. In the words of Henry Clay, "It's The American System."