Daniel Raymond (1786–1849) was the first important political economist to appear in the United States. He authored Thoughts on Political Economy (1820) and The Elements of Political Economy (1823). Economic theory He theorized that "labor creates wealth," which may have been an improvement based on the thinking of Adam Smith of Europe. He thought that the economy of England was actually the economy of the higher-ranking members of that society and not the economy of the entire nation. He held that wealth is not an aggregation of exchange values, as Adam Smith had conceived it, but the capacity or the opportunity to acquire the necessaries and conveniences of life by labor. He systematized the infant industry argument. Political theory In 1845, he wrote a book entitled 'The Elements of Constitutional Law' which included basic definitions of a government, a sovereign state, a confederacy and a constitution. While these concepts have evolved, much of the basic theories which he outlined still have relevance in modern political analysis. His writings affected political developments in the United States. In his Elements on Political Economy, he represents himself as a protectionist. In Book II Chapter Nine, Of Protecting Duties, he says that protectionism is aligned with national interests and the government should put national interests ahead of individual interests. To Raymond, national interests are never in harmony with individual interests. The protective tariff represents national interests, Raymond conveys, and the advantage of protective tariffs is the leverage of a nation and the special treatment over foreigners in the nation's domestic commerce and industry of the nation. His policy was opposed by Adam Smith. Raymond believed national interests are monumental and trump individual interests. To Raymond, defending national interests over individual interests was like military strategy. He stated that the primordial perspective is that the army is one and the general the commander. Subordinate troops are not allowed to have the privileges of power or concerns or pursuits that directly oppose the general prosperity of the military unit. He then conveys that the principle that I political economy, no private interest or right may have authority over the general interest of the country, and if a political economy does not acknowledge that principle, it will forever remain in a dismal state. Raymond also expounded on his government philosophy. For him, the public good is above all forms of citizens, property, and individual rights. Government can