Free trade came to what would become the United States as a result of the American Revolution. After the British Parliament issued the Prohibitory Act in 1775, blockading colonial ports, the Continental Congress responded by effectively declaring economic independence, opening American ports to foreign trade on 6 April 1776 – three months before declaring sovereign independence. According to historian John W. Tyler, "[f]ree trade had been forced on the Americans, like it or not".Tyler, Smugglers & Patriots, p. 238.
Free trade came to what would become the United States as a result of the American Revolution After the British Parliament issued the Prohibitory Act in 1775, blockading colonial ports, the Continental Congress responded by effectively declaring economic independence, opening American ports to foreign trade on 6 April 1776 – three months before declaring sovereign independence. According to historian John W. Tyler, "[f]ree trade had been f.orced on the Americans, like it or not".Tyler, Smugglers & Patriots, p. 238.