Final answer:
Henry Clay's American System included a national bank, a protective tariff, and internal improvements. It aimed to stabilize the currency, protect burgeoning American factories, and speed up transport of goods. The system was criticized in the South due to increased costs from tariffs and fears of federal overreach.
Step-by-step explanation:
The provisions (parts) of Henry Clay's "American System" included a national bank, a protective tariff, and federally sponsored internal improvements such as roads and canals. The American System, championed in 1824, was aimed at encouraging economic growth and national unity. The national bank was expected to stabilize the currency system, the tariff was meant to protect emerging American industries from foreign competition and to increase government revenue, and the internal improvements were designed to facilitate the quicker movement of goods across the country.
The American System came under criticism in the South for several reasons. Southern economies were primarily based on agriculture and were not as industrialized as the North. They felt the tariff protected Northern industries at their expense because it increased the cost of goods they imported and led to retaliatory tariffs on agricultural exports. Additionally, the South feared that the power of the federal government was expanding at the expense of states' rights, which was a sensitive issue in the region, particularly with regards to the topic of slavery.