Step 1 : Introduction to the question "What event prompted the first income tax in the United States?"
There wasn't always an income tax, and initially tariffs provided the main source of revenue for the government. The first income tax was created in 1861 during the Civil War as a mechanism to finance the war effort. At first, Congress placed a flat 3-percent tax on all incomes over $800 and later modified this principle to include a graduated tax. Congress repealed the income tax in 1872, but the concept did not disappear. In early 20th century the income tax enjoyed renewed support, and in February of 1913 the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified to the Constitution, thus granting Congress the power to collect taxes on personal income.