The American Institute of New York City was formed on March 11, 1828, at Tammany Hall in New York City by a group of tariff-interested men whose sole purpose was to persuade the public to favor Henry Clay's "American System" of high protective tariffs and internal improvements.

The best instruction in the purposes of the organization is found right in the declarations of the founders themselves. Their "Address and Resolutions" were celebrated and read into the record of proceedings of the national convention held in October, 1846 in connection with the Institute's 19th annual fair. They appear on pages 264-271 of the Fifth Annual Report of the American Institute published in 1847.

The tariff purpose of the organization is important because it is yet another point of correlation showing the relationship between tariff interest and anti-slavery activism. James Tallmadge, Jr., the man who started the political anti-slavery crusade in Congress, was the organization's longest-serving president.