1909 U.S. law increasing tariffs on certain imports
The
Payne?Aldrich Tariff
Act of 1909 (ch. 6, 36 Stat. 11), named for Representative
Sereno E. Payne
(R?
NY
) and Senator
Nelson W. Aldrich
(R?
RI
), began in the
United States House of Representatives
as a bill raising certain
tariffs
on goods entering the
United States
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
The high rates angered Republican
reformers
, and led to a deep split in the
Republican Party
.
History
[
edit
]
Protectionism
was the ideological cement holding the Republican
coalition
together. High
tariffs
were used by Republicans to promise higher sales to business, higher wages to industrial workers, and higher demand for farm products.
Progressive
insurgents said it promoted
monopoly
.
Democrats
said it was a tax on the little man. It had greatest support in the
Northeast
, and greatest opposition in the
South
and
West
. The
Midwest
was the battle ground.
[5]
President Taft was disliked by Theodore Roosevelt because he didn't reduce tariffs which led to Roosevelt running for re-election. Since there were two Republicans in the vote, it led to the party's votes being split. That soon led to Woodrow Wilson being elected. However, the
United States Senate
speedily substituted a bill written by Aldrich, calling for fewer reductions and more increases in tariffs. It was the first change in tariff laws since the
Dingley Act of 1897
.
[6]
Progressive Republicans wanted to lower tariffs but Conservative leader Senator Aldrich prevailed by winning over some Democrats (despite the Democratic national platform calling for lower tariffs). These Democrats represented states with industry facing imports of iron ore, lumber, hides, coal, and other items. Senator
Joseph Bailey
of Texas defended the votes but Democrats
William Jennings Bryan
,
Henry Watterson
, and
Josephus Daniels
denounced them. In response the
Democratic caucus
imposed more discipline before the Democrats took control of the House
in 1911
.
[7]
An additional provision of the bill provided for the creation of a tariff board to study the problem of tariff modification in full and to collect information on the subject for the use of Congress and the President in future tariff considerations. Another provision allowed for free trade with the
Philippines
, then under American control. Congress passed the bill officially on April 9, 1909.
[8]
The bill states it would "take effect the day following its passage."
[9]
President Taft officially signed the bill at 5:05 pm on August 5, 1909.
[10]
Impact
[
edit
]
The Payne Act had the immediate effect of frustrating proponents of reducing tariffs.
[11]
In particular, the bill greatly angered Progressives, who began to withdraw support from President Taft. Because it increased the duty on print paper used by publishers, the publishing industry viciously criticized the President, further tarnishing his image. Although Taft met and consulted with Congress during its deliberations on the bill, critics charged that he ought to have imposed more of his own recommendations on the bill such as that of a slower schedule. However, unlike his predecessor (
Theodore Roosevelt
), Taft felt that the president should not dictate lawmaking and should leave Congress free to act as it saw fit.
[12]
Taft signed the bill with enthusiasm on 5 August 1909, expecting it would stimulate the economy and enhance his political standing. He especially praised the provision empowering the president to raise rates on countries which discriminated against American products, and the provision for free trade with the Philippines.
[13]
The defection of insurgent Republicans from the Midwest began Taft's slippage of support. It heralded conflicts over conservation, patronage, and progressive legislation. The debate over the tariff thus split the Republican Party into
Progressives
and
Old Guards
and led the split party to lose the 1910 congressional election.
[14]
Corporate Income Tax
[
edit
]
The bill also enacted a small
income tax
on the privilege of conducting business as a corporation, which was affirmed in the Supreme Court decision
Flint v. Stone Tracy Co.
(also known as the Corporation Tax case).
[15]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Vote on Tariff Law Forced in the House"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. April 2, 1910.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2022-04-09
. Retrieved
2008-02-06
.
- ^
Willis, H. Parker (1909).
"The Tariff of 1909"
.
Journal of Political Economy
.
17
(9): 589?619.
doi
:
10.1086/251613
.
ISSN
0022-3808
.
- ^
Willis, H. Parker (1910).
"The Tariff of 1909"
.
Journal of Political Economy
.
18
(1): 1?33.
doi
:
10.1086/251643
.
ISSN
0022-3808
.
- ^
Willis, H. Parker (1910).
"The Tariff of 1909: III"
.
Journal of Political Economy
.
18
(3): 173?196.
doi
:
10.1086/251676
.
ISSN
0022-3808
.
- ^
Howard R. Smith, and
John Fraser Hart
, "The American tariff map."
Geographical Review
45.3 (1955): 327?346
online
Archived
2020-08-19 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
"Payne?Aldrich Tariff Act"
.
The Columbia Encyclopedia
(6th ed.).
Columbia University Press
. 2007. Archived from
the original
on August 23, 2000.
- ^
Claude E. Barfield, "'Our Share of the Booty': The Democratic Party Cannonism, and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Journal of American History
57.2 (1970): 308?323
online
Archived
2016-12-21 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
"Congress passes Payne-Aldrich Act"
.
This Day in History 1909
.
The History Channel
.
Archived
from the original on 2008-04-11
. Retrieved
2008-02-06
.
- ^
Sec. 42, 36 Stat. 11 (Pub. Law 61-5).
https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/36/STATUTE-36-Pg11b.pdf
Archived
2019-10-25 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
36 Stat. 11 (Pub. Law 61-5).
https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/36/STATUTE-36-Pg11b.pdf
Archived
2019-10-25 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Paolo E. Coletta,
The Presidency of William Howard Taft
(1973) pp 45?76.
- ^
Frank W. Taussig,
The Tariff History of the United States
(8th ed. 1931), pp. 361?408.
online
- ^
Stanley D. Solvick, "William Howard Taft and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Mississippi Valley Historical Review
50.3 (1963): 424?442
online
Archived
2021-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Lewis L. Gould, "Western Range Senators and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Pacific Northwest Quarterly
64.2 (1973): 49?56
online
Archived
2016-12-21 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
John D. Buenker,
The Income Tax and the Progressive Era
(Routledge, 2018).
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Aldrich, Mark. "Tariffs and Trusts, Profiteers and Middlemen: Popular Explanations for the High Cost of Living, 1897?1920."
History of Political Economy
45.4 (2013): 693?746.
- Barfield, Claude E. "'Our Share of the Booty': The Democratic Party Cannonism, and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Journal of American History
(1970) 57#2 pp. 308?323.
in JSTOR
- Brawley, Mark R. " 'And we would have the field': US Steel and American trade policy, 1908?1912."
Business and Politics
19.3 (2017): 424?453.
- Coletta, Paolo Enrico.
The Presidency of William Howard Taft
(University Press of Kansas, 1973) pp 61?71.
- Detzer, David W. "Businessmen, Reformers and Tariff Revision: The Payne?Aldrich Tariff of 1909."
Historian
(1973) 35#2 pp. 196?204.
- Fisk, George. "The Payne?Aldrich Tariff,"
Political Science Quarterly
(1910) 25#1 pp. 35?68;
in JSTOR
- Gould, Lewis L. "Western Range Senators and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Pacific Northwest Quarterly
(1973): 49?56.
in JSTOR
- Gould, Lewis L. "New Perspectives on the Republican Party, 1877?1913,"
American Historical Review
(1972) 77#4 pp. 1074?1082
in JSTOR
- Gould, Lewis L.
The William Howard Taft Presidency
(University Press of Kansas, 2009) 51?64.
- Mowry, George E.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement
(1946) pp. 36?65
online
.
- Mowry, George E.
The Era of Theodore Roosevelt
, 1900?1912 (1958) pp. 242?247
read online
- Solvick, Stanley D. "William Howard Taft and the Payne?Aldrich Tariff."
Mississippi Valley Historical Review
(1963) pp. 424?442
in JSTOR
.
- Taussig, Frank W.
The Tariff History of the United States
(8th ed. 1931), pp. 361?408
online
- Wolman, Paul.
Most Favored Nation: The Republican Revisionists and US Tariff Policy, 1897?1912
(U of North Carolina Press, 2000).