Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 lowering certain tariffs on goods entering the United States.[1] It was the first change in tariff laws since the Dingley Act of 1897.[2] Because the Republican Party had called for reduction of the tariff in 1908, President William Howard Taft held a special session in Congress in 1909 to discuss the issue. Thus, the House of Representatives immediately passed a tariff bill sponsored by Sereno E. Payne calling for reduced tariffs. However, the United States Senate speedily substituted a bill written by Nelson W. Aldrich calling for fewer reductions and more increases in tariffs.[2]
By the time it ran through the Senate, there had been tacked on so many amendments to the original bill that it raised many tariff standings. 650 tariff schedules were lowered, 220 raised, and 1,150 left unchanged.[2] Congress passed the bill officially on April 9, 1909.[3]
[edit] Impact of the bill
The bill greatly angered Progressives, who were beginning to stop supporting President William Howard Taft. The debate over the tariff split the Republican Party into Progressives and Old Guards and led the split party to lose the 1910 congressional election.[4] In the 1912 presidential elections, because of the split votes amongst Republicans in most states, Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson was elected as president in 1912.[5]
The bill enacted an 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).
By 1915, tobacco exports from The Philippines to America had annually increased as a result of the bill passing.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "Vote on Tariff Law Forced in the House", The New York Times, April 2, 1910. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ a b c "Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act". The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th). (2007). Columbia University Press. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ Congress passes Payne-Aldrich Act. This Day in History 1909. The History Channel. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
- ^ Bailey, Thomas A.; Kennedy, David M.; Cohen, Lizabeth (1998). The American Pageant. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 699-700. ISBN 0669397288.
- ^ Ibid., p. 705.
- ^ Jacobson, H.O. (1915). Tobacco in the Philippines. Bureau of Printing.
|
||||||||
