Tariffs
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Townshend Duties (1766)
o by Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend
o he thought if he just taxed imports, the colonies wouldn’t care- he was wrong
o John Dickinson’s “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” – criticizing the Townshend Acts
o Massachusetts Circular Letter- 1768
o Lord North repealed all the taxes except tea in 1770
Protective Tariff of 1816
o first protective tariff in American history
o passed to slow the flood of cheap British manufactures into the country
Tariff of Abominations (1828)
o originally supported by S Congressmen in order to embarrass the administration (Jackson)
o the finished bill had higher import duties on many goods bought by S planters
o Calhoun was VP, so to protect his position but still protest he published anonymously “South
Carolina Exposition and Protest” about his theory of “concurrent majority”, that if the majority
passes a law that is harmful to a certain state that state can “veto” it and declare it null in the state
o 232, 241
Tariff of 1832
o higher rates
o this and the snubbing of Peggy Eaton caused Calhoun’s resignation
o he went back to SC and published “Ordinance of Nullification” and ordered the customs officials
to stop collecting duties at the port of Charleston
o Jackson passed the Force Bill (1833) that let him use federal troops to force the collection of the
taxes
o Clay compromised w/ a gradual reduction in the level of the tariff, and the crisis was diverted
Walker Tariff (1846)
o low, revenue-only tariff passed under Polk
McKinley Tariff (1890)
o highest protective tariff ever, passed during Harrison’s administration
o passed by Republicans because they thought this was the issue that won them the election of 1888
(anti-tariff Cleveland vs. Harrison)
o they were wrong, the public DIDN’T approve and voted them all out in 1890 elections and voted
Cleveland back in 1892
o act also included reciprocal trade provisions
Wilson-Gorman Tariff (1894)
o protective tariff attempting to relieve the depression of 1893, did little
o provision included for graduated income tax, struck down by Supreme Court in Pollack v
Farmer’s Loan and Trust Co
Dingley Tariff (1897)
o highest protective tariff ever for some commodities
o by McKinley
Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909)
o originally intended to lower the tariff, ended up as a protective measure
o Progressives that originated the bill felt betrayed by special interests
o Taft made the political mistake of endorsing the tariff
Underwood-Simmons Tariff (1913)
o lower tariff advocated by Wilson to introduce competition into the American economy in order to
bust trusts
o graduated income tax included in order to compensate for lost tariff revenue (legal because of 16th
amendment)
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Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)
o Mellon (Harding’s SecTreas) wanted increase in tariff, but farm bloc of Midwestern Republicans
and S Democrats made him alter his wishes
o tariff put high rates on farm products and infant industries (rayon, china, toys, chemicals, etc.)
o most other items had moderate protection and some (particularly farm equipment) were duty-free
Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)
o raised duties on both agricultural and manufactured imports in an attempt to revive Great
Depression economy... didn’t work, may have even contributed to the international depression
 Jaime