Payne aldrich tariff significance

The Republican platform of 1908 supported a downward reform of the tariff. For this purpose, President Taft called Congress into special session. Sereno E. Payne, a Republican congressman from New York, sponsored a tariff bill that called for several reduced rates, which the House swiftly passed. The Senate responded with a bill authored by Nelson W. Aldrich, a Republican multi-millionaire from Rhode Island, that effected fewer downward revisions and stepped up many rates. Aldrich had anticipated rapid approval of his measure, but Robert M. La Follette mounted a lengthy examination of the bill's exceedingly complex wording. To the dismay of Aldrich and other conservatives, the public learned of the protectionist nature of the proposal. Following this assault, a compromise bill was adopted that moderated the bill's high rates. Taft immediately signed the measure. This act was the first modification of tariff laws since the