[Help] Payne-Aldrich Act

A Paragraph im writing for a school paper. But i need some help on the Topic and Concluding sentences. And if anybody knows about citation any criticism on that is greatly welcomed. Note: this is kinda of a brainstorming sheet not exactly a rough draft yet. PS: If i have a good experience with this item i will be posting some of my narrative work up here for some constructive criticism.

William Howard Taft is a ghost of the ago, not to say he is in fact a spirit but a diminished life in the shadow of his forerunners. William Howard Taft, the twenty seventh president of the United States and the first American governor of the Philippines (William 1, Key Event 1), was the fattest and most un-appreciated president of the US. Even though most think he was a minor president, he accomplished far more than his forerunner Theodore Roosevelt, busting more trusts then T.R. Ever did while approaching issues that T.R. would ignore like the high tariffs (Griffin 32). Even though the people of America did not approve of him, his actions secured Americas future. One of many acts was the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act which should not have gone abroad for even though its intentions were good it raised tariffs instead of lowering them.
The history that lead to the need of a new Tariff law starts back before the Civil War and up into the 1900s. During the civil war it was decided that tariffs should be raised to help fund the war, but as it happened the tariff laws did not take place until after the war was resolved and the north won (Griffin 1-2). Before the war “The Republicans, in the campaign of 1868, committed them- selves to the reduction of taxation” (Griffin 2), after the war no real changes in tariffs were made to lower the tariffs until a reluctant cut of the tariffs in the 1870s (Griffin 2) which did not lower them nearly enough for the American people. Even though the Republicans were trying tower taxes and tariffs in general, the democrats were trying to raise taxes and tariffs to get more income, resulting in a clash of the parties (Griffin 3-7). These two groups that made sure changing Tariffs was a nearly impossible job. Later, in the 1900’s, the demand to lower tariffs was at an all time high and ever the more failing attempts to lower them. President Roosevelt made sure to ignore tariffs, as Edna Griffin says: “He always found an excuse to avoid the issue which was fraught with so many political perils.”(Griffin 32). When Roosevelt declined a second term in office, he he put William Howard Taft in the spotlight urging him to run for president, this he hesitantly accepted. With Roosevelt's support Taft easily won the election and was sworn into office March 4, 1909 (Key Events 1). All the way from the Civil War to the 1900s events shaped the need for a new bill to lower tariffs, one Taft saw to immediately.
Shortly after Taft’s inauguration, he called congress into session to discuss the growing tariff problems. William Taft called the congress into session to look at the tariff problem but did not participate in most of the discussions (Hamilton 1). Taft believed that congress should be free to do what it wanted to do, and that he should not interfere with what congress decided best (Hamilton 1). That was the decision Taft made, he decided to not veto it or give input even if it started to go sour. The Act itself is two bills intertwined, one being the Payne Bill and the other the Aldrich Bill (Payne-Aldrich 1). The Payne Bill was passed by the house, and called for reduced rates (Payne-Aldrich 1). While The Aldrich Bill was passed by the senate and called for reduced tariff cuts and more increases (Payne-Aldrich 1). These two bills formed together to make the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act, unfortunately Taft did not veto the Aldrich bill which increased tariffs making the act raise Tariffs instead of lowering them as Taft had hoped. Taft’s goal to reduce the tariff failed miserably, as he refused to give input in the meetings and veto the Aldrich Bill, dooming the Payne Aldrich Tariff Act to fail.
The Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act came into effect late in 1909, effecting each and every business and person in America. The Payne Aldrich Tariff Act hardly helped anyone and angered everyone. The Act raised Tariff revenues by 1% and increasing the governments revenues by millions (Griffin 60-67). The Act was unfair to the people of America, “The revision of the tariff seemed to the corn wheat growers more serviceable to the manu- facturers and other urban interests and to the wool growers than to the farmers of the Mid-West.” (Griffin 67), with many tariffs raised and many lowered, huge debates unfurled to wether the congress revised the tariffs upwards or downwards (Griffin 68). In many ways the act hurt the American people more than it helped them while managing to unbalance the economy. The Taft administration later ironed out some of the kinks in a revision (Griffin 68). The Payne-Aldrich act ultimately had a negative effect on America unbalancing the economy and falling short of Tafts goal to reduce Tariffs.

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