While defending the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, which left America's protectionist trade policy about 95% intact, President William Howard Taft, a Republican, made a statement about the free traders of his day that applies to most free traders today:
Taft was following in the footsteps of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, among others. From The American Conservative:
When the Republican Party emerged from the ashes of the Federalist and Whig parties in the 1850s, protecting American industries and workers with high tariffs was a key tenet of the party:
When you see traditional liberal organs like the Washington Post and the New York Times joining Establishment conservative organs like the Wall Street Journal and National Review attacking high tariffs, you should know that something is wrong and that there must be something good about high tariffs. Here's a great pro-tariff editorial from the Toledo Blade in Toledo, Ohio:
Steel has a champion
A free trader is opposed to any protected rate because be thinks that our manufacturers, our farmers, and our miners ought to withstand the competition of foreign manufacturers and miners and farmers, or else go out of business and find something else more profitable to do. (William Howard Taft: Address on the Tariff Law of 1909)
Taft was following in the footsteps of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, among others. From The American Conservative:
The second bill signed by President Washington was the Tariff Act of 1789. Said the Founding Father of his country in his first address to Congress: “A free people … should promote such manufactures as tend to make them independent on others for essential, particularly military supplies.”
In his 1791 “Report on Manufactures,” Alexander Hamilton wrote, “Every nation ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitat, clothing and defence.”
This was wisdom born of experience. (Globalists vs. Nationalists: Who Owns the Future?)
In his 1791 “Report on Manufactures,” Alexander Hamilton wrote, “Every nation ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply. These comprise the means of subsistence, habitat, clothing and defence.”
This was wisdom born of experience. (Globalists vs. Nationalists: Who Owns the Future?)
When the Republican Party emerged from the ashes of the Federalist and Whig parties in the 1850s, protecting American industries and workers with high tariffs was a key tenet of the party:
In order to successfully carry out his protectionist agenda, Trump must override the elite consensus on free trade. This consensus arose in the aftermath of World War II, when Washington officials unanimously agreed that free trade would create the conditions for lasting peace and economic prosperity. Prior to this time, however, the American political establishment was divided on the issue of free trade, with Republicans calling for higher tariffs and Democrats calling for the lowering or elimination of import duties. Supporting Republicans in their campaign for protectionism were economists, businessmen, and journalists of high social standing and considerable political influence. (Protectionism is Actually a Republican Idea)
When you see traditional liberal organs like the Washington Post and the New York Times joining Establishment conservative organs like the Wall Street Journal and National Review attacking high tariffs, you should know that something is wrong and that there must be something good about high tariffs. Here's a great pro-tariff editorial from the Toledo Blade in Toledo, Ohio:
Steel has a champion