Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act

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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 House of Representatives as a bill lowering certain tariffs on goods entering the United States. 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. This 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 Guard and, because of the split votes in most states, resulted in the eventual presidency of Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who was elected in 1912.