Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act
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The Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, named for Representative Sereno E. Payne and Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, reduced the United States tariff rate to 37%. It was very effective. However, the tariff had not been lowered enough to satisfy Progressives. President William Howard Taft was ridiculed for being so passive. The debate over the tariff split the Republican party into Progressives and Old Guard and the eventual presidenctcy of Woodrow Wilson.