President William McKinley is Donald Trump’s favorite president because he imposed “beautiful tariffs.” But what Trump has apparently forgotten—or, more likely, never knew—is that by 1899, McKinley was seriously going off tariffs and shortly before his assassination wrote a speech supporting free trade
By Tom Arms
President William McKinley is Donald Trump’s favorite president because he imposed “beautiful tariffs.”
Trump is right. He did support tariffs. Mainly while he was in Congress. But also in 1897, at the start of his presidency when the Dingley Act imposed the biggest tariffs in American history. But what Trump has apparently forgotten—or, more likely, never knew—is that by 1899, McKinley was seriously going off tariffs and shortly before his assassination wrote a speech supporting free trade.
McKinley was focused on “reciprocity agreements” which was a sort of you-lower-your-tariff-and- we-will-lower- ours sort of arrangement. His focus was on other countries in the Western Hemisphere. A sort of expanded NAFTA agreement. In 1899 President Mckinley was the leading force behind the creation of the Pan American Union which was seen as the first step towards lowering tariffs throughout the Americas.
The 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York was the idea venue to pursue this low tariff proposal for North and South America. And on September 5, 1901 he told a crowd of 50,000 that reciprocity treaties with other nations were needed to assure American manufacturers access to foreign markets, especially in countries in the Western Hemisphere.
The September 5 speech would have been a scene-setter for an even bigger speech on which McKinley had been working. Unfortunately for the world of 2025, Trump’s favourite president never gave that speech because he was assassinated on September 6 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.
The speech that was never delivered, however, the text as been lodged in the National Archives. It proves that Mckinley was preparing to say that “the development of trade and commerce in the Western Hemisphere must become a mutual and beneficial work.
“We have only one road to travel to achieve this, and that is the road of fair and equitable trade relations. The economic relations between the nations of the Western Hemisphere are destined to be the most important for future progress. My administration is prepared to meet the future of this region with a policy of cooperation, and trade agreements founded upon mutual benefit.
“The reduction of tariffs and the improvement of trade agreements are not merely abstract goals. They are essential to securing peace and prosperity. This administration will continue to push for the policy of lowering tariffs, so as to improve the efficiency and fairness of trade, which will allow the people of all nations involved to benefit.
“We seek no special privileges or advantage over our neighbors but advocate a policy of peace and free trade among all nations of this hemisphere. Our aim is to remove unnecessary obstacles to trade and to advance the interests of our industries by promoting better relations with all of our neighboring countries.”
Not exactly Trumpian, is it?
American tariffs were the brainchild of the financial wizard of the founding fathers—Alexander Hamilton. The industrial revolution was just getting underway when America won its independence and Hamilton realized that if the infant America was going to compete in the new age then it needed a manufacturing base and that base needed to be protected in order to grow.
In fact, the US constitution was specifically written with tariffs in mind. Article One Section Eight stipulated that Congress (Note: not the president) shall pass laws to collect taxes “including duties, imports and excises.” There was even a reference to a special tax on imported slaves. Income tax was ruled out by omission.
But by 1900 Hamiltonian tariffs had been so successful in building American industry that it was on the brink of surpassing Britain and Germany. It was already the leading producer of steel and oil, had developed a major textile industry and was a leader in technological innovation. America’s biggest problem was that it was restricted by the size of its domestic market, which was growing but not fast enough. The United States needed access to foreign markets through free trade and McKinley realized it.
McKinley’s economic policies were continued by his successor Teddy Roosevelt who continued to lower tariffs. But it was not until 1913 and the administration of Woodrow Wilson that income tax was introduced. It required a constitutional amendment—the 16th. Tariffs nosedived as McKinley—Trump’s hero—intended.
Read: Observations of an Expat: Boycott!
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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice. He can be emailed at Tom.arms195@gmail.com
