What Is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act?
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was a law passed in the United States, in 1930, as an attempt to legislatively address the Great Depression and counteract its effects. The specific objective of the legislation was to greatly increase tariffs on thousands of imported goods in order to spur consumption of American-made products, and protect American jobs. The act has historically been considered, at best, ineffectual and, at worst, a failure that significantly prolonged the Depression. It is commonly cited as a prime example of the policy known as protectionism. It was named for its authors, senators Reed Smoot of Utah and Willis Hawley of Oregon. Both men were Republican committee chairmen — Smoot of the Senate Finance Committee, and Hawley of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. At the time, both these committees were very powerful and, in turn, so too did their chairs wield a great deal of influence.
