Benjamin Harrison runs on for president to protect American workers from “British pauper wages.”

The protective tariff was a political staple during most all 19th century American politics. The earliest advocate was Alexander Hamilton who argued that the “infant industries” needed protection from foreign competition to survive and thrive.

Later the Whig political Party picked up the theme. It was one of the principle issues for Henry Clay when he ran for president in 1832 and 1844. Under Clay’s “American System,” high tariffs protected domestic companies from foreign competition. The tariff revenues that were collected were to be used to domestic improvements such as bridges and roads.




The Whig Party broke up over the issue of slavery in the early 1850s. Many former Whigs, including Abraham Lincoln, joined the newly formed Republican Party. Like their Whig ancestors, the Republicans supported protection. Here Lincoln lists it as one of his important positions on this 1860 campaign medalet.




Lincoln’s Republican presidential candidate successors continued to push the protection issue. In 1888, Benjamin Harrison used the argument that protection supported higher wages for American wages. By this time the Democrats were arguing that tariffs should be collected for revenue purposes only. Grover Cleveland made this one his principle issues. On this 1892 piece, Cleveland characterized lower tariffs as “tariff reform.”




Harrison shot back the Cleveland’s tariff policies would result in lower wages for American workers. Here he stated American employees would end up like British workers who were earning “pauper wages” because of the British free trade policies.



Since I can only post 10 pictures per message, the next entry will display a very interesting Harrison piece that I acquired at the recent FUN show.

 

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I do love your collection @johnmilton

 

Some people thought that this piece was damaged when I showed it to them. The "pie piece" that is cut of this token actually symbolizes the lost wages that American workers would get under Cleveland's lower tariff policies.



So, what was the truth about this issue? Would free trade result lower wages for American workers? Probably not. The net result may have been the loss of some jobs because foreign competition would make it harder for marginal companies to survive. On the other hand, free trade would lower prices and perhaps allow Americans to buy better products Overall, most economists argue that free trade improves the standard of living for most people.

 

Ha, that was me! I'd never seen anything like it, but once you explained the piece I realized it was quite clever. Very interesting!

 

And Democrats would give give away the farm.........in the form of MS-70 coins.