Shadow and Custodial President

Taft knew his techniques would be different from Roosevelt. Unlike Roosevelt Taft did not believe in stretching his presidential powers. In foreign affairs Taft pursued an active role in Latin America. Taft thought of the idea of a World court to deal with issues all over the world. Domestic issues included Taft shunning many progressive republicans by defending the Payne-Aldrich act which continued high tariff taxes. A trade agreement with Canada was pushed through congress with Taft’s help, but unfortunately the Canadians rejected it.

The popularity that Thomas Jefferson held during his first term as president, quickly changed during his second term in office. Jefferson's second term was less a triumph than an ordeal. His major disappointment had its origins in Europe and because of the Napoleonic Wars, the naval blockades in the Atlantic and Caribbean severely curtailed American trade and pressured the United States government to take sides. Jefferson's response to all this was the passing of the Embargo Act in 1807, which virtually closed American Ports to all foreign imports and exports. The enforcement of the Embargo act required the use of exactly those coercive powers by the federal government that Jefferson has been opposing all along (a strong central government). In the enforcement of this embargo, the government was infringing on the liberties of individuals which was inconsistent with Jefferson's principles (Ellis, 1996).

These presidents- Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison- mostly had unremarkable terms in office. Starting with Hayes, who technically lost the election, and had very little political power. His election is known as the most corrupt election in U.S. history. He fired employees who were not needed and tried to reform the government’s nonelected workers but had no congressional backing. After Hayes, Garfield, a Half-Breed, became the 20th president but was assassinated shortly after the election. Chester Arthur, a Republican, took his place as president and obtained congressional support for reforming the spoils system. Grover Cleveland served two presidential terms in office. As a Democrat, he vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, while also achieving the Interstate Commerce Commission and civil service reform. The 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison, was a Republican. While in office, he introduced the McKinley Tariff and increased federal

There have been forty-four U.S. Presidents over the past two hundred and twenty four years. Some were very successful. Of those few historians, Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents that ever live. He is responsible for preserving the union, freeing the slaves, and enacting various new policies. Lincoln was a president that never gave up and put his people first. He was strong, confident and believes in his principles. Some of the presidents were least successful. Of those few historians, Herbert Hoover wasn’t very successful while he was in office. He was considered to be a terrible president because an awful thing occurred on his watch. Which was the Great Depression.

In 1828, Andrew Jackson passed a tariff that put a tax on foreign goods. This angered the South and they believed he was favoring the North.

The passing of the Embargo Act in 1807 banned all trade with European nations during the Napoleonic Wars in an attempt for the United States to steer clear of war and to prove to the European Nations that American goods were essential to their economies. Alexander Anderson's cartoon, drawn one year after the bill was passed, shows how the American people were affected by the Embargo Act. They resorted to smuggling goods in order to make money during the economic depression caused by the act. After Jefferson's poor decision with the Embargo Act, his party members began to loose faith in him and his Federalist opponents gained a great amount of popularity. By refusing to trade, the United States experienced the bad aspects of war with none of the potential gains through the signing of treaties. After the Embargo Act, the American citizens begin to

claims against England stemming from the activities of British-built confederate warships.” (history.com). The warships were distributed Northern Shipping during the Civil War. The treaty resulted in an improved relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. The first law that he signed was pledging to redeem in gold the greenback currency issued during the civil war. Ulysses also vetoed a bill to increase the amount of legal tender diminished the currency crisis. The currency crisis that was going on was known as “Black Friday”. “The Fisk and Gould attempted to influence the government and manipulate the gold market.” (history.com). Ulysses had no idea what to go but everyone accused him of being apart of it since he knew one of the guys in the scandal. After the scandal the U.S. was in a financial panic.

There have been many influential presidents during the history of our nation. A few examples include George Washington who led our country through the revolutionary war and our nation’s first president. There was also Abraham Lincoln who led us through the Civil War. However our most influential president is Franklin D. Roosevelt. During Franklin Roosevelt’s years in the oval office he would lead our country through one of the toughest times during the 20th century enduring the great depression and World War II. His influence on the United States and the world still exist today with charities he started, federal laws in effect

He was also a vice president, he served two terms as vice president. He was the first vice president of the US. He served under George Washington. He served from 1791-1801. His terms were very frustrating for him. He often complained to his wife Abigail. “My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.

     The Tariff of Abominations or Tariff of 1828 was one of the more famous acts passed by Congress. Adams had been a strong advocate for a higher tariff. Andrew Jackson’s supporters in Congress modified Adam’s original tariff bill to include much higher taxes on imported raw materials as well. They believed that the northern legislators and Adams supporters would never vote for such legislation since it would mean that New England manufacturers would pay much higher prices for their raw materials. However the bill passed and consumer prices for a selection of goods increased a whole lot. (Benton 232).

He proposed to use his military to enforce the nullification so make sure that the acts of congress were obeyed. South Carolina was kind of out there on their own with the tariffs. Henry Clay was elected to the senate and created a compromise to lower tariffs. This worked and Jackson signed both of the compromise and a force bill in 1883 claiming a victory for Calhoun.

Tariff laws on imports were mostly for profit of the northern states and did not benefit the southern states. In 1816 the people wrote to congress about how it was unfair for them to favor the manufacturers. For the power given to them was given so they could regulate and equalize commerce. (Doc A) Document A was written for Congress to explain how the south felt about the tariff acts. In 1817 another letter was sent to congress about how infrastructures can help bring the country back together. (Doc B) The main thing isolating the south was the Erie Canal because it connects the north and west for trading purpose. Trading between the north and west made money flow between the two to help their economies grow while leaving the south to fend for themselves. Innovations like factories in the north are why more people emigrated meaning more and better job opportunities. While in the south there is a smaller population for the simple fact they are farmers and plantation owners. (Doc E) Henry Clay’s American system consisted of three mutually reinforcing parts. He wanted a tariff to protect and promote American industry, a national bank to foster commerce and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other "internal improvements". The entire point of the plan was toto develop profitable markets for

Tariffs plagued the president also many times, but the most remembered were the “Tariff of Abominations” in 1828, and the tariff of 1832. South Carolina passed an Ordinance of Nullification, and upset Jackson tremendously. They stated that those tariffs were null and void to South Carolina, and it would be unlawful to collect for duties. They also had the nerve to warn the

Tariffs were one of the primary issues debated by both major parties in the 1870s and 1880s. Before the days of income tax, tariffs on imported goods filled the national treasury. The federal government consistently carried a large surplus derived from these tariffs, and continuous discussions ensued on how to spend the money. Tariffs also kept domestic prices artificially high. The purchase price of imported goods included the added tariff. The same product made in this country could be sold for a bit less and still be extremely profitable. The Republican Party advocated the belief that the federal government should employ a high tariff to ensure that foreign competition did not injure agriculture and industry. The Democrats, however, felt that the tariff was a burdensome tax on consumers and supported tariffs for "revenue only," to

Prior to the RTAA, the implementation of higher or lower tariffs was mostly contingent on the composition of the Congress in session. This was an unstable process, as the trade policy of the United States had the ability to shift in the blink of an eye after the elections. In addition to this, Congress found it increasingly difficult to pass any meaningful legislation on trade policy because of the strong partisan politics involved in the issue. According to Bailey, Goldstein and Weingast, Democrats passed the RTAA in 1934 because their leadership wanted lower tariffs and a simplified process of negotiating tariffs fit to outlive Democratic control of Congress (Bailey, Goldstein and Weingast). Placing the power of negotiating tariffs in the