What was the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890?
In 1890, the United States Congress passed the Tariff Act of
1890 to create the McKinley Tariff. A tariff is tax placed on
imports, so the Congress was trying to discourage the importing of
goods from other countries. By putting this "handicap" on imported
goods, they were trying to protect American manufacturing.
The tariff had the benefit of spurring growth in American
business. When it was no longer practical and cheap to simply
import things, American businesses had to do these things
themselves. However, the tariff was not well-received by American
citizens because they disliked the way that it indirectly raised
prices.
Due to this lack of popular support, the McKinley Tariff was
eventually replaced by Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1894.