What life looked like under Trump’s tariff hero, US President William McKinley

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have become a defining feature of his second term, central to his strategy for reshaping global trade, even after the Supreme Court struck down many of his tariffs in February.

Aggressive tariff policies have been rare at the White House in recent decades, but history offers clues about how they can ripple through everyday American life.

Previously, one of the most consequential episodes of sweeping US protectionism came in 1890 at the hand of William McKinley, who authored the Tariff Act of 1890, imposing tariffs of an average of 50% on many imported goods.

McKinley, who was the US president from 1897 to 1901, introduced his tariff policies while serving as a congressman.

They had far-reaching effects on the economy and were ultimately unpopular among voters, contributing to him and other Republican congressmen losing their seats in the 1890 midterms. “This was protectionist at its height,” William K.

Bolt, a professor of history at Francis Marion University in South Carolina, told Business Insider of McKinley’s original policy. “And there was a significant political backlash against it.” Trump has credited McKinley’s tariff policies for making America a “very wealthy country,” and repeatedly name-dropped him on the 2024 campaign trail. “In the 1890s, our country was probably the wealthiest it ever was because it was a system of tariffs,” Trump said in a Michigan town hall in September 2024. “We had a president, you know McKinley?” Since returning to the White House, Trump has pushed an expansive and often unpredictable tariff agenda, from his “Liberation Day” tariffs to country-specific threats that have rattled markets and trade partners.

The Supreme Court’s ruling against his tariff policies in February hasn’t stopped Trump from finding alternatives to pursue them.

On Thursday, the Trump administration announced new tariffs, ranging from 10 to 12.5%, on dozens of trading partners.

The Office of the US Trade Representative said the tariffs were imposed on countries “for their failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” While Trump has doubled down on his tariff policy, his tariff hero, McKinley, famously changed his approach toward tariffs.

By the end of his presidency, he had begun advocating a more reciprocal approach to trade.

Photos from the late 19th century and early 20th century highlight the economic factors at the time of McKinley’s tariffs, how they changed day-to-day life for Americans, and what ultimately led to his backtracking on his policies.