McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Act

(noun)

The McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Act, which never became law, was a highly controversial plan in the 1920s to subsidize American agriculture by raising the domestic prices of farm products.

Related Terms

Examples of McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Act in the following topics:

  • Changes in Agricultural Production

    • Farmers had a powerful voice in Congress and demanded federal subsidies, most notably the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Act.
    • The act, which was co-authored by Charles L.
    • McNary (R-Oregon) and Gilbert N.
    • McNary, left, and U.S.
    • Haugen in 1929.

  • The Republican Era

    • In 1924, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1924, which reduced income tax rates and eliminated all income taxation for some two million people.
    • They reduced taxes again by passing the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, all the while continuing to keep spending down so as to reduce the overall federal debt.
    • Perhaps the most contentious issue of Coolidge's presidency was concerning relief for farmers.
    • Coolidge initially supported a measure that would have created a federal board to lend money to farm co-operatives in times of surplus but the bill did not pass.
    • In February 1927, Congress took up the McNary-Haugen Bill again, this time narrowly passing it.

  • The Farm Problem and Agrarian Protest Movements

    • To make matters worse, the McKinley Tariff of 1890 was one of the highest the country had ever seen.
    • This was detrimental to American farmers, as it drove up the prices of farm equipment.
    • Despite carrying the South and all the West except California and Oregon, Bryan lost the more populated, industrial North and East—and the election—to the Republican William McKinley with his campaign slogan "A Full Dinner Pail".
    • Farm output increased as more people settled in the west.
    • Part of this settlement can be attributed to: the influx of immigrants, the Homestead Act, and railroad construction.

  • Economic Conditions

    • To make matters worse, the McKinley Tariff of 1890 was one of the highest the country had ever seen.
    • This was detrimental to American farmers, as it drove up the prices of farm equipment.
    • In addition to farming practices, the Grange provided insurance and aid to its members.
    • They also purchased patents to enable the Grange to manufacture its own farm machinery.
    • After the war, the government passed the Fourth Coinage Act in 1873 and soon resumed payments without the free and unlimited coinage of silver.