June 17, 1930: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

Willis Hawley (left) and Reed Smoot

June 17, 1930: The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is signed into law by President Herbert Hoover. It was an absolute disaster, raising tariffs, and probably turned what should have been a sharp but short economic depression into The Great Depression.

Hoover was warned. Henry Ford, the world's king of carmakers, and the 2nd-richest man in America behind John D. Rockefeller, pleaded with Hoover to veto the tariff, calling it "an economic stupidity." Thomas Lamont, the chief executive of the J.P. Morgan Company, later said, "I almost went down on my knees to beg Herbert Hoover to veto the asinine Hawley-Smoot tariff."

Had Hoover not signed it, the Depression might have been over by Election Day 1932. It might not have been enough to save his re-election bid against Franklin Roosevelt, but he’d have ended up looking a lot better in the eyes of history.

The sponsors: Reed Smoot was a Republican Senator from Utah. He was first elected in 1902. Willis Hawley was a Republican Congressman from Oregon. He was first elected in 1906, and while he was re-elected in 1930, he, like Hoover and Smoot, was defeated in 1932. Smoot and Hawley died within a few months of each other in 1941.

Smoot-Hawley was a historically bad piece of legislation, and has been cited in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, by economist turned speechwriter for President Nixon, turned actor Ben Stein, playing a history teacher; and by Vice President Al Gore against 3rd party Presidential candidate Ross Perot during a debate about the North American Free Trade Agreement on Larry King Live in 1993.

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June 17, 1930 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 17-2 at League Park in Cleveland. Babe Ruth went 1-for-4 with 2 walks. Lou Gehrig went 4-for-6 with a home run and 6 RBIs. Harry Rice went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Roy Sherid went the distance for the win.

* The Boston Braves swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 and 10-5 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Lefty O'Doul singled Denny Sothern home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Chet Nichols went the distance for the win.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Washington Senators, 12-9 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known during Wilbert Robinson's managing from 1914 to 1931) and the St. Louis Cardinals were rained out at Ebbets Field. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 21. The Robins won the opener, 9-8. They had to score a run in the 8th and 3 on a Harvey Hendrick home run in the 9th to win it.

The Cards won the nightcap, 17-10. Yes, that's baseball, not football, although there have been NFL teams named the Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Frankie Frisch went 6-for-11 with 3 RBIs in the twinbill.

* The New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at the Polo Grounds. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 22. The Cubs won the 1st game, 5-4. The Giants won the 2nd game, 6-1. Over the 2 games, Bill Terry went 2-for-7 with an RBI, and Mel Ott went 0-for-5 with 2 walks.

* And the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Athletics were not scheduled.