Final answer:
Progressives believed that raising tariffs would protect manufacturers at the expense of consumers and lead to economic instability by fostering speculation rather than investment. the Smoot-Hawley Tariff exemplified how protective tariffs could backfire, resulting in decreased international trade and negative impacts on the economy, especially during the Great Depression.
Step-by-step explanation:
Progressives believed that raising tariffs would lead to a variety of negative economic consequences. They saw tariffs as beneficial to businesses, especially manufacturers, by protecting them from foreign competition, which led to higher consumer prices and concentrated wealth in the hands of a few. Such policies, progressives argued, could destabilize the economy by encouraging speculation rather than productive investment. In contrast, those in agriculture often opposed tariffs because they led to retaliatory measures from other countries hurting American exports such as cotton and tobacco. Southerners and Westerners, who did not see the direct benefits of protective tariffs, criticized these policies for making manufactured goods more expensive and harming the agricultural sector.
When President Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, it was a betrayal to the progressives' aim of reducing tariff levels. This act further entrenched the idea that high tariffs served special interests at the expense of the wider consumer base. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, which was supposed to provide a quick boost to the domestic economy by protecting it from foreign imports, was counterproductive. it ultimately led to a steep decline in international trade, exacerbating the Great Depression.