And the most hated. Woodrow Wilson was bringing in the income tax and World War One involvement when there wasn’t much communication nationwide.
” Woodrow Wilson was bringing in the income tax and World War One involvement when there wasn’t much communication nationwide.”
That’s the pop history popular with Glenn Beck and a few others who don’t let historical fact get in the way of their pet hobbies, Wilson bashing being one of them.
The Income Tax required a Constitutional Amendment. The first President to endorse and promote an income tax amendment was Teddy Roosevelt.
Congress passed an income tax amendment in 1909 while William Howard Taft was President. It then was sent around the States for ratification.
The 16th Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1913. Woodrow Wilson didn’t even take office until March 4th, 1913.
The Revenue Act of 1913 was a mixture of tariffs and an income tax. The income tax portion was a 1% tax on incomes over $3,000, which in 1913 was only 3% of the population. It’s about $90,000 in current dollars.