Book Review

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 225 words from this article are provided below; about 346 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

Book Review | The Journal of American History, 86.3 | The History Cooperative

Cautious Visionary: Cordell Hull and Trade Reform, 1933-1937. By Michael A. Butler. (Kent: Kent State University Press, 1998. xii, 240 pp. $39.00, isbn 0-87338-596-9.)

Why does Cordell Hull not readily come to mind when we think of great United States statesmen? According to Michael A. Butler, Hull was a visionary who shepherded through Congress the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, one of the most significant pieces of legislation in our history and one that fulfilled Secretary of State Hull's cardinal aim of lowering tariffs. This law, which still authorizes reductions in trade barriers, has done incredible things, claims Butler. It resolved the long debate over the tariff in favor of free-traders, strengthened the New Deal, enhanced the executive branch, changed domestic politics, paved the way for American involvement in a global economy, and founded the post-World War II international order. 1

This is so much hyperbole. Important though it was, Hull's trade program did not dampen protectionism. It hardly ranks with labor, social security, or neutrality legislation in its impact. It was only one of many ways the executive branch grew in power, since a growth consensus in politics was evolving with or without the Trade Agreements Act. And Hull's insistent linkage of trade to peace notwithstanding, trade agreements prevented neither aggression before the war nor the Cold War after it. . . .

There are about 346 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.