Now’s the Perfect Time to Revisit the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Lesson from 'Ferris Bueller'

An unforgettable scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) is being revived, featuring a high school teacher, played by Ben Stein, delivering one of the most boring lessons (yet important) in history — a lecture on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. You’d probably recognize it by the famous lines "Anyone? Anyone?" as he tries to engage students who are literally bored out of their minds.

While students in the movie zone out, clearly not comprehending anything their teacher is saying, many believe the scene holds relevance in 2025. With the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on Canada, China, and Mexico now in effect as of March 4, 2025, perhaps it’s time we pay attention and see what this lesson really has to offer. Let's get into it!

Folks on social media are resurrecting the famous Smoot-Hawley Tariff lesson from Ferris Bueller's Day Off in March 2025, as President Trump's high tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China — some of the U.S.'s biggest suppliers of goods and food — take effect.

In the scene, Ben Stein's character explains, "In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the ... anyone, anyone, Great Depression, passed the ... anyone, anyone, Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act." He goes on to explain that tariffs were raised to "collect more revenue for the federal government," but it ultimately failed and the U.S. sank deeper into the Great Depression.

While the lifeless faces of the teens and Ben's monotone delivery were the focus at the time, revisiting this lesson now feels more relevant with the U.S. imposing hefty tariffs on imports.

For those unfamiliar with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, it's named after Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis Hawley. Although intended to help the American economy, it "prompted retaliation from foreign governments, and many overseas banks began to fail," according to Britannica.

After about two years, several other countries adopted "beggar-thy-neighbor" duties, worsening the world economy and reducing global trade. Even more concerning, as Ben’s character explained, the tariff act deepened the Depression. Some even believe it "may have contributed to the rise of political extremism," which helped Adolf Hitler gain political power.

In short, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act didn't deliver the benefits the government hoped for, and with the U.S. economy struggling in 2025, many fear Trump’s tariffs could have similar adverse effects. Americans are already facing financial hardship and with the prices for food, electronics, toys, cars, and other goods expected to rise, per CNN, it might do more harm than good.

Ben may have been playing a character teaching about tariffs in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but in real life, he's a strong advocate against them. In a 2018 ad for the National Retail Federation (NRF), Ben, who started his career as a speechwriter for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, explained, "Tariffs raise the prices on things Americans buy every day, and we buy a lot of things." Simply put, he says, "Do they work? No, they don't work."

He went on to explain that tariffs are essentially a tax on hardworking Americans, and they never deliver the intended results. "Tariffs are B-A-D economics," he declared. Given the current climate in 2025, perhaps people are finally ready to listen to Ben's lessons on tariffs.