Okla-homey
4/8/2006, 08:07 AM
April 8, 1952 Truman takes on steel plants
From time to time in our nation's history, a president will pull something that when later disallowed by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds helps to substantially define the limits of presidential power. What Harry Truman did on this day 54 years ago is precisely that sort of thing,
Trouble was brewing in Youngstown, Ohio, during the spring of 1952, as the city's steelworkers prepared to go out on strike. With the U.S. embroiled in the Korean War, the walkout loomed as an ill-timed irritant to the government's battle against communism.
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/305/aaaaab5045hj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And so on this day in 1952, President Truman stepped into the breach and placed the steel plants under his control. He did that by way of an executive order reasoning that since an uninterrupted supply of steel was needed for the war, the government could take over the operation (but not ownership) of the steel mills thus ensuring plenty of steel for tanks, trucks, jets and guns.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5284/aaaatrumason29eb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Harry Truman in his Masonic regalia.
Truman's play to squelch the strike was a legal maneuver he believed was within his presidential authority under the Constitution. Indeed, Article II of the Constitution may be thought to imply the President might do this sort of thing during periods of war or national emergency when acting in his capacity as commander-in-chief.
Nonetheless, Truman's seizure of the steel mills stirred controversy and led to a heated battle before the Supreme Court. A couple months later in June of 1952, the Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer that Truman had, in fact, overstepped his bounds. The finding effectively proscribed the president's power during times of national emergency.
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2357/aaaayst012jr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
IOW, the president lacked the power to place operation of steel mills under the government because Congress had not acted to give him that power. He simply couldn't do that unilaterally without expressed Congressional approval.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7510/aaaa283wfap1015sc30hb5kl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Justice Hugo Black wrote the opinion.
Its worth noting that FDR, Truman's predecessor in the White House, had done this same sort of thing during the Depression and WWII, but in those instances, he had done so under the mantle of acts passed by Congress giving him the authority. Truman was indeed doing what he thought best under the circumstances and had no evil intent, but the difference here was Harry was going it alone and the Supreme Court said "No-go Harry."
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5117/insane7zo7da.jpg
From time to time in our nation's history, a president will pull something that when later disallowed by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds helps to substantially define the limits of presidential power. What Harry Truman did on this day 54 years ago is precisely that sort of thing,
Trouble was brewing in Youngstown, Ohio, during the spring of 1952, as the city's steelworkers prepared to go out on strike. With the U.S. embroiled in the Korean War, the walkout loomed as an ill-timed irritant to the government's battle against communism.
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/305/aaaaab5045hj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
And so on this day in 1952, President Truman stepped into the breach and placed the steel plants under his control. He did that by way of an executive order reasoning that since an uninterrupted supply of steel was needed for the war, the government could take over the operation (but not ownership) of the steel mills thus ensuring plenty of steel for tanks, trucks, jets and guns.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5284/aaaatrumason29eb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Harry Truman in his Masonic regalia.
Truman's play to squelch the strike was a legal maneuver he believed was within his presidential authority under the Constitution. Indeed, Article II of the Constitution may be thought to imply the President might do this sort of thing during periods of war or national emergency when acting in his capacity as commander-in-chief.
Nonetheless, Truman's seizure of the steel mills stirred controversy and led to a heated battle before the Supreme Court. A couple months later in June of 1952, the Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer that Truman had, in fact, overstepped his bounds. The finding effectively proscribed the president's power during times of national emergency.
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2357/aaaayst012jr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
IOW, the president lacked the power to place operation of steel mills under the government because Congress had not acted to give him that power. He simply couldn't do that unilaterally without expressed Congressional approval.
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7510/aaaa283wfap1015sc30hb5kl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Justice Hugo Black wrote the opinion.
Its worth noting that FDR, Truman's predecessor in the White House, had done this same sort of thing during the Depression and WWII, but in those instances, he had done so under the mantle of acts passed by Congress giving him the authority. Truman was indeed doing what he thought best under the circumstances and had no evil intent, but the difference here was Harry was going it alone and the Supreme Court said "No-go Harry."
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5117/insane7zo7da.jpg