Learning Activity: Youngstown v. Sawyer (1952)
This United States Supreme Court case represents a confrontation between President Harry Truman and the Court over presidential powers. Have students list the facts in this case involving a strike by the United Steelworkers Union in 1952. (See: Robert H. Jackson: New Deal Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Nuremberg Prosecutor by Gail Jarrow, pages 99-101.) Justice Robert H. Jackson’s concurring opinion stands as a model for deciding the limits of presidential power.
Facts:
- The United States was involved in the Korean War.
- The steelworkers wanted higher wages or they pledged to strike.
- A steel strike would shut down the mills and hurt the war effort. [“Any curtailment of steel production would endanger the lives of our fighting men.”- President Truman]
- President Truman ordered Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer to take over the steel mills and stop the strike.
- The steel companies asked a federal court to overturn Truman’s decision.
- The case was finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Have students summarize the Court’s decision and the majority and concurring opinions, including Robert Jackson’s, as discussed on pages 100-101 of Robert H. Jackson: New Deal Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice, Nuremberg Prosecutor by Gail Jarrow or from some other appropriate Supreme Court source (See Supreme Court Websites).
An excellent presentation of this case is available from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania at www.AnnenbergClassroom.org. Click on videos and locate “The Constitution Project” Find the section entitled “Key Constitutional Concepts, Part Three: Checks and Balances- Youngstown v. Sawyer.”
Ask students to explain why the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 against President Truman in his attempt to keep the steel mills operating. Students can refer to the following statement by Justice Hugo Black:
“We cannot with faithfulness to our constitutional system hold that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces has the ultimate power as such to take possession of private property in order to keep labor disputes from stopping production.... This is a job for the Nation’s lawmakers, not for its military authorities.” - Justice Hugo Black [Taken from: David McCullough, Truman (New York, 1992), p. 901.]
Discuss with students why the Youngstown decision was so important in bringing the power of the president back into balance with the other branches of government. Ask students to identify other examples of conflicts over presidential and congressional powers. Have students explain how these conflicts have been resolved.