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Presidential Wartime Powers Curtailed

1952

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer is brought to the U.S. Supreme Court after President Harry Truman orders the seizure of steel mills to avert the effects that a steel strike would have on the war effort in Korea. The Court holds that the right to decide issues of commerce lay fundamentally with Congress. Under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, Congress made it unlawful to seize property to settle labor disputes. Further, the Court rules, the president’s status as commander in chief does not extend to labor disputes.