INHERENT EXECUTIVE POWER AND THE STEEL SEIZURE CASE: A LANDMARK IN AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Abstract

The steel seizure case in the United States concerned President Truman’s order to the Secretary of Commerce to take possession of and operate the nation’s steel plants and facilities. The order was based on fear that a proposed strike would jeopardize national defence, in light of the indispensability of steel to the manufacture of war materials. This article discusses the constitutional provisions at issue in this decision, which rejected the inherent executive power as unsupported by the Constitution, and found that despite some inherent authority to deal with emergencies, assertions of executive power are subject to judicial control.