I gave and impromptu speech is my class today about FDR

[wingnut40]

and how great he was and how he helped this country in its time of need with his works programs. After i was done with me speech a fellow student asked me if i know how many of the programs were unconstitutional. I didn't have an answer for him.. I wasn't aware they were unconstitutional? were they?

[asdjrocky]

1. Not trying to be rude, but a proof read wouldn't hurt.

The Supreme Court decides what and what is not constitutional, not some guy in your class.

[wingnut40]

3. But was he right?

[asdjrocky]

6. The Supreme Court decides who is right.

So I answered your question. Did they strike down Social Security or the other programs? No, they did not.

There is your answer. Do you assume that the fellow in your class knows more than the Supreme Court?

[The Northerner]

2. i've read from some sources that many of the policies he proposed were struck down by the SCOTUS

but i haven't researched it that much.

anyone?

[Captain Hilts]

4. The National Recovery Act was. But others, not.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. The answer is not 42. It is 8.

By 1937 the Court was widely regarded by the public as an enemy of working people.

This sentiment was exacerbated by the Great Depression. In 1935-36, the Court struck down eight of FDR's New Deal programs, including the National Recovery Act (NRA) and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). Public antijudicial sentiment intensified; many critics questioned the constitutionality of the concept of judicial review itself. As a result of this reaction, several constitutional amendments were introduced into Congress in 1936, including one that would require a two-thirds vote of the Court whenever an act of Congress was declared unconstitutional; another that would permit Congress to revalidate federal laws previously declared unconstitutional by repassing them with a two-thirds vote of both houses, and even one that would abolish altogether the Court's power to declare federal laws unconstitutional.

FDR remained silent, hoping that the antijudicial public sentiment would continue to grow without his having to enter the fray. He avoided any direct references to the Court in the 1936 election campaign. After his election victory, however, he submitted to Congress early in February 1937 a plan for "judicial reform," which forever came to be known as his attempt to "pack" the Supreme Court.

[wingnut40]

7. Thanks for your help!