June 16, 1933, and the National Industrial Recovery Act
was put into operation. However, it immediately faced
challenges in the courts. On May 27, 1935, the Supreme
Court unanimously ruled that Title I of the act was
unconstitutional.
Their
verdict
noted
solemnly,
“Extraordinary conditions may call for extraordinary
remedies. But … extraordinary conditions do not create or
enlarge constitutional power.”
Before the Court’s ruling came in, Roosevelt had moved
to the next step of his agenda and had signed the Social
Security Act, which introduced the modern welfare state
into the United States: pensions at retirement,
unemployment benefits, aid to families with dependent
children, and some public health care and disability
benefits. He also signed the National Labor Relations Act,
which further strengthened the rights of workers to organize
unions, engage in collective bargaining, and conduct
strikes against their employers. These measures also
faced challenges in the Supreme Court. As these were
making their way through the judiciary, Roosevelt was
reelected in 1936 with a strong mandate, receiving 61
percent of the popular vote.
With his popularity at record highs, Roosevelt had no
intention of letting the Supreme Court derail more of his
policy agenda. He laid out his plans in one of his regular
Fireside Chats, which was broadcast live on the radio on
March 9, 1937. He started by pointing out that in his first
term, much-needed policies had only cleared the Supreme
Court by a whisker. He went on:
I am reminded of that evening in March, four
years ago, when I made my first radio report
to you. We were then in the midst of the great
banking crisis. Soon after, with the authority
of the Congress, we asked the nation to turn
over all of its privately