Case Decided: June 2, 1952 Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company v. Sawyer (1952) significantly curbed executive power when the Court overturned President Truman’s seizure of steel mills during the Korean War. The Court ruled 6-3 that the President’s actions were unconstitutional because they had not been authorized by Congress. By deciding that the Constitution gives Congress and not the president this authority, the Court affirmed the “separation of powers” essential to American government. In 1952, nearly two years into U.S. involvement into the Korean War, the United Steel Workers of America clashed with industry managers and threatened to strike for higher wages. Steel was an integral part of the war effort, and President Truman felt he couldn’t risk a halt in production. Rather than using labor laws passed by Congress to avert a strike, he ordered his secretary of commerce, Charles Sawyer, to seize and operate the steel mills. Appeased, the union called off the strike, but the steel companies immediately fought back against the President’s seizure of their property. The Court sided with the companies, concluding that nothing in the Constitution authorized the president to seize property in wartime without approval from Congress. While cases like Schenck and Korematsu point to the expanded powers of the executive branch during wartime, Youngstown serves as a reminder that these powers have their limits.