Changes

Many of the regulatory statutes Congress enacted involved activity within a single State, and not transactions crossing state lines.  As a result, the Supreme Court struck down a large number of statutes as unconstitutional, including many that were popular with the voters.

Many of the regulatory statutes Congress enacted involved activity within a single State, and not transactions crossing state lines.  As a result, the Supreme Court struck down a large number of statutes as unconstitutional, including many that were popular with the voters.

This period of strict limitations on the powers of Congress is referred to as the "Lochner Era" after a case that was seen as symbolic of the trend.  The "Lochner Court" -- that is the Supreme Court sitting during this period -- has been reviled and disparaged by advocates of big government or a socialist approach to national affairs.  The Lochner Era is regarded by advocates of big government as an aberration during which the Supreme Court sharply departed from the Constitution and followed flawed reasoning.

This period of strict limitations on the powers of Congress is referred to as the "Lochner Era," named after the case of <i>Lochner v. New York</i>[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/lochner.html], that was seen as symbolic of the trend.  The "Lochner Court" -- that is the Supreme Court sitting during this period -- has been reviled and disparaged by advocates of big government or a socialist approach to national affairs.   

 

The Lochner Era is regarded by advocates of big government as an aberration during which the Supreme Court sharply departed from the Constitution and followed flawed reasoning.  Indeed, the four conservative Supreme Court Justices seen as responsible for the "Lochner Era" rulings were labeled as "the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" by advocates of big government  [http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/libertyofk.htm] .

President Franklin Roosevelt was elected on promises to revitalize the nation's economy from the [[Great Depression]].  The Congress elected with him and the mood of the country shared Roosevelt's determination to take whatever steps might be needed in this urgent task.  Roosevelt proposed literally hundreds of programs and regulations called the [[New Deal]] emphasizing a big-government and even socialist approach to the economy.  The Congress was eager to enact this ambitious agenda and the voters were impatient for immediate solutions to the Great Depression.

President Franklin Roosevelt was elected on promises to revitalize the nation's economy from the [[Great Depression]].  The Congress elected with him and the mood of the country shared Roosevelt's determination to take whatever steps might be needed in this urgent task.  Roosevelt proposed literally hundreds of programs and regulations called the [[New Deal]] emphasizing a big-government and even socialist approach to the economy.  The Congress was eager to enact this ambitious agenda and the voters were impatient for immediate solutions to the Great Depression.