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Although Franklin Roosevelt was mindful of the constraints of Constitutionalism in dealing with the crisis of the Great Depression, he could perhaps be a little cavalier. We can see some of that in this Oval Office meeting with a group of senators, as they discuss Roosevelt’s plan to devalue the dollar.
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“Have I a legal right to do this?” Roosevelt asked.
“Mr. President,” replied Thomas Gore of Oklahoma, who opposed the idea, “you could go on the street right now, knock down an old man, drag him into the White House, and take his clothes. You could sell them second hand. It would be just about as legal as what you are planning to do. But that doesn’t matter. You can do it anyway.”
Roosevelt roared his approval, and, indeed, did it anyway.
-- Jeff Shesol, “Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court”
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“Have I a legal right to do this?” Roosevelt asked.
“Mr. President,” replied Thomas Gore of Oklahoma, who opposed the idea, “you could go on the street right now, knock down an old man, drag him into the White House, and take his clothes. You could sell them second hand. It would be just about as legal as what you are planning to do. But that doesn’t matter. You can do it anyway.”
Roosevelt roared his approval, and, indeed, did it anyway.
-- Jeff Shesol, “Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court”
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