Steward Machine Co. v. Davis

E1716

Steward Machine Co. v. Davis is a 1937 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the federal unemployment compensation provisions of the Social Security Act, affirming broad congressional power to tax and spend for the general welfare.

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Steward Machine Company v. Davis 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
landmark case
areaOfLaw Social Security law
constitutional law
federal taxation
federalism
citation 301 U.S. 548
57 S. Ct. 883
81 L. Ed. 1279
country United States of America
surface form: United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1937-05-24
dissentingJustice Justice George Sutherland
Justice James C. McReynolds
Justice Pierce Butler
Justice Willis Van Devanter
fullCaseName Steward Machine Co. v. Davis self-linksurface differs
surface form: Steward Machine Company v. Davis
generalWelfareClauseInterpretation recognized broad congressional discretion in determining what serves the general welfare
holding Congress may tax and spend for the general welfare under Article I, Section 8
the challenged provisions did not violate the Tenth Amendment
the federal unemployment tax scheme did not constitute unconstitutional coercion of the states
upheld the unemployment compensation provisions of the Social Security Act
impact expanded understanding of congressional spending power
served as precedent for later federal social welfare programs
strengthened the constitutional foundation of the Social Security system
joinedByInMajority Charles Evans Hughes
surface form: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes

Justice Harlan F. Stone
Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Justice Owen J. Roberts
keyDoctrine broad interpretation of the General Welfare Clause
distinction between financial inducement and coercion of states
permissibility of conditional federal spending toward state programs
languageOfProceedings English
legalIssue Tenth Amendment limits on federal power
alleged coercion of states by federal tax scheme
constitutionality of federal unemployment compensation tax
scope of the Taxing and Spending Clause
majorityOpinionBy Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo
petitioner Steward Machine Company
relatedCase Helvering v. Davis
United States v. Butler
relatedConstitutionalProvision Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
relatedStatute Social Security Act of 1935
relatedStatutoryProvision Title IX of the Social Security Act
respondent Davis
subjectMatter federal unemployment compensation tax credit scheme
voteSplit 5–4
yearDecided 1937

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Social Security Act of 1935 constitutionalChallenge Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
Steward Machine Co. v. Davis fullCaseName Steward Machine Co. v. Davis self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Steward Machine Company v. Davis
Steward Machine Company hasLegalCase Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
Davis partyToCase Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
Helvering v. Davis relatedCase Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
Steward Machine Company roleIn Steward Machine Co. v. Davis
General Welfare Clause doctrine significantCase Steward Machine Co. v. Davis