What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law Smoot, Hawley, and Trump
26 snips
Sep 27, 2025 
Elizabeth Joh, a law professor, dives into fascinating constitutional issues surrounding tariffs and emergency powers. She ties the historical debate over Lady Chatterley's Lover to Trump's tariffs, revealing how past legislation like the Smoot-Hawley Act shaped current trade practices. The discussion includes the role of the Trading with the Enemy Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Joh also highlights significant court challenges to Trump's tariffs and the broader implications for presidential authority and separation of powers.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Smoot's Senate Fight Over Obscene Books
- Senator Reed Smoot led a 1930 Senate debate to keep Lady Chatterley’s Lover and other "obscene" books barred from importation.
- The episode spawned headlines and poems mocking Smoot and tied to the broader Smoot-Hawley tariff story.
Smoot-Hawley's Lasting Infamy
- The Smoot-Hawley Act (1930) raised tariffs on over 20,000 goods and worsened the Great Depression.
- It became synonymous with disastrous protectionist economic policy and political backlash.
Tariffs Are Congress's Constitutional Domain
- The Constitution vests tariff power in Congress via Article I for taxation and foreign commerce regulation.
- Tariffs shifted from revenue to economic policy, but legal power still centers on Congress.
