National Emergencies Act (approximately 1-1.5 pages) Research the National Emergencies Act (1976) and answer the following:
What is the National Emergencies Act of 1976 and what powers does it grant to the president?
What criteria are set up for when and why a president could declare a national emergency?
Research and provide information on a time in the past 10 years when this act has been used by a president to declare an emergency. Provide information on how this move was viewed by the major political parties (Republican and Democrat) at the time the emergency was declared.
Historical Emergencies (approximately 1-1.5 pages): Pick and research three times in American history when a president used power outside of his usual constitutional powers to address a crisis and complete the following in two pages:
Describe the crisis and the action taken by the president to address that crisis.
Did the president in each of these situations face pushback from Congress or the public? Describe the nature of that opposition.
Constitutionality of presidential emergency actions (approximately 1-1.5 pages): Choose two times in American history when a president used powers in an emergency and the Supreme Court weighed in on the constitutionality of the president’s actions. Pick one in which the Supreme Court upheld emergency actions and one in which it struck down a president’s actions.
Describe the emergency action taken by the president, the court case that challenged it, and the result of that case. Include the reasoning provided by the justices in making their decisions.