"This is a time for mutual confidence and help and we can safely rely on the sense of fair play among all Americans to assure every industry which now moves forward promptly in this united drive against depression that its workers will be with it to a man."

Our Documents: The National Industrial Recovery Act
June 16, 1933

During his first one hundred days in office, Franklin Roosevelt's main focus was jump-starting the economy and one of his most ambitious programs was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA). Through the NIRA, the federal government took a prominent role in cooperating with and managing business. This was done through the creation of the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA established industrial codes to govern trade, prices, and labor practices; 541 codes were approved by the time the NRA disbanded. Another part of the NIRA was the creation of the Public Works Administration (PWA), a public works program under the control and regulation of the federal government. The federal government's regulation of business was controversial and the NRA frequently faced opposition. On May 27, 1935, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Schecter v. United States that the code system was an unconstitutional abuse of federal power.