1952 World Snooker Championship, Background
The World Snooker Championship is an annual cue sport tournament and is the official world championship of the game of snooker. The first world championship in 1927, held in Camkin's Hall, Birmingham, England, was won by Joe Davis. Due to a dispute between the Professional Billiards Players' Association (PBPA) and the organisers for the event, the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC), most players withdrew. The BACC thought the championship was primarily about honour, and financial consideration should come second, whilst the PBPA disagreed. The PBPA went on to create the World Professional Match-play Championship, where the remaining players would take part, and would be retroactively given status as the world championship for following years.


1952 World Snooker Championship, Background
With just two participants remaining – Horace Lindrum and Clark McConachy – the tournament was contested over a single match. The pair met in a best of 145 frame match, held between 25 February and 8 March 1952 at the Houldsworth Hall in Manchester, England.


1952 World Snooker Championship, Background
McConachy had played in the 1951/1952 News of the World Snooker Tournament from September 1951 to January 1952. This was an annual round-robin handicap tournament played by the leading professionals. McConachy was defeated in each of the eight games he played in and winning an average of 11 frames in each 37-frame match. He also lost all three matches he played on level terms, 10–27 to Albert Brown, 8–29 to John Pulman, and 11–26 to Sidney Smith. He lost 11–26 to Joe Davis, despite receiving a 21-point start in each frame.


1952 World Snooker Championship, Background
On 19 February, the Tuesday before the final, McConachy had scored one of the early snooker maximum breaks in a practice frame at the Beaufort Club in London. An official of the BACC later examined the table and found it slightly over the standard size and so the break was not accepted as official. At the time, Joe Davis held the record for the highest official break of 146. Lindrum did not play in the News of the World tournament. His last competitive tournament was the 1951 World Snooker Championship, in which he had lost to Walter Donaldson in the semi-final, trailing 25–36 on the final day.


1952 World Snooker Championship, Summary
With the score tied at 6–6 after the first day, Lindrum won eight of the next twelve frames to lead 14–10 after the second day's play. This lead extended to 22–14 after the third day. All 12 frames were shared on day four, with each player winning six, but Lindrum still led 28–20. The fifth day saw featured Lindrum extend his lead to 38–22 after day five, winning ten of the twelve frames played. Lindrum led 44–28 at the end of the first full week of play.


1952 World Snooker Championship, Summary
Lindrum won eight frames on the eighth day of play to lead 52–32, before winning nine frames the following day to leave him 61–35 ahead. With the score required for victory being 73 frames, Lindrum won 10 frames on 5 March to lead 71–37, needing just two of the remaining 37 frames for victory. Lindrum won the first two frames to reach a winning 73–37 position on 6 March. The remaining 35 dead frames were due to be played, although in the end only a total of 143 frames were played, Lindrum winning 94–49. Lindrum became the first player from outside the British Isles to win the World Championship, and would remain the only one until compatriot Neil Robertson won the event in 2010.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Bombay from February 1 to February 10, 1952.The 1952 World Championships were marked by the arrival of the Japanese as a Table Tennis force on the world scene. In another first the Chief Referee of the tournament was an Indian,  Professor Arakalgud Subbarao.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships
India was chosen as the hosts for the event in March 1950 at the Congress of the International Table Tennis Federation in Budapest, Hungary. Because the Championships were held in India the entry was reduced. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria and Sweden were all unable to travel to the tournament.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles was the 19th edition of the men's doubles championship. Norikazu Fujii and Tadaki Hayashi won the title after defeating Richard Bergmann and Johnny Leach in the final by three sets to two.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Singles was the 19th edition of the men's singles championship.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
Hiroji Satoh defeated József Kóczián in the final, winning three sets to nil to secure the title.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Team
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup (Men's Team) was the 19th edition of the men's team championship.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Team
Hungary won the gold medal defeating England 5-4 in the final. Japan and Hong Kong won a bronze medal after finishing second in their respective groups.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Men's Team, Final
+ Simons picked up an injury during the game against Kóczián and had to concede the match against Sidó. With the match at 4-4, he had no choice but to play his third match with the injury.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Mixed Doubles
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Mixed Doubles was the 19th edition of the mixed doubles championship.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Mixed Doubles
Ferenc Sidó and Angelica Rozeanu defeated Johnny Leach and Diane Rowe in the final by three sets to nil.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles was the 18st edition of the women's doubles championship. Shizuki Narahara and Tomie Nishimura defeated Diane Rowe and Rosalind Rowe in the final by three sets to nil.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Singles was the 19th edition of the women's singles championship. Angelica Rozeanu defeated Gizi Farkas in the final by three sets to two, to win a third consecutive title.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Team
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Corbillon Cup (Women's Team) was the 12th edition of the women's team championship.


1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Women's Team
Japan won the gold medal after finishing with a 6-0 match record. Romania claimed the silver medal and England won the bronze medal.


1952 Wycombe by-election
The Wycombe by-election of 4 November 1952 was held after Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. William Astor succeeded to the peerage. The seat was retained by the Conservative candidate John Hall.


1952 Wyoming Cowboys football team
The 1952 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming in the Skyline Conference during the 1952 college football season. In their sixth and final season under head coach Bowden Wyatt, the Cowboys compiled a 5–4 record (4–3 against Skyline opponents), finished fourth in the conference, and outscored all opponents by a total of 114 to 102.


1952 Wyoming Cowboys football team
In January 1953, Bowden Wyatt resigned as Wyoming's head football coach to accept the same post at the University of Arkansas. In six years at Wyoming, Wyatt compiled a 39–17–1 record. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1997.


1952 Wyoming state elections
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Wyoming on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Two statewide elections were held: a special election for Wyoming State Treasurer following the death of incumbent Treasurer J. Roy Mitchell, and an election for a seat on the Supreme Court of Wyoming. Incumbent Treasurer Minnie A. Mitchell, who had been appointed to succeed her husband by Governor Frank A. Barrett, won the election to serve the balance of her husband's term, and Justice Harry P. Ilsley was unopposed for re-election.


1952 Wyoming state elections, Treasurer
On May 6, 1952, incumbent Republican State Treasurer J. Roy Mitchell, who had just been elected to his post in 1950, died in office. On May 13, Governor Barrett announced that he was appointing Minnie A. Mitchell as her husband's successor, making her the state's first woman to serve as State Treasurer. Following Mitchell's death, a special election was held to fill the balance of his term. In accepting the appointment as Treasurer, Minnie Mitchell agreed to run in the special election.


1952 Wyoming state elections, Treasurer, Democratic primary
No Democratic candidates filed to run for State Treasurer, but the Wyoming Democratic Party organized a write-in campaign for John Bentley, an insurance broker in Sheridan. In the primary election, the write-in campaign succeeded in getting Bentley 1,789 votes, enough to earn him the nomination, which he accepted.


1952 Wyoming state elections, Supreme Court of Wyoming
On December 7, 1951, Justice Ralph Kimball of the Supreme Court of Wyoming announced that he would step down from the court effective January 7, 1952. A week later, on December 14, Governor Frank A. Barrett announced that he would appoint Judge Harry P. Ilsley of the Sixth Judicial District Court to fill the balance of Kimball's term, which expired on January 5, 1953. Ilsley announced that he would seek re-election to the Court on May 15, 1952,


1952 Wyoming state elections, Supreme Court of Wyoming
When no candidates filed to run against him, Ilsley won re-election unopposed, receiving 100% of the votes cast in the August primary and in the November general election. However, several weeks into Ilsley's first full term in office, he died, and was succeeded by Justice Harry Harnsberger.


1952 Yale Bulldogs football team
The 1952 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1952 college football season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Jordan Olivar, played their home games at the Yale Bowl and finished the season with a 7–2 record.


1952 Yugoslav Cup
The 1952 Yugoslav Cup was the 6th season of the top football knockout competition in SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Cup (Serbo-Croatian: Kup Jugoslavije), also known as the "Marshal Tito Cup" (Kup Maršala Tita), since its establishment in 1946.


1952 Yugoslav Cup, Finals
Crvena Zvezda: Srboljub Krivokuća, Branko Stanković, Miljan Zeković, Siniša Zlatković, Milorad Diskić, Predrag Đajić, Kosta Tomašević, Rajko Mitić, Tihomir Ognjanov, Todor Živanović, Branislav Vukosavljević


1952 Yugoslav Cup, Finals
Partizan: Slavko Stojanović, Bruno Belin, Ratko Čolić, Zlatko Čajkovski, Vojo Stefanović, Miodrag Jovanović, Marko Valok, Todor Veselinović, Stjepan Bobek, Aleksandar Atanacković, Branko Zebec


1952 Yugoslav First Basketball League
The 1952 Yugoslav First Basketball League season is the 8th season of the Yugoslav First Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in SFR Yugoslavia.


1952 Yugoslav First League
The First Federal League of Yugoslavia's 1952 season (colloquially the Yugoslav First League) was shortened and sped-up. It was completed over a period of little more than three and a half months, beginning on 2 March 1952 and finishing on 22 June 1952. The reason for the changes was a desire to start the next season in the fall of 1952, thus implementing the fall-spring format that had become a norm all across Europe by this time.


1952 Yugoslav First League
The clubs were initially divided into two groups of six teams each, where everyone within a given group played each other twice (home and away).


1952 Yugoslav First League
Then, according to the placement in  these preliminary groups, three new groups were formed:


1952 Yugoslav Second League
The 1952 Yugoslav Second League season would be the 6th season of the Second Federal League (Serbo-Croatian: Druga savezna liga), the second level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. It was cancelled before the start of the competition and the clubs were relocated to third level.


1952 Yugoslav Second League, Teams
A total of twelve teams were supposed to contest the league, including nine sides from the 1951 season, two clubs relegated from the 1951 Yugoslav First League and one side promoted from the third tier leagues played in the 1951 season.


1952 Yugoslav Second League, Teams
Spartak Subotica and Napredak Kruševac were relegated from the 1951 Yugoslav First League after finishing in the 11th and 12th place of the league table. Rudar Trbovlje and Sloga Rankovićevo secured their status after additional play-off.


1952 Yugoslav Women's Basketball League
The 1952 Yugoslav Women's Basketball League is the 8th season of the Yugoslav Women's Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in Yugoslavia for women's. Championships is played in 1952 and played four teams. Champion for this season is Crvena zvezda.


1952 Yukon general election
The 1952 Yukon general election was held on 20 August 1952 to elect the five members of the Yukon Territorial Council. The council was non-partisan, and worked on the basis of consensus government.


1952 college football season
The 1952 college football season ended with the unbeaten Michigan State Spartans (9–0) and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12–0) each claiming a national championship from different polls. Michigan State finished first according to two of the "wire service" (AP and UP) polls, which both placed Georgia Tech second. Georgia Tech was first in the (Hearst chain) International News Service poll. UP and INS merged in 1958 to form UPI.


1952 college football season
Although the Spartans became members of the Big Ten Conference in 1950, full participation did not come until 1953, and under the terms of their entry into the conference, they were not allowed to participate in postseason play. Georgia Tech won the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans.


1952 college football season, September
September 20 Maryland won at Missouri 13–10, and Texas won at LSU 35–14. In the preseason poll released on September 22, 1952, the Michigan State Spartans were rated first, followed by the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland actually had more first place votes 79 to 77, but MSU had an edge on points, 1720–1696. The remainder of the Top Five was No. 3 Georgia Tech (which beat The Citadel 54–6), No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Illinois. Defending champion Tennessee was 6th. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.


1952 college football season, September
On September 27 No. 1 Michigan State won at Michigan, 27–13. No. 2 Maryland beat Auburn 13–7 in BirminghamNo. 3 Georgia Tech narrowly beat Florida 17–14 and fell to 6th place in the next poll. No. 4 Oklahoma visited Colorado and was tied, 21–21. No. 5 Illinois, which beat Iowa State 33–7, rose to second place in the next poll. No. 8 California, which was 2–0–0 after a 28–14 win over Missouri, and No. 11 Texas (which had won at North Carolina 28–7), took their places. The poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Illinois 3.Maryland 4.California 5.Texas


1952 college football season, October
October 4 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly defeated Oregon State 17–14 at Portland. No. 2 Illinois lost at No. 8 Wisconsin, 20–6, and would end up finishing 1952 with a losing (4–5–0) record. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Badgers were catapulted to first place in the next poll. No. 3 Maryland beat Clemson 28–0. No. 4 California won at Minnesota, 49–13. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat SMU 20–7 in Dallas, returned to the Top Five: 1.Wisconsin 2.Michigan State 3.California 4.Maryland 5. Georgia Tech


1952 college football season, October
October 11  The new No. 1, Wisconsin, lost at Columbus to unranked Ohio State, 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State beat visiting Texas A&M 48–6. No. 3 California beat Oregon at Portland, 41–7. No. 4 Maryland won at Georgia, 37–0. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Tulane 14–0. No. 6 Duke, which won at South Carolina 33–7, was fifth in the next poll:  1.Michigan State 2.Maryland 3.California 4. Georgia Tech 5.Duke


1952 college football season, October
October 18 No. 1 Michigan State beat visiting Syracuse 48–7. No. 2 Maryland beat Navy 38–7. No. 3 California beat Santa Clara 27–7. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 33–0. No. 5 Duke won at N.C. State, 57–0, but was still bounced out of the top five. No. 6 Oklahoma, which had won at No. 8 Kansas 42–20, was third in the next poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.California 5.Georgia Tech


1952 college football season, October
October 25 No. 1 Michigan State beat No. 17 Penn State 34–7. No. 2 Maryland beat LSU 34–6. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 49–6. In Los Angeles, a matchup of unbeaten teams pitted No. 4 California (5–0–0) against the 5–0–0 and No. 7 USC Trojans. USC won 10–0. Cal would lose this and the next two games after its perfect start. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt 30–0. The poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.Georgia Tech 5.USC


1952 college football season, November
November 1 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly won at No. 8 Purdue, 14–7. No. 2 Maryland won at Boston University, 34–7. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Iowa State 41–0. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6–0–0) faced unbeaten No. 6 Duke (also 6–0–0) and won 28–7. No. 5 USC was idle, and its place was taken by No. 7 UCLA, which handed No. 11 California a 28–7 defeat. The poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Maryland 3.Georgia Tech 4.Oklahoma 5.UCLA


1952 college football season, November
November 8 No. 1 Michigan State won at Indiana 41–14. No. 2 Maryland was idle. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Army 45–6. No. 4 Oklahoma lost at No. 10 Notre Dame, 27–21, and dropped back out of the Top Five. No. 5 UCLA beat visiting Oregon State 57–0. No. 6 USC rose to fifth after a 54–7 win at Stanford. The poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Georgia Tech 3. Maryland 4.UCLA 5.USC


1952 college football season, November
November 15 Unbeaten No. 1 Michigan State hosted once-beaten (5–1–1) No. 6 Notre Dame and won 21–3. In Atlanta, unbeaten (8–0–0) No . 2 Georgia Tech faced once-beaten (7–1–0) No. 12 Alabama and won, 7–3. And on the road, unbeaten (7–0–0) No. 3 Maryland lost at unbeaten (6–0–2) No. 11 Mississippi, 21–14. No. 4 UCLA was idle. No. 5 USC beat No. 17 Washington 33–0. No. 8 Oklahoma, which had beaten Missouri 47–7, returned to the Top Five. The poll: 1.Michigan State 2.Georgia Tech 3.UCLA 4.USC 5.Oklahoma


1952 college football season, November
November 22 No. 1 Michigan State won 62–13 over Marquette to close its season unbeaten. No. 2 Georgia Tech stayed unbeaten as it beat Florida State 30–0. Both unbeaten, No. 3 UCLA (8–0–0) and No. 4 USC (8–0–0) met in Los Angeles, with USC winning 14–12 to take the crown of the Pacific Coast Conference and a trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 34–13. The new poll:  1.Michigan State 2.USC 3.Georgia Tech 4.Oklahoma 5.UCLA


1952 college football season, November
November 29 No. 1 Michigan State had closed its season. No. 2 USC hosted No. 7 Notre Dame and lost 9–0. No. 3 Georgia Tech finished its season unbeaten (11–0–0) and was invited to the Sugar Bowl to face unbeaten, but twice tied (8–0–2) and No. 6 Mississippi. No. 4 Oklahoma closed its season at Oklahoma State, winning 54–7 to finish 8–1–1. In the Final AP poll, released December 1, No. 1 Michigan State was the champion, followed by No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 USC.


1952 college football season, Bowl games
As late as 1952, many colleges, and some football conferences, did not participate in postseason bowl games. No. 1 Michigan State had joined the Big Ten conference in 1950 for football, but as part of the terms of membership, was ineligible to play in a bowl game until the 1953 season. No. 3 Notre Dame had a policy against playing in postseason games. No. 4 Oklahoma was a member of the Big 7 conference (which later, as the Big 8 and Big 12, would send its best team to the Orange Bowl), and that conference banned post-season games.


1952 college football season, Bowl games
The Oklahoma University Board of Regents considered a motion to allow the team to accept an invitation from the Orange Bowl, and passed a resolution that stated that "Oklahoma belongs to the Big Seven Conference and has followed its rules in the past and should follow them in the future.". Thus, three of the nation's four "top teams" did not play in a bowl game. The exception was Georgia Tech, which played as the SEC champ in the Sugar Bowl. In a forerunner of the SEC championship game, the two best teams in the conference met, with No. 7 Ole Miss accepting the invitation to play against Tech.


1952 in Afghanistan
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Afghanistan.


1952 in Afghanistan, January 6, 1952
Shah Wali Khan, Afghan ambassador to the United Kingdom, says in an interview with The Hindu that the area of Pakhtunistan includes the states of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Bajaur, Tirah, Waziristan, and Baluchistan. "The right of 8,000,000 Pakhtuns to enjoy freedom cannot be ignored," he adds.


1952 in Afghanistan, January 1952
A bill to nationalize oil is passed by the seventh National Assembly and a UN technical assistance mission under Philip Beck (U.S.) is invited to Afghanistan. Shortly after its arrival the mission visits the Shibarghan area in the northwest, about 72 km from the Soviet border, where rich oil deposits have been discovered. On August 21 Izvestiya publishes a report that this mission is a tool of the U.S. imperialists, who are planning the construction of military roads and airfields near the Soviet border. Later Andrey Vyshinsky, the Soviet foreign minister, sends a strong note to Kabul protesting against the mission's presence in Afghanistan. The Kabul government refutes this note in September, explaining that, as Afghanistan's economic life depends on motor transport, all oil prospecting is in the country's vital interests.


1952 in Afghanistan, February 1952
A royal proclamation is issued calling upon the people to elect the eighth National Assembly (171 seats) within three months. As no census of population has ever been taken there are no electoral lists, and elections consist in calling public meetings which vote for the official candidates by acclamation. In Kabul, where the election takes place on April 20, there are two opposition candidates, but the government candidates are said to be elected by considerable majorities; however, out of about 50,000 entitled to vote only 7,000 actually voted.


1952 in Afghanistan, October 1952
King Zahir at the opening of the new National Assembly reiterates the country's desire to maintain close and friendly relations with all nations. He deplores the fact, however, that relations with Pakistan have not improved. "We have," he says, "the most friendly feelings for Pakistan, but we cannot forget the cause of Pakhtunistan."


1952 in Afghanistan, December 1952
The Helmand Valley Authority was created on December 4, 1952.


1952 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Australia.


1952 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1952.


1952 in Australian literature, Births
A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1952 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.


1952 in Australian literature, Deaths
A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1952 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.


1952 in Brazilian football
The following article presents a summary of the 1952 football (soccer) season in Brazil, which was the 51st season of competitive football in the country.


1952 in Brazilian football, Brazil national team
The following table lists all the games played by the Brazil national football team in official competitions and friendly matches during 1952.


1952 in British music
This is a summary of 1952 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.


1952 in British music
This year was a turning point for music in not only the UK, but all over the world. The first official UK Singles Chart  began in November 1952, compiled by the NME. This made the United Kingdom the first country in the world to have an official singles chart and created it in many other countries, with the Billboard Hot 100 era beginning in 1958 in the U.S. The singles chart quickly became a phenomenon  and record breaking became a new excitement for the public. Compiled solely on sales; it kept this trend until April 2005, when it was combined with legal downloads.


1952 in British music, Summary, The Official UK Singles Chart
On the week ending 14 November 1952, NME published the first ever UK Singles Chart. Only a Top 12 at the time, it slowly grew over the years as nowadays sales data is gathered electronically and a Top 200 is compiled weekly for industrial purposes. During the rest of the decade and the early 1960s, there were many different charts formed and the general public and the BBC's Pick Of The Pops (now known as Top Of The Pops) were all confused as to which was the most accurate. The Official Charts Company uses NME until March 1960 and then uses Record Retailer until 1969, when an official sole chart was formed by an alliance between the two most popular charts.


1952 in British music, Summary, The Official UK Singles Chart
To kick off the brand new chart, American jazz singer Al Martino had the first ever number one single in the UK with "Here in My Heart", which remains his biggest selling single. The song spent nine consecutive weeks at number one, which continued to be the longest consecutive run at number one until mid-1954. In second place was pop singer Jo Stafford with "You Belong to Me", and, with the exception of one week, she stayed just one place behind the top spot for nine weeks, until she finally managed to knock Al Martino off the top in 1953. Another record-achiever went to English traditional pop music singer Vera Lynn, who had three singles within the top 10 at the same time with "Forget Me Not (Vera Lynn song)" (at number 7), "The Homing Waltz" (at number 9), and "Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart" (at number 10).


1952 in British music, Summary, The Official UK Singles Chart
Other artists that had chart success in 1952 included Bing Crosby, Guy Mitchell, Mario Lanza, Rosemary Clooney, and Kay Starr, who had hits with "The Isle of Innisfree", "Feet Up", "Because You're Mine", "Half as Much", and "Comes A-Long A-Love".


1952 in British radio
This is a list of events from British radio in 1952.


1952 in British television
This is a list of British television related events from 1952.


1952 in Canadian football
The Toronto Argonauts faced the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup. Although the Argos would hold on to win the game and their 10th Grey Cup championship, an Argo would not sip from the silver mug again until 1983.


1952 in Canadian football, Events in Canadian football in 1952
The Canadian Rugby Union received television revenue for the first time when it was paid $7,500 by CBC for the rights to televise the Grey Cup game. CBLT Toronto was the only station to carry the game live.


1952 in Canadian football, Regular season, Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points


1952 in Canadian football, 1952 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars
NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.


1952 in Canadian football, 1952 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars
NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.


1952 in Canadian football, 1952 Ontario Rugby Football Union All-Stars
NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.


1952 in Canadian television
This is a list of Canadian television-related events in 1952.


1952 in Cape Verde
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Cape Verde.


1952 in Chile
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Chile.


1952 in China
Events in the year 1952 in the People's Republic of China.


1952 in Estonia
This article lists events that occurred during 1952 in Estonia.


1952 in Hong Kong
The following lists events during 1952 in British Hong Kong.


1952 in Iceland
The following lists events that happened in 1952 in Iceland.


1952 in India
Events in the year 1952 in the Republic of India.


1952 in Israel, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 1952 include:


1952 in Israel, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent Palestinian fedayeen terror attacks committed against Israelis during 1952 include:


1952 in Israel, Events, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The most prominent Israeli military counter-terrorism operations (military campaigns and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 1952 include:


1952 in Israel, Unspecified dates
The following events took place during 1952 (dates not specified):


1952 in Italian television
This is a list of Italian television related events from 1952.


1952 in Japan, Events
A tidal wave damage on 1952 Tokachi earthquake on March 4.


1952 in Japan, Events
An aftermath crash Japan Airlines Flight 301 in Izu Oshima on April 10.


1952 in Japan, Events
A buring on many houses and buildings in 1952 Tottori Fire on April 17.


1952 in Laos
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Laos.


1952 in Libya
The following lists events that happened in 1952 in Libya.


1952 in Luxembourg
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.


1952 in Malaya
This article lists important figures and events in Malayan public affairs during the year 1952, together with births and deaths of significant Malayans.


1952 in Michigan, Top stories
The Associated Press polled editors of its member newspapers in Michigan and ranked the state's top news stories of 1952 as follows:


1952 in Michigan, Top stories
The NFL championship won by the 1952 Detroit Lions ranked 18th in the balloting. Two no-hitters by Tigers' pitcher Virgil Trucks in 1952 ranked 19th. The Stanley Cup championship won by the 1951–52 Detroit Red Wings season ranked outside the top 20 stories.


1952 in Michigan, Population
In the 1950 United States Census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 6,421,000 persons, ranking as the seventh most populous state in the country. By 1960, the state's population had grown 22.8% to 7,823,194 persons.


1952 in Michigan, Population, Cities
The following is a list of cities in Michigan with a population of at least 40,000 based on 1950 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1940 and 1960 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Cities that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.


1952 in Michigan, Population, Counties
The following is a list of counties in Michigan with populations of at least 100,000 based on 1950 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 1940 and 1960 are included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Counties that are part of the Detroit metropolitan area are shaded in tan.


1952 in New Zealand
The following lists events that happened during  1952 in New Zealand.


1952 in New Zealand, Incumbents, Government
The 30th New Zealand Parliament continued. In power was the National government under Sidney Holland.


1952 in New Zealand, Arts and literature, Film
See : Category:1952 film awards, 1952 in film, List of New Zealand feature films, Cinema of New Zealand, Category:1952 films


1952 in New Zealand, Sport, Lawn bowls
The national outdoor lawn bowls championships are held in Dunedin.


1952 in Norwegian music
The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 1952 in Norwegian music.


1952 in Réunion
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Réunion.


1952 in Scottish television
This is a list of events in Scottish television from 1952.


1952 in South Africa
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in South Africa.


1952 in South Africa, Railways, Locomotives
Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways (SAR):


1952 in Taiwan
Events from the year 1952 in Taiwan, Republic of China. This year is numbered Minguo 41 according to the official Republic of China calendar.


1952 in Thailand
The year 1952 was the 171st year of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Thailand. It was the 7th year in the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), and is reckoned as year 2495 in the Buddhist Era.


1952 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1952 to Wales and its people.


1952 in association football
The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 1952 throughout the world.


1952 in baseball
The following are the baseball events of the year 1952  throughout the world.


1952 in comics
Notable events of 1952 in comics. See also List of years in comics.


1952 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1952.


1952 in film, Top-grossing films, United States
The top ten 1952 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows:


1952 in fine arts of the Soviet Union
The year 1952 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.


1952 in jazz
This is a timeline documenting events of Jazz in the year 1952.


1952 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1952.


1952 in motorsport
The following is an overview of the events of 1952 in motorsport including the major racing events, motorsport venues that were opened and closed during a year, championships and non-championship events that were established and disestablished in a year, and births and deaths of racing drivers and other motorsport people.


1952 in motorsport, Annual events
The calendar includes only annual major non-championship events or annual events that had own significance separate from the championship. For the dates of the championship events see related season articles.


1952 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1952.


1952 in music, US No. 1 hit singles
These singles reached the top of US Billboard magazine's charts in 1952.


1952 in music, Biggest hit singles
The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1952.


1952 in paleontology
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1952.


1952 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).


1952 in poetry, Works published in English
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:


1952 in poetry, Works published in other languages, India
In each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:


1952 in poetry, Births
Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1952 in poetry, Deaths
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:


1952 in professional wrestling
1952 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.


1952 in radio
The year 1952 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.


1952 in rail transport
This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1952.


1952 in science
The year 1952 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.


1952 in spaceflight
Groundwork was laid for the launch of the first artificial satellite with the scheduling of the International Geophysical Year for 1957-58. This scientific endeavor would involve dozens of nations in a global investigation of physical phenomenona, on the ground and in space.


1952 in spaceflight
In 1952, all branches of the United States' military, often in partnership with civilian organizations, continued their program of sounding rocket research beyond the 100 kilometres (62 mi) boundary of space (as defined by the World Air Sports Federation) using the Aerobee rocket. The University of Iowa launched its first series of rockoon flights, demonstrating the validity of the balloon-launched rocket. The launch of Viking 9 at the end of the year by the Naval Research Laboratory team under the management of Milton Rosen represented the pinnacle of contemporary operational rocket design.


1952 in spaceflight
The year saw no new ballistic missiles added to the arsenals of either the United States or the Soviet Union. However, work continued apace on large rocket development, particularly of the US Army's Redstone and the Soviet R-5 missile.


1952 in spaceflight, Space exploration highlights, US Navy
In the late spring of 1952, the Naval Research Laboratory team under the management of Milton Rosen prepared to launch the first second-generation Viking rocket, Viking 8, from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The new Viking design was nearly half-again as wide as its precursor, affording the highest fuel-to-weight ratio of any rocket yet developed. The tail fins no longer supported the weight of the rocket, has had previously been the case. Now, the Viking rocket rested on the base of its fuselage. This allowed the tail fins to be made much lighter, one of many ways the Viking was redesigned to carry a heavier tank without weighing more than the first Viking design.


1952 in spaceflight, Space exploration highlights, US Navy
On 6 June 1952, Viking 8 broke loose of its moorings during a static firing test. After it was allowed to fly for 55 seconds in the hope that it would clear the immediate area and thus pose no danger to ground crew, Nat Wagner, head of the "Cutoff group" delivered a command to the rocket to cease its thrust. 65 seconds later, the rocket crashed 4 miles (6.4 km) or 5 miles (8.0 km) downrange to the southeast.


1952 in spaceflight, Space exploration highlights, US Navy
With lessons learned from the Viking 8 failure, the successful 9 December static firing of Viking 9 was followed on 15 December by a successful launch from White Sands. The rocket reached an altitude of 135 miles (217 km), roughly the same as that of the first-generation Viking 7, launched in 1950. In addition to cameras that photographed the Earth during flight, Viking 9 carried a full suite of cosmic ray, ultraviolet, and X-ray detectors, including sixteen plates of emulsion gel for tracking the path of individual high energy particles. The experiment package was recovered intact after it had secured measurements high above the Earth's atmosphere.


1952 in spaceflight, Space exploration highlights, American civilian efforts
1952 saw the first rockoon flights. These balloon-mounted rockets were significantly cheaper than sounding rocket flights: $1800 (equivalent to $14182) per launch versus $25,000 ($196967) for each Aerobee launch and $450,000 ($3545407) for each Viking launch. A series of seven ship-launched tests conducted by a University of Iowa team under James Van Allen achieved considerable success, one flight grazing the edge of space with an apogee of 55 miles (89 km).


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, US Air Force
Progress remained slow throughout 1952 on the Atlas, the nation's first ICBM, the contract for which had been awarded to Consolidated Vultee in January 1951 by the US Air Force's Air Research and Development Command. Conservative development policies and daunting technical problems were the official causes, but the Air Forces's apparent lack of enthusiasm for project, along with the constraint of limited budget and resources, were factors as well. It was not until the first successful H-bomb test at Elugelab in November 1952 that the Atlas, potentially capable of delivering such a weapon, garnered more support.


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, US Army
On 8 April 1952, the  surface-to-surface missile being developed by Redstone Arsenal in Alabama since 10 July 1951, officially received the name "Redstone". The Chrysler Corporation was tasked to proceed with active work as the prime contractor on the missile, capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads to a range of 200 miles (320 km), by a letter order contract in October 1952 (this contract definitized on 19 June 1953).


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Soviet military
In the Soviet Union, rocket development during the year 1952 was focused on the R-5 missile, able to carry the same 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) payload as the R-1 and R-2 but over a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi). The R-5, the conceptual design of which had been completed by 30 October 1951, superseded the ambitious 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) range R-3, which had been canceled on 20 October 1951


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Soviet military
The USSR's "first Soviet strategic rocket," as the R-5 was thenceforth known, was an incremental improvement on the R-1 and R-2 rockets with not only increased range but improved accuracy. Its propellant tanks were integral to the rocket, reducing structural weight and allowing for more fuel. Two of the first ten R-5s produced underwent stand tests through February 1952, and the sleek, cylindrical R-5 would be ready for its first launch March 1953.


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Soviet military
Also in 1952, the design bureau OKB-486 under Valentin Glushko began developing the RD-105 and RD-106 engines for an even more powerful rocket: the five engine R-6 ICBM. Using an integrated solder-welded configuration, developed by engineer Aleksei Isaev, these LOX/kerosene engines would be more powerful single chamber engines than those used in earlier rockets. Four 539.37 kN (121,260 lbf) RD-105 would power the R-6's four strap-on engines while a 519.75 kN (116,840 lbf) RD-106 would power the central booster.


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Soviet military
That same year, there was also a series of fourteen test launches of the mass-produced version of R-2 missile (range of 600 kilometres (370 mi)). Twelve of the missiles reached their targets. The R-1 also was test-launched seven times.


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Civilian efforts
In October 1952, the General Assembly of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) adopted a proposal to undertake simultaneous observations of geophysical phenomena over the entire surface of the Earth. The International Geophysical Year (IGY), set for 1957-58, would involve the efforts of a multitude of nations in such farflung regions as the Arctic and Antarctica. To coordinate this massive effort, the ICSU formed the Comité Speciale de l'Année Géophysique Internationale (CSAGI), which would hold four major meetings with representation from all participating countries over the next four years.


1952 in spaceflight, Spacecraft development, Civilian efforts
In part inspired by lectures he gave to the British Interplanetary Society in London the previous year, the University of Maryland's Fred Singer began espousing in both print and in public presentations the use of small artificial satellites to conduct scientific observations. This concept was dubbed "MOUSE" (Minimum Orbiting Unmanned Satellite of the Earth) and was dismissed by many as too radical and/or in conflict with human exploration of space. Nevertheless, the proposal catalyzed serious discussion of the use of satellites for scientific research.


1952 in sports
1952 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.


1952 in television
The year 1952 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1952.


1952 in the Belgian Congo
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in the Belgian Congo.


1952 in the Soviet Union
The following lists events that happened during 1952 in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.


1952 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1952 in the United Kingdom. This year sees a change of monarch.


1952 in the United States
Events from the year 1952 in the United States of America.


1952 raid on Beit Jala
The  1952 raid on Beit Jala was an Israeli attack on Beit Jala, a Palestinian Christian town on the border between Jordan and Israel (today part of the Palestinian territories) on January 6, 1952. Based on leaflets dropped at the site it was presumed to be revenge for the rape and murder of a Jewish girl, which was believed to have been committed by infiltrators from Beit Jala.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Background
In 1949–1953, there were 99 complaints made by Israel about the infiltration of armed groups or individuals and 30 complaints of armed Jordanian units crossing into Israeli territory. Jordan complained of 5 armed groups or individuals infiltrating and 162 of armed Israeli units crossing into Jordanian territory. One such gang was led by Muhammad Mansi and Jamil Muhammad Mujarrab, who had raped and murdered a Jewish girl in Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood in February 1951. Mansi was detained by the Jordanians but released and placed on surveillance. The Israeli authorities passed on information that he was stockpiling explosives.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Background
On December 4, 1951, a Jewish girl who was walking home from the bus stop in the  Bayit VeGan neighborhood of Jerusalem, Leah Feistinger, was raped and murdered and mutilated by the Mansi Gang. Her body was found hidden in a cave about a mile from the Jordan/Israel cease fire line inside Israeli territory.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Background
Major Loreaux, an investigating officer from the Mixed Armistice Commissions (MAC), the UN organization responsible for monitoring violations of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, reported to MAC chairman Commander E. H. Hutchison and Commandant G. Bouvet that the girl had been raped and murdered, and her face mutilated. Loreaux reported that he saw no evidence of Jordanian infiltration and suggested that the Israeli police investigate the murder.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Background
Israel stated that the perpetrators were Said Salah Jam'an, Jamil Muhammad Mujarrab and Muhammad Mansi, three residents of Beit Jala.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reprisal raid
On January 6, 1952, three houses in Beit Jala were rigged with explosives and blown up. According to  Hutchison, the upper floor of the first house was completely destroyed. The lower part of the house, which had been built into the side of the hill, was still partially intact, with bullet holes visible in the walls and doors. The inhabitants, a twenty-three-year-old man and his wife, were killed in the blast. Only one wall was damaged in the second house. The windows were shattered and the walls were pockmarked with bullets. A mother and her four children, ranging in age from 6 to 14, were found dead in the third house. When one of the demolition charges failed the attackers used grenades.


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reprisal raid
The perpetrators left leaflets in Arabic at the site which read as follows:


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reprisal raid
On 4/12/1951 some persons from among the inhabitants of Beit Jala killed a Jewish girl in the neighbourhood of Bayit VeGan, after committing against her an unpardonable crime. What we have done now is the penalty for that ugly crime. We shall not stand idly by in the face of such crimes. In our quiver there are always arrows for [such criminals]. Let those who can, heed this warning...


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reprisal raid
في ٤/١٢/١٩٥١ قتل اشخاص من بلدة (بيت جالا) فتاة يهودية بالقرب من (بايت وغان) بعد ان اقترفوا حقها جريمة لا تغتفر


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reprisal raid
إن ما قمنا به الآن هو جزاء هذه الجريمة الشنعاء ولن نسكت للمجرمين ففي جعبتنا دائماً سهاماً لهم


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Investigation
Major Hutchison investigated the Jordanian complaint of a violation of the General Armistice agreement at Beit Jala on behalf of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO). Israel denied her involvement and J.E. Chadwick, a diplomat at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, thought it had been the work of Israeli vigilantes. Hutchison reported that the demolition charges had Israeli markings and machine-guns were used Benny Morris concludes that the raid was carried out by an IDF platoon and that Western diplomats were not convinced that the Feistinger rape-murder had been carried out by infiltrators. In April 1953 the US consul general in Jerusalem wrote: "It was never shown that the act was not committed by her Israeli boy-friend".


1952 raid on Beit Jala, Reactions
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation issued a condemnation to Israel for the "serious breach of the General Armistice Agreement" in the Beit Jala reprisal raid. Israel denied IDF involvement in the raid, and abstained from voting while Jordan and the MAC chairman condemned Israel. The chief of the Arab Legion, John Bagot Glubb, stated that the Israelis had a psychological need to bully their weaker neighborsThe British Embassy in Tel Aviv called the raids "simple reprisals, designed to make Arab infiltration unpopular in the Arab villages". The ambassador compared Israeli/IDF raids with British reprisals against Egyptians in the Suez Canal area.


1952 steel strike
The 1952 steel strike was a strike by the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) against U.S. Steel (USS) and nine other steelmakers. The strike was scheduled to begin on April 9, 1952, but US President Harry Truman nationalized the American steel industry hours before the workers walked out. The steel companies sued to regain control of their facilities. On June 2, 1952, in a landmark decision, the US Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952), that the President lacked the authority to seize the steel mills.


1952 steel strike
The Steelworkers struck to win a wage increase. The strike lasted 53 days and ended on July 24, 1952 on essentially the same terms that the union had proposed four months earlier.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
On February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy denounced the Truman administration for permitting known communists to remain in the employment of the federal government. The incident sparked a four-year period of anticommunist policies and attitudes, which came to be known as McCarthyism. The accusations by McCarthy and others put the administration on the political defensive and led him to seek ways in which he might prove he was not "soft on communism."


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, touching off the Korean War. American wartime mobilization agencies, including the recently-formed National Security Resources Board (NSRB), were dormant. Truman attempted to use the NSRB as the nation's military mobilization agency. He quadrupled the defense budget to $50 billion, and the NSRB placed controls on prices, wages, and raw materials. Inflation soared and shortages in food, consumer goods, and housing appeared.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
On September 8, 1950, the US Congress enacted the Defense Production Act. Title II permitted the President to requisition any facilities, property, equipment, supplies, and component parts of raw materials that were needed for the national defense. Title IV gave the President the authority to impose wage and price controls in progressive steps (ranging from voluntary controls to controls in essential industries to overall controls).


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
On September 9, Truman issued Executive Order 10161, which established the Economic Stabilization Agency (ESA) to co&ordinate and supervise wage and price controls. Using the wage and price control model developed in World War II, the Truman administration created two subagencies in ESA. The Office of Price Stabilization (OPS) was given the power to regulate prices, and the Wage Stabilization Board (WSB) oversaw the creation of wage stabilization rules. The division of labor was specifically designed to unlink wages from prices. If prices rose automatically with wages, the inflationary spiral would continue unabated.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
Placing the onus solely on workers to keep wages low risked the wrath of labor, a lesson that the administration had learned from the World War II experience. Delinking wages and prices leveled the playing field. Both workers and employers would now be forced to justify, independently, the wages and prices that they demanded.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
By October 1950, inflation had abated, and shortages were easing. Although Truman had named Alan Valentine as ESA administrator and Cyrus S. Ching chairman of the WSB, the ESA and its subagencies were largely inactive, and the President hesitated to name a director for the Office of Price Stabilization.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
China entered the war on behalf of North Korea on October 19 and made fighting contact with American troops on October 25. The intervention of China in the Korean War unraveled the administration's mobilization effort. A panicked public began hoarding and the administration accelerated its rearmament plans, and the economy went into an upward inflationary spiral. By December, public support for the war had fallen significantly, and Truman and his intelligence experts expected World War III to break out by spring.


1952 steel strike, Wage control policy during the Korean War
Confronted with the failure of the NSRB and a mobilization effort that was faltering and unable to meet the needs of accelerated production plans, Truman declared a national emergency on December 16, 1950. The declaration of an emergency was, in part, motivated by the McCarthyite attacks on the administration and Truman's desire to appear strong in the prosecution of the war. Using the powers granted to him by the Defense Production Act, which had been enacted only in September 1950, Truman created the Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM). Truman moved the ESA under ODM and nominated Michael DiSalle as the director of OPS.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
Unions felt that during World War II, the National War Labor Board had unfairly held wages below the level of inflation but done little to rein in corporate profits. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) as well as independent labor unions were determined to avoid a similar outcome under the new Wage Stabilization Board.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
On December 20, 1950, a United Labor Policy Committee (ULPC), composed of representatives of the AFL, CIO, the Railway Labor Executives' Association (a group of railway labor unions), and the International Association of Machinists, was formed to influence the WSB's deliberations on wage stabilization policy. The group demanded a yearly cost-of-living adjustment for all contracts, productivity pay increases linked to company profit margins, and price controls, but the WSB's public and corporate representatives were in agreement that the board should focus only wages and strictly control them to keep inflation in check.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
On January 26, 1951, the ESA imposed nationwide wage and price controls. Labor representatives, who opposed wholesale wage controls, were outvoted nine to three.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
Labor representatives on the WSB charged that they were being frozen out of policy deliberations, and they threatened to resign unless they were given more influence over the process. Ching resigned on February 9 to head off a mass resignation, and ESA Administrator Johnston appointed the president of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks as his special assistant a day later, but the United Labor Policy Committee members were not placated.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
Labor representatives believed that wage controls were particularly unfair to some workers. Some workers had received very high wage increases in 1950, before the imposition of wage controls, but others had yet to negotiate contracts or receive wage increases. Labor representatives demanded a 12 percent wage increase for workers who had not yet negotiated contracts under the wage stabilization policy, but the public and corporate members of the board held to a 10 percent increase.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
On February 16, the Wage Stabilization Board issued Wage Regulation 6, which permitted a 10% increase in wages for workers who had not negotiated a wage increase in the last six months. The regulation was based on the "Little Steel formula" of World War II. Labor representatives of the board resigned in protest. The mass resignations set off a crisis within the administration. Unwilling to alienate labor by imposing wage controls involuntarily, Truman appointed a National Advisory Board on Mobilization Policy to come up with recommendations to win labor's support for wage and price controls.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
On April 17, the National Advisory Board suggested re-establishing the WSB with a greatly-enlarged membership. The National Advisory Board also recommended giving the WSB the power to intervene in labor disputes. The WSB should have the power, the report said, to make economic and noneconomic recommendations in labor disputes as well as to submit disputes directly to the president.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
President Truman re-established the WSB on April 21, 1951. In Executive Order 10233, Truman gave the new board the recommended expanded powers. Dr. George W. Taylor, professor of industrial relations at the University of Pennsylvania, was tapped to be the WSB chairman. Taylor agreed to serve only until September 1, 1951, however, and he was succeeded by Nathan Feinsinger, a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin.


1952 steel strike, Organized labor's conflict with WSB
The expanded powers of the WSB created some controversy, however. It was not clear what statutory authority gave Truman the power to provide the board with its expanded powers. Congressional hearings over the reconstituted WSB's powers occurred since Congress also debated renewing the Defense Production Act. In July 1951, under pressure from numerous industries for price control relief, Congress enacted the Capehart Amendment to the DPA, which authorized companies to win price increases for costs incurred between June 1950 and July 26, 1951. Although opposed to the way in which the Capehart Amendment significantly weakened the administration's wage and price control program, Truman signed the legislation on July 31, 1951.


1952 steel strike, Buildup to steel mill seizure
The Capehart Amendment put intense pressure on the Truman administration's inflation program. On August 8, the federal government imposed stricter economic controls on the economy. In the steel industry, production quotas and procurement orders were extended to all civilian steelmakers, not only large manufacturers. Steel companies had reported record and near-record profits in the summer, but by mid-fall, net revenues were down as defense needs consumed more and more and finished steel, and steelmakers were unable to sell steel to the higher-margin civilian market.


1952 steel strike, Buildup to steel mill seizure
On September 4, DPA again increased the amount of steel needed for defense use by sharply scaling down allotments for the civilian economy. When steelmakers balked at expanding plant and equipment to meet new defense quotas, ODM officials ordered the chief executives of the nation's largest steel manufacturers to attend a meeting in Washington at which they were threatened with additional government regulation and oversight. The steelmakers quickly acceded to the government's demands.


1952 steel strike, Buildup to steel mill seizure
Stabilization officials were so upset by the Capehart Amendment that many resigned, leaving the agency almost leaderless at critical times. ESA Administrator Johnston announced his retirement on September 2 and quit on November 30. The job remained open until Truman persuaded Roger Putnam, a Massachusetts businessman and former Democratic mayor of Springfield, to accept the position on November 27.


1952 steel strike, Buildup to steel mill seizure
Tensions also ruptured labor's united front on the Wage Stabilization Board. The ULPC dissolved on August 14 when the AFL pulled out of the joint committee. AFL officials appeared to be upset that the ULPC had not led to additional unity talks between the two labor groups and that CIO officials were obtaining more than their fair share of federal appointments. By October, organized labor's influence throughout the defense mobilization bureaucracy had significantly waned.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
The Steelworkers indicated on September 22 that they would seek an industry-wide rather than company-by-company approach to the upcoming wage negotiations. Union leaders argued that employers would never voluntarily agree to a collective bargaining agreement because there would be no guarantee that a concomitant price increase would occur.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Philip Murray, USWA and CIO President, told the press that he assumed the wage dispute would end up in the hands of the Wage Stabilization Board, and the union was actively working to convince the WSB to alter its pay regulations to permit a pay increase in the 10 to 15 cents an hour range rather than the permissible 4 cents an hour. The consensus was that the WSB would permit steelworkers' wages to rise rather than risk a strike.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
The first indication of what the employer position was in the upcoming negotiations became known on October 25, when the chairman of Bethlehem Steel indicated steelmakers would make no wage proposal when talks opened. Furthermore, the company made it known that it had seen a significant fall in profits and that it lacked any financial ability to award a pay increase.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Negotiations opened with U.S. Steel on November 1, 1951. The union bargaining team numbered more than 100 individuals. Organized labor representatives on the Wage Stabilization Board immediately began pressing for a change in the WSB's wage regulations to permit a higher wage increase, but administration officials balked. On November 15, Benjamin Fairless, president of U.S. Steel, not only declared that the steel industry had no intention of reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the union but expressed his opinion that workers were overpaid by at least 30 percent.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Negotiations with Youngstown Sheet and Tube, Bethlehem Steel and some smaller steelmakers opened on December 1. The union asked for a "substantial" wage increase, overtime pay for Saturday and Sunday work, the union shop, eight days of vacation a year, relaxed rules on when workers could take vacation, and higher wages for night work. U.S. Steel, the industry leader, refused to address economic issues and instead on December 5 proposed changes to seniority, grievance procedures and other minor issues. Employers' refusal to discuss economic proposals angered union leaders.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
As the talks dragged on to mid-December without movement, the government began to take action. ESA administrator Roger Putnam summoned to Washington, D.C., Fairless, Ernest T. Weir (president of National Steel Corporation), and Charles M. White (president of Republic Steel). The three met with Putnam on December 13, who attempted to determine what the employers' bargaining position was. Although Putnam ruled out price relief based on a rise in wages, for the first time he and OPS director DiSalle indicated that the government would permit the steel manufacturers to seek the maximum price increase allowed by the Capehart Amendment.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Cyrus Ching, now head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, sent two of his top aides to meet with union officials to determine the union's bargaining strategy and timeline. The aides met with Murray and the union's collective bargaining committee on December 14, but made no headway. WSB director Feinsinger, however, began paving the way for a relaxation of Wage Regulation 6. On December 8, Feinsinger told the press that the Board was already working on a revision to the regulation which would permit merit pay increases. Five days later, Feinsinger let it be known that a number of economic issues (such as increased pension contributions) might be removed from the calculation of the basic wage rate in order to relieve the pressure on the negotiating parties.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Although the Steelworkers would be taking a strike vote on December 17, The New York Times reported on that same day that the union would consider postponing its strike. The union's strike committee declined to give Murray the authority to sign a wage pact without approval of the union's membership, and set its next meeting for January 3, 1952. The strike committee's action, requested by Murray, was designed to make calling off a strike much more difficult and thus spur bargaining.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Union and employer representatives met with Ching's staff in Washington from December 17 to December 20, but as expected there was no resolution.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
By this time, the press was openly speculating that Truman would have to invoke the injunction and cooling-off period provisions of the Taft–Hartley Act. Truman himself said on Christmas Eve from his home in Missouri that use of the Taft–Hartley law was under consideration. Outright seizure of the steel mills was considered remote.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
President Truman certified the dispute to the Wage Stabilization Board on December 22. Although steelmakers agreed not to shutter production until the Board made its wage determination, Murray kept the nation in suspense until December 28 before agreeing to postpone the strike.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Feinsinger appointed a six-member panel to hear the steel wage case. Two members came from the employers, one from the AFL, one from the CIO, and two from the public. Leading the panel was Harry Shulman, a professor of law at Yale University and a widely respected mediator. Hearings were set to being on January 7, 1952, with a report due 30 days later.


1952 steel strike, Negotiations
Nevertheless, when union leaders met at their announced January 3 meeting in Atlantic City, Murray warned the country that the union intended to keep its no-strike pledge only for 45 days. The union would strike on February 21 if no acceptable wage agreement was forthcoming.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
Organized labor believed it was being frozen out of wage stabilization decision-making, and that political and economic pressure on Truman would push the president to establish a broad wage freeze. The Wage Stabilization Board assembled the steel wage panel on January 3, and opened hearings on Monday, January 7. Although economic stabilization officials were excluded from the panel's proceedings under E.O. 10233, they nevertheless attempted to influence the panel's deliberations. The day before the panel's hearings opened, Putnam announced ESA would seek a better wage formula than that contained in Wage Regulation 6. Ten days later, Feinsinger announced that a wage regulation rewrite would be undertaken as quickly as possible.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The hearings opened with the Steelworkers arguing for a wage and benefit increase estimated between 30 and 50 cents an hour, while the employers claimed no increase whatsoever was possible without price relief. ODM director Charles E. Wilson made it clear in a public statement on January 15 that the administration's inflation program would be wrecked if the workers succeeded in winning a wage increase larger than 4 cents an hour. Office of Price Stabilization economists were disturbed by the union's request.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
A secret internal memorandum by OPS staff members indicated that the union was actually due a 22-cents-an-hour wage increase, and that the steel companies could absorb up to 40 cents an hour in additional costs without a price hike. But for the union to win a wage increase without giving the employers price relief would appear inequitable and create political problems for both OPS and WSB with Republicans in Congress.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
On January 12, the union and the steelmakers agreed to meet privately, outside the steel wage panel's auspices. Both sides felt agreement could be reached on six non-economic issues:  grievance procedures, arbitration mechanisms, improved suspension and discharge procedures, health and safety issues, military leave, and the contract's preamble.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The steel wage panel recessed for three weeks after its opening hearings in order to allow the employers time to make their arguments. In the interim, OPS announced it was granting the steelmakers a price increase of $2 to $3 per ton—even though they had not applied for it. OPS chief DiSalle hoped that the price increase would placate the employers and relieve pressure on the steel wage panel. But the employers began publicly talking about a price increase of $6 to $9 per ton, and the stratagem failed.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
Press speculation that the union would win a 14 cent an hour wage increased after Shulman made a similar recommendation in an unrelated aircraft industry workers' collective bargaining case on February 9.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The employers countered with testimony indicating the steel industry was on the verge of bankruptcy. When hearings resumed February 2, Retired Admiral Ben Moreell, president of Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, declared the steel industry to be financially insecure. He estimated the cost of the union's wage and benefit package at $1.08 an hour, not 30 to 50 cents an hour. The estimate was more than double the industry's previous assessment. Benjamin Fairless, meanwhile, testified that the wage demands would reduce steel industry profits so much that the federal government would lose more than $11 billion in tax revenues.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The employers also countered with a massive public relations campaign. The steel manufacturers had decided to wage a public relations campaign early in the wage dispute, possibly as early as August 1951. They coordinated their anti-union effort by forming a group called "Steel Companies in the Wage Case", and relied on the resources of the American Iron and Steel Institute as well. Designed to emphasize the patriotism of the steel companies during wartime, the public relations campaign was implemented in newspapers and on radio and television stations nationwide.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The campaign attacked not only the union but also the WSB and the Truman administration generally. The public relations campaign asserted that "runaway inflation" would occur if steelworkers' pay rose even minimally. A pay increase, it was said, would ruin the economy of the Deep South, "hamper the country's defense against atomic attack, undermine our foreign economic policy and introduce totalitarianism". The steel industry also charged that union proposals would create such inefficiency that workers would be driven to "radicalism and communism" in sheer frustration. In United States Senate hearings after the strike ended, the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare denounced the public relations campaign in very strong terms, accusing the steel companies of undermining the work of a government agency:


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The steel industry completed making its case on February 14. Final arguments were made against the union shop. The issue had taken on increasing importance to the steel manufacturers over the previous three months. Many of the chief executives of the larger steel companies came to see themselves as the last bulwark against wholesale unionism. Fairless, in particular, felt that if the WSB included a union shop proposal in its recommendations, the ruling would put the government's imprimatur on unionization. The steel industry, it was felt, was the last defender of capitalism and the free market.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The steel wage panel concluded its hearings on February 16, 1952. The issues proved so numerous and complex, however, that the panel advised the Wage Stabilization Board that it needed until March 13 to complete its report. The union was asked to extend its strike deadline. Despite Murray's accusation that the government intended to provoke a strike, the union gave the WSB until March 20 to issue its wage ruling.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
As the hearings ended, OPS Director DiSalle resigned on February 15, 1952, in order to run for the U.S. Senate. Truman appointed Ellis Arnall, a former governor of Georgia, as DiSalle's successor.


1952 steel strike, WSB deliberations
The wage panel turned its report over to the Wage Stabilization Board on March 13.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
The union shop issue came to increasingly dominate the WSB's deliberations. Initially, Feinsinger refused to consider any issue other than wage increases. Feinsinger even refused to discuss the issue with his superior, Putnam. Feinsinger was under pressure to win support for a recommendation by a majority of the Board and issue a report before the union lost patience and struck. CIO and Steelworkers' counsel Arthur Goldberg persuaded the WSB's labor representatives to withhold their support for a recommendation until Feinsinger not only agreed to consider the union shop but recommend it to the president.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
As the WSB's deliberations stretched into March, Murray agreed to delay the strike deadline until April 8—although he kept the public guessing about the union's plans until the day before the planned strike.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
On March 20, 1952, the Wage Stabilization Board issued its recommendations. The report called for an 18-month-long contract, with a pay increase of 12.5 cents retroactive to January 1, 1952, followed by a 2.5 cent an hour rise on June 30, 1952, and a 2.5 cent an hour rise on January 1, 1953. Various improvements to fringe benefits were also made. The board also recommended the union shop. In all, the cost of the pay hike ranged from 18 to 30 cents an hour, although 26 cents was the most quoted figure.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
The vote was 12 to 6, with all industry members of the WSB in the minority. The Board had not, however, included an automatic cost-of-living adjustment and only brought fringe benefits up to parity with other industries. And by front-loading the contract, the Board had practically ensured that inflation would outpace the wage increase, contributing to economic stabilization.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Reaction to the recommendations was overwhelmingly negative. Steel companies claimed they would need a $12 per ton increase in the price of steel in order to stay solvent. Nearly all Republicans in Congress denounced the recommendations, joined by a significant number of Democrats. The mass media portrayed the wage increase as political payback to the union for supporting Truman politically, and editorials accused the WSB of dereliction of duty in order to satisfy the union.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Unfortunately, President Truman's initial reaction to the WSB's recommendations was also negative. Based solely on press reports of the WSB report, Truman—vacationing in Key West, Florida—declared the recommendations to be economically destabilizing.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
The union and employers immediately began bargaining over the terms of the wage recommendation and other, local issues. But negotiations proceeded slowly.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Defense mobilization chief Charles Wilson, however, determined to upend the Wage Stabilization Board's recommendations. Wilson was convinced by Truman's remarks at the Key West press conference that the president would reject the Board's report. On March 21, Wilson met with steel industry officials to learn their views. On March 22, he consulted with Putnam and Arnall. On March 23, Wilson flew to Key West to speak with the president. The two men met the next morning. Wilson flew back to Washington that afternoon, convinced he had won Truman's consent to settle the steel wage dispute at a level two-thirds lower than the recommendation of the WSB.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
As Wilson departed Key West, he made an off-hand remark that he believed the WSB recommendations would seriously destabilize the economy. Murray was outraged by the statement, and declared that it was Wilson who had wrecked national economic stabilization policy. Although Murray said he remained committed to resuming bargaining on March 26, he refused to meet with Wilson. Murray, working with Goldberg, had initially prepared a much stronger statement, but Feinsinger successfully pleaded with him to moderate his tone and language.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Feinsinger, too, was deeply upset by Wilson's remarks. He had consulted with Wilson and Putnam on the proposed recommendations shortly before the release of the report, and Wilson had expressed no concerns then.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Meanwhile, Truman had changed his views on the recommendations. The White House staff had analyzed the WSB's report and concluded that the wage and benefit package did not violate stabilization guidelines. Truman's political advisors also worried that by repudiating the agency's recommendations, Truman was essentially repudiating his own economic policy.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
On March 27, Wilson learned of the president's change of heart. Wilson met with Putnam, Arnall and Feinsinger, but was unable to win their assent to a large steel price increase. To convince them that the president had authorized the price increase, the four went to the White House that afternoon. At the meeting, Putnam and Arnall argued that the wage recommendations had not breached the stabilization guidelines, but Wilson's price increase would. Truman then stated that he had not given Wilson authority to negotiate higher steel prices.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Humiliated and declaring his integrity was called into question by the president, Wilson resigned late on the afternoon of March 27. The resignation was made public three days later. Most press reports interpreted the resignation as a sign that Truman was capitulating to union demands. Truman named John R. Steelman, Assistant to the President of the United States (a post which would later become White House Chief of Staff), acting director.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Steelman urged the employers and the union to begin negotiations again. The steel companies agreed to begin talks on March 30, but put them off until April 3. When talks did begin, the steel companies made the first economic offer to the union since negotiations began the previous November: A total wage and benefit package totaling 14.4 cents an hour, contingent on the companies receiving the maximum price increase allowed under the Capehart Amendment. The union rejected the offer. Arnall secretly offered the steel companies a price increase of $4.50 a ton on April 3, but the steel companies demanded at least $5.50 a ton.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Truman began to consider his options, and a seizure of the nation's steel mills seemed the most likely course. Truman was told that supplies of ammunition in Korea were low, and even a 10-day strike would endanger the war effort. Atomic weapons projects would be curtailed, 1,500 miles of highway would not be built, and U.S. commitments under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act could not be met—which might encourage Soviet aggression. Truman ruled out use of the Taft–Hartley Act, believing it was unfair and unlikely to ensure steel production.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
Consideration was given to using Section 18 of the Selective Training and Service Act. Section 18 permitted the government to seize and operate manufacturing facilities if the manufacturer was unable to fulfill defense orders made by the government. Justice Department lawyers worried, however, because the act did not specifically mention failures to fulfill orders due to strikes, and because the government did not order steel directly from manufacturers. Section 18's mechanisms were cumbersome and time-consuming, and Defense leaders argued against its use. Most of Truman's advisors favored seizure of the steel mills under the inherent powers of the President as commander-in-chief.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
The steel talks collapsed on April 4, and the union notified the steel manufacturers that day that it planned to call a nationwide strike which would begin at 12:01 a.m. on April 9.


1952 steel strike, Ruling and steel mill seizure
At 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, President Truman announced in a national television and radio address that he had issued Executive Order 10340 and he was ordering Secretary of Commerce Charles W. Sawyer to seize the nation's steel mills to ensure the continued production of steel. Truman attacked the steel companies' price demands, explained why he was not using the other legal options open to him, and called on the employers and union to meet in Washington the following day to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The union immediately called off its strike, even though Sawyer announced he had no intention of giving them a wage increase.


1952 steel strike, Legal action
Twenty-seven minutes after the conclusion of Truman's speech, attorneys for Republic Steel and the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company arrived at the door of United States district court Judge Walter Bastian with papers in hand to demand a temporary restraining order to prevent the seizure. Bastian refused to rule without hearing from the government and set argument for April 9 at 11:30 a.m.


1952 steel strike, Legal action
The case was assigned to Judge Alexander Holtzoff. Attorneys for the steel companies argued that the President lacked the constitutional authority to seize the steel mills and that the steel companies would suffer irreparable harm if the seizure were not enjoined. Holmes Baldridge, assistant attorney general in the Claims Division of the Justice Department, argued the case for the administration. Unprepared and unfamiliar with the issues, Baldridge argued that no irreparable harm would ensue and that the steel companies had an adequate remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Holtzoff denied the temporary restraining order ten minutes after oral arguments concluded.


1952 steel strike, Legal action
The press was almost unanimous in its condemnation of the steel mill seizure. The New York Daily News headline was typical: "Truman Does a Hitler". Only one newspaper with a sizeable circulation supported the President. Congress also reacted negatively. There were calls for Truman's impeachment, and a number of bills were introduced to strip the WSB of its powers, to permit the government to end the strike, and to withdraw congressional approval of the expenditure of funds to operate the steel plants. The steel companies also condemned the action.


1952 steel strike, Legal action
Clarence B. Randall, president of Inland Steel, gave a nationally-broadcast speech on April 9 that attacked Truman and the Steelworkers. The employers' public relations group, Steel Companies in the Wage Case, undertook an ambitious advertising campaign against the administration. Full -page advertisements in major metropolitan newspapers appeared the next day that excoriated the seizure, and within a week, tens of thousands of pamphlets and fact sheets had been produced supporting the steel manufacturers' position.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
The steel companies next sought a permanent restraining order. On April 10, Bethlehem Steel, Jones and Laughlin Steel, Republic Steel and Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. asked Judge Bastian to hear their case, but Bastian recused himself because he held 30 shares of stock in the Sharon Steel Corporation. The case was assigned to Judge David Pine, who set oral argument for April 24.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
As preparations for the district court hearing began, the government tried to secure a wage settlement. Independent talks failed. Sawyer oversaw the next round of negotiations, and his personal intervention did not work. Arnall threatened to give the steel companies no price rise, and Putnam ordered a $3-per-ton price increase. Neither tactic budged the steelmakers. Sawyer threatened to impose a wage increase, but that stratagem failed. Sawyer then formally gave the workers a small pay raise; once more, the talks stalled.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
Judge Pine began the hearing on schedule. The steel companies focused on the issue of equitable relief. The employers' attorneys pointed out that they could not make a claim for relief if the courts found the seizure illegal. Additionally, the Federal Tort Claims Act required the government to give its consent to be sued for relief, which the government had not done. Judge Pine pressed the steel company attorneys to address the constitutional issue, which the government had strongly emphasized in its briefs.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
Most of the company attorneys seemed shocked by Pine's request and were unable to address the issue, but Charles Tuttle, counsel for Armco Steel, squarely argued the issue. In his counterargument the following day, Baldridge claimed that the courts had no authority to enjoin the President and then argued that the court should ignore the constitutional issue if it could decide the case on grounds of equity. Baldridge relied heavily on Ex parte Merryman 17 F. Cas. 144 (1861), Mississippi v. Johnson 71 U.S. 475 (1866), In re Debs 158 U.S. 564 (1895) and United States v. Pewee Coal Co. 341 U.S. 114 (1951) as justification for the government's claims of unfettered executive power.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
Baldridge's claims of unlimited executive power created a firestorm of negative opinion on April 26. Newspapers denounced the claim, public opinion ran heavily against the president, and members of Congress took to the floor of their respective chambers to attack the argument. Truman was forced to issue a denial of Baldridge's assertion, but the pressure on the administration continued unabated.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
Judge Pine issued his opinion at 4:45 p.m. on April 29 and declared: "There is no express grant of power in the Constitution authorizing the President to direct this seizure. There is no grant of power from which it reasonably can be implied. There is no enactment of Congress authorizing it." The government, Pine wrote, had said in its brief that it "does 'not perceive how Article II (of the Constitution) can be read so as to limit the Presidential power to meet all emergencies,' and... claims that the finding of the emergency is 'not subject to judicial review.' To my mind this spells a form of government alien to our Constitutional government of limited powers. I therefore find that the acts of defendant are illegal and without authority of law."


1952 steel strike, Legal action, District court ruling
Pine's decision was read as a ringing defense of limited government and was widely praised by the press and Congress, but a furious Philip Murray ordered union members on strike on April 30, and federal officials made plans to curb commercial construction projects, cut back automobile production, and shutter consumer appliance factories.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Appellate court ruling
At 10:00 a.m. on April 30, the government asked Judge Pine to stay his injunction, but he declined. Minutes later, the government filed papers for a stay with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Court of Appeals decided to hear the case en banc. Oral argument began at 3:15 p.m. and lasted three hours. The government forcefully argued that the national defense was imperiled by the strike; only a stay of the district court injunction would induce the union to return to work. The steel companies disagreed, and attempted to focus the court's attention on the irreparable harm the companies were suffering.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Appellate court ruling
After deliberating for 40 minutes, the judges delivered their verdict. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court of Appeals stayed the district court's injunction but only until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 2. If a request for certiorari were filed with and accepted by the US Supreme Court, the stay would continue until the Supreme Court ruled on the case. If the Supreme Court denied certiorari, the stay would end.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Appellate court ruling
Attorneys for the steel companies were shocked by the ruling. They applied to the court for an amendment to the ruling requiring maintenance of the status quo. The court agreed to hear the application. At 10:27 a.m. on May 1, the Court of Appeals heard 45 minutes of oral argument from each side. The court reconvened at 1:30 p.m. and announced in a 5-4 ruling that it was denying the petition for an amended ruling.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Appellate court ruling
On the evening of May 1, Truman called Murray and asked for the strike to be called off pending a ruling of the Supreme Court. Murray agreed.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Supreme Court ruling
On May 2 around 10:30 a.m., the federal government attempted to file its appeal to the US Supreme Court. However, the steel companies had already filed (at 9:00 a.m.), which permitted them to open and close oral argument. In accepting the case, the Supreme Court ruled for no material change in the terms and conditions of employment to be made. The ruling was inopportune since President Truman had called steelmakers and the union to the White House that morning to reach an agreement.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Supreme Court ruling
At roughly 3:00 p.m., after Sawyer, Fairless and Murray had bargained for five hours, a tentative agreement had been reached, but word of the Supreme Court's acceptance of the case led the steel executives to back out of the deal. With Truman unable to force a resolution by threatening to impose a contract, the steelmakers' hands were strengthened. Talks continued sporadically until May 10, but Sawyer ended them when it became clear that the employers were not willing to come to an agreement.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Supreme Court ruling
Although a quick decision was expected from the court, the ruling was nearly two weeks in coming. Meanwhile, the steelmakers continued to press their public relations advantage against the Truman administration and the WSB: "Hitler and Mussolini did the same thing in Germany and Italy as Truman has done in the United States," declared Thomas E. Millsop, president of Weirton Steel.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Supreme Court ruling
The Steelworkers held their annual convention while the court deliberated. Murray strongly condemned the actions of the steel manufacturers and declared that if a wage and benefit increase similar to the WSB's recommendation was not forthcoming, the union would strike. Murray declared that if the president attempted to use the Taft–Hartley Act, the union would not only resist but also strike again as soon as the cooling-off period was over.


1952 steel strike, Legal action, Supreme Court ruling
On June 2, 1952, in a 6–3 ruling, the Supreme Court declared in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer that the President lacked the authority to seize the steel mills. Writing for a heavily-divided majority, Justice Hugo Black held that the President had no authority under the Constitution to seize private property on the grounds of national security. Since Congress had not otherwise authorized the president to seize the steel mills, the President could not do so.


1952 steel strike, Strike
The Supreme Court's ruling came at noon, and the government returned the mills to their owners that afternoon. The Steelworkers went on strike a few hours later in companies that included Armco Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Great Lakes Steel Corporation, Inland Steel, Jones and Laughlin Steel, Republic Steel, Sharon Steel, U.S. Steel, Wheeling Steel, and Youngstown Sheet and Tube as well as numerous small manufacturers.


1952 steel strike, Strike
The evening of June 2, Truman called a meeting of his top advisors to discuss what to do. Attending the meeting were Attorney-General James P. McGranery, who had been confirmed by the Senate on May 20; Solicitor General Philip Perlman; Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett; White House Counsel Charles S. Murphy; Press Secretary Joseph Short; Steelman; and Sawyer. The group discussed invoking Taft–Hartley but felt that the union would resent it and that the law would do little to end the strike.


1952 steel strike, Strike
Truman convened a second meeting the next morning. Several other advisors were also present, in addition to the initial group: former White House Counsels and close Truman confidantes Sam Rosenman and Clark Clifford; Secretary of Labor Maurice J. Tobin; and National Production Authority director Henry H. Fowler. The group considered but rejected both the use of Taft–Hartley and asking Congress for legislation to end the strike, but those courses of action were both rejected. Instead, the group decided to sponsor additional talks.


1952 steel strike, Strike
New collective bargaining talks opened in Pittsburgh on June 5 that were productive but foundered on the issue of the union shop.


1952 steel strike, Strike
The economic impact of the strike began to be felt immediately. Layoffs in a number of steel-dependent industries occurred only two days after the strike began. National defense mobilization authorities began denying manufacturers of consumer goods steel four days after the strike started, and they banned the export of steel on June 10. By June 17, defense plants producing the M47 Patton tank, the M41 Walker Bulldog tank, trucks, bazooka rockets, and mortar shells had all shut down or were running half- or quarter-shifts. By June 21, consumer inventories of steel were almost gone, which forced manufacturing shutdowns in the auto industry. As the Independence Day holiday neared, most inventories of steel were gone even from defense stockpiles.


1952 steel strike, Strike, Union strategy
The union's collective bargaining strategy was two-pronged. The union participated in all collective bargaining talks to seek a national master contract but the union also devised a divide-and-conquer strategy in which it attempted to secure contracts with weaker, often smaller, steelmakers. The first success at the second strategy came at Lukens Steel (later purchased by Bethlehem Steel) on June 11. A tentative agreement was reached with major steel producer Bethlehem Steel on June 23, but the other manufacturers forced the company to retract its agreement and to cancel the deal.


1952 steel strike, Strike, Union strategy
The union also had to forestall invocation of the Taft–Hartley Act. Union leaders felt they had already delayed long enough (five months) and that further delays would only harm union members. Truman was under intense pressure from Congress and his own aides to invoke Taft–Hartley. Murray reiterated the union's opposition to the law and its intention to fight an injunction, statements thattended to inflame emotions and delay a resolution to the strike.


1952 steel strike, Strike, Union strategy
Murray also worried that the impact of the strike on national defense would turn the public against the strike. On June 19, a limited number of union members agreed to return to work to finish and to deliver steel for certain critical defense needs.


1952 steel strike, Strike, Changing  Tactics
Congress was active in the strike as well, both house passing nonbinding resolutions urging Truman to use the Taft–Hartley Act to end the strike and introducing or passing various bills to permit the president to end the strike. Ultimately, however, Congress did not act before the strike ended.


1952 steel strike, Strike, Changing  Tactics
The first break in the strike came Pittsburgh Steel signed an agreement with the union on June 27. The agreement significantly undercut employer solidarity in the strike, and the six largest employers (Bethlehem, Inland, Jones and Laughlin, Republic, U.S. Steel, and Youngstown Sheet and Tube) worried that enough small employers would sign agreements to make the strike uneconomical.