What was the outcome of the Sick Chickens case of 1935?

• A. The Supreme Court upheld the NIRA as constitutional.
• B. The case led to the immediate expansion of tariffs.
• C. The Supreme Court declared the NIRA illegal and 750 NRA codes were scrapped.
• D. The decision had no lasting impact on policy.

Answer: (C)

This question focuses on how constitutional limits on federal power were used to strike down a major New Deal program. In 1935, the Supreme Court ruled in the Sick Chickens case that the National Industrial Recovery Act went beyond Congress’s powers. The justices said Congress had unconstitutionally delegated broad authority to the executive branch to create and enforce industry-wide codes, and that regulating intrastate production and commerce in this way wasn't permissible under the Commerce Clause. Because of that, the NRA codes had to be scrapped—the Court declared the act illegal and invalidated roughly 750 codes.

So the best answer reflects that ruling: the NIRA was declared illegal and the NRA codes were scrapped. This decision marked a sharp limit on federal regulation at the time and signaled that some New Deal measures could be struck down, reshaping later policy approaches.