Ludlow Resolution

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LUDLOW RESOLUTION

LUDLOW RESOLUTION, a proposed constitutional amendment introduced by Rep. Louis Ludlow of Indiana in 1935. It was a by-product of the Senate munitions investigation of 1934 and the keep-America-out of-war movement, which culminated in the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937. This proposal limited the power of Congress by requiring a popular referendum to ratify a declaration of war except in case of actual attack on the United States or its outlying territories. The resolution gained considerable popularity, and only strenuous efforts by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt prevented its coming to a final vote in the House of Representatives in January 1938.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cole, Wayne S. Roosevelt and the Isolationists, 1932–45. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983.

Devine, Robert. The Illusion of Neutrality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.

Harold H.Sprout/t. m.

See alsoIsolationism ; Munitions ; Neutrality ; War and the Constitution .