On February 5th, 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt announced his plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 Judges. This unconstitutional move was in response to the hostility that the court held towards his “New Deal”, itself an unconstitutional expansion of government authority. Roosevelt was flushed with his landslide victory in 1936, so Roosevelt pressed his advantage. In April of that year, two justices conceded the high moral ground and capitulated to his demands allowing for a narrow victory on the New Deal. The reorganization was now unnecessary and in July the Senate struck it down, but the damage was already done. By 1942, all but two of the justices were Roosevelt’s appointees setting the stage for the collapse of the checks and balances in the government along with the morally disastrous progressive rulings that have followed.
Notes for Friday – February 05, 2016
