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Did President Roosevelt propose legislation in 1937 that would increase support of his ideas on the US Supreme Court?
Answer
Yes. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt drafted a bill for Congress titled the "Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937," which became popularly known as the "Court-packing Plan," for Roosevelt's attempt to add as many as six new Justices to the Supreme Court. Roosevelt hoped to build more support for New Deal programs.
Although the bill endeavored a broad overhaul and modernization of the federal court system, its most important provision was the proposal that one new Justice be appointed for every sitting Justice over the age of 70.5, up to a maximum of six members (which could potentially have brought the total count to 15).
The motivation behind this change was the President's frustration with the conservative majority opposition to his New Deal legislation. Roosevelt believed the incumbent justices were too old and set in their ways to appreciate the bold scope of the President's plans to revive the economy. He hoped that, by stacking the Court with more liberal Justices, those who shared his ideology, he would create an atmosphere more favorable toward his policies.
Roosevelt's proposed legislation failed when the Senate voted 70-20 to return the bill to the Judiciary Committee with explicit instructions to strip it of its court-packing provisions.
For more information, see Related Questions, below.
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In addition to the president who did the Virginia plan propose should have power to veto legislation?
The Supreme Court
Does the Supreme Court pass legislation?
No. Congress passes legislation.
Which president tried to pack the supreme court in 1930?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to "pack" the Supreme Court in 1937, not 1930. His idea was to increase the number of justices, and appoint his own people to fill all of the new vacancies. While technically legal, most people thought it was bad form, and the idea was never implemented. And the advent of the European war in 1939 (which was obviously coming even in 1936) calmed down a lot of the political turmoil within the US as the '30s came to a close.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unhappy with the Supreme Court because its members?
President Roosevelt was unhappy with the US Supreme Court because they ruled six of eight New Deal Programs and one government agency unconstitutional. President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress hoped to improve economic conditions in the United States during and immediately after the Great Depression through a series of programs known as the New Deal. Unfortunately, Roosevelt inherited a court full of older justices who disapproved of the legislation, and declared six of Congress' eight major Acts unconstitutional, thwarting Roosevelt's plans. Roosevelt was angry with the justices, whom he referred to as the "Nine Old Men," for refusing to allow New Deal policies to work as intended. In Roosevelt's mind, the Supreme Court presented a major obstacle to economic recovery and stabilization because of their conservatism. For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Which President appointed the second most US Supreme Court justices?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated eight justices to the US Supreme Court, which is the second highest number of appointments after President Washington, who nominated eleven justices.Hugo Black........................................1937-1971Stanley Foreman Reed........................1938-1957Felix Frankfurter.................................1939-1962William O. Douglas.............................1939-1975Frank Murphy.....................................1940-1949James Francis Byrnes..........................1941-1942Robert Houghtwood Jackson................1941-1954Wiley Rutledge...................................1943-1949
