The President and the Court
Reinterpreting the Court-Packing Episode of 1937
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4294857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael J Nelson (0000-0002-7665-7557, corresponding author), Michael Nelson (0000-0001-6917-4752) |
| Year | 1988 |
| Volume | 103 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 267-293 |
| Publication date | 1988-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2151184 |
| OpenAlex | W2331187016 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
On 5 February 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt, reacting to a long string of Supreme Court decisions that were hostile to New Deal, asked Congress to empower him to pack Court with as many as six new justices, one for every sitting justice 70 years or older who, having served at least ten years, declined to retire. The proposal was highly controversial from start, and whatever chance for passage may have had was lost that spring when Court abandoned its anti-New Deal posture in a series of cases that was instantly dubbed the switch in time that saved nine. A watered-down version of Court-packing plan was tabled into oblivion on 22 July 1937 by a Senate vote of 70 to 20. In 1939, reflecting on two years experience with a now compliant Court, Roosevelt proclaimed that although he had lost Court-packing battle, he had won war. Seventeen years later, James MacGregor Burns concluded that in view of breakdown of Grand Coalition in Democratic party that Courtpacking episode had triggered, it could be better said that he had lost battle, won campaign, but lost war
Criminal court · International law · Political science · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Legal Systems and Judicial Processes
When the People Spoke, What Did They Say
A Switch in Time Saves Nine
Expressive and Instrumental Voting
Presidential Control of High Courts in Latin America
Franklin Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency
The paradox of judicial reforms in Latin America
Electoral and Partisan Forces in the Roosevelt Era
Party Time
Thinking About Economic Interests
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,26 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 2026 (35) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |