Roosevelt's Court Packing Plan

"Supreme Court 1932" by Courtesy of U.S. Supreme Court - Courtesy of U.S. Supreme Court Photo available on the Smithsonian web site: http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/2c2_a.html. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia.[

By 1937 several of FDR's New Deal legislation including the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the National Recovery Act had been ruled unconstitutional by the more conservative members of the Supreme Court. In frustration, FDR proposed a plan in which he could appoint an additional Supreme Court justice for each justice that did not retire by the age of 70 1/2. The plan would allow him to appoint up to 5 additional justices. This plan was a huge political mistake for FDR and ultimately not needed.

Essential Question

Why did FDR launch his attack on the Supreme Court in 1937 and why did it fail?

Assignment

Use the primary and secondary sources to write an essay that addresses the following: Why did FDR launch his attack on the Supreme Court in 1937 and why did it fail?. Your essay should be in the following format: Paragraph 1: Introduction paragraph Paragraph 2: What was Franklin D. Roosevelt's packing plan? Paragraph 3: How did FDR justify his plan? Paragraph 4: What was public and political reaction to the plan? Paragraph 5: How would this have affect the principle of checks and balances? Paragraph 6: Conclusion You need to use evidence from at least 3 primary sources. Turn a link to your finished essay into Canvas.