Roosevelt takes on the Supreme Court

1. Roosevelt is unhappy as the Supreme Court is blocking the New Deal. Particularly annoyed as they are Republicans

2. Annoyed they still uphold the principle of Laissez- faire- seen as outdated 

3. Believed the Supreme Court is going against public opinion

4. Most concerned about supreme court ruining the 'Social Security Act' 

5. People voting for him gave him a mandate for more radical reform

6. He refers to the Supreme Court as the 'Nine Old Men' - age average-71

Judicial Procedures Reform Bill- did not pass

'Court Packing'

If they reach 70 and don't retire a new judge would be appointed anyway

During the time there was 6 judges that were over 70, this would have taken the supreme court up to 15- potentially

Roosevelt's argument was that if there was more judges, things will go through quicker, reducing the workload. 

Roosevelt's point was not right about how it would lead to less work. It would have lead to more work as it would take longer for decisions to be made, due to more viewpoints

Chief Justice- argued it will slow things down

He also argued that becuase they were old they were conservative

However Justice Brandeis was the oldest judge at 79, and was the most liberal

He was trying to influence the Supreme Court decisions, which would stop it from making independent decision

People thought if he started to mess around with Supreme Court he might move to the Congress. 

People started to believe Roosevelt was to become a dictator

The Supreme Court should not be touched as it is sacred and works 

He did not mention during his election, as people would not have liked the idea. Even leading Democrats did not know his plan

All he wanted was to get his legislation passed

People could see right through his intentions and the congress rejected it, because of this many people lost their trust in him