Introduction
Read markers 1, 2, 3 to learn more about the political cartoon.
This 1937 Clifford Berryman political cartoon is titled "FDR's 1937 Court-packing proposal" (IRC).
- In February 1937, Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced a plan to make the conservative vote less powerful on the court: for every justice over 70 who did not retire, the president could appoint an additional one, up to a total of 16. Even though the Constitution did not specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court, FDR's "court-packing" scheme was clearly a political move.
- Even though the Constitution did not specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court, FDR's "court-packing" scheme was clearly a political move. It alienated many of FDR's supporters. It was a futile effort to get congress to approve his plan.
- Although the New Deal created a number of successful programs, a conservative Supreme Court increasingly threatened its gains. In 1935 and '36, the Court declared the NRA and the AAA unconstitutional.
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