Synopses & Reviews
The fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of Franklin Roosevelts attempt to pack the Supreme Court has special resonance today as we debate the limits of presidential authority. The Supreme Court has generated many dramatic stories, none more so than the one that began on February 5, 1937. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, confident in his recent landslide reelection and frustrated by a Court that had overturned much of his New Deal legislation, stunned Congress and the American people with his announced intention to add six new justices. Even though the now-famous court packing” scheme divided his own party, almost everyone assumed FDR would get his way and reverse the Courts conservative stance and long-standing laissez-faire support of corporate America, so persuasive and powerful had he become. I n the end, however, a Supreme Court justice, Owen Roberts, who cast off precedent in the interests of principle, and a Democratic senator from Montana, Burton K. Wheeler, led an effort that turned an apparently unstoppable proposal into a humiliating rejectionand preserved the Constitution.
FDR v. Constitution is the colorful story behind 168 days that rivetedand reshapedthe nation. Burt Solomon skillfully recounts the major New Deal initiatives of FDRs first term and the rulings that overturned them, chronicling as well the politics and personalities on the Supreme Courtfrom the brilliant octogenarian Louis Brandeis, to the politically minded chief justice, Charles Evans Hughes, to the mercurial Roberts, whose switch in time saved nine.” T he ebb and flow of one of the momentous set pieces in American history placed the inner workings of the nations capital on full view as the three branches of our government squared off.
Ironically for FDR, the Court that emerged from this struggle shifted on its own to a liberal attitude, where it would largely remain for another seven decades. Placing the greatest miscalculation of FDRs career in context past and present, Solomon offers a reminder of the perennial temptation toward an imperial presidency that the founders had always feared. Burt Solomon has written about the nations capital and its history for three decades. A longtime correspondent for National Journal, he is the author of The Washington Century: Three Families and the Shaping of the Nations Capital and Where They Aint: The Fabled Life and Untimely Death of the Original Baltimore Orioles, the Team That Gave Birth to Modern Baseball, named one of the twenty best books of the millennium by GQ. He lives inside the Capital Beltway. The Supreme Court has generated many dramatic stories, none more so than the one that began on February 5, 1937. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, confident in his recent landslide reelection and frustrated by a Court that had overturned much of his New Deal legislation, stunned Congress and the American people with his announced intention to add six new justices. Even though the now-famous court packing” scheme divided his own party, almost everyone assumed FDR would get his way and reverse the Courts conservative stance and long-standing laissez-faire support of corporate America, so persuasive and powerful had he become. I n the end, however, a Supreme Court justice, Owen Roberts, who cast off precedent in the interests of principle, and a Democratic senator from Montana, Burton K. Wheeler, led an effort that turned an apparently unstoppable proposal into a humiliating rejectionand preserved the Constitution.
FDR v. Constitution is the colorful story behind 168 days that rivetedand reshapedthe nation. Burt Solomon skillfully recounts the major New Deal initiatives of FDRs first term and the rulings that overturned them, chronicling as well the politics and personalities on the Supreme Courtfrom the brilliant octogenarian Louis Brandeis, to the politically minded chief justice, Charles Evans Hughes, to the mercurial Roberts, whose switch in time saved nine.” T he ebb and flow of one of the momentous set pieces in American history placed the inner workings of the nations capital on full view as the three branches of our government squared off.
Ironically for FDR, the Court that emerged from this struggle shifted on its own to a liberal attitude, where it would largely remain for another seven decades. Placing the greatest miscalculation of FDRs career in context past and present, Solomon offers a reminder of the perennial temptation toward an imperial presidency that the founders had always feared. "During his first term as president, FDR became frustrated by a Supreme Court with a majority of Republican appointees that routinely ruled unconstitutional various New Deal initiatives in narrow 5 to 4 votes. Most particularly, the Court crippled the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933the very heart of FDR's prescription for economic recovery. As Solomon shows in this compelling and painstakingly researched study, after being re-elected by a large plurality in 1936, FDR attempted to revive a long-dead proposal, arguing that all Supreme Court justices 70 years or older either retire or the president be allowed to appoint a tandem judge to serve side-by-side with the older justice. This formula would have allowed FDR to shift the Court's balance of power. Solomon eloquently reveals how the proposalhotly debated in Congress and characterized as a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of the Founderseventually resulted in a stunning and humiliating defeat for FDR, sharply dividing members of his own party in the process."Publishers Weekly
Review
“An engrossing story that hints at the fragility as much as the triumph of democracy.” - Kirkus
“ Painstakingly researched study”- Publishers Weekly
“[A] lively historical narrative… a fluid portrayal of the court-packing episode that will appeal to history buffs.” - Booklist
Review
“An engrossing story that hints at the fragility as much as the triumph of democracy.” - Kirkus
“ Painstakingly researched study”- Publishers Weekly
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Synopsis
The fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of Franklin Roosevelts attempt to pack the Supreme Court has special resonance today as we debate the limits of presidential authority. The Supreme Court has generated many dramatic stories, none more so than the one that began on February 5, 1937. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, confident in his recent landslide reelection and frustrated by a Court that had overturned much of his New Deal legislation, stunned Congress and the American people with his announced intention to add six new justices. Even though the now-famous “court packing” scheme divided his own party, almost everyone assumed FDR would get his way and reverse the Courts conservative stance and long-standing laissez-faire support of corporate America, so persuasive and powerful had he become. I n the end, however, a Supreme Court justice, Owen Roberts, who cast off precedent in the interests of principle, and a Democratic senator from Montana, Burton K. Wheeler, led an effort that turned an apparently unstoppable proposal into a humiliating rejection—and preserved the Constitution.
FDR v. Constitution is the colorful story behind 168 days that riveted—and reshaped—the nation. Burt Solomon skillfully recounts the major New Deal initiatives of FDRs first term and the rulings that overturned them, chronicling as well the politics and personalities on the Supreme Court—from the brilliant octogenarian Louis Brandeis, to the politically minded chief justice, Charles Evans Hughes, to the mercurial Roberts, whose “switch in time saved nine.” T he ebb and flow of one of the momentous set pieces in American history placed the inner workings of the nations capital on full view as the three branches of our government squared off.
Ironically for FDR, the Court that emerged from this struggle shifted on its own to a liberal attitude, where it would largely remain for another seven decades. Placing the greatest miscalculation of FDRs career in context past and present, Solomon offers a reminder of the perennial temptation toward an imperial presidency that the founders had always feared.
Synopsis
FDR v. the Constitution is the colorful story behind 168 days that riveted?and reshaped?the nation. Burt Solomon skillfully recounts the ebb and flow of a moment in American history that placed the inner workings of the nation's capital on full view as the three branches of our government squared off.
About the Author
Burt Solomon has been writing about the nation's capital and its history for two decades. For 17 years he was staff correspondent for National Journal, the nonpartisan weekly magazine about politics and government; he covered the White House during the George H.W. Bush and first Clinton administrations. He is the author of The Washington Century: Three Families and the Shaping of the Nation's Capital, and Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life and Untimely Death of the Original Baltimore Orioles, the Team That Gave Birth to Modern Baseball, named one of the 20 best books of the millennium by GQ. He lives in Washington, D.C.