Question

To what 1937 FDR plan does the cartoon probably refer? Did FDR follow through with that plan? Why or why not

Answer 1

The cartoon probably refers to the Court packing plan.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, which intended to expand the Supreme Court. This plan pretended to add one new judge to the federal judicial system for every active judge over the age of seventy up to a maximum of fifteen judges.

This proposal was understood as an act to pack the Court with justices who would support Roosevelt's New Deal, since the US Supreme Court hadn’t approved several New Deal economic measures during the Great Depression. The plan was known as the "Court-packing Plan". Although the 1937 FDR plan failed in Congress, by the end of 1941 Roosevelt managed to achieve his proposal by serving twelve years in office which allowed him to appoint eight justices to the Court.

Answer 2

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president of the United states form 1933 to 1945. He made efforts to extend the court in 1937 and his suggestion led to the appointment of one additional justice for each holder justice who attained the age of 70 years 6 months and refused to retire up to a maximum bench of 15 justices. This was meant to ease the burden of the docket on elderly judges, but the actual proposal was widely understood as an effort to pack the court with justices who would support Roosevelt's new deal. The plan failed in Congress, however the courts's balance began to shift within months when justice Van Devanter retired and was replaced by senator Hugo black.