Final answer:
President Nixon's effort to make the Supreme Court more conservative did not go as planned because some of the justices he appointed, like Harry Blackmun and Lewis Powell, did not consistently rule conservatively, highlighting the unpredictable nature of judicial decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Nixon's attempt to make the Supreme Court more conservative backfired primarily because some of the justices he appointed did not always rule in conservative ways. For example, he nominated Harry Blackmun, who later authored the court's opinion in Roe v. Wade, and Lewis Powell, who often became a swing vote on the Court. While Nixon's motive was to reshape the Court to be more conservative and counteract the liberal rulings of the Warren Court, the outcome was not as rigidly conservative as he had hoped. Judges can be unpredictable in their rulings, regardless of the president who appointed them, as history has shown with other justices like David Souter and Anthony Kennedy, both appointed by Republican presidents but frequently siding with the liberal wing or being the swing vote, respectively.