Final answer:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's attempt to expand the Supreme Court, known as the "court-packing scheme," ultimately failed due to significant opposition, though the Supreme Court began to rule more favorably on New Deal legislation, and Roosevelt eventually appointed seven new justices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Court-Packing Plan
Following his landslide reelection in 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed a plan to expand the Supreme Court by adding a new justice for each sitting justice over the age of seventy.
The goal was to fill the court with justices who would be more favorable to his New Deal policies, which had encountered resistance from the existing conservative justices.
This controversial move, often referred to as Roosevelt's "court-packing scheme," was met with significant opposition from Congress, the public, and even some members of his own party, leading to its ultimate failure.
While the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 never passed, the dynamics within the court shifted during this period.
The famous phrase "a switch in time saves nine" refers to the change in decisions by the Supreme Court, which began to rule in favor of New Deal legislation. By 1941, Roosevelt had appointed seven new justices due to retirements and deaths, thereby reshaping the court without expanding its size.