This excerpt is from a presidential message to Congress regarding his displeasure with Supreme Court rulings against some of his New Deal legislation: The Constitution vests in the Congress direct responsibility in the creation of courts and judicial offices and in the formulation of rules of practice and procedure. . . . The simple fact is that today . . . the personnel of the Federal Judiciary is inisufficient to meet the business before them. . . . It is obvious . . . that some provision must be adopted, which will operate automatically to supplement the work of older judges and accelerate the work of the court. -President Franklin D. Roosevelt, message to Congress on the reorganization of the judicial branch of the government, February 5, 1937 Based on this excerpt and your knowledge of US History, what did President Roosevelt want Congress to do? (1 point) He wanted Congress to replace progressive Supreme Court justices with conservative ones. He wanted Congress to rewrite legislation to make it agreeable to the Supreme Court justices. He wanted Congress to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15. He wanted Congress to increase the number of clerks assigned to the Supreme Court justices.
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The Deep Dive
President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted Congress to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15. This proposal, often referred to as the "court-packing plan," was aimed at allowing him to appoint justices who were more favorable to his New Deal legislation. His frustration stemmed from several Supreme Court rulings that invalidated key parts of the New Deal, and he believed that adding justices would help alleviate the backlog of cases and align the court's decisions with his administration’s goals. Roosevelt's court-packing plan sparked significant controversy and backlash, even from members of his own party. Critics argued that it threatened the independence of the judiciary and set a dangerous precedent for increasing judicial power. Ultimately, the plan failed to gain traction in Congress, but it ignited a fierce debate about the balance of power between the branches of government and the role of the Supreme Court, shaping the future of judicial and legislative relations in the United States.