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With the retirement of [[William Howard Taft|Chief Justice Taft]] in 1930, Hughes was appointed Chief Justice by President [[Herbert Hoover]] in 1930; he retired in 1941.

With the retirement of [[William Howard Taft|Chief Justice Taft]] in 1930, Hughes was appointed Chief Justice by President [[Herbert Hoover]] in 1930; he retired in 1941.

Hughes's jurisprudence during both court tenures reveals that the resolution of the constitutional crisis of 1937 represented an important break not only from laissez-faire constitutionalism but also from Progressive-era liberalism. There was a parallel but more rapid ideological transition in Britain, where pre-World War I New Liberalism was eclipsed by rise of the Labour Party and its program of national economic planning and social welfare. The author also offers a perspective on the recent rich constitutional scholarship on the 1930's and on Hughes's career. Raised as a good-government mugwump, the advocate in his mature years of a "regulatory" American version of British New Liberalism, Hughes ended his public life reluctantly supporting the "statist, social welfare" liberalism of the New Deal, a system that for many leading Progressives represented the antithesis of the liberal ideal.<ref>Henretta (2006)</ref>

Hughes's jurisprudence during both court tenures reveals that the resolution of the constitutional crisis of 1937 represented an important break not only from laissez-faire constitutionalism but also from Progressive-era liberalism. There was a parallel but more rapid ideological transition in Britain, where pre-World War I New Liberalism was eclipsed by rise of the Labour Party and its program of national economic planning and social welfare. The author also offers a perspective on the recent rich constitutional scholarship on the 1930s and on Hughes's career. Raised as a good-government mugwump, the advocate in his mature years of a "regulatory" American version of British New Liberalism, Hughes ended his public life reluctantly supporting the "statist, social welfare" liberalism of the New Deal, a system that for many leading Progressives represented the antithesis of the liberal ideal.<ref>Henretta (2006)</ref>

    

    

In reaction to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s proposed court-packing attempt in 1937, Hughes wrote a letter to Montana senator [[Burton K. Wheeler]], a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee who led the opposition. Hughes based his opposition on the simple premise that there would be more judges to hear, confer, discuss, and decide, thus making sound decisions by the court extremely difficult. Hughes' letter helped convince the legal profession nationwide that Roosevelt's plan was unwise. It failed in the Senate.

In reaction to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s proposed court-packing attempt in 1937, Hughes wrote a letter to Montana senator [[Burton K. Wheeler]], a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee who led the opposition. Hughes based his opposition on the simple premise that there would be more judges to hear, confer, discuss, and decide, thus making sound decisions by the court extremely difficult. Hughes' letter helped convince the legal profession nationwide that Roosevelt's plan was unwise. It failed in the Senate.