Changes

'''Court packing''' refers to schemes to increase the number of justices on the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in order to change the results on key issues and to promote their own agenda. President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] attempted such in 1937 but was rebuked by the majority of his own [[Democratic Party]] for it, including even his steadfast [[New Deal]] ally Robert F. Wagner. On July 22nd of that year, the U.S. Senate voted 70–20 to send the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill to committee where the language corresponding to its totalitarian aims were removed.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s42 TO RECOMMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. S. 1392, A BILL TO REORGANIZE THE JUDICIARY BRANCH.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> All "nays" were from Democrats, including Southern [[segregation]]ists [[Hugo Black]], [[Allen J. Ellender]], [[Hattie Caraway]], and [[Theodore Bilbo]].

'''Court packing''' (also spelled "court-packing") refers to schemes to increase the number of justices on the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] in order to change the results on key issues and to promote their own agenda. President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] attempted such in 1937 but was rebuked by the majority of his own [[Democratic Party]] for it, including even his steadfast [[New Deal]] ally Robert F. Wagner. On July 22nd of that year, the U.S. Senate voted 70–20 to send the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill to committee where the language corresponding to its totalitarian aims were removed.<ref>[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/75-1/s42 TO RECOMMIT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. S. 1392, A BILL TO REORGANIZE THE JUDICIARY BRANCH.]. ''GovTrack.us''. Retrieved June 29, 2021.</ref> All "nays" were from Democrats, including Southern [[segregation]]ists [[Hugo Black]], [[Allen J. Ellender]], [[Hattie Caraway]], and [[Theodore Bilbo]]. ([[#Antithesis_to_civil_rights|see below for more information on court packing and racism]])

Candidate [[Joe Biden]] and [[Democrat]]s plan to try this again if they win in the 2020 election, with their proposed [[swamp]] of Joseph Biden, running mate [[Kamala Harris]], [[Speaker of the House]] [[Nancy Pelosi]], and Senate Minority Leader [[Charles Schumer]].

Then-candidate [[Joe Biden]] in the 2020 election, among Democrats, planned to introduce court-packing in the event of an election victory, with their proposed [[swamp]] of Joseph Biden, running mate [[Kamala Harris]], [[Speaker of the House]] [[Nancy Pelosi]], and Senate Democratic leader [[Charles Schumer]].

Running for president in 2020, candidate [[Joe Biden]] repeatedly refused to answer questions about his court packing plan if he were elected:

Running for president in 2020, candidate [[Joe Biden]] repeatedly refused to answer questions about his court packing plan if he were elected:<ref>Opryso, Caitlin (October 10, 2020). [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/10/biden-supreme-court-battle-428523 Biden again deflects on court packing question]. ''Politico''.</ref>

{{cquote|They'll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/10/biden-supreme-court-battle-428523 Biden again deflects on court packing question]</ref>}}

{{cquote|They'll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over.|||Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D–DE), Oct. 2020}}

The [[U.S. Constitution]] does not establish the number of Supreme Court Justices, which changed multiple times until 1869.

 

The [[U.S. Constitution]] does not establish the number of Supreme Court Justices, which changed multiple times until 1869. The [[Judiciary Act of 1789]] established six justices for the first Supreme Court. [[Lame duck]] President [[John Adams]] signed the Judiciary Act of 1801 to reduced the number to five, but President [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Congress]] subsequently restored it to six by repealing that law, and in 1807 increased the number to seven while also adding an additional seventh [[U.S. Court of Appeals]].

The [[Judiciary Act of 1789]] established six justices for the first Supreme Court. [[Lame duck]] President [[John Adams]] signed the Judiciary Act of 1801 to reduced the number to five, but President [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Congress]] subsequently restored it to six by repealing that law, and in 1807 increased the number to seven while also adding an additional seventh [[U.S. Court of Appeals]].

When the number of federal circuits was expanded further in 1837, President [[Andrew Jackson]] added two more justices to the Supreme Court, for a total of nine. In 1863 [[Congress]] added a tenth circuit and established ten seats on the Supreme Court.  In 1866 Congress reduced the number of justices back to seven, but in 1869 Congress restored the total number to nine.

When the number of federal circuits was expanded further in 1837, President [[Andrew Jackson]] added two more justices to the Supreme Court, for a total of nine. In 1863 [[Congress]] added a tenth circuit and established ten seats on the Supreme Court.  In 1866 Congress reduced the number of justices back to seven, but in 1869 Congress restored the total number to nine.

==Antithesis to civil rights==

==Antithesis to civil rights==

:{{see also|Gavagan–Van Nuys–Wagner Act}}

:{{see also|Gavagan–Van Nuys–Wagner Act}}

In 1937, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed an anti-lynching bill, the Gavagan–Wagner Act, which the U.S. Senate did not take up that year due to its primary business concerned with the Judicial Procedures Reform Act, President Roosevelt's "court-packing plan." The very pro–New Deal, Democratic House sponsor of the anti-lynching bill, [[Joseph A. Gavagan]], noted Roosevelt's shunning of the Act:<ref>Malkiel, Nancy Joan Weiss (1983). [https://archive.org/details/farewelltopartyo00weis Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR]. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref>

In 1937, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed an anti-lynching bill, the Gavagan–Wagner Act, which the U.S. Senate did not take up that year due to its primary business concerned with the Judicial Procedures Reform Act, President Roosevelt's "court-packing plan." The very pro–New Deal, Democratic House sponsor of the anti-lynching bill, [[Joseph A. Gavagan]], noted Roosevelt's shunning of the Act:<ref>Malkiel, Nancy Joan Weiss (1983). [https://archive.org/details/farewelltopartyo00weis Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR]. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref>

{{cquote|This apparent disinterestedness on the part of the White House in legislation of this type always puzzled me, and although I attempted on several occasions to procure an answer to the query, I was unsuccessful. I finally gave up the attempt, convinced that perhaps after all, President Roosevelt was taking first things first and felt that the more demanding questions were more vital to the nation at that particular time than any equal rights legislation.|||Rep. Joseph A. Gavagan (D–NY)}}

{{cquote|This apparent disinterestedness on the part of the White House in legislation of this type always puzzled me, and although I attempted on several occasions to procure an answer to the query, I was unsuccessful. I finally gave up the attempt, convinced that perhaps after all, President Roosevelt was taking first things first and felt that the more demanding questions were more vital to the nation at that particular time than any equal rights legislation.|||Rep. Joseph A. Gavagan (D–NY)}}

Roosevelt, needing Southern Democratic support to maintain any practical hopes of passing the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, sought their support by shunning civil rights efforts,<ref>"Farewell to the Party of Lincoln," pp. 244–45.</ref> as he did previously in effectively opposing the [[Costigan–Wagner Act]], an earlier anti-lynching bill, in 1935.

Roosevelt, in need of Southern Democratic support to maintain any practical hopes of passing the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, sought their support by shunning civil rights efforts,<ref>"Farewell to the Party of Lincoln," pp. 244–45.</ref> as he did to pass programs of the First and Second New Deal previously in effectively opposing the [[Costigan–Wagner Act]], an earlier anti-lynching bill, during 1935. However, his hopes of passing the bill were destroyed when his chief senatorial ally, [[Joseph T. Robinson]] of [[Arkansas]], suddenly died on July 14, 1937, ultimately resulting in defections by Southern Democrats who no longer had a pro–New Deal [[Majority Leader]] to appease.<ref>Egerton, John (1994). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Speak_Now_Against_The_Day/QQ45AAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theodore+bilbo+court+packing&pg=PT177&printsec=frontcover Speak Now Against The Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South]. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref>

 

 

Among the supporters of the court-packing proposal who voted for the substitute was [[John E. Rankin]] of Mississippi,<ref>Zwiers, Maarten (July 11, 2017). [https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/john-elliott-rankin/ John Elliott Rankin]. ''Mississippi Encyclopedia''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref> a New Deal proponent and racial bigot.<ref>Badger, Anthony J. (1989). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_New_Deal/AzVIEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theodore+bilbo+court+packing&pg=PA270&printsec=frontcover The New Deal: Depression Years, 1933–40], p. 270. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref>

===Leftist white supremacist Theodore Bilbo supports the court-packing plan===

===Leftist white supremacist Theodore Bilbo supports the court-packing plan===

The first U.S. senator in 1937 to openly support Roosevelt's plan to pack the Supreme Court was [[Theodore Bilbo]] of [[Mississippi]],<ref>Mickey, Robert (2015). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paths_Out_of_Dixie/yqDwG2MBoNwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theodore+bilbo+court+packing&pg=PA153&printsec=frontcover Paths Out of Dixie: The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944–1972], p. 153. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref> considered one of the most racist federal politicians in the nation's history.

The first U.S. senator in 1937 to openly support Roosevelt's plan to pack the Supreme Court was [[Theodore Bilbo]] of [[Mississippi]],<ref>Mickey, Robert (2015). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Paths_Out_of_Dixie/yqDwG2MBoNwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=theodore+bilbo+court+packing&pg=PA153&printsec=frontcover Paths Out of Dixie: The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944–1972], p. 153. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref> considered one of the most racist federal politicians in the nation's history. Bilbo, a populist influenced by the [[Progressive Movement]] and who launched anti-capitalist tirades, declared himself "one hundred percent for Roosevelt and the New Deal," and praised in turn by FDR as "a real friend of liberal government."<ref>Sjursen, Daniel A. (June 2021). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_True_History_of_the_United_States/KIf7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bilbo+one+hundred+percent+for+roosevelt&pg=PA349&printsec=frontcover A True History of the United States: Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-Capitalism, Militarist Imperialism and Other Overlooked Aspects of American Exceptionalism], p. 349. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref> '''Bilbo's racism throughout the 1930s up until the [[World War II]] years left numerous Democratic colleagues entirely unbothered, invited at one occasion by the Young Democrats of New York to deliver its keynote address.'''<ref>Morgan, Chester M. (1985). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Redneck_Liberal/f8_t3_Ss0_MC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=bilbo+one+hundred+percent+for+roosevelt&pg=PA230&printsec=frontcover Redneck Liberal: Theodore G. Bilbo and the New Deal], p. 230. ''Google Books''. Retrieved June 5, 2023.</ref>

 

 

==References==

==References==

*[https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/packing-the-supreme-court-explained Packing the Supreme Court explained]

*[https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/packing-the-supreme-court-explained Packing the Supreme Court explained]

[[Category:United States History]]

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