Question

Why did Roosevelt want to change the number of Supreme Court justices from 9 to 15?

a) He wanted to appoint 6 new justices who supported New deal programs.

b) He wanted to balance the court by appointing more Republican justices.

c) He felt the importance of the decisions the court made were too much for 9 justices.

d) He hoped to settle disputes that were occurring between the 9 justices.

Answer 1

What do you think?

Answer 2

@ohxemily ??

Answer 3

I won't tell you the answer. Read this and check if you got the answer:

During 1933-1937, the Court was issuing a number of rulings -- by 6 to 3 or by 5 to 4 -- that struck down major parts of Roosevelt's "New Deal" plan. FDR was afraid that there were several other parts of the "New Deal" that would get struck down too, such as the National Labor Relations Act and the Social Security Act. He wanted to appoint several new Justices without waiting for the other sitting Justices to retire so that his new appointees would *automatically* be supportive of any New Deal laws, and the Court would be more likely to render 10 to 5 or 9 to 6 decisions that upheld everything else in the New Deal.
It was also just as important to get the Court to stop striking down state laws that also reflected liberal values, too. For example, the Court had struck down a state minimum wage law in the 1936 case of Morehead v. Tipaldo. FDR specifically complained that the Court is not allowing either the federal government OR the state governments to pass needed laws. He wanted his new appointees to uphold those state laws, too.

Answer 4

FDR wanted to "pack the court", and the justices weren't supportive of his new deal programs so he wanted new appointees