A Switch in Time Saves Nine: Institutions, Strategic Actors, and FDR's Court-Packing Plan

Abstract

President Roosevelt's attempt to add as many as six additional justices to the Supreme Court through his infamous "court-packing plan" of 1937 has long been heralded as a misuse of presidential power that nearly undermined the integrity of our constitutional system. Using an analytic narrative framework, we offer an alternative theoretical account of the events and argue that Roosevelt used the proposal to obtain his immediate goal: a shift in policy direction of the Court. Our framework is supported with historical evidence, suggesting that all of the actors were acting rationally by attempting to maximize their payoffs.[PUBLICATON ABSTRACT]