Month that Franklin Roosevelt announced his Court Packing plan which is the subject of much of my book. Ill talk to in a moment. The clash between roosevelt and hughes at a critical time in American History is a great story and an important one. Also it raises questions that were important 75 years ago and are important today. One being whether life tenured justices, conservative justices of the Supreme Court can thwart the popular will. Alternatively, whether a popularly elected president can try to bend the court to his political policies. And those are questions and issues that are with us today as they were 75 years ago. First let me tell you a little bit about roosevelt and hughes who were remarkable leaders of the 20th century. They had a great deal in common. Both were born in new york. Both were only children to doting parents. Both were ivy league educated. Roosevelt went to harvard and hughes went to brown. Both were two term reformed governors of new york. So that was what t
Im i did a book on a liberal president and a conservative court. Have you ever heard of any of those . Well, of course you have. But its not the present liberal president and a conservative court. It is the president Franklin Roosevelt and the hughes court of the 1930s. Indeed, it was 75 years ago this month that Franklin Roosevelt announced his Court Packing plan which is the subject of much of my book. Ill talk to in a moment. The clash between roosevelt and hughes at a critical time in American History is a great story and an important one. Also it raises questions that were important 75 years ago and are important today. One being whether life tenured justices, conservative justices of the Supreme Court can thwart the popular will. Alternatively, whether a popularly elected president can try to bend the court to his political policies. And those are questions and issues that are with us today as they were 75 years ago. First let me tell you a little bit about roosevelt and hughes w