--- title: "FDR's Court-Packing Plan — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide" description: "FDR's 1937 court-packing plan tried to add up to six Supreme Court justices to protect the New Deal. It failed, but it's key evidence for Topic 7.10 and checks on power." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/fdrs-court-packing-plan" type: "key-term" subject: "AP US History" --- # FDR's Court-Packing Plan — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide ## Definition FDR's "court-packing" plan was his 1937 proposal to add up to six new Supreme Court justices (one for each sitting justice over age 70) so the Court would stop striking down New Deal programs; Congress rejected it as a threat to judicial independence and separation of powers. ## What It Is By 1937, the [Supreme Court](/apush/key-terms/supreme-court "fv-autolink") had become [the New Deal](/apush/unit-7/new-deal/study-guide/O8bvpnFSbBfiQMHlcl4D "fv-autolink")'s biggest obstacle. A conservative majority had struck down major programs, including the National Industrial Recovery Act (1935) and the Agricultural Adjustment Act (1936). Fresh off a landslide reelection, FDR proposed the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, which would let him appoint one new justice for every sitting justice over the age of 70 who refused to retire, up to six total. That could have grown the Court from nine justices to fifteen, all loyal to the New Deal. The plan backfired badly. Even Democrats who loved the New Deal saw it as a president trying to bully a coequal branch of government, and [Congress](/apush/unit-5/reconstruction/study-guide/DiWHCM2v4Drc73iIcfDS "fv-autolink") killed the bill. But here's the twist that shows up on the exam. Around the same time, Justice Owen Roberts began voting to uphold New Deal laws (the famous "switch in time that saved nine"), so FDR effectively got the Court he wanted without ever packing it. The episode fits exactly into KC-7.1.III.B, where conservatives in Congress and the Supreme Court sought to limit the New Deal's scope. ## Why It Matters This term lives in **Topic 7.10 (The New Deal)** in [Unit 7](/apush/unit-7 "fv-autolink") and supports learning objective **[APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") 7.10.A**, explaining how the New Deal impacted American political life. The CED specifically flags that the Supreme Court acted as a brake on the New Deal (KC-7.1.III.B), and the court-packing plan is the single best piece of evidence for that tension. It also connects to the Politics and Power theme, because it's a textbook case of checks and balances actually checking a popular president. If you need evidence that the New Deal had real limits, or that expanded executive power triggered pushback, this is your go-to example. Link up to the [7.10 New Deal study guide](#) for the full program-by-program picture. ## Connections ### New Deal (Unit 7) The court-packing plan only makes sense as a New Deal rescue mission. The Court had been dismantling FDR's recovery programs, and packing it was his attempt to protect everything else, from [Social Security](/apush/key-terms/social-security "fv-autolink") to the Wagner Act. ### [Judicial Review (Unit 4)](/apush/key-terms/judicial-review) [Judicial review](/apush/key-terms/judicial-review "fv-autolink"), established in Marbury v. Madison (1803), is the power FDR was trying to neutralize. He couldn't take the power away, so he tried to change who was using it. That's a great Period 4 to Period 7 continuity thread. ### [Agricultural Adjustment Act (Unit 7)](/apush/key-terms/agricultural-adjustment-act) The Court striking down the AAA in 1936 (United States v. Butler) was one of the rulings that pushed FDR over the edge. Knowing which programs got struck down gives you the "why" behind the plan. ### Constitutional Crisis (Unit 7) Critics in both parties framed the plan as a constitutional crisis in the making, a president rewriting the rules of a coequal branch. The backlash itself is evidence that [separation of powers](/apush/key-terms/separation-of-powers "fv-autolink") still had teeth even at the height of FDR's popularity. ## On the AP Exam No released FRQ has used "court-packing" verbatim, but the concept sits squarely inside testable CED content. On multiple choice, expect it as the answer to stems about limits on the New Deal, conservative opposition to FDR, or checks and balances in the 1930s. On a Unit 7 LEQ or DBQ about the New Deal's impact on politics, the court-packing fight is high-value evidence for a complexity or counterargument point. The New Deal expanded federal power, yes, but Congress and the courts pushed back, and even FDR's own party drew a line. You can also use it in continuity arguments about presidential power versus the judiciary, reaching back to Marbury v. Madison or forward to later executive overreach debates. ## FDR's "court-packing" plan vs Judicial Review Judicial review is the Supreme Court's power to declare laws unconstitutional, established way back in Marbury v. Madison (1803). Court-packing was FDR's 1937 scheme to work around that power, not eliminate it. He wasn't trying to stop the Court from reviewing laws. He was trying to add enough friendly justices that the reviews would come out his way. If a question asks about the Court's power, that's judicial review. If it asks about FDR's response to that power, that's court-packing. ## Key Takeaways - In 1937, FDR proposed adding one new Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over age 70, up to six new justices, which could have expanded the Court to fifteen members. - The plan was a direct response to the Court striking down New Deal programs like the NIRA (1935) and the AAA (1936). - Congress rejected the plan, and even many Democrats opposed it as an attack on judicial independence and separation of powers. - FDR lost the battle but won the war, because Justice Owen Roberts's "switch in time" meant the Court started upholding New Deal legislation anyway. - On the exam, the court-packing fight is your best evidence for KC-7.1.III.B, the point that conservatives in Congress and the Supreme Court limited the New Deal's scope. ## FAQs ### What was FDR's court-packing plan? It was FDR's 1937 proposal (the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill) to appoint one new Supreme Court justice for each sitting justice over age 70, up to six total. The goal was to create a majority that would uphold New Deal legislation instead of striking it down. ### Did FDR actually pack the Supreme Court? No. Congress rejected the plan in 1937, and the Court stayed at nine justices. FDR still got friendlier rulings afterward because Justice Owen Roberts started voting to uphold New Deal laws, the so-called "switch in time that saved nine." ### Why did FDR want to pack the Court? Because the conservative Court kept gutting his agenda. It struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1935 and the Agricultural Adjustment Act in 1936, and FDR feared Social Security and the Wagner Act would be next. ### How is court-packing different from judicial review? Judicial review is the Court's power to strike down laws, established in Marbury v. Madison (1803). Court-packing was FDR's attempt to get around that power by adding justices who would rule his way. One is a constitutional power, the other is a failed political maneuver against it. ### Why did the court-packing plan fail? Even FDR's allies saw it as a power grab that threatened separation of powers and judicial independence, so Congress refused to pass it. 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