The Supreme Court Reborn: Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt

by William E. Leuchtenburg

For almost sixty years, the results of the New Deal have been an accepted part of political life. Social Security, to take one example, is now seen as every American's birthright. But to validate this revolutionary legislation, Franklin Roosevelt had to fight a ferocious battle against the
opposition of the Supreme Court--which was entrenched in laissez faire orthodoxy. After many lost battles, Roosevelt won his war with the Court, launching a Constitutional revolution that went far beyond anything he envisioned.
In The Supreme Court Reborn , esteemed scholar William E. Leuchtenburg explores the critical episodes of the legal revolution that created the Court we know today. Leuchtenburg deftly protrays the events leading up to Roosevelt's showdown with the Supreme Court. Committed to laissez faire doctrine,
the conservative "Four Horsemen"--Justices Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland, and McReynolds, aided by the swing vote of Justice Owen Roberts--struck down one regulatory law after another, outraging Roosevelt and much of the Depression-stricken nation. Leuchtenburg demonstrates that Roosevelt thought
he had the backing of the country as he prepared a scheme to undermine the Four Hoursemen. Famous (or infamous) as the "Court-packing plan," this proposal would have allowed the president to add one new justice for every sitting justice over the age of seventy. The plan picked up considerable
momentum in Congress; it was only after a change in the voting of Justice Roberts (called "the switch in time that saved nine") and the death of Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson that it shuddered to a halt. Rosevelt's persistence led to one of his biggest legislative defeats. Despite the
failure of the Court-packing plan, however, the president won his battle with the Supreme Court; one by one, the Four Horsemen left the bench, to be replaced by Roosevelt appointees. Leuchtenburg explores the far-reaching nature of FDR's victory. As a consequence of the Constitutional Revolution
that began in 1937, not only was the New Deal upheld (as precedent after precedent was overturned), but also the Court began a dramatic expansion of Civil liberties that would culminate in the Warren Court. Among the surprises was Senator Hugo Black, who faced widespread opposition for his lack of
qualifications when he was appointed as associate justice; shortly afterward, a reporter revealed that he had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite that background, Black became an articulate spokesman for individual liberty.
William E. Leuchtenburg is one of America's premier historians, a scholar who combines depth of learning with a graceful style. This superbly crafted book sheds new light on the great Constitutional crisis of our century, illuminating the legal and political battles that created today's Supreme
Court.

Genres: History

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

William Edward Leuchtenburg was an American historian who was the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a leading scholar of the life and career of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry as kindling and lazily assembled from previous essays and articles. The book occasionally stumbles into an interesting narrative, but certainly not to the degree it should. The summaries of Humphrey's Executor and, to a lesser extent, West Coast Hotel are worthwhile, whereas the guts of the book- Court Packing- are somehow both bloated and anemic. It's a drag and I'm glad to be rid of it.

[Nico Nalbantian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4/5 for lawyers and history students (especially US 20th century). Likely would be a 2/5 for someone looking for approachable non-fiction, this is a collection of conference essays that assume prior knowledge, not a friendly entry point into US civil rights history.

[Rizvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a great fan of justice.

[Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually dont rate books, as an author myself I dont like to pass judgement. But this was excellent

[Frank Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book that shows the reader both the highest halls of power in Washington and how decisions there impacted lives of the individuals across the country.

This book is really a collection of essays, written over 30 years by somehow who has thought long and hard about the "Constitutional Revolution of 1937." This was the moment where the Supreme Court stopped striking down economic legislation of both the states and the New Deal, and started upholding civil liberties against government invasion. Reading the book leaves one with little doubt that this was a real revolution, one which challenged and changed the understanding of our constitution that had reigned for over a century, and it was a revolution carried out by nine, or more often by five, old men in black robes.

Most of these essays deal with in-depth analyses of individual cases. One examines Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes infamous Buck v. Bell decision, which allowed states to sterilize supposed "mental defectives." Leuchtenburg shows that Carrie Bell was really a fairly smart woman who was hospitalized for sexually immoral behavior. Both her mom and her daughter, supposed also to be mentally inferior, inspiring Holmes classic phrase "three generations of imbeciles are enough," were also bright, with decent to good marks in school. The suit itself was possibly a "friendly" one, designed by both sides to get a hearing in court with no real defender for poor Carrie Bell. Holmes, still praised by the liberal deferentalists in the press, thought he had "gotten to the heart of real reform."

Leuchtenbeurg also deals with Justice Owen Roberts in the "Rail Pension" case in 1935, which overturned an early form of social security for railroad workers and first inspired in Roosevelt his desire to pack the court. Turns out he had Republican presidential aspirations in the next year. When he switched to the liberal side in the "case of the Wenatchee chambermaid," as Leuchtenburg calls it, in 1937, which upheld a minimum wage law (which only applied to women) and got back pay to a laundress from a Washington state hotel, the whole constitutional structure began to shift. It is possible the Democratic landslide in 1936 influenced his decision, but the court packing plan Roosevelt just proposed did not, though the Wenatachee decision did help doom that proposal.

Any one who cares about American government or just great storytelling should read this book.

[Tom Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of Essays by the author about I would recommend it to those interested in constitutional history. The generous notes are a rich source for court history enthusiasts, as it leads to more interesting books and articles about the subject.
I would recommend the following chapters as exceptional:
Chapter One, "Mr. Justice Holmes and Three Generations of Imbeciles"
Chapter Four, "The Origins of Franklin D. Roosevelts 'Court-Packing' Plan"
Chapter Nine, "The Birth of America's Second Bill of Rights"

[Blake Maddux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a narrative history, but a collection of articles and lectures by the author. Still, it flows wonderfully, and the info-packed chapters reinforce each other nicely.