Supreme Court Landmarks | The Outsize Power of the Supreme Court Today | 8

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2020

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Throughout our series, we've seen how social movements and partisan politics helped influence the decisions of landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, and thus shape America itself. But how did the Supreme Court get so powerful when America's founders imagined a more limited role? Today, the idea of court-packing, first proposed by Roosevelt to push through his New Deal agenda, is back as a way to rein in the power of the Court. In this episode, Lindsay speaks with Rachel Shelden, an associate professor of history at Penn State and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center about how the Court’s power has grown since its founding, and how politicians and presidents could use that to their advantage.

For more on Rachel Shelden: https://history.la.psu.edu/directory/ras6620

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon music.
0:05.8	Download the app today.
0:09.4	Imagine its February 2nd, 1937.
0:21.3	You're a Republican Senator from Idaho, and tonight you're in the East Room of the White
0:25.1	House.
0:26.1	President Franklin Roosevelt is entertaining dozens of the most important people in Washington
0:30.4	for the annual Judiciary Dinner.
0:33.2	Almost every member of the Supreme Court is here, hobnobbing with senators and socialites.
0:38.8	You wander over to a corner where your friend, Congressman on the House Judiciary Committee,
0:43.3	stands sipping an old fashioned.
0:45.2	As you approach, he raises his glass.
0:47.2	Wow, this is quite an evening.
0:49.1	President sure seems to be in a good mood.
0:51.8	Across the room, Roosevelt is holding court with Chief Justice Hughes.
0:55.4	He should be.
0:56.4	The man's entering his second term with a best showing in the electoral college since
0:59.2	James Monroe.
1:00.6	And Monroe ran unopposed.
1:03.1	Yes, well, he's riding high now, but wait till the court gets through with his agenda
1:07.0	this time round.
1:08.7	You give your friend a rye smile and take a sip of your martini.
1:12.1	Send him down on the Gold Leaf Grand Piano beside you.
	...

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