In FDR v. The Constitution: The Court-Packing Fight and the Triumph of Democracy, Soloman puts on display the battle between the three branches of government over FDR's court plan. Adding a justice for every current Supreme Court justice over the age of seventy, FDR promoted it as improving the efficiency of the court. He really meant to bend the court to his and the people's will. The two other branches went up against the popular president to block the plan.
The Supreme Court
Soloman's intimate look at the Supreme Court justices reveals them as more than just "nine old men." He offers small bios on each justice. For instance, James McReynolds, leader of the conservative "Four Horseman," was a disliked, rude anti semite and racist. The liberal Louis Brandeis and his wife lived unpretentiously, investing their money instead and became millionaires, although you wouldn't know it.
The backround of the Supreme Court is also offered, historically showing how the court came to support the laissez faire philosophy. It took two moderate justices, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Owen Roberts, to shift the court to a more activist mode, albeit on 5-4 majorities during the court-packing fight. Soloman surmises, on circumstantial evidence, that Roberts and Hughes recognized the changing times of the Great Depression.
Franklin Roosevelt
A picture of overconfidence is painted by Soloman in describing Roosevelt. Coming off a landslide election victory with expanded Democratic majorities in both houses, FDR was cocky. Only the Supreme Court, which had earlier struck down some of his New Deal programs, could stop him. Soloman points out FDR's mistakes in pushing his court plan, such as not consulting legislators in advance about the plan.
However, Soloman's mistake is limiting Roosevelt's 1938 "purge" to one page. Filled with revenge, FDR supported the adversaries of ten anti court plan senators in the Democratic primaries. He lost every race. A greater telling of this attempted purge would have enhanced the picture of FDR's overconfidence with a bolder streak of vindictiveness.
Senator Burton K. Wheeler
Leading the opposition to the court bill in the Senate was Montana senator Burt Wheeler. Soloman captures the intensity of the man, going back to his attorney days fighting corporate corruption. From his passionate radio speech, to going on tour to berate the court plan, Wheeler was a thorn in Roosevelt's side.
The senators Wheeler worked with adjusted their schedules during the days of heated debate to attend the Major League All-Star game in Washington. Also, the German air ship Hindenburg burst into flames in New Jersey as the court-packing fight raged. These and other asides, which may seem irrelevant, add a little perspective to the story. You get a feel for the times.
FDR v. The Constitution is an education in American democracy. Reading how the three branches of government in 1937 checked and balanced each other makes you appreciate the Constitution. Soloman not only offers a history lesson, but civics lesson as well.
Published by Walker, 2009, ISBN-13: 978-0-8027-1589-0
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