Supreme Flashcards
What type of solutions was the ND trying to create? What was there opposition to in relation to this?
National solutions
Opposition to centralisation and mass want for continued federalism
Name the 4 Horsemen
- Devanter
- McReynolds
- Sutherland
- Butler
Name the 3 Liberals
- Stone
- Cardozo
- Brandeis
Name the 2 swing judges
- roberts
- hughes
What was Hughes concerned with?
the preservation of the Supreme Court and its authority
Schechter Poultry decision - date and verdict
Black Monday May 1935
unanimous unconstitutional
Schechter Poultry decision against what New Deal body
NIRA
Franzier-Lemke Act did what
restricted banks ability to repossess farms
Franzier Lemke eventually ruled constitutional after
3yr moratorium added
Date : USA vs Butler
Jan 1936
What did USA vs Butler rule?
What was the scale of the verdict
AAA unconstitutional
6:3
What did the USA vs Butler decision trigger?
Soil Conservation Act 6 weeks later
When was New York’s minimum wage for children / women ruled unconstitutional ? What was the verdict?
June 1936
5:4
What reaction was received when New York’s minimum wage for children / women unconstitutional
mass fury from the public towards the Court
one of their most unpopular decisions
even condemned by Hoover
What did the 1936 election victory for FDR show?
mass topic was wage-hour legislation
victory for FDR showed that public opinion was not with the Supreme Court
showed President - not Court - spoke for nation’s interests
public will was for the continuation of government intervention
What did the 1936 election victory do within the Supreme Court?
worried Hughes who sought the Court’s preservation of authority
impressed Roberts by the dimensions of FDR’s landslide
What did FDR interpret his landslide victory as?
support of the ND
a call for him to overcome the obstacle of Supreme Court opposition
Voter turn out 1936
62%
FDR’s vote
61%
What happened to FDR’s negro vote 1932-36
X2
Landon’s vote
36.5%
Republican candidate 1936
Landon
Lemke’s vote
880,000
Who was Lemke the candidate for?
National Union of Social Justice
Browder’s votes
79,000
How many laws invalidated pre 1935?
60
How many laws invalidated in 18months 1935-36
11
When did FDR announce his court packing plan?
Feb 1937
Real name for court packing plan
judiciary reform bill
How many new justices did Roosevelt seek the appointment of?
6
Who died from the strain of pushing the bill through?
Senator Robinson
What were congress increasingly suspicious of?
Roosevelt’s totalitarian line and inflated sense of political power
Rejection of JRB
70:20
Verdict for Franzier-Lemke
unconstitutional
9:0
When was Washington’s minimum wage validated?
What was its verdict? Why was there this change?
March 1937
5:4 constitutional
Roberts switched - forming progressive majority
When did FDR decide to turn towards supporting progressive majority more again?
following FDR’s landslide win
following Hughes advising Roberts
What verdict followed the month after Washington’s wage validated
Wagner Act validated
When was the Wagner Act validated?
What was the verdict
April 1937
5:4
What was found constitutional in May 1937? By what verdict? What was notable about this?
Social Security Act
5:4
pensions previously ruled unconstitutional in 1936
this verdict reversed this
What Act was surprisingly passed by the Court following the Wagner / SSA / Washington wage?
Fair Labour Standards Act
What was the order of the act’s being found constitutional?
March 1937
April 1937
May 1937
March 1937 - Washington wage
April 1937 - Wagner
May 1937 - SSA
What happened to do with court composition in 1937?
Devanter decided to retire
Roosevelt able to appoint his first S.C judge
What happened beginning of 1938 with court composition
2nd judge retired from horsemen
by beginning 1938 FDR had 2 judges of his appointment within the court
clear progressive majority
When was the Court Packing bill ruled unconstitutional
How was this decision influenced by its timing?
June 1937
following several rulings pro-New Deal
following Devanter’s decision to retire
following Robinson’s death
What did Tindall refer to the Court crisis as?
FDR’s Pyrrhic victory
Ultimately FDR lost the battle for the JRB..but won the war for…
the continuation of progressivism and government intervention
Key success of Court Packing Plan & associated evaluation point
staved off expected invalidation of Social Security and Wagner Acts
arguably was due to FDR’s mass election victory - not only the threat of the Plan itself
Major disadvantages of the JRB
- seen by congress as authoritarian and dictatorial
- middle class and Southern Democrats begin to turn away
- division of Democrats
alliance between N.Republicans and S.Democrats
In 1937 what act did not pass / receive FDR’s support since FDR did not want to push S.Democrats further away?
Anti-Lynching Bill
What projects were abandoned after JRB?
several mock TVA projects
When did FDR hold a Special Congressional Session where none of his legislation was passed? Why was this of limited importance?
November 1937
major pillars of FDR’s New Deal passed and remained intact (e.g Wagner / SSA)
When was the Fair Labour Standards Act passed?
1938
Who replaced Devanter? What was he the architect of?
Black
Fair Labour Standards Act
How many people’s wages were raised by the Fair Labour Standards Act?
300,000
How many peoples hours were reduced due to Fair Labour Standards Act?
1.3million
When was the 2nd AAA introduced?
1938
What happened in the 1938 Congressional Elections?
FDR attempted to unseat several conservatives
failed almost totally
Republicans gained X8 Senate Seats
Republicans doubled their representation in the House of Representatives
when did the Supreme Court rule sit down strikes illegal?
1939
What does the passing of the 2nd AAA show about the Supreme Court’s influence?
unable to change the direction of the New Deal
What did the 2nd AAA entail?
quota system
commodity credit corporation
When was the 2nd AAA passed?
1938
What 2 Acts demonstrate how the Supreme Court was unable to change the direction of the New Deal? When were these passed?
2nd AAA
Fair Labor Standards Act
1938
