What was the purpose of President Roosevelts court packing plan?

Answer 1

The reason why President Roosevelt devised the court packing plan was so that the size of the Supreme Court would increase. He wanted to have a more diverse set of opinions and wanted to bring in new justices.

Answer 2

President Roosevelt wanted to dilute the vote of the conservative Supreme Court justices who kept overturning New Deal legislation by appointing more liberal justices who would support his economic plan.

The justices Roosevelt inherited when he was elected were old, conservative, Lochner-era justices who supported business interests over citizens' rights, and who overturned six of Roosevelt's eight major New Deal programs as unconstitutional. Although the Court was generally obstructionist, in most cases, the justices legitimately checked Congress's inappropriate use of the Interstate Commerce Clause.

From Roosevelt's perspective, they were preventing the Executive and Legislative branches from stabilizing the economy through innovative government intervention, however.

Answer 3

FDR proposed a plan to add a new justice for each Supreme Court Justice over 70 years of age and increase the size of the Court up to 15. This would give the President the power to "pack the court" with justices who would support the New Deal. Reaction in both Congress and the nation at large was hostile. FDR's plan was considered to be tampering with the Constitution and the separation of powers. FDR backed down and the Supreme Court actually approved several key New Deal enactment's. Since many on the Court were old, FDR ended up appointing eight new Justices before he died.