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1932 › Herbert Hoover (Republican) › Independence of the Supreme Court

Preserve the independence of the Supreme Court from party control

pledge_forwarddirectional_stancecandidate_directevidence A Government & Institutions similar solutions · similar reasoning

Solution

Continue appointing justices 'solely on the basis of their character and their mental power' regardless of party; reject any conception of the Court as 'an instrument of party policy.'

Rationale

Roosevelt's Baltimore remark that Republicans controlled 'the Supreme Court as well' implies 'a state of mind' that would make the Court 'subservient to him and his party.'

Recorded because the 1937 court-packing fight makes this exchange retrospectively significant.

Statements (2)

1932-10-28 · Campaign address, Indianapolis · generalcandidate_direct ✓ verified

For generations the Republican and Democratic Presidents alike have made it their most sacred duty to respect and maintain the independence of America's greatest tribunal.

Source: Address in Indianapolis, Indiana (1932-10-28)

1932-10-31 · Campaign address, Madison Square Garden, New York · generalcandidate_direct ✓ verified

But is the Democratic candidate really proposing his conception of the relation of the Executive with the Supreme Court? If that is his idea, he is proposing the most revolutionary new deal, the most stupendous breaking of precedent, the most destructive undermining of the very safeguard of our form of government yet proposed by any Presidential candidate.

Source: Address at Madison Square Garden in New York City (1932-10-31)

Follow-through

not_applicable

Hoover lost the election; the pledge could not be tested in office. Roosevelt's 1937 court-enlargement bill was the challenge Hoover foresaw; Congress defeated it.

Enacted by others

1937-02-05

Franklin D. Roosevelt

message Judicial Procedures Reform Bill (defeated)

source

Other positions on this issue

A Workers' Rights Amendment; curb the Supreme Court's power over Congress; proportional representation; direct election of the President — Norman Thomas, 1932 specific_pledge
An independent Supreme Court secure from executive or legislative invasion; maintain the balance between States and nation — Alf Landon, 1936 directional_stance

1932-hoover-supreme-court-independence · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed