HiSET Social Studies Study Questions

Answer: D - The infamous “Supreme Court packing plan” was at the heart of Roosevelt's 1937 Reform Bill, which aimed to add seats to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled many of FDR's New Deal policies to be unconstitutional in the first years of his presidency. In an effort to turn the court in his favor, he proposed adding seats to the bench, which, had Congress approved the bill, would have given Roosevelt the responsibility of appointing judges to fill all of the new positions, thus shifting the outcome of decisions in his favor. The bill was never passed and his attempt to undermine the Supreme Court remains a black mark against his presidency.