{"product_id":"fdrs-gambit-the-court-packing-fight-and-the-rise-of-legal-liberalism-9780197539293","title":"Fdr's Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eA comprehensive, engaging, and revisionist account of the Court fight that ties it to contemporary policy debates. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eIn the last past few years, liberals concerned about the prospect of long-term conservative dominance of the federal courts have revived an idea that famously crashed and burned in the 1930s: court packing. Not surprisingly, today's court packing advocates have run into a wall of opposition, with most citing the 1930s episode as one FDR's greatest failures. In early 1937, Roosevelt-fresh off a landslide victory-stunned the country when he proposed a plan to expand the size of the court by up to six justices. Today, that scheme is generally seen as an act of hubris-an instance where FDR failed to read Congress and the public properly. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFDR's Gambit\u003c\/em\u003e, the eminent legal historian Laura Kalman challenges the conventional wisdom by telling the story as it unfolded, without the distortions of hindsight. Indeed, while scholars have portrayed the Court Bill as the ill-fated brainchild of a hubristic President made overbold by victory, Kalman argues to the contrary that acumen, not arrogance, accounted for Roosevelt's actions. Far from erring tragically from the beginning, FDR came very close to getting additional justices, and the Court itself changed course. As Kalman shows, the episode suggests that proposing a change in the Court might give the justices reason to consider whether their present course is endangering the institution and its vital role in a liberal democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBased on extensive archival research, \u003cem\u003eFDR's Gambit\u003c\/em\u003e offers a novel perspective on the long-term effects of court packing's failure, as a legacy that remains with us today. Whether or not it is the right remedy for today's troubles, Kalman argues that court packing does not deserve to be recalled as one fated for failure in 1937.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLaura Kalman\u003c\/strong\u003e is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a member of the California Bar, and Past President of the American Society for Legal History. She is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Long Reach of the Sixties: LBJ, Nixon, and the Making of the Contemporary Supreme Court\u003c\/em\u003e; \u003cem\u003eRight Star Rising: A New Politics, 1974-1980\u003c\/em\u003e; \u003cem\u003eYale Law School and the Sixties: Revolt and Reverberations\u003c\/em\u003e; \u003cem\u003eThe Strange Career of Legal Liberalism\u003c\/em\u003e; \u003cem\u003eAbe Fortas: A Biography\u003c\/em\u003e; and \u003cem\u003eLegal Realism at Yale, 1927-1960\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50453122351378,"sku":"9780197539293","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3f8c5aec-67e2-4e4f-9ee3-c537616bbe6d.jpg?v=1729836058","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/fdrs-gambit-the-court-packing-fight-and-the-rise-of-legal-liberalism-9780197539293","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}