Town Hall

FDR and the Transformation of the Supreme Court

December 13, 2022

Legal historian Laura Kalman, author of FDR’s Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism; Ken Kersch, professor of political science at Boston College; and Jeff Shesol, author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court, discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt’s constitutional legacy, the court-packing fight, and how his Supreme Court appointees transformed America. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.


Video



Podcast



Participants

Laura Kalman is distinguished research professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also a member of the California Bar, and past president of the American Society for Legal History. Kalman is the author of several books, the most recent of which is FDR’s Gambit: The Court Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism.

Ken Kersch is professor of political science at Boston College. He is the author of five books, including Conservatives and the Constitution: Imagining Constitutional Restoration in the Heyday of American Liberalism, The Supreme Court and American Political Development, and his most recent book, American Political Thought: An Invitation. Kersch is also a contributor to “The Gilded Age through the New Deal” section of the National Constitution Center’s Founders’ Library.

Jeff Shesol is a founding partner of West Wing Writers and former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. He is the author of Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Defined a Decade; Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court; and most recently Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War. Shesol has also taught presidential history at Princeton University, where he was the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow in American Studies.

Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.


Additional Resources

 

Transcript

View Transcript

This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.

 

Stay Connected and Learn More

Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.

Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.

Please subscribe to Live at the National Constitution Center and our companion podcast We the People on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

Loading...

Explore Further

Podcast
Covering the Supreme Court

How the media and the political branches influence judicial legitimacy

Town Hall Video
2025 Supreme Court Review: Key Rulings, Public Perceptions, and Constitutional Debates

The National Constitution Center and the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law present a…

Blog Post
Supreme Court’s injunction decision a major blow to efforts to block executive policies but not the end

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday limiting federal judges’ ability to temporarily block President Trump’s executive…

Educational Video
Article III and Supreme Court Term Review Featuring Ali Velshi (All Levels)

For our final Fun Friday Session of the 2022-2023 school year, MSNBC’s Ali Velshi returns, joining National Constitution Center…

Donate

Support Programs Like These

Your generous support enables the National Constitution Center to hear the best arguments on all sides of the constitutional issues at the center of American life. As a private, nonprofit organization, we rely on support from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

Donate Today