Public Reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's Plan to Enlarge the Supreme Court
Note: On February 5, 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced a plan to
reorganize the federal court system. Among his proposals was the creation of one
new seat on the Supreme Court for every justice who had attained the age of 70 but
remained in active service. At the time of his proposal, six sitting justices were over
70.
Questions:
February 10-April 12: "Are you in favor of President Roosevelt's proposal regarding the Supreme Court?"
April 14-June 14: "Should Congress pass the President's Supreme Court plan?"
| Interview dates (1937) | Favor plan | Oppose plan | Don't know
|
| February 10-15 | 38.4% | 44.8% | 17% |
| February 17-22 | 44.1 | 45.9 | 10 |
| February 24-March 1 | 42.3 | 45.1 | 12 |
| March 3-March 8 | 41.9 | 49.1 | 9 |
| March 12-March 17 | 45.9 | 44.1 | 10 |
| March 17-March 22 | 45.4 | 43.6 | 11 |
| March 24-March 29 | 44.2 | 40.8 | 15 |
| April 1-April 6 | 43.7 | 42.1 | 14 |
| April 7-April 12 | 44.1 | 45.9 | 10 |
| April 14-April 19 | 40.9 | 46.1 | 13 |
| April 21-April 26 | 39.9 | 45.1 | 15 |
| April 28-May 1 | 38.7 | 47.3 | 14 |
| May 5-May 10 | 36.5 | 46.5 | 17 |
| May 12-May 17 | 37.4 | 45.7 | 17 |
| May 19-May 24 | 30.7 | 44.3 | 25 |
| May 26-May 31 | 30.8 | 46.2 | 23 |
| June 3-June 8 | 34.9 | 48.2 | 17 |
| June 9-June 14 | 37.4 | 49.6 | 13 |
Source: From Lee Epstein et al., The Supreme Court Compendium, 2nd edition (Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996), Table 8-28 which in turn cites: American Institute of Public Opinion (Gallup), 1937 Studies: #68-86.