Today we discussed the Four Horsemen of the supreme court, and I wanted to know where their power came from. Justices Pierce Butler, James McReynolds, George Sutherland and Willis Van Devanter made up this group of men. They were conservatives that held strongly together and prevented many bill and reforms from passing. Since they carried a 4/9 power, they only required one of the swing votes to join their forces for each law. Harlan Stone and Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes were the two voters who often times voted with the Four Horsemen. This group of men made a huge impact on the New Deal that FDR had in place and caused him to have little power with the legislation he proposed. FDR therefore decided that he must pack the court with his officials that he personally appointed and make the supreme court a group of 15. However, this plan didn't work and the 9 justices remained. Yet, Van Devanter's retirement created an opening in the court and allowed Hugo Black to replace him and the Four Horsemen were no longer a unit that stuck together against the New Deal.
http://www.wnd.com/2011/01/246065/
Howard Taft was mentioned in the video, which made it seem like he was one of the Four Horsemen. What was his role in the Supreme Court at this time if he was not one of the Horsemen?
ReplyDeleteHoward Taft was not a member of the four horsemen. He was generally conservative in his philosophy, but was not rigid in his beliefs. Based on Briatannica.com's explanation of his ideology, he believed in the the right of the workers to organize strikes. Taft resigned from the SC before the rise of the four horsemen. One of his most important cases though was Myers v. United States(1926) upholding the authority of the president to remove federal officials.
ReplyDeleteSource that I used was : http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/580223/William-Howard-Taft/300841/Presidency
Hope that answered your question.
After Mr. Stewart talked about FDR's plan to add 6 judges to the Supreme Court and try to neutralize the 4 Horseman, I wanted to research it some more myself. And after researching it some more, the bill actually came onto the floor of the Senate where it was destroyed by Senate at a vote of 70-22. So it seems that to get the judges moving he had to actually get a bill on the floor. But his blackmailing worked and he broke the 4 horseman. FDR actually got to appoint all but two of the justices at one point, probably due to his long time in power.
ReplyDeleteInformation courtesy of http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roosevelt-announces-court-packing-plan
The Four horsemen were very powerful in the supreme court because they only needed one swing vote in order to gain a majority. The reason this was so easy for them is because the Four Horsemen would commute to the Court together to make sure they could iron out their arguments between each other so that they could agree in the courtroom. This method allowed them to not get in arguments during the actual court session enabling them to cement their power.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how a band of four people could have such a large impact on the country's future and the New Deal. After doing some research on the AAA, I discovered that the Supreme Court declaring the AAA unconstitutional is what prompted FDR to suggest a change in the Supreme Court. Although FDR's addition to the Supreme Court never passed, it's interesting to note how the shift in the Court happened anyways.
ReplyDelete