Supreme power : Franklin Roosevelt vs. the Supreme Court / Jeff Shesol

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Complete control -- Storm center -- Shortcuts -- The dying of the light -- Heavy bombardment -- The golden rule -- The last thin line -- Black Monday -- Opening gun -- Vigilantes -- Slow poison -- A project of great importance -- No-man's-land -- Plans and purposes -- Warning bell -- Preserve, protect, defend -- The beginning of the end of everything -- The first wedge -- Punch drunk -- The real mischief -- This new roar -- The yielding -- Blood or ink -- The switch in time -- Consent -- Striking a blow for liberty -- To fight against God.

The recent uproar over the Supreme Court's ruling that overturned law limiting corporate contributions to political campaigns is nothing compared to the conflict between President Franklin Roosevelt and the Supreme Court during the mid-1930s. During FDR's first term, the Court ruled unconstitutional many of the core programs of his New Deal. Roosevelt responded with a plan to add six more justices to the Court--a plan that led to a political firestorm and the biggest political defeat of FDR's career. Shesol's book is the most comprehensive account of the "Court-packing" controversy to date, providing both an inside look at the thinking and actions of all the actors and an analysis of the long-term effects of Roosevelt's ill-fated move. Written more like a good novel than a history, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the current controversies surrounding the Supreme Court.