American History Tellers

Supreme Court Landmarks | The Outsize Power of the Supreme Court Today | 8

12.09.2020 - By WonderyPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Throughout our series, we've seen how social movements and partisan politics helped influence the decisions of landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, and thus shape America itself. But how did the Supreme Court get so powerful when America's founders imagined a more limited role? Today, the idea of court-packing, first proposed by Roosevelt to push through his New Deal agenda, is back as a way to rein in the power of the Court. In this episode, Lindsay speaks with Rachel Shelden, an associate professor of history at Penn State and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center about how the Court’s power has grown since its founding, and how politicians and presidents could use that to their advantage.

For more on Rachel Shelden: https://history.la.psu.edu/directory/ras6620

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More episodes from American History Tellers