The Supreme Court considered unconstitutional the New Deal programs. Therefore, in 1937, Roosevelt decided to counter-attack by proposing five new justices. This caused difficulties with the Conservatives.
The Congress and the public turned to the right and The New Deal was expanding scarcely.
When Court members retired, Roosevelt replaces them with supporters that helped him to keep the New Deal programs alive.
Despite the open confrontation of the Supreme Court against the New Deal, Roosevelt did not react immediately or present his opposition to the ruling in a clear manner. The historian James M. Burns reports that Roosevelt received the news of the annulment of the agrarian law when he was with Secretary of War Dern and how he commented on the president's reaction: "He put the sheet of paper in front of him and smiled." Roosevelt's plan for the Supreme Court to fall into its own trap was possibly hidden behind that smile.
Remember that the sentence came in a year of presidential elections in which Roosevelt was to be the Democratic candidate and should be careful not to lose votes. Two days after the decision of the Supreme Court, at the "Jackson Day" dinner in Washington, President Roosevelt showed a reserved attitude, behavior that was supported by a section of the American population, and which he justified by saying:
"I know you are not surprised because I have not commented on the decision of the Supreme Court two days ago. I can not make a judgment in advance without studying it with great care ... It is enough to say that getting justice for American agriculture is the most immediate and constant goal "
