Questions: Checks and Balances The system of checks and balances is a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. The president, Congress, and the Supreme Court have unique constitutional procedures to check and balance the powers of the other branches. A good example of checks and balances at work occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. From 1935 to 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down eight programs providing much-needed progressive reforms. Because the president strongly believed in these programs, he acted against the Court. Roosevelt pushed for legislation that would have increased the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15 . This would have allowed Roosevelt to nominate six justices. The number of justices had been changed six times since 1789, so the move was not without precedent. Despite strong public approval of President Roosevelt and of his New Deal reforms, the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 failed. Critics said Roosevelt wanted to "pack" the Court with justices who would agree with him, thereby evading the Court's check on the executive branch of government. Roosevelt was a Democrat, but even lawmakers in his political party disapproved of the bill. When the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democrat Hatton W. Sumners, announced that he opposed the plan, it was dead. Which sentence from the passage expresses a bias of the author? A. "A good example of checks and balances at work occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president." B. "From 1935 to 1936 , the U.S. Supreme Court struck down eight programs providing much-needed progressive reforms." C. "Despite strong public approval of President Roosevelt and of his New Deal reforms, the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 failed." D. "Roosevelt was a Democrat, but even lawmakers in his political party disapproved of the bill."

Transcript text: Checks and Balances The system of checks and balances is a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. The president, Congress, and the Supreme Court have unique constitutional procedures to check and balance the powers of the other branches. A good example of checks and balances at work occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. From 1935 to 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down eight programs providing much-needed progressive reforms. Because the president strongly believed in these programs, he acted against the Court. Roosevelt pushed for legislation that would have increased the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 15 . This would have allowed Roosevelt to nominate six justices. The number of justices had been changed six times since 1789, so the move was not without precedent. Despite strong public approval of President Roosevelt and of his New Deal reforms, the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 failed. Critics said Roosevelt wanted to "pack" the Court with justices who would agree with him, thereby evading the Court's check on the executive branch of government. Roosevelt was a Democrat, but even lawmakers in his political party disapproved of the bill. When the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democrat Hatton W. Sumners, announced that he opposed the plan, it was dead. Which sentence from the passage expresses a bias of the author? A. "A good example of checks and balances at work occurred when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president." B. "From 1935 to 1936 , the U.S. Supreme Court struck down eight programs providing much-needed progressive reforms." C. "Despite strong public approval of President Roosevelt and of his New Deal reforms, the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 failed." D. "Roosevelt was a Democrat, but even lawmakers in his political party disapproved of the bill."