Commentary The first installment in this series explained that the Constitution created a small and frugal federal government. This didn’t change materially until the 1930s and 1940s. The second installment profiled the Supreme Court justices serving in the period 1934–1937, when the court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, attempted to balance the demands of the New Deal against the rules of the Constitution. That installment also outlined the liberal/progressive philosophy then prevailing among several justices. This third installment discusses the court’s balancing act, which ended with a case demolishing almost all financial limits on Congress. This installment also thumbnails the practical consequences of the change. 1934–1937: The Court’s Balancing Act There’s a common myth that President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed his 1937 court packing plan because SCOTUS struck down all his New Deal programs. The truth was that the court often sustained his programs. What annoyed …