Appointments to the United States Supreme Court are now central events in American political life. Every vacancy unleashes a bitter struggle between Republicans and Democrats over nominees; and once the seat is filled, new justices typically vote in predictable ways. Making the Supreme Court examines 90 years of American political history to show how the growth of federal judicial power from the 1930s onward inspired presidents, the political parties, and interest groups to shape judicial policy through appointments. The result is a new politics aimed squarely at selecting and placing judicial ideologues on the Court, which has transformed the Court into an ideologically driven and polarized branch. Based on rich data and qualitative evidence, Making the Supreme Court provides a sharp lens on the social and political transformations that created a new American politics.

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