James Clark McReynolds (1862–1946). Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from September 5, 1914 to February 1, 1941. Great Content Autograph Letter Signed, one page, quarto, no date, but circa 1937, penned from Washington D.C. Responding to Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to "Pack" the Supreme Court. McReynolds writes: "Get a copy of the Federal Constitution and read the short Article III. It has always been understood that the number of Supreme Court judges should be fixed by Congress. For a long time this number has been and now is nine. Congress has the power to change this number; but to do so for the purposes of getting a court which would decide as directed would bring about a serious situation, would tend to destroy the court and in the end wreck the form of government long supposed to be secure. Much of the present controversy, I fear, you are too young to comprehend; but your safety in the future depends on our independent court... J.C. McReynolds"

His opinions were terse and he did not often dissent, considering it a waste of time. His fierce conservatism in the face of Franklin Roosevelt's legislation to fight the Great Depression led to him being labeled, with his conservative brethern one of the Four Horsemen along with George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter, and Pierce Butler. He voted against the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Social Security Act.

McReynolds, an anti-Semite who refused to sit near Louis Brandeis during Court proceedings, is considered one of the most unpleasant men to ever sit on the Court, being labeled "Scrooge" by Drew Pearson. It should be noted that his animosity for Brandeis stemmed more from Brandeis's identification with liberalism and the association in his mind of Jews with liberalism as was common in those times in many parts of the world (although this is a loose generalization). However, he had a great love of children despite never marrying, and left a sizable fortune to charity. When the Supreme Court Building opened, McReynolds refused to move his office from his apartment into the new building.

He resigned from the court in 1941 and lived in Washington, D.C. until his death there August 24, 1946. He is buried in the Elkton Cemetery, Elkton, Kentucky.

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