JULY 23 JUDICIAL CIRCUITS ACT

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY :July 23rd 1866 the Judicial Circuits Act. Republicans thereby blocked Democrat President Andrew Johnson from nominating anyone to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was passed by the GOP-controlled 39th Congress, following the recommendation of Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who had been appointed by Abraham Lincoln. Specifically,this legislation lowered the number of Justices from ten to seven. The reduction was to be achieved by attrition. Republicans fixed the number at nine once Johnson was out of office. https://grandoldpartisan.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-18