| When Ronald W. Reagan became President in 1981, he set a goal to nominate conservative-minded Supreme Court justices who shared his legal philosophy on how the Court should rule. Reagan's goal was to change the ideology of the Supreme Court to a highly conservative ideology and jurisprudence. Reagan shared his ideals with conservative Christian coalitions. They wanted a return to conservative values that included morality, family values, and school prayer, and they wanted the issue of abortion finally ended by reversing the law. Reagan selected three new conservative Supreme Court nominees, and he moved William Rehnquist to the position of Chief Justice. However, his justices did not form a solid, conservative majority on the Court as Reagan had expected, and they did not overturn landmark Supreme Court cases. Ronald Reagan was not successful in his goal to influence the Supreme Court during his presidency. |
