How Theodore Roosevelt Transformed the U. S. Presidency

Source Analysis

This investigation will examine the research question: “How did Theodore Roosevelt transform the presidency?”

The book, Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt through Coolidge, 1901-1929: debating the issues in pro and con primary documents, by Francine Romero is relevant as it provides a secondary source that’s an academic analysis of the general struggles of the presidency, the domino effect of the presidents and their actions before Roosevelt and how they influenced his presidency and how his presidential terms had an effect on post presidents and in extent, the government today. It utilizes many primary quotes and news clippings.

A value of the origin is that the author, Francine, is well educated on much of the information. Francine is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her main research agenda involves the politics of policymaking. In addition to the scholarly interest in the Progressive Era, her work has focused on the impact of institutional level and structure on civil rights and land use policy outputs. She also throughout the book utilizes primary sources such as primary quotations from speeches, interviews or diaries, as well as news clippings. A limitation of origin is that the author has no personal experience of living in the nineteenth century and truly understanding what the policies meant to the public back then. She can only understand how they affect today's policies but can’t give any emotional depth to her writing. A value of the purpose is that Francine attempts to assess policies today and their influence by not only focusing on one key individual and their policies but rather a domino effect of ideas and policies that influenced today. A value of content is that Francine writes a balanced appraisal and disapproval for each president surrounding Theodore Roosevelt. She also utilizes many other sources throughout the book to support her ideas. The author also gives lots of before and after context surrounding each presidency so the reader can better understand the president’s reasoning for such policies. The content is limited as it has a broad scope of time and presidents and why they may have been influenced to pass certain policies and how these policies affect today but it lacks relative depth on how these policies affected the citizens of the U.S. at the time in which it was passed. Did the economy do okay? Were the people content with the policy and how did it benefit them?

“The Liberty of the People”, was a speech given by Roosevelt. He took the most openly pro-labor stance of the three major candidates of the 1912 election. The 1912 presidential election offered American voters a choice between a conservative and generally unpopular Republican incumbent (William Howard Taft). Who was a moderate governor who won the heavily contested Democratic nomination (Woodrow Wilson), third party candidate former President Theodore Roosevelt, and a Socialist Party candidate running for the fourth time was angered over what he felt was a betrayal of his policies by Taft--his hand-picked successor. Roosevelt and others abandoned the Republican party and founded the Progressive or “Bull Moose” Party. Voter interest, already provoked by the unusual campaign and the candidates’ slashing attacks on one another, was further heightened by the availability of sound recordings of campaign addresses and, for the first time, film footage of the candidates on the campaign trail. When the voters went to the polls in November, however, Wilson was the clear victor. This, however, did not change the fact that Roosevelt started a conversation and continued his work to be a person of the people.

A value of the origin of the speech from Theodore Roosevelt is that it had expressed his views on the limitations of government in the nineteenth century and that he continuously references back to Woodrow Wilson's speech that was given just minutes before his own to only further his point as to why he is right on the subject of peoples liberty and their place of power within the government. A value of the purpose is that it is a speech given by a very well informed individual who has experience in both sides of the topic being discussed as he was a previous normal civilian and a president. A value of the content is that because it took advantage of audio recording technology during the time period it has been preserved in such a way that individuals of today could listen to it. A limitation of the origin is that because it’s only Roosevelt's ideas and opinions that lack hard evidence to support anything he is saying. A limitation of the purpose is that it makes many large claims about what needs to be done with government powers and the liberty of the people but never claimed as to how he planned on executing these ideas.

Investigation

Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president in US history after the assassination of William Mckinley. He is regarded as the first modern president of the U.S. Congress was the most powerful branch of government throughout the 1800s but Roosevelt amassed more power during his presidency and transformed the presidency into a strong and effective executive (Letter from Theodore, n.d). He made the president the center of American politics. Roosevelt achieved the changes due to the force of his personality and aggressive executive action. He believed that he had a special relationship and responsibility to the people of America. Therefore, he challenged the prevailing notions of limited government and initiated reforms for the benefit of the people (Milkis, 2019). As a result, he endowed the presidency with a lot of credibility concerning welfare legislation, government regulation, and conservation thus leading to the prestige of the white house. Theodore Roosevelt used his charisma and strong personality to transform the US presidency into a strong and assertive role.

Roosevelt was concerned with making the society fair and equitable with economic possibilities for everyone in America. The government had allowed major players in the industry to accomplish their goals before Roosevelt became president. As he assumed the presidency, business and political operatives dominated American society. Sometimes, business operatives bought candidates and manipulated legislation. These operatives controlled the presidency. The courts also defended moneyed interests and had no regard for the common citizens (Milkis, 2019). Americans believed that the trustor industrial combinations were responsible for the steady rise of commodity prices. Roosevelt started to dismantle these business operatives by taking an anti-trust action against Morgan's Northern Securities Company. He exercised the powers of the presidency in unprecedented and sometimes unconstitutional ways. Acts such as The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act ensured consumer protection (History, 2019). He lobbied for policies that encouraged women's suffrage, unemployment insurance, and child labor laws (Roosevelt, n.d). Theodore Roosevelt made the government’s role as a big business. His government-regulated big business so that their actions could not affect the general public negatively.

Roosevelt believed that the government should arbitrate the conflict between economic forces in the country particularly capital and labor. Through his intervention, he helped stop the coal strike of 1902 by imploring on both sides of the conflict to cease hostilities History, 2019). He asked them to make “individual sacrifices for the general good.'This was the first time that the U.S government was acting as a peacemaker in industrial disputes. Previously, the U.S government tended to side with employers if ever it intervened in an industrial dispute (History, 2019). Roosevelt's sweeping reforms transformed the US during the Great Depression and World War II.

He also revolutionized the government's role in foreign affairs because he believed that the US could use a strong foreign policy to advance the country's national interest. Through his administration, Theodore Roosevelt changed the American foreign and domestic policy in ways that changed the presidency for decades. His government got involved in foreign conflicts to negotiate peace agreements and balance power throughout the world. For instance, he got involved in Latin America to advocate for U.S. interests. The president also strengthened the U.S navy to deter potential enemies from attacking the country (Milkis, 2019). He sought to end the isolation of the US in international affairs and make it a world power. The president offered to use force to support his diplomatic negotiations. For instance, he employed this tactic to force Panama to secede from Colombia to pave way for the construction of the Panama Canal, which he considered as his greatest accomplishment as president. The president also built the country’s forces particularly the Navy into a major international force at sea. As a result, America became a dominant player in the global arena.

The president brought a lot of energy to the white house. He took the initiative to negotiate conflicting forces to stabilize American society. For instance, he confronted the struggle between management and labor through the Sherman antitrust Act. The president battled large industrial combinations or trusts that threatened to restrain trade. During the prolonged coal strike in Pennsylvania, he successfully negotiated the end of the strike and a modest pay increase for the miners. Roosevelt also persuaded Congress to establish a Bureau of Corporations in 1903 with powers to investigate business practices (History, 2019). The bureau's reports were instrumental in antitrust cases. He also pressured Congress to enact the Hepburn Act of 1906 that forbade railroads to increase rates without the approval of the ICC. A meat inspection Act was also enacted the same year under his watch. He fused the country's economic and military might to seek international dominance. He enhanced America's position on the seas by building the Panama Canal (Roosevelt, 1913). Due to his peace efforts, he won the Nobel Prize. The office of the president expanded its powers and became a popular obsession.

He also introduced charisma into the presidential style of leadership. He was an outspoken moral crusader who gave the presidency a popular celebrity. For instance, he used the media to shape public opinion and highlight issues. He also developed a strong rapport with the general public and used his enthusiasm to win votes, shape issues, and influence opinions (Milkis, 2019). He also set aside for protection, 200 million acres of land for national forests. President Roosevelt also negotiated for the end of the Russo-Japanese war, which earned him a Nobel Peace prize (Roosevelt, 1913). His youth and vigor transformed the U.S presidency for good. As a result, President Roosevelt changed the executive office forever.

Theodore Roosevelt is regarded as the first modern president of the U.S. He made the president the center of American politics. He endowed the presidency with a lot of credibility concerning welfare legislation, government regulation, and conservation thus leading to the prestige of the white house. Roosevelt exercised the powers of the presidency in unprecedented and sometimes unconstitutional ways. He helped stop the coal strike of 1902 by imploring on both sides of the conflict to cease hostilities. Roosevelt believed that the government should arbitrate the conflict between economic forces in the country particularly capital and labor. He sought to end the isolation of the US in international affairs and make it a world power. His government got involved in foreign conflicts to negotiate peace agreements and balance power throughout the world. The president offered to use force to support his diplomatic negotiations. The president battled large industrial combinations or trusts that threatened to restrain trade. As a result, the office of the president expanded its powers and became a popular obsession. Roosevelt's youth and vigor transformed the presidency into an executive office

Reflection

Through my investigation, I was able to understand the process of gathering significant information from several sources and various source types to better from an argument. I had to sort through numerous sources in order to find the most reliable and significant information for my investigation.

The difficulty of primary sources versus secondary is that secondary sources are much simpler and can be easier to read as its current or more current in dialect type. Primary sources, however, have better information and perspectives on the topic at hand. The most difficult part of the investigating is deciding between so much information and what will be the most useful.

Through this investigation, I was able to understand the process that historians must go through, obviously to a lesser extent though. Historians must research, analyze, research, analyze, research, etcetera and then interpret the past through as many sources as possible. Historians must acquire and analyze different sources from the time period being studied, Such as newspapers, pictures, letters, etcetera. Acquiring sources from a specific time period can be very difficult. Specific primary sources could be destroyed, decayed, or simply lost over time.

Analyzing and interpreting history correctly is important because citizens in the future could read the historian’s work and better understand history. This makes a historian’s jobs very difficult as they need to be as correct as possible. This is hard as history isn’t just black and white.

I, as a student, have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as a writer over the period of this investigation. In the past, I was taught to pick a very broad topic and then narrow it down after doing research. But this investigation was different as it forced me to start out with an immediate research question. Over the duration of the investigation, specifically the research part, I learned that I need to work on my research skills as I’ve never really used them, at least to this extent, throughout my education. Something I need to work on and struggled with a lot throughout this process is utilizing all of the sources I found throughout my research portion. As seen in section one and two of the project, I only used a total of six sources. I could have used more but I struggle to place them fluently throughout my writing.