Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt: political comparison and legacy

¶ … Presidencies of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt were both presidents that changed the American presidency through legislation and actually made the presidency more powerful by doing so. Through legislation, both men illustrated how the power of the president can extend beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and extend into the cities and towns across the country. Wilson and Roosevelt were able to pass many measures that allowed them to govern legislatively like no presidents before them. Both men had different ideas in mind but both men made giant steps in directing a new path for government to travel down. Government became bigger and more powerful under the leadership of these men, changing the role of the president forever.

Woodrow Wilson implemented a legislative program of progressive reform. With a Democratic Congress Wilson passed many progressive measures. These include the Underwood Tariff Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and Antitrust legislation. Marshall Dimock asserts that Wilson "literally pioneered in the legislative field" (3) when it comes to presidents. He quotes Lawrence Chamberlain, who stated that Wilson was the '"first President to develop systematically the legislative powers of his office'" (Chamberlain qtd. In Dimock 3). Wilson was attempting to apply the same theory of legislative leadership in the office of the president that he did in the office of the governor. Dimock maintains that Wilson's most "durable legislative accomplishments are among the foundation-stones of our individuals enterprise system even today" (Dimock 9) the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission Acts, and the Tariff Act of 19134 are all significant to America even today. Dimock claims that Wilson treated all "major segments of the economy fairly" (Dimock 9) and legislated in their behalf. In fact, Dimock states that Wilson legislated more that any president before or since him. Because he had the ability to build and work around timetables, he was able to appeal to public opinion, especially when "congressional leadership tended to stall" (9). Dimock points out how successful Wilson was at communicating by noting that while most presidents today have a staff working for them, Wilson had none. He worked on projects long before he presented them to the public and was always well prepared. He certainly did not believe in springing anything on the public. He had his own method, which was getting "leaders and committees of Congress to do the work for him, once they agreed in principle on what should be done" (10). Wilson was a man with a plan and he was not afraid to make that plan something he could see in action.

Another man with a vision and a plan was Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt also changed the presidency while he was in office. Milkis asserts that Roosevelt "concluded that the public good and practical politics demanded that partisan politics be transcended rather than restructured" (Milkis 480). Roosevelt believed in an independent presidency and thought this was best for the American people. Milkis notes that Roosevelt was strongly influenced by Wilson and his procedures. Roosevelt shard his vision but he was also more concerned with "practical rather than theoretical considerations" (482). Roosevelt had a vision to establish a "personal party" (484) and Milkis claims that this was an attempt to alter the character of constitutional government in America. Roosevelt won the presidency in 1932 with the pledge "to increase government spending to restore purchasing power" (Noble 1071). We know this as the New Deal and this deal had many government spending programs because it acknowledges many "economic truths as self-evident" (Chodorow 919). For example, Roosevelt believed that individuals had the right to earn enough money to provide for their family, and every family had the right to live in a decent home. These rights were significant because they established security. We can see an example of Roosevelt's scope by examining how he dealt with the Great Depression. He believed in and did what he could to encourage relief, recovery, and reform with relief being a short-term goal and recovery and reform as long-term goals. The Social Securities Act of 1935, offered aid to elderly citizens and is an example of Roosevelt's attempt to provide for Americans from the cradle to the grave. In order to work, money was taken from employers and employees and it illustrates how Roosevelt was working against the notion of self-help with government spending. This act is still practiced today and is one that becomes a talking point around election time.