Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Discussion | Homework Helper

I need help with a History question. All explanations and answers will be used to help me learn.

This discussion assignment focuses on Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt as presidents. You are to read Chapters 10 and 11 in the text, read the lectures on Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and watch the videos on these presidents.

You are then to write a description of your presidency as becoming either Theodore Roosevelt OR Franklin Roosevelt. You are going to show how Theodore Roosevelt created the modern office of the presidency through his domestic and foreign policy and Franklin Roosevelt created our modern system of government through his New Deal programs of relief, recovery and reform.

PLEASE USE ONLY THE SOURCES THAT I WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU !

Finally you are going to tell which of these two presidents would be rated higher in your opinion and why. And agree or disagree with TWO students with their opinions here. Good luck on this fifth discussion assignment.

STUDENT NUMBER ONE :

Theodore Roosevelt was a self-made man in the purest form of the phrase. As a young child he suffered complications from asthma and poor vision. While glasses were able to correct his vision, exercise eliminated his asthma and built up his physique. He was always into nature, with his room often smelling of animals. After studying at Harvard and Columbia University, he joined the New York State legislature at the age of 23. Upon the death of his mother and wife on the same day, he retreated to the farmlands of the Dakota Territory, where he gained the respect of many ranchers and cowboys. He later reentered politics and became the New York City police commissioner, where he brought reform to the department. In 1897 he became assistant secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley. In 1898 he became the governor of New York and was able to bring about reform yet again. With his popularity he was elected Vice President in 1900 and came after closer to the highest political office, much to the fear of many conservative Republicans.

Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency came to fruition upon the assassination of President William McKinley. Under McKinley, the business empires that had made life difficult for many workers had continued to reign supreme. Theodore Roosevelt would begin a new era which would bring about social change and a new role for the Federal Government in business regulation. Theodore Roosevelt was a cornerstone of the progressive movement and quickly developed a reputation as a “trust buster.” Though Roosevelt was a Republican, he often based his policies on nonpartisan ideals and preferred to base policies on what he believed would be best for the American people. This meant that he was willing to work with opposition, rather than being beholden to his own political party. Unlike more extreme progressives, Roosevelt was not interested in completely getting rid of big businesses, but in making them function fairly. He sought to break up monopolies, going after business trusts through the courts. In fact, his first initiative involved attacking the power structure of the Northern Securities Company, a company created by some of the most powerful bankers in the US. Roosevelt enacted the “Square Deal,” a domestic program that highlighted three of Roosevelt’s most important goals: conservation of resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. His progressive philosophies were summed up in his quote “We are neither for the rich man nor the poor man as such, but for the upright man, rich or poor.”

I think that Theodore Roosevelt ranks slightly higher than Franklin Roosevelt. I look at it from the context that if Theodore Roosevelt had not laid the foundation for what a modern president does with their power, then later presidents would not have had the opportunity or ability to make further progress. Theodore Roosevelt marked the first major progressive shift in the American way of life and created the persona of the modern media president. He was able to create the modern policies that regulate business, he was able to create policies to preserve natural parks and monuments, and he was able to lay the groundwork for laws that would protect workers and prevent the working class from being treated the way the were under the empires of the business moguls of the 19th century.

STUDENT 2 :

My name is Franklin Delano Roosevelt and I was elected president of the United States of America in 1933. Upon becoming president, I feel as though I must step up and take a new approach to the government and the relationship between the government and individual American citizens. I did this by creating the modern system of government. I decided that the government must provide programs (aka The New Deal) for the people to help them. These programs require government bureaucracy to run the programs and spending to finance them as well. My goals are to provide relief to American citizens through laws that will create social welfare programs. I desire to expand relief through recovery and also pass a series of reform programs in order to avoid prevent future Great Depressions in order to create positive relationships between the government and American citizens. The New Deal consisted of experimental programs that required powers of the federal government in order to help individual citizens and to alleviate the negative effects of the Great Depression. An example of one of the relief programs (the first one created) is the EBA which stands for the “Emergency Banking Act”. This law provides bank relief by the increased involvement of the federal government in the banking industry and to have the federal government protect the money of the American citizens in the banks. Another program that I created was the AAA which stands for the “Agricultural Adjustment Act” which provided farm relief. The NRA is the “National Recovery Act” providing business relief with the federal government being involved in wage and price control. Creating job relief is very important to me and is met with a series of programs such as the TVA (Tennessee Valley Act), PWA (Public Works Act), and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). The TVA created a government corporation to build a dam on the Tennessee River. The PWA created government construction jobs. The CCC employed young men to work in conservation projects. One of the last programs was the FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Act). This act provided state relief through large amounts of Federal money being poured into state projects. After realizing that the relief job programs failed to solve the unemployment problem, I moved to recovery-expand relief with the WPA (Works Progress Act). Proudly stating, this act became the largest job program ever of our Federal Government and made us the largest single employer. Employees were being hired based on background, skills and training. Through all of these programs/acts, the results of the Great Depression are becoming less severe. An example of one of the reform acts is the Social Security Act giving each American a number. Not only did this establish a program for benefits for the Elderly when they retire, but it includes death, unemployment, and disability benefits.

In my opinion, I think that Franklin Roosevelt in comparison to Theodore Roosevelt would be rated higher considering he served 4 terms which were filled with crisis. Not only did he lead us through the worst economic crisis, but he led us through our largest war. He served the United States like no other president before him. His influence on the New Deal still exists today.