American History and the Development of the Country - Research Paper Example

The Role and Powers of the Presidency Introduction Since time immemorial, the presidency position has always dominated American Politics. The president is the leader of the executive while Congress leads the legislative branch and the judiciary stands as the head of the Supreme Court. These parts form the federal structure of the American government. The roles as well as powers of these three parts, especially the presidency, have changed over the ages to what we have today. They have given the Americans a definition to the world and to themselves, presenting valuable information that can enhance future judgments and decisions. This paper discusses the changing roles and powers of presidents from 1865 to modern day. In doing this, the essay will assess the times of Theodore Roosevelt, the Age of the Reform, Woodrow Wilson, World War I, Calvin Coolidge, Normalcy, FDR Roosevelt, The Great Depression, Richard Nixon, Watergate, and Reagan the Revolutionary. Theodore Roosevelt and the Age of the Reform The period from the time the American-Spanish War ended to the entry of the United States into the World War I or the progressive era involved many reforms. The era was progressive in that it involved myriad reforms that took place as a response to the developments that came after the Civil War. Some of the progressives demanded radical changes to end the corrupt and inefficient political machines that were highly influenced by certain interest groups while others wanted to break away slowly and regulate the trusts and industrial corporations. Still, more advocated for reforms in urban areas such as abolishment of child abuse, improved safety in industries, and implementation of working conditions and hours for ladies (The progressive Era, 2002) Theodore led Americans through this important phase of history that defined America greatly. D Theodore, who had become president following McKinley’s assassination, had served several posts in his political career before. He had also been a soldier, a rancher, and a writer. The president was notable for his aggressiveness and argumentative characteristics. Yet, the Americans found reason to love the president because of his commitment and warm-heartedness to their ideas. He shook many with his moral reforms, which gave him the advantage to win support for reforms from the grassroots. Roosevelt also had an important part to play in elevating women, starting with Eleanor Roosevelt. In terms of regulations, Theodore managed to reform America, albeit the fact that he only passed pure food, meat, limits on corporations and railroads, and preservation of animal laws (Dalton, 2007). Woodrow Wilson and New World Order Americans and the world remember Woodrow Wilson for his role in developing the League of Nations towards the end of World War 1. Most of the literature that looks into Wilson’s vision for a system of governing the world center on a short period from the entry of into World War 1 in 1917 to the 1919 peace negotiations. Gordon Levin Jr. gave an intricate framework for understanding Woodrow’s diplomacy. The author states that one cannot understand the administration of Wilson’s time without referring to his preoccupation in the expanding needs of America. Wilson was both an idealist as well as a shrewd international president. Despite being a Presbyterian ministers son, Wilson was farsighted and sought to make the most of opportunities that could enable America to advance its material interests (McMahon & Hecksher, 1992). A further analysis of Wilson Woodrow by Whyte (1959) reveals the leadership principles, peace negations, and philosophies of the president. The book documents President Herbert Hoover’s encounters with Wilson highlighting his role in America’s past. Herbert had gained connections with the president while attending to the Belgian Relief Commission. Hoover portrays Wilson as a strong willed president who saw the Republicans as obstructionists in the pursuance of the war goals. Wilson refused to refer to America as an Ally during the war, but instead saw his country as an association to the Allies: henceforth creating the phrase “Allied and/or Associated Powers.” The intention of the president, however, was more than just a mere act of distancing from the European quarrels. The United States had not become entrapped in the world owing to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans distances, which were still passable only by small boats. His deceptiveness, though, was later seen in his dramatic shift from an impartial position to belligerence. Wilson actually maintained an uneven equality between the British and the German forces so that none could claim success (Srinivasan, 1991). Calvin Coolidge and Normalcy Calvin Coolidge made it clear that he could lead at a tender age of 23 when he declared that the need for America to have a free government was without the present control of commonwealth. Since that day, he held close to the principle of his duty and faith. He echoed his tenets further on the eve of the truce by pledging to help save the manhood and womanhood of America. He restated this declaration a few years later when he spoke of America’s decision to hold back when war broke out in Europe and in other places. However, America had respond when nations started violating the civil rights of its people. On foreign policy, therefore, Calvin Coolidge maintained that America had its cardinal principle to uphold its policy by attending to its own affairs and protecting the Americans’ interests (Iowa Calvin Coolidge Source, 1924). Coolidge won the support of the Americans who admired him for his contribution in improving the condition for children and women and the implementation of pay increase for public servants. Having lowered the weekly rates of work to mere forty-eight hours for women and children was also seen as progressive during his time of reign. After retiring, the president occupied himself with lettering chronicles as an extended autobiography. Although his presidency, he held that there should be no intrusion by government until or unless an alternative was not present. His perspectives, though, were mixed. Some scholars feel that Coolidge had foreseen the great depression and decided not to run for an extra term, while other scholars think that he left office because of his failing health (Ferrell, 1999). Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Depression Roosevelt believed that if he were to make any developments towards peace and international prosperity, it had to start by ironing out the differences that American had with France and Britain. Reporters recorded and aired him severally in 1932 stating that he wanted to iron out differences with the French and renew contact with Englishmen. In October 1932, he had already informed Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister to England, that he wanted to visit Europe during the period. On the other hand, Roosevelt used an interview with a newspaper based in Paris to express the same interests of making friends with France. Yet, despite all this, Roosevelt knew his priorities for America; food security, job opportunities, business, and revival from financial collapse. To him, foreign relations came after these priorities (Hogan, 2003). Franklin did brief the nation through a radio interview highlighting the various achievements that had taken place during his time. In the radio report, he highlighted that the country had been facing problems that had brought the nation to its knees. By this he meant that the financial situation of the country had becomes so poor that the prices for basic goods were so extreme that they would have destroyed the situation of savings banks, banks, and insurance agencies. The situation had also gotten bad to the extent that different institutions were barring mortgages, refusing credit, and calling loans. The president did not allow credit withholding and hiding of money to take place as a solution to this problem because the measure would leave America in a much worse condition than it was before the tragedy (Roosevelt, 1933). Instead of taking a measure that would have hurt the Americans and their economy, Franklin Roosevelt decided to take multiple measures that would assist America to get back on its feet. First, Congress passed a legislation that eased the distress of mortgages greatly among the home owners and farmers in the country. The legislation helped as it provided an easing for the debt burden that was burdening the Americans a lot. In addition to that, the president steered Congress into taking a grant that would help states and counties to care for those who were in dire need of relief. During Franklin’s time, a legislation to sell beer in states came into action, as the government sought ways to increase tax revenue. Another legislation that saw the light of day during Roosevelt’s time was the Farm Relief, which sought to increase the returns for farmers (Roosevelt, 1933). Richard Nixon and Watergate Given the enormous attention to the eventful Watergate, it is no surprise how the world forgets the impact Nixon had as president. However, looking closely at Nixon’s presidency, one can see that he enlightened domestic and foreign policies in various areas that stayed for more than a generation. During his first time in presidency, Richard Nixon pushed reforms in health care, welfare, energy, civil rights, and environmental policy, on the hope that such policies had to be founded on national standards, non on the eccentric whims of all the states in America. As Congress botched his health care and welfare programs, Nixon came up with the Office of Energy Policy and the Office of Management and Budget, which supported the Clean Air regulation of 1970. Moreover, Nixon implemented the Environmental Protection Agency (Heilbrunn, 2008). Nixon insisted that the American Congress widen the country’s Civil Rights Commission decree to subsume sex discrimination and passed all laws on civil rights cleared by Congress, including one that banned sexual discernment in educational gains. Importantly, the administration of the president expanded laws on affirmative action. He also accorded Constitutional amendment a lot of support lowering the election age to eighteen years. The president made use of the peace dividend from eliminating soldiers in Vietnam to welfare services in employment environments. This made expenditure on human resource to surpass the budget for soldiers from 1970 to 1975 for the first time (Heilbrunn, 2008). The biggest scandal in Nixon case to occur was the Watergate break-in. In 1972, when Nixon, the Republican President was going for a re-election, America was entangled in the war in Vietnam. This had divided the country deeply. In that harsh climate, a powerful presidential campaign appeared essential to Nixon as well as some of his central advisers. Their strategy, however, included an illegal espionage. As evidence revealed later, the advisers had planned and broke into Watergate or the Democratic National Committee’s office and went away with highly classified documents and wiretapped phones. When the wiretaps failed, the group came back to the building and tried to break in again only to attract the attention of security officers. Nixon attempted to cover up the event, but he had already dismayed the Americans. Further, the Vietnam War outcomes dismayed the Americans even further (Sawhill, 2011). Ronald Reagan and the Revolution Ronald Reagan also took part in the re-building of an economy that had been torn apart by the extreme economic strain. In Reagan’s agendas was also peace building process and development of foreign interests with NATO allies. To him, peaceful neighborhoods would set the ground for development and economic stability. Reagan demonstrated this in his first and second visits to Britain where he participated in a diplomatic dinner with Mrs. Thatcher. Thatcher, during that dinner, suggested to the president to let history be history, as the two countries turned a fresh leaf of remarkable friendship. Apart from the diplomatic skills, Reagan also instituted cuts on taxes relieving the burden put on the Americans by the government greatly. He further wrote a letter to Congress in 1981 asking for the reduction in income taxes, something that was also wearing the Americans greatly (Reagan, 1982). Regardless of the myriad benefits that Reagan had, the president also reported various failures. The president, in a memorandum dated 1986, signed for the trading of weapons to Iran in exchange for American hostages. The document remains significant in American history as it stood as undeniable evidence that the president as well as his administration traded arms with a country for hostages. Reagan was also implicated in yet another scandal that involved reducing pressure to Panama, a drug-peddling fortress, in exchange for the assassination of Noriega. In both situations, personal notes as well as recording show that the president’s involvement was key (Bowles, 2011). Conclusion This American history reveals past behaviors of people and communities, and the development of the country. The roles and powers of the presidents from 1865 to the present that has highlight important successes and failures that can help the country chart the way forward. Theodore Roosevelt, The Age of the Reform, Woodrow Wilson, World War I, Calvin Coolidge, Normalcy, FDR Roosevelt, The Great Depression Era, Richard Nixon, Watergate, and Reagan and Revolutionary participated importantly in shaping America into what it is today. References Bowles, M. (2011). American history 1865–present: End of isolation. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Dalton, K. (2007). The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, Vol. 6, No. 4 Oct., 2007), pp. 363-383 Published by: Society for Historians of the Gilded Age &Progress Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25144494 Ferrell, R. (1999). The Journal of American History, Vol. 86, No. 3, Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2568687 Heilbrunn, J. (2008). Pride and prudence. (Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full; Richard M. Nixon; George H. W. Bush; The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews; The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate; Henry Kissinger and the American Century) (Book review). The National Interest, (94), 76. Hogan, H. (2003).  The great depression. America in the 20th Century. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=36219&aid=18596Plt=FOD &loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref= Iowa Calvin Coolidge Source: The North American Review, Vol. 219, No. 823 (Jun., 1924), pp 721-741Published by: University of Northern Iowa Stable URL: Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25113319. Reagan, R. (1982). Address to British Parliament. Retrieved from http://www.historyplace.com/ Speeches/regan-parliament.htm Roosevelt, F. D. (1933, May 7).  Address of the President delivered by radio from the White House. Retrieved from http://www.mhric.org/fdr/chat2.html  Sawhill, R. (2011). The fall and rise of an American president. (public interest in former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and his portrayal in Nixon in China) (Biography). Opera News, (8). 26   The progressive Era (2002) [Television series episode]. In America in the 20th Century. New York, NY: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. Retrieved from http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=36215&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref= The Reinvention of Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson by August Hecksher Review by: Robert J. McMahon Reviews in American History, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Mar., 1992), pp. 90-95 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Article DOI: 10.2307/2703273 Whyte, A. F. (1959). The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson. by Herbert Hoover: Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2612323 Read More