Government by Committee: President's Changing Leadership Responsibilities
Throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries Congress jealously guarded its legislative powers. But as the nation moved from an agrarian to an industrial society, stronger presidential leadership became necessary. Woodrow Wilson viewed the preside...
Chaos of Experimentation, A: White House Staff, the Brain Trust
From his first days in office, President Roosevelt surrounds himself with a cadre of bright, capable assistants. The size of White House staff explodes from a handful to a hundred. His closest advisors, "the brain trust," are people who can think ou...
Party Politics: Evolution of the Democrat and Republican Parties
Republicans and Democrats of today bear little resemblance to their predecessors. From the time of Lincoln until the 1930s, Republicans were the great reformers who believe in active government whereas Democrats with their base support in the South ...
Federal Workplace, The: Bureaucracy in Historical Framework, The
The federal bureaucracy is not defined in the Constitution; it is a creature of laws. What was originally a small, elite corps of socially prominent men in 1789 became, with the inauguration of Andrew Jackson, a group of ordinary citizens who served...
Chaos of Experimentation, A: Critics of Roosevelt and the New Deal
Some of the most strident attacks on the New Deal come from critics on the right who believe Roosevelt is threatening capitalism and waging war against the wealthy. The wealthy hate Roosevelt with a passion, while critics on left blame FDR for being...
Chaos of Experimentation, A: Growth of Federal Relief
The Roosevelt administration does not consider relief a priority at first but comes to realize something must be done to help impoverished people survive. They create a range of relief mechanisms from providing money to relief agencies to creating j...
Chaos of Experimentation, A: Launching the New Deal
Roosevelt submits an extraordinary number of bills to Congress in the first 100 days of his administration, diverse experiments designed to combat the Depression. FDR's optimism is contagious; he never doubts something will work. He conveys this bel...