Executive Importance and Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt

The executive branch is not the most important branch of the government in the USA. Although all branches have an equal system of checks and balances, the legislative branch is really the most important.
The president is the head of the executive branch. His job is to enforce the laws passed up by legislation. The executive branch is not allowed, under the Separation of Powers, to create or establish laws nor to illegally construe them. They are only allowed to enforce the laws, something that the legislative branch cannot do by itself. If the executive branch feels they can step over their boundary and disobey the legislative consent to act upon certain things, the judicial branch can hold them accountable in court for not consenting to the legislative branch. From the time that the Constitution was first written, the legislative branch was given enumerated powers and expressed powers that the executive branch was not allowed to have. Congress is allowed to place taxes, they can establish roads and post offices, congress can set up all federal courts except the supreme courts, they can raise and maintain an army and navy, etc. They are allowed to also take advantage of “the necessary and proper clause” stating that “congress can make all laws necessary and proper for executing the foregoing expressed powers” [article 1, section 8, clause18, of the Constitution]. The legislative branch has equal power to all of the other branches of government, yes, but it is the most important because it is the most direct way to reach the people of the United States by creating laws that will help their common good and will keep them safe.
Two different presidencies in two different terms that are able to be compared and contrasted are Theodore Roosevelt with his construction of the Panama Canal and the Square Deal in 1901-1919 and Franklin D Roosevelt that was responsible for his “fireside chats” and initiating the New Deal in his term 1933-1945.
Theodore Roosevelt had a massive hand in creating the Panama Canal. This was so important because it decreased the time it took for commerce and trading ships to pass through it in almost half the time it would to go all the way around Cape Horn which was the normal route for ships. With the funds obviously from legislative branch, he took them and dared to create the Panama Canal. Roosevelt even stated of himself that the canal “was by far the most important action [he] took in foreign affairs during the time [he] was President. When nobody could or would exercise efficient authority, [he] exercised it.” (http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/joining.html). Although this cost hundreds of millions for the Americans, it helped the commerce industry of America amazingly with this new route of transportation. Roosevelt also had his “Square Deal” in that he was able to create a program that was designed to help the middle class citizens of the US. This was designed also to go against financial trusts and the big, wealthy businesses that restricted trade or controlled the markets. In his words, Roosevelt promised that “I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no more and no less” (http://www.answers.com/topic/square-deal-u-s-hist-in-encyclopedia ) feeling that everyone should have an equally fair chance in the economy. His most famous saying that ultimately summed up his personality and his time in office was “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” (http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/quotes.htm)
Compared to Theodore Roosevelt’s fifth cousin Franklin Roosevelt, they both had a hand in some very important events in our country’s history. Theodore Roosevelt had his Square Deal promise and the construction of the Panama Canal under his belt, Franklin Roosevelt had to deal with the Great Depression.
Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal to get the economy back into shape as the great depression of 1929 hit its peak was based off of the three R’s; Relief, Reform and Recovery. Inside the New Deal were many programs that would contribute to the revival of the economy, such programs as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Social Security System, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These programs worked to pick up the economy again and keep it running. Many citizens, however, were in disbelief that they could get out of the great depression. But with Roosevelt’s thirty “fireside chats” on the radio he was able to alleviate some of their pressure by reassuring them that the banks were now safe as his plan was put into action and to have faith in the New Deal. These fireside chat radio broadcasts gained more attraction than modern radio broadcasts do. He was able to settle the unnerved Americans from the dismay they had been presented with. Speaking of the returning the favor for the US Army, he told Americans that we should not stop working and that “we must work and sacrifice. It is for them. It is for us. It is for victory.” (http://www.mhric.org/fdr/chat21.html )
Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt were alike not only in family, but they both, in their terms, were able to firsthand experience and direct massive changes in the lives of the Americans. The only difference was the areas that they changed in the lives of the Americans and how they went about creating the change. They both contributed to helping the American’s freedom and ease of life in more ways than one.


Other Resources:

- http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/separationofpowers.htm
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/exec.html
- http://www.undp.org/governance/docs/Parl-Pub-govern.htm