Ethan Lazuk

Midterm #2

Government & Politics

16 April 2016

Presidential Views on Proper Governance & Executive Power:

Franklin D. Roosevelt V. Ronald Reagan

Introduction

The presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan both

started in times of economic in America. Resolving the economic crisis at

hand was a concern that weighed heavily on the agendas that both

Roosevelt and Reagan laid out in their inaugural addresses. The significance

of comparing the two Presidents, however, is that each had a different

opinion as to whether the Government was the solution or the problem. In

the end, the analysis of the philosophies of Roosevelt and Reagan on

Executive power reveals two distinct approaches to proper governance with

one common denominator, which is that Executive action is essential in

times of national crises.

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Roosevelt

In his first inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt says that

now is a time "for action, and action now."1 Indeed, the word "action" is

replete in the President's speech, and it is used either to convey that the

American people are demanding action, or that it is Roosevelt's duty to

commit to action on their behalf. As the context for his call to action,

Roosevelt identifies the need to "wage a war against the emergency,"

meaning nationwide severe economic depression. Roosevelt furthermore

explains that the "one remaining instrument to meet the crisis [is] broad

Executive power."2

To take unilateral executive actions, however, is the last resort for

Roosevelt. His first hope is that "the normal balance of executive and

legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented

task before us." 3 But in the same breath, Roosevelt explains how the

ongoing economic depression demands "undelayed action," and if Congress,

a slow, deliberative body, cannot oblige the situation, it "may call for

1 Roosevelt, pp. 1 2 Roosevelt, pp. 3 3 Ibid

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temporary departure from that normal balance" of congressional and

presidential powers.

Moving backward from the end segments of the speech, when

Roosevelt expresses his willingness for unilateral executive action, in the

middle of the speech, the President offers his impressions of the inherent

flexibility of the language of the U.S. Constitution that permits the creation

of a strong Executive. "Our Constitution is so simple and practical," explains

Roosevelt, "that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes

in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form."4 In other

words, the newly elected President interprets the language of the

Constitution as adaptable to time and circumstance.

Roosevelt also uses analogies of war when referring to the current

economic depression throughout his speech. In one instance, the President

describes his new role as leading "this great army of our people dedicated to

a disciplined attack upon our common problems."5 Tellingly, it is right after

this remark that Roosevelt explains his philosophy on constitutional

elasticity. Roosevelt is thus prefacing his intended expansion of Executive

authority with claims that the ongoing economic depression is a national 4 Roosevelt, pp. 2 5 Ibid

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crisis of the scale of war, and under these extraordinary circumstances, the

Constitution gives the President expanded war powers to unilaterally

resolve the crises. The way Roosevelt will resolve the economic depression

is by asking the American people, or what he calls a "trained and loyal army

willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline," to submit their

"lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership

which aims at a larger good."6

The discipline the President refers to is for the American public to

realize the "interdependence on each other" and to thus focus on the

national interest above one's self interest. The President finds no fault with

the public for the economic depression, but instead he attributes the crises

to the "false leadership [from] the rulers of the exchange of mankind's

goods [who] have failed, through their own stubbornness and

incompetence."7 Furthermore, Roosevelt explains how material wealth is no

longer a standard of success, and that the true source of "restoration lies in

the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary

profit."8 In other words, the standards of leadership have changed, and

6 Roosevelt, pp. 2 7 Ibid, pp. 1 8 Ibid

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Americans must abandon "the false belief that public office and high

political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place

and personal profit."9

There is a patriarchal tone to some of Roosevelt's words that perhaps

hints at an underlying republicanism reminiscent of the Founding Fathers.

Roosevelt seems only to find fault for the nation's economic crises with

people in positions of power, while the greater public is implicitly

victimized. As the President himself says, "the people of the United States

have not failed," but the rulers over economic exchange "know only the

rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is

no vision the people perish."10 Like the Founding Fathers, Roosevelt believes

there great men have a duty to lead the larger population, but that recent

leadership has failed because of its wider interest in material gain rather

than in the republican qualities of "honesty," "honor," "sacredness of

obligations," "faithful protection," and "unselfish performance."11 It therefore

possible that Roosevelt sees the endemic failure of leadership nationwide as

an alternative justification for him to assume expanded Executive powers.

9 Ibid 10 Roosevelt, pp. 1; 3 11 Ibid, pp. 1

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As for using these powers, the President mentions several steps to

achieve the "greatest primary task [to] put people to work."12 First off, the

Government has to address unemployment by "treating the task as we

would treat the emergency of a war."13 Of course, in a war, the President

has expanded powers to take unilateral action. One action taken will be to

intervene in the agricultural market with subsidies to raise crop values.

Another action is to coordinate local, State, and Federal Government relief

programs, which is a centralization process that crosses the constitutional

demarcations of Federalism. In an expansion of Government oversight,

Roosevelt wishes to have "strict supervision of all banking and credits and

investments."14

The President also makes it known that he plans to engage directly in

the legislative process, which is constitutionally reserved for Congress. In

one instance, Roosevelt claims he will convene a special session of Congress

while seeking "the immediate assistance of the several States" in the

outcome. Not long afterward, the President makes clear that direct

legislative involvement of his office is not a one-time endeavor. "I am

12 Ibid 13 Ibid, pp. 2 14 Roosevelt, pp. 2

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prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a

stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require [and] I shall

seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring [the measures] to speedy

adoption."15

Finally, the President explains to the public that, in exchange "for the

trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the

time." 16 In addition to regularly mentioning that his actions are

constitutional, Roosevelt thus makes clear once more that a nation in the

throes of economic depression is a crisis on the same scale as a war, and

thus it demands "broad Executive powers" to bring about a resolution. And

so, with his mandate for "direct, vigorous action" from an American public

that has "asked for discipline and direction under leadership," President

Franklin D. Roosevelt begins the first of four terms in the Executive office.

Reagan

In his first inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan has a clear

message regarding the Federal Government. He believes the Government

has grown too big, and it is therefore causing an "economic affliction of 15 Ibid, pp. 3 16 Roosevelt, pp. 3

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great proportions" in the United States. "In this present crisis, government is

not the solution to our problem; government is the problem," says Reagan.

The main way the Government inconveniences economic productivity

is with a "tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us

from maintaining full productivity."17 Early in his speech, Reagan speaks

admiringly of the American "political system which guarantees individual

liberty."18 Again, midway through, the President defines heroism in present-

day America as people having jobs or being entrepreneurs "with faith in

themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and

opportunity."19 Indeed, along with curbing inflation, "putting America back

to work" is a key objective for Reagan.

The President seeks to foster a "healthy, vigorous, growing economy

that provides equal opportunities for all Americans [to] share in the bounty

of a revived economy."20 Reagan reaffirms his commitment to equality when

he defines a prosperous America as having "idealism and fair play" in its

economy. Besides giving Americans new economic opportunities, Reagan

17 Reagan, pp. 1 18 Ibid 19 Ibid, pp. 3 20 Ibid, pp. 2

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wants "to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just

in theory."21

Individualism is thus a prominent theme throughout the President's

speech. By juxtaposing his proposal for smaller government with his hope

for greater self-sufficiency among the American people, Reagan envisioning

a transfer of power from the Government to the people. Supporting this

conclusion is another remark from the President where he explains, "Our

government has no power except that granted it by the people," but at its

present size, the Government "shows signs of having grown beyond the

consent of the governed."22 Reagan also describes America as a "nation that

has a government," or in other words, the character of the United States is

its people and culture, not its institutions.

In describing how the people consent to the Government's existence,

the President is invoking the ideas of the Constitution. In fact, Reagan

expresses his preference for a strict interpretation of the Constitution when

he discusses the principle of Federalism in his speech. "It is my intention …

to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the

21 Ibid, pp. 3 22 Reagan, pp. 2

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Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people."23

The President then goes on to explain that "the Federal Government did not

create the States; the States created the Federal Government."24 And so, in

addition to transferring Government powers to individual citizens, Reagan

also wishes for the States to assume greater authority, if not supremacy, in

the modern structure of Federalism. The President explains, "I will propose

removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced

productivity [by] restoring the balance between the various levels of

government."25 He goes on to say that "it is time to reawaken this industrial

giant, to get government back within its means."26

Reagan thus frames his intentions to reduce the size of government as

a return to Federalism as it was originally intended, but the President also

speaks about renewal, describing America as though it is on the cusp of a

new epoch of individual liberty and national economic prosperity. "So, with

all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national

renewal," says Reagan. "Let us renew our determination, our courage, and

23 Ibid 24 Ibid 25 Reagan, pp. 3 26 Ibid

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our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope."27 Finishing the

analogy, Reagan promises that, "as we renew ourselves here in our own

land … we will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for

those who do not now have freedom."28 The newly elected President is thus

ready to turn the page on a new America that is an international symbol of

strength and prosperity because of its individual liberty and economic self-

sufficiency at home.

Analysis

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan both confronted

economic crises upon assuming the Executive office, and the theme of

economic recovery and raising employment levels is central to their two

inaugural addresses. The central point where the two Presidents differ,

however, is whether the Government is the solution or the problem. For

Roosevelt, it is the former, and he envisions "broad Executive power" and a

"departure from that normal balance of public procedure" to resolve the

economic crisis befalling a "stricken nation."29 In contrast, Reagan believes

27 Ibid 28 Ibid 29 Roosevelt, pp. 3

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Government is the problem because its "unnecessary and excessive growth"

has created a punitive tax system that prevents "full productivity" and

contributes to inflation that keeps Americans held down by "the terror of

runaway living costs."30

Reagan furthermore has a strict constitutional outlook concerning

Federalism, which is why he aims to restore "the balance between the

various levels of government" by transferring powers back to the States as

well as citizens.31 Although Reagan does not expressly reference Congress or

the balance of powers in the Federal Government alone, his strict

constitutionalism implies that his preference is for an Executive office that

administrates instead of legislates, as well as follows other enumerated roles

only.

Roosevelt's constitutional outlook, on the other hand, is living. In

other words, Roosevelt envisions a Constitution that is adaptable to time

and circumstance. Roosevelt seeks to justify his preference for a powerful

Executive by repeatedly describing America's economic depression as a crisis

equal to war, and in so doing he is indirectly invoking the Executive war

powers enumerated in Article II of the Constitution. Regarding the balance 30 Reagan, pp. 1-2 31 Reagan, pp. 2-3

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of powers in the Federal Government, Roosevelt hopes to maintain "the

normal balance of executive and legislative authority," but the "need for

undelayed action" can require extraordinary legislative initiative from the

President.32 Like Reagan, Roosevelt envisions a role for the States in his

proposed response to the economic crisis at hand. Whereas Reagan wants to

empower the States to create greater separation between Federal and State

government spheres, Roosevelt envisions cooperation between Federal,

State, and Local governments to implement economic relief efforts.

Comparing the two approaches from Roosevelt and Reagan to

Executive power in times of economic crises is not an exercise to determine

which President is correct or even which is preferable. Instead, the

presidencies of Roosevelt and Reagan are examples of successful

implementations of two different philosophies of governance. What can be

determined from this analysis, however, is that Executive action is essential

in times national crises. As Reagan says, and Roosevelt would no doubt

agree, "I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I

do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing."33

32 Roosevelt, pp. 3 33 Reagan, pp. 2

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Sources

Franklin Delano Roosevelt. First Inaugural Address. March 4,1933. Accessed

by http://millercenter.org/president/fdroosevelt/speeches/speech-

3280

Ronald Reagan. First Inaugural Address. January 20, 1981. Accessed by

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=43130