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Great Idea!
Who Is Greater?A showdown between distant cousins: the undisputed titans of 20th century American politics and arguably the two most effective presidents in the history of the United States, in large part because their domestic policy agendas were so crystallized. Theodore's Square Deal focused on the three c's of corporate regulation, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources; Franklin's New Deal on the three r's of relief for the poor and unemployed, recovery of the economy, and reform of the financial system. The bulk of TR's accomplishments came by the unilateral executive force of a singular leader through a deft utilization of pre-existing federal statutes enacted by Congress, whereas FDR employed a 'brain trust' and took office with one of the biggest political mandates ever seen, governing with a super-majority in both chambers of Congress for the first six years of a presidency that saw him elected to unprecedented third and fourth terms. As much as TR relished the presidency, he voluntarily stepped down as incumbent and did not seek a third consecutive term.
TR Achievements
TR came power during an era of unstoppable economic growth but also one that saw egregious abuses by the robber barons who dominated the Gilded Age and the wanton destruction of pristine wilderness. He took action by launching dozens of anti-trust lawsuits against corporate monopolies and came out victorious in 22 rulings, including the dissolution of J.P. Morgan's Northern Securities Corporation and John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. He pushed for and enacted the first significant consumer protection laws in US history with the Pure Food And Drugs Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act. Teddy goes down as nothing less than the greatest conservationist in human history, wielding undiluted power to preserve over 230 million acres of publicly owned wilderness as a gift to the people and all future generations. He established the National Wildlife Refuge System in his first term and US Forest Service in his second. In the realm of foreign policy he was responsible (and won the Nobel Peace Prize) for brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth to bring an end to the Russo-Japanese war, in addition to initiating and overseeing the construction of the Panama Canal which greatly enhanced both American geopolitical power and global commerce by uniting trade between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
FDR Achievements
Taking office during the throes of the Great Depression, FDR had a surplus of unassailable political capital at his disposal that is otherwise unthinkable by contemporary standards with his Democratic party holding as much as 75% of federal voting power in both the House and Senate (something neither party has attained since). So what did they do with it? The Banking Act to separate commercial banking from investment banking and establish the FDIC; the Securities Exchange Act which created the SEC with the goals of regulating trading, facilitating financial transparency, and circumventing fraud; the National Housing Act to make homes more affordable, curb foreclosures, and stimulate private industry (this also created the FHA); the National Labor Relations Act which guaranteed the right of private-sector employees to organize into unions, collectively bargain, and engage in strikes; and the Social Security Act to establish federal benefits and safety net programs for the disabled, senior citizens, and unemployed. FDR also enacted the Agriculture Adjustment Act and National Industrial Recovery Act, but both were subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. He is very famously known for leading America through World War 2 and initiating the Manhattan Project to successfully develop the world's first nuclear weapon.
