Theodore Roosevelt's Presidential Decision Making

Every individual makes decisions on the basis of personal experience and his understanding of the experience of others. In the case of those whose decisions are made on the broad stage of politics, the experiences they turn to are contained in the histories of those who have preceded them. Leaders may seek precedents, or offer interpretations of history, merely in order to support the courses they have already chosen. Many leaders, however, genuinely look to the past for ideas and inspiration. By drawing analogies and parallels between present and past, they hope to determine the best course for the future. But, nothing is easier than to misread history. As May points out, using history as a guide requires an understanding of "the variety and complexity of the past, the tentativeness of most historical reconstructions, and the many hazards associated with claiming that one occurrence is 'like' another" (xxii). May argues that making such informed analyses available to policy makers should be a major priority of any presidential administration. The successes and mistakes of earlier presidents provide examples of how personal experience and historical interpretation have influenced their decisions. As president, Theodore Roosevelt had numerous occasions to call on his own unusual background and on his resources as a historian in making decisions in both the domestic and international spheres. One domestic and one foreign policy issue from Roosevelt's presidential car

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that he believed that protesting laborers should be handled by forces "not over-scrupulous about bloodshed" and big business itself needed "sound chastisement" (qtd. in Cooper 35). An essential key to Roosevelt's personality and policies is provided by Cooper, who notes that, "throughout his life [Roosevelt] viewed power from only one perspective -- the operating end" (33). On succeeding to the presidency, Roosevelt's initial impulse was to proceed slowly. He did not believe that a strong central government was necessarily what the United States needed. But the combination of defiance by big business interests, which annoyed him and upset his ideal of fair play, and the desire to prove that the Republican party was not just a front for business, made him change direction. Certainly, Roosevelt's own background made him somewhat defensive about the grasping quality of business. But, he was sufficiently distant from the actual pursuit of money to enable him to adopt a high moral tone regarding the terrible effect that concentrated materialism was having on the national character. Roosevelt believed that "an oligarchy of colossal capitalists is the most narrow-minded and meanest in its ideals" (qtd. in Cooper 85). His attemp

Category: Government - T