The American presidency had a very different character in the early 1900s than it does today. By custom, UVA Miller Center says presidential candidates didn’t even directly campaign for their own elections. But the outlet also notes that Teddy Roosevelt has garnered a reputation as the first “modern” president. After the Civil War, the executive branch took a backseat to Congress in managing the nation’s affairs. Roosevelt, building on the limited initiative of his predecessors, remade the presidency into the center of American political life (and gave the White House its name to boot).
Read Related Also: Moms using ‘electrical cable’ to whip small kids for ‘coloring and drawing’ discovered after 7-year-old refused to take jacket off for gym class: Cops
Young himself, Roosevelt injected more youth into the federal government through his appointments. Recognizing the rise of an independent and widespread press, he capitalized on his young children to generate media coverage. And as a young, energetic, and outspoken man, his personal character did much to refashion the public’s expectations and relationship with the president. In this, as in the rest of his life, Roosevelt wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions and his enthusiasm. “I do not believe that any president ever had as thoroughly good a time as I have had, or has ever enjoyed himself as much,” he wrote to one historian (per Britannica).
