19. The Roosevelt administration was marked by expansion of presidential power
Roosevelt won election on his own in 1904, and when he left office in 1909 it was left to his hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft. He remained popular throughout his nearly two full terms, and his popularity with voters, and with most of the press, allowed him to significantly increase the power of his office. He used that power to increase the power and international prestige of the United States. He brokered a peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, while at the same time expanding the strength of the United States Navy, until by the end of his presidency it was the third largest in the world. He championed the completion, by the United States, of the Panama Canal after the French failed.
Roosevelt’s use of the office placed the presidency in the center of the American government, more so than had any of his predecessors, a position which it has retained ever since. He made the environment a national concern. He used his office to influence the perception of American manhood, arguing for strenuous exercise and activity as superior to taking one’s ease sedately. He also stressed the moral value of strenuous competition and competitive sports, taking part in both publicly and in private. When he left office he was fifty years of age, and he had no intention of slowing down himself.
