Theodore Roosevelt, Big-Government Man

Written By: Jim Powell  |  Posted: Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Theodore Roosevelt has been known as "the Good Roosevelt, " "the Republican Roosevelt, " and "the conservative Roosevelt, " as distinguished from his fifth cousin Franklin, who's credited with ushering in modern American big government.

Yet promoters of big government have long recognized TR as one of their own. Biographer Frank Freidel wrote that "While at Groton [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] first fell under the spell of his remote cousin Theodore Roosevelt... Theodore Roosevelt believed in using to the utmost the constitutional power of the president... This strong use of government was for the most part appealing to Franklin." During the Great Depression, FDR promoted "a program emphasizing national planning in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt." Freidel noted that "in words reminiscent of Theodore Roosevelt, FDR declared 'the duty rests upon the Government to restrict incomes by very high taxes.'"

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