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Theodore Roosevelt : The Hero Of The Spanish American War

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Theodore Roosevelt originally came into the national spotlight as the hero of the Spanish-American War when he led a charge against the Spanish during the battle of San Juan Hill. However, a military background isn’t the only thing Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson have in common, they both believed that the president had a mandate from the people to lead. This led Roosevelt to increase the power of the executive office in very similar ways to Jackson.
Roosevelt believed in a very strong executive and said, “The executive power was limited only by specific restrictions and prohibitions appearing in the Constitution or imposed by the Congress under its Constitutional powers.” (Roosevelt, p197). One of the great powers of the presidency not in the Constitution is the power to influence the American people, and Roosevelt used this in order to help pass the Hepburn Act of 1906. The Hepburn Act was an effort by Theodore Roosevelt to increase the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission, in order to regulate the railroad industry that was charging large corporations less than smaller shippers. The act was quickly passed through the House of Representatives, but faced serious competition in the Senate. Roosevelt went to the people to gather support for the bill. He traveled throughout the country campaigning for the bill. His campaigning was largely popular and covered by the press. When the Senate reconvened the bill was pasted with only three votes against. Roosevelt was able to

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