modern Presidency

The modern Presidency is the term used by historians and political scientists to describe the Presidential office since the early 1930s. The characteristics of the modern Presidency, as developed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and consolidated by Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy, are as follows: increased constitutional powers in foreign affairs and national security; use of the White House Office and the Executive Office of the President to supervise the bureaucracy; greater willingness to use the powers of the office to deal with economic and social problems; greater attempts to win passage of the Presidential legislative agenda; and greater ability to dominate public opinion by using radio and television. Kennedy, John F.; Roosevelt, Franklin D.; Truman, Harry S.

See also Eisenhower, Dwight David;

Sources

• Fred I. Greenstein, ed., Leadership in the Modern Presidency (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988)