Formatted: Header, Indent: Before: -0.08"
Formatted: Header, Centered
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THAT THE PERSONALITY OF THE PRESIDENT WAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT Formatted: Header, Right, After: -0.08"
FACTOR IN THE CHANGES OF THE PRESIDENCY IN THE YEARS 1917-80. Formatted: Header
Throughout history, the nature of presidency has undergone some remarkable changes and the
machinery of the government has become more complex. However, the change in the presidential
power, especially in the 20th century, did not come about all at once. This essay will show that, even
though the personality of each president in the years 1917-80 played an important role in the
changes regarding the executive power, the visibility of the president as well as the respect towards
him , it was secondary in comparison to other factors ,such as the media and the influence of the
crisis and the wars. Commented [RC1]: Excellent intro!
To give an illustration, each president's favourite methods of acquiring power and using it, as well as
his personal strenghts and weaknesses, provide an invaluable look at both the changing dynamics of
power and the changing structure of the president's responsibilities. To begin with, it is undeniable
that the personality of the president, during the years 1917-80, changed the presidency in terms of
the implementation of federal measures and the use of executive orders. It is due to the
motivational profiles of some presidents that executive power increased. For example, even though
the first steps towards more federal intervention had been made by Hoover, it was Franklin D.
Roosevelt who, with his confidence and his feeling that he could do anything in the world without
failure, used the executive power on a greater scale. Moreover, the personality also influenced the
way presidents were seen by the public and the way they used the technology and the media of the
time. Despite the fact that media, as it is going be mentioned afterwards, is a factor of the visibility
of the President, history has shown that the personal characteristics of each president influenced
the way he was projected towards the ordinary people. For instance, Truman was the first to make a
presidential televised address speech from White House in 1947 but he did not really change the
way the president was seen. On the other hand, Kennedy by his charming and trustworthy
personality used the television smartly by winning the audience. JFK attitude towards how things
must be presented to the public changed undoubtedly the visual nature of the presidency.
However, it should be taken into account that if personality was the major factor in the changes of
the presidency, then the nature of the presidency could have also changed dramatically during the
previous decades. The reality is that there are two other factors, the media and the wars, that let the
personality of the presidents influence the political landscape.
More precisely, the power of media is probably the basic factor of the change in the presidency,
mainly in terms of how the president is visually regarded and has to be respected. It is the means by
which the president connected more with the public, focused more on his image and less on getting
jobs done with urgency. The greatest influence of the media started in 1940s, when Franklin and
Eleanor Roosevelt adopted radio as a communication tool, because they understood its importance
in managing people. Since the time Roosevelt instituted the "fireside chats" and started holding off
the record press meetings with selected reporters at the White House, the president is expected to
tell the media and the public about policies. That's the reason why Harry Truman inherited a
presidency that was very different from the one that Roosevelt inherited from Hoover. Furthermore,
television changed how Americans in the 1950s saw their political system and in so doing changed
the presidency itself. It is the reason why the election campaigns started being driven more and Formatted: Header, Indent: Before: -0.08"
more by the candidates themselves and why the president started to be seen as a manipulator of Formatted: Header, Centered
the media. Especially, after the three year Kennedy presidency, who conducted live televised press Formatted: Header, Right, After: -0.08"
conferences without delay or editing, the means ,with which the candidates featured themselves,
Formatted: Footer
Formatted: Header, Centered
HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THAT THE PERSONALITY OF THE PRESIDENT WAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT Formatted: Header, Right, After: -0.08"
FACTOR IN THE CHANGES OF THE PRESIDENCY IN THE YEARS 1917-80. Formatted: Header
Throughout history, the nature of presidency has undergone some remarkable changes and the
machinery of the government has become more complex. However, the change in the presidential
power, especially in the 20th century, did not come about all at once. This essay will show that, even
though the personality of each president in the years 1917-80 played an important role in the
changes regarding the executive power, the visibility of the president as well as the respect towards
him , it was secondary in comparison to other factors ,such as the media and the influence of the
crisis and the wars. Commented [RC1]: Excellent intro!
To give an illustration, each president's favourite methods of acquiring power and using it, as well as
his personal strenghts and weaknesses, provide an invaluable look at both the changing dynamics of
power and the changing structure of the president's responsibilities. To begin with, it is undeniable
that the personality of the president, during the years 1917-80, changed the presidency in terms of
the implementation of federal measures and the use of executive orders. It is due to the
motivational profiles of some presidents that executive power increased. For example, even though
the first steps towards more federal intervention had been made by Hoover, it was Franklin D.
Roosevelt who, with his confidence and his feeling that he could do anything in the world without
failure, used the executive power on a greater scale. Moreover, the personality also influenced the
way presidents were seen by the public and the way they used the technology and the media of the
time. Despite the fact that media, as it is going be mentioned afterwards, is a factor of the visibility
of the President, history has shown that the personal characteristics of each president influenced
the way he was projected towards the ordinary people. For instance, Truman was the first to make a
presidential televised address speech from White House in 1947 but he did not really change the
way the president was seen. On the other hand, Kennedy by his charming and trustworthy
personality used the television smartly by winning the audience. JFK attitude towards how things
must be presented to the public changed undoubtedly the visual nature of the presidency.
However, it should be taken into account that if personality was the major factor in the changes of
the presidency, then the nature of the presidency could have also changed dramatically during the
previous decades. The reality is that there are two other factors, the media and the wars, that let the
personality of the presidents influence the political landscape.
More precisely, the power of media is probably the basic factor of the change in the presidency,
mainly in terms of how the president is visually regarded and has to be respected. It is the means by
which the president connected more with the public, focused more on his image and less on getting
jobs done with urgency. The greatest influence of the media started in 1940s, when Franklin and
Eleanor Roosevelt adopted radio as a communication tool, because they understood its importance
in managing people. Since the time Roosevelt instituted the "fireside chats" and started holding off
the record press meetings with selected reporters at the White House, the president is expected to
tell the media and the public about policies. That's the reason why Harry Truman inherited a
presidency that was very different from the one that Roosevelt inherited from Hoover. Furthermore,
television changed how Americans in the 1950s saw their political system and in so doing changed
the presidency itself. It is the reason why the election campaigns started being driven more and Formatted: Header, Indent: Before: -0.08"
more by the candidates themselves and why the president started to be seen as a manipulator of Formatted: Header, Centered
the media. Especially, after the three year Kennedy presidency, who conducted live televised press Formatted: Header, Right, After: -0.08"
conferences without delay or editing, the means ,with which the candidates featured themselves,
Formatted: Footer
