Theodore Roosevelt made conservation and regulation of big business central to a more active presidency. His interventionist approach in Latin America complicates the reformer’s reputation: domestic progress does not cancel the costs of projecting power abroad.

He beats Eisenhower for the breadth of his reform ambition. Johnson goes higher because enforceable civil-rights legislation carries more weight here. Prefer presidential restraint, and Roosevelt’s energetic style becomes a liability.

Sources: Miller Center · Term dates.

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