Ernst on TR on the Structure of Government

Julia L. Ernst, North Dakota School of Law, has published The Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt’s Approach to Governmental Powers, North Dakota Law Review 92 (2016): 309-363:

TR 1899 (NYPL)

This Article explores how Theodore Roosevelt viewed the structure of government within the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  It particularly considers his standpoints on the interrelationships between the three branches of government–executive, legislative, and judicial–at both the federal and state levels.  More specifically, it investigates Roosevelt’s perspectives on presidential use of executive orders to take action in the face of Congressional inertia in the federal government.  Considering state governments, it examines his views in favor of restricting the independence of the judiciary.  The Article suggests that, while Theodore Roosevelt’ s approach to the judiciary has not been followed, he helped set the stage for the active use of executive orders in shaping the federal laws, which has substantially  influenced  the  relationship  between  the  president  and Congress.  Whether or not one agrees with presidential use of executive orders to effectuate major legal and policy changes, Roosevelt’s legacy in originating the extensive use of this practice remains significant today.