How Democracies Die

by Steven Levitsky

Consider Theodore Roosevelt, who ascended to the office in 1901 after President William McKinley’s assassination. Roosevelt subscribed to what he called the stewardship theory of the presidency, which asserted that all executive actions were allowed unless expressly prohibited by law. This expansive view of presidential power, Roosevelt’s fondness for populist-style appeals to “the people,” and his “boundless energy and ambition” alarmed contemporary observers, including leaders of his own Republican Party. President McKinley’s powerful advisor, Mark Hanna, had warned against selecting Roosevelt as his vice president, reportedly saying, “Don’t you realize that there’s only one life between that madman and the White House?” As president, however, Roosevelt acted with surprising restraint. He took great care, for example, to avoid appearing to bully Congress by speaking directly to the people or attacking individual members of Congress as they debated crucial votes. In the end, Roosevelt operated well within the bounds of our constitutional checks and balances.