If you’re one of the four presidents on Mount Rushmore, you are well-known. Mount Rushmore is so linked to infamy that people use it as a measuring stick for conveying iconic status. Plenty of pundits out there make the case for a Mount Rushmore of rock bands, actors, quarterbacks, or any number of topics. Even among his Mount Rushmore brethren Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt stands out. The Pince-Nez glasses, the mustache – he’s immediately recognizable.

T.R. left office on March 4th,1909 while Mount Rushmore was commissioned in 1925. That’s a fairly quick turnaround. For perspective, that would be like putting George W. Bush on Mount Rushmore if it were commissioned today. It’s also a good indicator of how quickly Roosevelt’s brand of progressivism took over constitutional government in the 20th century.

Here’s the original painted and unpainted version of Louis Marx & Company’s Theodore Roosevelt:

And here is my version:

Theodore Roosevelt fun fact: Saying that Roosevelt was an active executive is an understatement. He may be the most energetic president of all time. But is that a good thing? Executive overreach was nothing new. It could be traced back to the very first president, George Washington. But Roosevelt’s 1901-1909 presidency went a long way towards normalizing it. The idea that the constitution is a living document, where anything can be done unless explicitly forbidden, largely comes from Roosevelt. This is dangerous. Remember, the constitution has delegated powers. If a power is not delegated under the constitution, then the president does not have that power. It’s that simple.

Roosevelt acted this way towards large and small causes. A great example of this was his attempt to clean up spelling. There was some groundswell for this cause, it wasn’t strictly political. Andrew Carnegie funded the Simplified Spelling Board thinktank to study the issue in 1906. The argument was that the English language was too complicated and should adopt more phonetic spellings. For example, words like debt should not have the “b.” Immigration was rapidly escalating at the turn of the century, and simplified spelling was seen as a way to ease assimilation.

Roosevelt liked the idea and sent a letter to the U.S. Gov. Printing Office ordering them to use simplified spelling changes for 300 words. Does the constitution give the president the power to determine how words are spelled? Of course not. Congress could pass legislation to the effect, but Roosevelt did not consult Congress. The move didn’t go over well with Congress or the public, and Roosevelt rescinded the order. Is unconstitutionally changing spelling a huge deal in the grand scheme of things? No. But abuse of power happens in small increments. Minute offenses often play host to larger power grabs. Roosevelt’s presidency is full of examples of this.