Far from being mere ‘servants of Congress’, pre-20th century presidents were able to use federal resources to their partisan advantage

Often characterized as impotent and servile to their parties, early American presidents have been thought to have been insignificant to policy outcomes. As Jon C. Rogowski’s work on presidential influence over the Post Office Department uncovers, however, 19th-century presidents were able to make a noticeable difference to the national distribution of federal resources, to the advantage of their fellow party politicians. His findings require a reassessment of the relative power of early presidents, and suggest their impotence has been significantly overstated.