Some might say FDR, some might say LBJ, others might say Nixon. The reality is that the power of the Legislative vis a vis the Executive is in constant flux.
In terms of sweeping policy initiatives FDR's administration might be the time when the Presidency took on many of its contemporary roles. The activism of the LBJ administration was a further expansion of the New Deal-era role of the FDR administration. LBJ also was arguably the first president to use the US armed forces in foreign engagements without Congress declaring war (Gulf of Tonkin resolution)--a precedent we have become all too familiar with. In terms of 'imperial pretensions' Nixon assumed all the New Deal, Great Society, civil rights activism, and the ability to intervene militarily of the preceding Presidencies and expanded them to include unfettered use of the CIA and FBI.
Who is that? Is this even a question?
The land of Alaska was bought from Russia and the purchase was called Seward's folly as it was thought ridiculous.
<span>Hawaii was a sovereign nation with its own monarchy but populated by Americans, particularly the pineapple owners, who wanted to be a part of America to avoid various import taxes etc. They forced the then king to sign, at gunpoint, a new constitution which disenfranchised many voters and then used economic and political strength to eventually end the monarchy and make Hawaii a part of the US, both were voted in as states in 1959</span><span />
