NOTE: The examples listed below are selected for their value in study for the Regent's Examination,
and represent a small fraction of the possible examples.

Theodore Roosevelt coins the term "Bully Pulpit":
The very concept of the Bully Pulpit, or the use of the president's position in American society as a means to push an agenda, was defined by the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt believed that the presidency was more than just an elected political position, but could be used as a force for social change in the nation, not simply via laws and executive orders, but by speeches, programs and appeals to the American people.

During his presidency TR railed against the power of trusts and the big businessmen he called "malefactors of great wealth". He urged the American people to aid the progressive reform movement by action and volunteerism within their own communities and cities, in an effort to alleviate the problems exposed by the muckraking writers of the day. He used the presidency as a forum for demanding businesses to increase wages and improve safety, as well as appealing for conservation of natural resources and wild lands. Many of these initiatives were translated into formal legislation, but may others remained as simple appeals to the hearts and minds of Americans, and it is this precedent that all modern presidents have used to spur the nation into action, simply by asking.

Carter asks the US to conserve resources:
During the heart of the energy crisis in the late 1970's, as oil and energy prices soared, President Jimmy Carter appealed to the American people to conserve energy resources. He asked the American people to voluntarily reduce their driving speeds and turn down their thermostats, there by saving gas and energy, thereby reducing the US's dependency on Middle Eastern oil imports. A famous appeal had Carter in a sweater, from the Oval Office of the White House, as he led by example, having reduced the heat in his own office. While the results of the voluntary energy reduction programs were limited, it serves as a good example of the bully pulpit in action.

The Reagans ask America to "just say no" to drugs:
As Americans' use of illegal drugs soared in the late 1970's and early 1980's the DEA and other law enforcement agencies seemed helpless to stop the rising tide of usage. Stricter drug laws and tighter US borders seemed to do little to address the issue, which was driven by demand for drugs within the US and not foreign supplies.

President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan responded to the failures of the laws, by resorting to the social appeals of the bully pulpit. Reagan declared a war on drugs, creating a drug czar to oversee US policy and increasing funding for interdiction efforts. To attempt to curb demand for illegal drugs a call to "just say no" was launched, featuring appeals by both the president and first lady Reagan, directed at the American public. This "just say no" campaign was coupled with a push for the D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program, a drug education plan which became a fixture in most US elementary schools. Again, while the results of the "just say no" programs on demand for illegal drugs were debatable, it serves as a good example of a bully pulpit appeal..