Explain the events that moved the U.S. into a world power

Objective

* To understand the emergence of the U.S. as a world power between 1898 and 1920

Theodore Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent, 1903 [Figure1]

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, 1904

President Theodore Roosevelt’s assertive approach to Latin America and the Caribbean has often been characterized as the “Big Stick,” and his policy came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.

Although the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 was essentially passive (it asked that Europeans not increase their influence or recolonize any part of the Western Hemisphere), by the 20th century a more confident United States was willing to take on the role of regional policeman. In the early 1900s Roosevelt grew concerned that a crisis between Venezuela and its creditors could spark an invasion of that nation by European powers. The Roosevelt Corollary of December 1904 stated that the United States would intervene as a last resort to ensure that other nations in the Western Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to international creditors, and did not violate the rights of the United States or invite “foreign aggression to the detriment of the entire body of American nations.” As the corollary worked out in practice, the United States increasingly used military force to restore internal stability to nations in the region. Roosevelt declared that the United States might “exercise international police power in ‘flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence.’” Over the long term the corollary had little to do with relations between the Western Hemisphere and Europe, but it did serve as justification for U.S. intervention in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian website. Milestones: 1866-1898,Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, 1904. Retrieved May 20, 2015.

Review Questions

1) How did enforcement of the Roosevelt Corollary impact America's diplomatic policies toward Latin America and the Caribbean?

2) In which countries did the United States military intervene using the Roosevelt Corollary as justification?

Poster advertising a theatrical performance of the Battle of San Juan Hill. It read, "The charge of San Juan Hill : Wm. H. West impersonating Col. Roosevelt, leading the famous "Rough Riders" to victory."

The Big Stick Policy

Roosevelt's "Big Stick" diplomacy refers to negotiating peaceably with other nations while simultaneously displaying military might.

The term "Big Stick" diplomacy refers to Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, coined by the famous phrase: "speak softly and carry a big stick" . Roosevelt attributed the term to a West African proverb, "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far," but the claim that it originated in West Africa has been disputed. Essentially, "Big Stick" diplomacy is the idea of negotiating peacefully with other nations while simultaneously threatening them with displays of military muscle. Roosevelt first used the phrase in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901, twelve days before the assassination of President William McKinley, which subsequently thrust him into the presidency. As president, Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as "the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis."

The Venezuelan Affair

By the turn of the century, Britain and Germany began to threaten Venezuela over "acts of violence against the liberty of British subjects and the massive capture of Opal Meso vessels" as well as the Venezuelan government's failure to pay long-standing debts owed to Germany. After British and German forces took naval action with a blockade on Venezuela, Roosevelt condemned the blockade and officially announced the corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1905. This policy stated that the U.S. would intervene in the finances of unstable Caribbean and Central American countries if they defaulted on their debts to European creditors. In effect, the Roosevelt Corollary guaranteed Central and Latin American debts, making it unnecessary for European powers to intervene.

In the case of Venezuela's default, Germany had threatened to seize the customs houses in order to collect owed revenues. Roosevelt's pronouncement, meant as a warning to Germany, kept other European powers from directly intervening in Venezuela and other unstable Latin American countries. Roosevelt requested that Britain and Germany pull out their forces from the area while simultaneously stationing naval forces in Cuba to ensure "the respect of Monroe doctrine" and the compliance of the parties in question. In effect, the combination of the Corollary and the increased U.S. naval presence around Venezuela embodied Roosevelt's "Big Stick" policy as it applied to European nations.

1903 Caricature of Venezuelan president Cipriano Castro, by U.S. cartoonist William Allen Rogers, published in the New York Herald, January, 1903.

Nicaragua and Panama Canal Affair

Roosevelt also wielded his "big stick" following the questionable diplomatic actions of the United States government to sponsor and pursue a canal project across Central America. Both Nicaragua and Panama experienced Roosevelt's signature diplomacy in canal-related incidents.

In 1901, Secretary of State John Hay pressed the Nicaraguan Government for approval of a canal. The deal was that Nicaragua would receive $1.5 million in ratification, plus $100,000 annually, and the United States would "provide sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity" to Nicaragua. Nicaragua then returned the contract draft with a change: they wished to receive, instead of an annual $100,000, six million dollars in ratification. The U.S. accepted the deal, but after Congress approved the contract, the problem of court jurisdiction came up, as many anti-canal advocates argued that, since the U.S. did not have legal jurisdiction in Nicaragua, it could not sponsor a canal project.

After Nicaragua was ruled out, Panama was the obvious choice for United States leaders determined to build a Central American canal. However, Panama also posed numerous logistical and political problems. As Panama was then a region of Colombia, the United States was subject to the whim of the Colombian government and manufacturing companies that provided the construction materials at a higher price. Roosevelt refused to pay the higher-than-expected fees and responded with an "engineered revolution" in Colombia that aimed for the secession of Panama.

On November 3, 1903, Panama (with the support of the United States Navy) revolted against Colombia and declared itself a republic, receiving $10 million from the U.S. for the canal project. With little diplomatic recourse possible and no match for United States military strength, Colombia was forced to concede to Panama's independence. Panama also received an annual payment of $250,000, and a guarantee of national independence. The United States, on the other hand, gained the rights to the canal strip "in perpetuity. " Roosevelt later said that he "took the Canal, and let Congress debate" the matter after the event.

Source: Boundless. “The Big Stick.” Boundless U.S. History. Boundless, 14 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 23 May. 2015 from

Review Questions

3. Why was a modern navy an important factor in Roosevelt’s use of "Big Stick" Diplomacy?

4. How did the U.S. Government use a combination of diplomacy and military threats to achieve its goals in the Venezuelan Affair?

5. What diplomatic and military means did the U.S. employ to secure the land necessary to build a canal through Central America?

Political cartoon depicting Theodore Roosevelt using the Monroe Doctrine to keep European powers out of the Dominican Republic.

6. Describe the meaning of the political cartoon above.