Theodore Roosevelt embraced a belief throughout his entire adult life that America was destined to be a major player in world affairs. Roosevelt was fond of saying that America should “speak softly, but carry a big stick.” Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy not only defined his presidency but also set the stage for America’s future in the world.
Before the Big Stick Policy: Theodore Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In 1897, President William McKinley made a momentous choice of nominating former New York Police Commissioner and US Civil Service Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Despite McKinley hoping to avoid getting involved in foreign wars, he picked one of the most hawkish men he could find for this post. Roosevelt may have been a subordinate but he played a more important role in the Navy Department than his nominal superior, Secretary John Long.
Roosevelt was a major supporter of the United States becoming an imperial power. He endorsed the theories of Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, who argued that the US should follow in Great Britain’s footsteps and project power through naval force. When Spain began using force to crush Cuban rebels in 1898, Roosevelt was amongst the leading advocates of using naval power to crush the Spanish. He even bypassed Secretary Long in preparing the navy for battle after the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in February 1898.
Despite his obsession with naval power, Roosevelt also believed that the US Army could play a big role in creating an empire. When the US Army’s V Corps started preparing for the invasion of Cuba, he resigned his role in Washington and took command of a cavalry regiment nicknamed the Rough Riders. His exploits during the Spanish-American War made him a celebrity and enhanced his belief that America needed to project power in its “backyard.”
President Roosevelt and the Philippine-American War
After Roosevelt returned to the United States, he was chosen by McKinley as his running mate in the 1900 election, and was inaugurated as vice president in March 1901. A few months later, President McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist while at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. The 42-year-old Roosevelt was duly sworn in as president, becoming the youngest man to hold the office.
He inherited one of McKinley’s greatest problems: a simmering insurgency in the newly conquered Philippines. After America’s seizure of the islands from Spain, Filipino guerillas led by Emilio Aguinaldo attacked American troops repeatedly and caused heavy casualties. The US Army lacked effective control of much of the territory.
Roosevelt embraced a contradictory policy towards the Filipino rebels. On one hand, he believed they were not worthy of statehood and must be controlled by a “civilizing force,” i.e. the United States of America. At the same time, he thought that the war was a waste of American resources, lives, and credibility. Some 120,000 American soldiers and sailors fought there and as many as 4,200 died in battle and from disease. The war was marked by gruesome war crimes, such as the Americans burning down towns in guerilla-controlled areas. An antiwar movement was developing in the United States.
Therefore, Roosevelt decided to end the war without granting the islands independence. The American authorities offered limited self-government and economic development. Roosevelt himself promised an amnesty for rebels that surrendered to US forces. This approach worked: by 1903 the rebels had mostly turned in their arms. While a rebellion in the southern islands continued to 1913, most of the territory had been pacified. Roosevelt was free to focus on Latin America, which he believed was in America’s sphere of influence.
The Roosevelt Corollary
Since 1823, American foreign policy towards South America had been determined by the Monroe Doctrine, warning European colonial powers to avoid interfering in the American continent. This policy was not always enforced and European states routinely demanded concessions from Latin American countries. In 1904, Roosevelt decided to add to this policy with a firm military obligation.
In his annual speech to Congress in 1904, Roosevelt stated that the US military could enter any country in Latin America that was being threatened by European states. Roosevelt’s policy was not opposition to imperialism per se; it was opposition to anyone trying to challenge American interests in the Western Hemisphere. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine was therefore intended to make the US a regional policeman.
The Corollary had detractors both inside and outside the United States. Many members of the Anti-Imperialist League denounced the policy as un-American. In Latin America, many politicians and diplomats believed that the US was no different from the European imperialists, such as Argentine Foreign Minister Luis María Drago. Roosevelt refused to abandon this policy, arguing that America should “speak softly, but carry a big stick.”
This policy was part of his plan to turn America into a global player. The United States further expanded its footprint in the Western Pacific during this period by supporting efforts to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in China and mediating a peace agreement to end the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt soon got a chance to test his “big stick” policy in the little Central American country of Panama.
The Creation of Panama
Ever since Panama had been liberated from Spanish rule in the early 19th century, Panama had been part of Colombia. In the 1880s, French engineers started hacking a path through the Panamanian jungle to build a canal. This project was one of the most momentous engineering feats in the Americas. When the French company building it failed in 1888, the project was temporarily abandoned. No European country wanted to take responsibility for building the canal.
Upon his inauguration, Roosevelt made it clear that building the canal using American resources was a priority. Instead of a private company, the US War Department would oversee the construction. The administration began negotiating with the Colombian government over buying the land where the canal was supposed to be. Roosevelt was willing to pay $10 million to the government in Bogota. However, the Colombians demanded a higher price: $25 million.
Instead of acceding to the new demand, Roosevelt tested American power. In 1903, US ships began blockading Colombian ports and US marines threatened to land on Colombian soil. In Panama, local elites declared independence with the support of Washington, hoping to get a cut of the money from the canal’s revenue. The revolution was bloodless and lasted a few days. American officials not only helped write the country’s new constitution, they even created the Panamanian flag. By 1914, after years of back-breaking work and an enormous allocation of resources, the Panama Canal opened under US supervision. The creation of Panama suited Roosevelt’s desire to control Latin American affairs.
US Invasion of the Dominican Republic
Alongside the Panama intervention, President Roosevelt’s other major intervention in Latin American affairs was the US takeover of the Dominican Republic’s customs collection. In the early 1900s, the Dominican government of Carlos Morales Languasco struggled to pay off its debts to France, Germany, and Italy. At the time, European countries frequently invaded other countries if they could not pay their debts, and there was a fear that they would use force to ensure Languasco’s government would meet its obligations.
Roosevelt aimed to show that America was the dominant actor in the region. In 1904, he announced to Congress that he would seek to take over the DR’s customs collection and arrange for money to be paid to the creditors. While the Dominicans were pleased to avoid a European intervention on their island, they found that American sugar companies exacerbated the problem by pricing out local farmers. The Dominicans resented their leaders selling out to the Americans and in 1912, President Ramon Coceres was assassinated. This led to the deployment of American sailors and marines to guard American companies and put in place a friendly administration.
Roosevelt’s policies in Panama and the DR may have worked temporarily, but caused serious issues down the road. The US occupation of the Dominican Republic from 1916-1924 was costly and unpopular. It also increased resentment of American policies on the island. In Panama, the large presence of Americans caused anger from the locals who were opposed to any foreign presence in their country. Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy may have gained him some satisfaction, but caused long-term pain and resentment.
Big Stick Policy After Roosevelt’s Administration
Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency lasted from 1901 to 1909 and he is considered one of the most consequential presidents in American history. Part of this was his undying belief that America was a global power and should use force to resolve any problem. This concept of power continued after he left the presidency. When William Howard Taft succeeded him in 1909, he introduced the use of “Dollar Diplomacy” building on Roosevelt’s work. Even though Taft claimed to oppose the use of force in American foreign policy, he kept ordering American forces to intervene in Latin American conflicts.
Nearly every single American administration from McKinley to Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to use force to maintain American hegemony in Latin America. From 1915 to 1934, American forces occupied Haiti after the assassination of a US-backed president. Additionally, US forces invaded Mexico during that country’s civil war to stop border raids targeting towns in the southern United States. Throughout the Cold War, the US often intervened in Latin American politics because of the fear of communism.
Roosevelt was not the first US president to use force abroad or even in Latin America. Ironically, he inherited conflicts from his more dovish predecessor. However, he epitomized the image of the powerful American president ready to use force to defend America’s interests abroad. Roosevelt may have not started any major wars, but he did construct a policy of coercion in maintaining hegemony. That is his main foreign policy legacy and one that remains in place today.
