Theodore Roosevelt: Served as President from 1901-1909
Personal Characteristics: Adventurous, Persistent, Abrasive, Charismatic
A Decent Man: Theodore Roosevelt (TR) has been described as a man who “preached righteousness, national honor, patriotism, honest government, fair play, the peace of righteousness, preparedness, the strenuous life, good sportsmanship, progressivism, and phonetic spelling.”
Revered by the Populace: “What endeared Roosevelt to his public, what brought him prestige and power were his enthusiasm, his intense activity, his rashness, his combativeness, his joy in battle. He was, as someone said of him, ‘pure action.’ To the newspapers he was a constant source of scintillating copy, and better than anyone in his generation he realized the advantage to himself of utilizing to the utmost the publicity value of the White House.”
A Man of Many Talents: According to Richard Collin, “Roosevelt was a unique world leader. A writer-intellectual who became a successful soldier, an aristocrat who led a democratic people, a global visionary who deprovincialized his nation, and an international nationalist who championed world civilization and patriotic nationalism at the same time.”
The International Context:
The Panamanian Revolution: While this would quickly become an international issue that TR would deal with, especially since some Americans were assisting the local Panamanians in revolution plots, they also had a continued presence in the area because of the 1846 pact between the United States and Colombia, assuring Colombian sovereignty of the area. The issue of the Panamanian revolution against the Colombian government was one of special international consequence, mainly because of the possibility of opening up a canal through Panama for trade and economic benefits.
The Anglo-German Intervention of 1902: This was a joint intervention by the Germans and British, later joined by Italy, into the Americas. This, while a blatant violation of the Monroe doctrine and American interests, was largely ignored, especially by Germany, who sought to undermine the U.S. and simply did not heed the Doctrine as legitimate. Venezuela was the main target of the intervention, in which the U.S. would eventually intervene.
The Russo-Japanese War: This war, which began in 1904, became one that would be pointed to as a possible reason for the deterioration of the U.S.-Japanese relations before and during the period of the World Wars. This war, which was mainly a Japanese victory, and was the desired outcome of most Americans, would be stained by TR.
Key Foreign Policies:
The “Big Stick” Approach: The “big stick” approach was effectively meant to expand the growing power of the United States under TR. Furthermore, he used the policy more so for control of current American sovereignty, not necessarily expansion. With the announcement of this policy, Roosevelt won “public support for an expanded navy, a more efficient military bureaucracy, and an activist foreign policy.”
A Dissident of the Open-Door Policy: Roosevelt had a contempt for the open-door policy, thinking that it would negatively impact the usefulness of foreign policymaking in his executive, in which he stretched the limits of the founders’ intentions for the position. Instead of leaning on this policy, TR wanted to focus on the balance of power in the Pacific and strike positive relations with the Japanese.
The Roosevelt Corollary: The speech in which TR offered his corollary of the Monroe Doctrine was a mixed-bag. In America, it was received positively, as it protected U.S. interests from being further encroached upon by Europe, and allowed for it to be known that the U.S. would carry out its defense measures if intervention were to take place. However, in Latin America, it was not seen as positively. The main reasons had to do with fear that the United States was using this policy to further modern imperialism. Moreover, Latin America having to deal “with the colossus to the north was far more difficult than playing British, Germans, or French off against one another, and, when that failed, invoking the Monroe Doctrine to prevent European military intervention.
Positive Achievements:
The Hay-Herrán Treaty: While an arduous process with the Colombian government, this is an unequivocal accomplishment for his Administration. Since this treaty passed, the U.S. gained an extremely profitable and efficient way to increase trade, at a worthwhile cost. While this event can definitely be considered an extreme intervention in Latin American politics, I see it as a worthwhile effort to push America into the modern era of competition.
Big Stick Savviness: Although TR boasted a modern imperialist approach for his foreign policy initiatives, he didn’t end up acting as rashly as one would have originally thought. The only true “territorial acquisition” that the U.S. incurred while TR was in office was the Panama Canal, showing that the “big stick” approach may have just been a modern-day Monroe Doctrine, as TR was an avid expansionist, but didn’t obtain the territorial gains that other colonial empires at the time were, and mainly used his corollary as preventative measure. Richard Collin furthered this by stating that “Roosevelt’s “big stick” was an effective image in convincing Britain to consider the United States a friend, not a rival; Germany to look elsewhere for possible imperial adventures; and France to believe that the United States could deal efficiently with French Caribbean interests.”
Fixing Relations with Japan: While relations with Japan are also a negative stain on TR’s record, one must bring up the effort of Roosevelt to mend the disrespect that the Japanese felt from America. In a somewhat prophetic speech discussing the potential dangers of the Japanese military, Roosevelt also attempted to set the stage for a different and more positive treatment toward the Japanese. Roosevelt stated, “I hope that we can persuade our people on the one hand to act in a spirit of generous justice and genuine courtesy toward Japan, and on the other hand to keep the navy respectable in numbers and more than respectable in the efficiency of its units.”
Gentleman’s Agreement/The Root-Tahakira Agreement of 1908: These agreements are both examples of Roosevelt building back up relations with Japan. Starting with the former, this was an agreement between TR and the Japanese to restore the broken relations that ensued after the Peace of Portsmouth Treaty disaster. The second was an agreement to respect each other’s Pacific possessions, agreeing to free and peaceful commerce, and sparked industrial competition for the region.
Negative Drawbacks:
Stubbornness with the Canal: Whether or not you agree with Roosevelt wanting to open a canal for the U.S. to utilize, his stubbornness and aggressiveness in relations with Colombia and Panama made the issue of the canal much messier. LaFeber argued that “Roosevelt had sought control. He had instead stirred up revolution in Panama and passions in both Central America and Washington.” This ignorant move helped play a part in the tense relations that America would have with Central America moving forward.
The Santo Domingo Intervention: This event, which directly caused Roosevelt to announce his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, was an unnecessary and costly endeavor for America. Basically, TR followed bad advice given to him by the German diplomat, Speck von Sternburg, and intervened in Santo Domingo to protect them from European influence. In the end, TR had his pact to help Santo Domingo rejected by the Senate, defied the Constitution by putting the pact in place without ratification, needed the Navy to ensure no revolutionary acts occurred, and defaulted much of Santo Domingo’s foreign debt on U.S. banks. While TR’s acts were eventually ratified by the Senate in 1907, this set a dangerous precedent of executive abuse and was one of many upcoming examples of 20th century executive overreach.
The Algeciras Conference/ Portsmouth Peace Treaty: As the Russo-Japanese war was winding down, Roosevelt was asked to mediate a resolution to the conflict, which he accepted. The end result was extreme Japanese discontent with Roosevelt and the United States as a whole, as they felt disrespected by TR and his letting off of Russia in the negotiations. This event, compounded with California’s blatant racism toward the Japanese, became a stepping stone of Japanese resentment that partially set the stage for conflict with the U.S. in WWII.
Final Grade: C/ This is the lowest grade that I have given out so far in these report cards. In hindsight, however, I feel as if James K. Polk belongs with TR in the C category. Roosevelt definitely had some positive moments and a thrilling life, but his arrogance has left a bitter taste in my mouth. While his Roosevelt Corollary was a smart way to modernize the Monroe Doctrine, it was stained by his intervention in Santo Domingo. Roosevelt correctly tried to repair relations with the growing Japanese power, yet blatantly disrespected them with the Portsmouth Peace Treaty negotiations. He wasn’t nearly the expansionist that he acted like, but had many moments of putting America in unnecessary conflicts with no clear benefits. While TR led a bombastic life that will always be revered, his foreign policy acts as President were a minor trainwreck.
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