Theodore Roosevelt Corollary Analysis

Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president, serving from 1901 to 1909. He brought new power to office by leading Congress and the American people to progressive reform and strong foreign policies such as the Roosevelt Corollary. He steered the U.S. into world politics and quoted “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Roosevelt’s approach to the Western Hemisphere was described as “Big Stick.” By the 20th Century America was willing to be a global policeman, and with that in mind Roosevelt created the Roosevelt Corollary.

The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine written by President James Monroe in 1823. The Corollary was a part of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 annual message to congress that he wrote to them in 1904. Roosevelt

On November 13, 1902, Britain and Germany agreed on joint action and in the event Venezuela should fail to exceed their demands they would utilize coercive measures, after their strenuous protests yielded no results. When the demands of the three countries were still not met, they sent a blockade and seized and disabled four small Venezuelan ships. During the end of 1902, Roosevelt was worried about Germany due to them wanting to put naval bases in Brazil and the Dutch Caribbean islands. In November, Roosevelt was worried about entering a war with Germany, so he sent the U.S. navy to conduct naval maneuvers in the Caribbean. “It was through relations with the great powers of Europe that Roosevelt gave the American people a new understanding of their country's growing role in world affairs” (Venezuela). Due to these situations, Roosevelt was convinced Latin America was vulnerable to other countries and reexamined the Monroe Doctrine. With that created a policy known as the Roosevelt Corollary. “Roosevelt declared, “We cannot afford to let Europe get a foothold in our backyard, so we'll have to act as policemen for the west’”