ROOSEVELT’S BIG STICK DIPLOMACYBy Abby Katir and Altin Zaku

Cartoon

Explanation

Time Frame & Pres.

Effects

Value

Limitations

T.W.E.

CAUSES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE CARTOON

EXPLANATION• Roosevelt’s political ideology and motto was “Speak softly and

carry a big stick”

• Roosevelt aggressively intervened in global affairs because he wanted U.S. to be a world power

• The political cartoon shows a giant Roosevelt portrayed as a giant with his “big stick” in tow as he marches through Latin America in his Navy uniform

• The image is the recreation of a scene from Gulliver’s Travels with Roosevelt as the giant

• Roosevelt pulling along his fleet of steel warships that are labelled “Debt Collector”, “Sheriff”, “The Receiver” etc. as a play on in his involvement in the economic affairs of the Latin American continent

• Roosevelt believed that America should intervene and manage the money of Latin American countries that owed debt to European Countries

TIME FRAME & PRESIDENT DURING THE INTERACTION

Time Frame:• Took place during the Progressive Era (Specifically began 1901 in a

speech by Roosevelt as Vice President)

President at the time:• Roosevelt was the Vice President when he first used the term but became

president 8 days later after McKinley's assassination

CAUSES OF THE INTERACTION

• At the time, there was the rise of imperialism, an aggressive political ideology that promoted the control and annexation of other lands through political, economic, or military means

• Roosevelt wanted US. To become acknowledged as a legitimate world power

• His policy appealed to the imperialists and the nation’s expanding interests

EFFECTS OF THE INTERACTION• Roosevelt’s policy was implemented in both domestic and international

disputes (and earned him a Nobel Prize) :

• Domestic:• The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902: he threatened to use the military

to run the mine if the operators were unwilling (Became known as the Square Deal)

• Foreign:• Venezuela Debt repayment (Regulated Venezuelan economy until

European debt was paid (created anger towards Americans and also added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• Aided Panama natives with supplies and Navy support in their revolt against Columbian government to build Panama Canal (Colombian anger towards U.S./Panama happy)

• Intervened in Cuba to protect American interests (Angered Cuban fundamentalists and created the Teller Amendment and Platt Amendment)

• Roosevelt negotiated the Russo-Japanese war by “speaking softly” (angered Japanese but benefitted the Russians)

SOUTH AMERICA

East Asia

VALUE

• The source helps us understand the large scale of Roosevelt’s policy and the military strength that backed it

• The value of the cartoon is that it depicts Roosevelt’s power with that of the Latin American nations (Roosevelt was giant in comparison

• The source shows that America was indeed a world power (Roosevelt’s size and the advanced Navy that followed him)

• The source shows that the type of thinking at the time considered Big Stick Diplomacy to be a powerful force, one that, through military power further established America as a legitimate world power

LIMITATIONS

• With only the source, one might think that Roosevelt’s policy was tyrannical or a threat

• Also, the bias of the author influences his portrayal Roosevelt as a larger than life character and the countries as miniscule, thus cheapening the message

• However, the message is not mistranslated because it communicates the idea that Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy was indeed a lumbering force in the international community

• Therefore, the message is not corrupted or damaged, but only dulled by the author’s bias

TO WHAT EXTENT

• Big Stick Diplomacy in US territorial expansion was, to a large extent, a proper and legitimate policy for the United States to follow.

Reasons:• It aided the US in establishing itself as a global power• Allowed the US to maintain control over Western Hemisphere and expand

into Asia• Allowed US to settle conflicts and expandLimitation:

• Because the US continually intervened or used its power to intimidate others it soured relations with some Southern American countries (Venezuela, Cuba, etc.) as well as in Asia (Philippines)

FIN