Theodore Roosevelt's Foreign Policy

President Roosevelt introduced the largest change in American foreign policy since the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt acted as an arbiter at the end of the Russo-Japanese War. He added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and took an active role in foreign policy. He initiated the construction of the Panama Canal and the around the world cruise of the Great White Fleet. Using the ideology of “speak softly and carry a big stick,” he changed the United States foreign policy.

Theodore Roosevelt acted as an arbiter in the Russo-Japanese War. He gained international praise for ending the war and coming to a solution that was reasonable to both sides. Teddy Roosevelt organized a conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire between the Russians and the Japanese. The conflict had risen from competing areas of Imperialism. At the convention, he forced the Russians and the Japanese to compromise. For his work in the settlement of the war, Roosevelt was granted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. This has shown that the United States was an emerging world power and would take action in the modern world.

President Roosevelt wanted to take a more active and progressive role in the Americas. He “amended” the Monroe doctrine and added the Roosevelt Corollary. This asserted the right of the United States to intervene in the affairs of Caribbean and South American nations if it deemed necessary. This paved the way for intervention in other sovereign nations, notably Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Projects such as the Panama Canal rose out of his policy. The United States intervened and aided the Panama revolution, so it could be its own country and be the location of the canal.