Crystal Duong

Per. 5

Chapter 5 Section 4 Summary

Theodore Roosevelt promoted a new kind of diplomacy based on
Americas success in the Spanish-American war. He pursues the Big
Stick diplomacy, which depended on a strong military to achieve Americas
goals. Roosevelt felt like he needed to pursue it as the basis of his foreign
policy because of his view that the U.S is a special nation with a moral
responsibility to civilize weaker nations. Later on, America built the Panama
Canal. America negotiated with Colombia, but they demanded more than
the U.S was willing to provide. In order to get America the rights to build the
canal, Roosevelt stepped in and dispatched U.S warships to support a
Panamanian rebellion against Columbia. The appearance of the U.S navy
convinced Columbia to grant America control over the canal zone. As a
result, to secure the land America agreed to pay Panama $10 million and
an annual rent of $250,000. Also, Roosevelt updates the Monroe Doctrine.
The Monroe Doctrine stated that European nations are to not colonize or
interfere with territories in North or South America. Roosevelt updated the
Monroe Doctrine for an age of economic imperialism. In response to
Roosevelt Corollary, Latin Americans rebelled. Latin Americans disagreed
with Roosevelt's belief that they could not police themselves. They felt that
the U.S threatened the sovereignty and liberty of their people. Lastly, Taft
switches to the Dollar Diplomacy. Dollar Diplomacy aimed to increase
American investments in businesses and banks throughout Central
America and the Caribbean. Taft shared Roosevelts basic foreign policy
objectives, but by relying less on the Big Stick and more on the Dollar
Diplomacy. Overall, Roosevelt played a crucial role in our history.