The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
Nikki Ward
November 7th, 2014
One of the most aggressive periods, if not the most aggressive period, in United States foreign policy took place between the Civil War and World War I. The foreign policy during this time was what came to be known as American imperialism. American imperialism is the economic, military, and cultural influence of the United States on other countries and goes alongside expansion into foreign territories. The Monroe Doctrine was first mentioned during President James Monroe’s seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. The primary objectives of the Monroe Doctrine were to establish that any sort of attempt to re-colonize North America by
…show more content…
American expansionism would not only improve the country’s international reputation but would declare the United States sovereignty. The United States at this time was nothing but a mere blip on the radar of the World Powers and lacked the military competence to pose a threat. The Monroe Doctrine was a revealing of the United States strategy for preventing European intervention in the Western Hemisphere in three …show more content…
The proclamation of 1823 declaring that European expansion would no longer have a presence in the Western Hemisphere was essentially words on a page as far as they were considered, that was until Theodore Roosevelt became president and challenged the old world order. This new policy was given the opportunity to be enforced in 1905 when the Dominican Republic was under the threat of invasion due to massive debts owed to Europe. Roosevelt exemplified his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine by carrying his big stick into the island’s nation, his big stick being the new American Navy, where he seized its customs houses and ruled the Dominican Republic until the situation was stabilized. Although Latin America had less than favorable views towards the corollary and resented the United States involvement, the Roosevelt Corollary established the beginning of an undisputed sphere of influence that dominated the