Essay about Foreign Policy - Roosevelt Corollary

Good neighbor policy: a departure from the Roosevelt corollary to the Monroe doctrine, the good neighbor policy stressed nonintervention in Latin America. It was begun by Herbert Hoover but associated with Franklin D Roosevelt.

Having just defeated the English and gained independence, the United States started its political life as a small and weak nation which lacked the strength to resist the intrusions by stronger rival nations. In an effort to guard the nation from involvement in the wider conflicts of the Europeans and focus on domestic affairs, President George Washington followed a course of neutrality and isolationism during his presidency. Monroe doctrine proposed by President James Monroe was a continuation of Washington’s foreign policy. The Founders of the doctrine, including President Monroe, had broken away from an imperialist British power and were against imperialism. There was plenty of reason for the Monroe cabinet to feel defensive, rather than imperial, about American ideals and interests leading up to 1823.

When America was just starting out, they needed a way to protect their land from the colonization of other countries. President James Monroe devised a policy that would not only warn Europeans not to interfere with American land, but would also show that America was powerful. This policy is known as the Monroe Doctrine.

The Roosevelt Corollary was a smart strategic move for the U.S., but aggravated Latin America and would pose further problems down the line. “William Howard Taft followed Theodore Roosevelt in the presidency, and strived to create prosperity and unity for America in less confrontational ways than his successor. Taft created dollar diplomacy, which was a policy that invested American dollars into Latin America in hopes of success and growth. As a result, American investments in the Caribbean rapidly increased. Also, Taft became more involved with foreign country relations, and established a steady military force in Nicaragua to protect American wealth and to establish substantial conditions” (pg. 627).

Through the strong foundation of Isolationism and the policies enacted such as The Monroe Doctrine, the United States played a largely neutral role in foreign affairs. The Monroe Doctrine passed in 1823 was to forbid European nations from colonizing any territory in the Western Hemisphere. Although the United States didn’t have the authority or firepower to back this up, it resulted in almost four decades of compulsory US involvement in any foreign affair. After the Civil War, Isolationistic practices grew stronger as the government had to find a way to re-unite the torn nation. President Grover Cleveland promised to avoid committing the nation to form any alliances with other countries while also opposed to the acquisition of new land. The climate of post Civil War US prevented us from deep involvement in foreign affairs. Our navy was also weakened by the war. Our natural resources were scarce and our diplomatic relations with other countries had been neglected. With the attention of our government focused solely on our nation, we proceeded to develop our interior. One of the biggest reasons for growth in US land mass was the public idea of Manifest

Theodore Roosevelt was a President known for a very dynamic and progressive administration, and his foreign policy in Latin America was no exception. His policies in Latin America were beneficial for the rapidly growing United States, but left an impact on Latin America that was both positive and negative. President Roosevelt took past policies of the United States, such as the unenforced Monroe Doctrine of 1823, and amended them to have the backing of the Navy in the early 1900s. One particular amendment was called the Platt Amendment of 1901, and opened the door to United States expansionism under President Roosevelt. It was under this amendment that Cuba quickly became the foundation for the new Latin American policies of the United States. The Roosevelt Corollary was another important part of Roosevelt 's Latin American foreign policy. Roosevelt believed that Latin America was quite vulnerable to European expansionism, and added his Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which stated that should the Europeans attack, and should any Latin American nation engage in “chronic wrongdoing” such as outstanding debt, then the United States would intervene on their behalf. In essence, Europe would remain where it was, while the United States controlled the entire Western Hemisphere. The opportunity came for Roosevelt to implement this policy during the invasion of the Dominican Republic by European debt collectors, and Venezuelan Crisis. Lastly, Theodore Roosevelt had a

Although Roosevelt brokered peace during the Russo-Japanese War and sent his ‘Great White Fleet’ around the world as a show of U.S. naval strength, his primary focus of intervention was in the Western Hemisphere and Asia. The crux of Roosevelt’s hemispheric foreign policy was a concern that if nations of the Western Hemisphere could not economically support themselves or repay debts to foreign powers, especially those of Europe, they would become targets for European intervention. Thus his policy dictated the U.S. would intervene in any Latin American nation demonstrating economic crisis and the U.S. would be the self-proclaimed policeman of the Western

In the 1823, the U.S. made a statement called Monroe Doctrine. Monroe Doctrine was established by president James Monroe, to prevent European nations from colonizing and interfering the newly independent nations of Latin America (Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia,

The United States just wanted the Latin American countries to be just as successful as they were. Once again in the Monroe Doctrine it was said that,” if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord.” The United States had some sympathy for the countries and that is why the Monroe Doctrine clearly states that they hope that the Latin American countries make the same decision to make sure that there would not be anymore colonization. Latin America, like the United States, was founded around 1492 by the spanish sailor Christopher Columbus. Decades later Hernando Cortez arrived in the Latin Americas in 1519 .

In 1823, President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, creating the basis for future foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine stated that “the American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers” (1). This means that Europe can not claim anymore land in the Americas, protecting the US from being encroached upon from other foreign countries during this period of colonization. Even though the US would not be able to militarily defend the doctrine and itself from European Powers, this fake image of power kept Europe out for the most part. The Doctrine was issued due to occurring events and existing ideas in the 1800s.

Howard Jones who is the author of, Crucible of Power, argues that the U.S. followed a foreign policy of independent internationalism to secure foreign markets through peaceful means and this can be seen in Latin America. Woodrow Wilson promised not to seek territorial acquisitions to the South, but would not renounce the spread of U.S. influence through economic means and this lead to the U.S. having influence in 75 percent of Latin American during the 1920s. To spread economic influence throughout Latin America the U.S. insisted it would be through peaceful policies, but continued the use of military interventionism in countries like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua until the middle of the 1920 's. This is also an example which shows that the U.S. did not pursue an isolationist foreign policy and wanted to go out in the world and expand its markets.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States.

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe articulated his seventh annual message to Congress. This message presented Americans with a statement that changed the way the Western Hemisphere would be view and how international affairs toward the new Latin colonies would be handle from this point forward. It addressed European nations in particular and stated that “the United States would not tolerate further colonization or puppet nations” The Monroe Doctrine was initially designed to protect the Latin colonies but later President Theodore Roosevelt extended the Doctrine to include the United States would be the policing powers of the Western Hemisphere, this became known as the Roosevelt Corollary. Roosevelt stated that the United

     The Monroe Doctrine was stressed during the time of Roosevelt's Presidency. During this era many foreign policies were given up, such as the Platt Amendment. Roosevelt decided that instead of the "Old single-handed enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine,"2