Although many people at the time disagreed with the actions of Teddy Roosevelt, he played a very important role in the Spanish-American war by not only preparing the navy, but on the front lines of combat as well. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States of America, had a huge impact on the Spanish-American war in many ways. The war also had a huge impact on Theodore Roosevelt’s political career in many ways, and some would say helped him become president. Theodore Roosevelt's actions as assistant secretary of the navy were vital to the quick success of the American Navy in the Spanish-America war; he basically single-handedly
Once the war had gotten its start, America began making victories. At one point, America’s confidence level was through the roof because of a few naval victories that had been made. There were three American ships which were the Constitution, the United States, and the President. Those three ships were faster, bigger and better armed than their British counterparts. Now the British had quite a few more ships in counting than America did, but their ships were vulnerable in a one-on-one fight with an
Roosevelt’s most famous foreign policy was definitely the Panama Canal. Roosevelt created the National Bird Preserve. He was the president that had set aside land for some national parks and natural preserves. Theodore Roosevelt had strongly promoted the Conservation Movement.
In addition to Theodore Roosevelt’s visionary leadership characteristics, he also depicted many ethical leadership traits. An unwavering example of this was his ability to be a critical thinker by using intellectual courage. Intellectual courage is being able to foster the ability to consider ideas that are considered absurd or different based on our viewpoints or beliefs and rationally justify them (BCEE, 2017, pg. 15). A perfect example of this attribute when Roosevelt had a “vision to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world and develop the country into a world power. His diplomatic maxim was to “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and he maintained that a chief executive must be willing to use force when necessary while practicing the art of persuasion” (Milkis, n.d.). During the Spanish-American war, the United States gained control of the Philippines from Spain. Roosevelt was forced to enact policy to govern the island and appointed William Taft for this position. Roosevelt was able to foresee the benefit of enacting a civil government to further the democratic process for the island (Milkis, n.d.).
The foreign policies that President Roosevelt employed were ultra aggressive. The foreign policies were heavily enforced using his newly built naval force, the arm of offensive power, as a way to conquer the world, an idea brought to Roosevelt’s attention due to Alfred T. Mahan’s The Interest of America in Sea Power.
Theodore Roosevelt the 26th president, and arguably one of the greatest presidents of all time. Roosevelt went from being the 33rd governor of NY, to the vice president, and at 42 years of age, he became the highly respected successor of President McKinley. Roosevelt later was elected for a second term. Even though he achieved all these great things, there were surly challenges that laid in his path to greatness. The challenges that Roosevelt faced he overcame through perseverance and enforcing what he believed in. One of Roosevelt's most famous quotes is "Speak softly and carry a big stick". Teddy Roosevelt was a man with a desire to help this country improve not just for his generation, but for our generation, and the generations to come.
Ferry’s last argument was that of patriotism. Ferry was a patriot, a countryman if you will. He believed that his country was great but could be greater. This is why his last argument was on the defense of his country A country should be as self sufficient as possible when it comes to its national defense, and so to compete with the military and naval expansion of rival nations it would only be logical to make a move that would strengthen military forces. Ferry expressed a need for safe harbors, defenses, and supply centers for naval ships. Ferry uses an example of a war ship and talks about the fact that regardless of how perfect the war ship is designed that it cannot carry more than two week of coal. Ferry understood that it was an essential move for strengthening and extending the reach of
In 1903, he helped Panama seceded from Colombia in order to facilitate the construction of the Panama Canal, which he later claimed as his greatest accomplishment as president. To prepare the United States for its big role in the world, Roosevelt sought to build up the country’s defenses. By the end of his presidency, Roosevelt had transformed the US Navy into a major force at sea. More importantly, Roosevelt led negotiations that ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905. For his efforts, Roosevelt won a Nobel Peace Prize. It also led to an agreement with Japan that traded that country’s recognition for the ongoing US presence in the Philippines. All of these foreign policy accomplishments impacted the US in a positive
In his Inaugural Address, Roosevelt recognized America becoming a highly capable nation. As its influence spread, Roosevelt declared that America must become the force that establishes peace around the world. He states in his speech that the him and the American people have duties to ourselves and other people which are both of utmost importance. Because of this, Roosevelt wanted to make it known that a nation’s sense of justice and hospitality truly matter and are
The United States of America has not always been the world superpower that it is today. The same goes for its Navy. In the first several years of existence, the United States Navy was not a formidable fighting force. The young nation was hesitant to invest in a navy for many reasons, one of them being to prevent provoking the world powers of the time, France and Britain. On top of that, navies were very expensive to build and required a significant amount of resources to maintain, which the U.S. did not have at the time. To say that the United States Navy was ill prepared for war would be a dramatic understatement. The U.S. had a total of fifteen ships in its entire naval fleet compared to the might of the Royal Navy which possessed over six hundred warships. Even with the odds stacked against the U.S., President Madison declared war on 18 JUN 1812. The lack of size and power of the navy at the time would make it extremely difficult to satisfy the needs of the newly founded nation.
-Roosevelt was more often engaged in the “big stick” to approach any type of problems that also involves foreign policies. Roosevelt’s main priority was to keep the United States safe and in control, and his aggressive approach to foreign policies made his priorities happen. Roosevelt wanted to build a canal in Central America, which made it possible to easily access the Pacific Ocean thus making it possible to expand America’s influence. When he tried to negotiate with the Colombians, which at the time held the rights to the land of Panama, his negotiation was negated. This infuriated Roosevelt, so he encouraged Panama to gain its independence. Once Panama gained its independence a deal was made and the Panama Canal was born. This is a clear example of Roosevelt using the “big stick” and it clearly shows his aggression towards foreign policies.
One of the factors that led to the United States’ entry into World War I, was the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. This is thought to be one of the
Roosevelt’s most important foreign policy was the establishment of the Panama Canal. This was developed during the Spanish American war as a way for American ships to get from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. After Roosevelt saw American ships had to go all the way around the tip of South America to get to Cuba, Roosevelt negotiated with Britain for the support of an American controlled canal through Panama owned by Colombia. However this canal could only be built with Colombia’s agreement. Colombia stalled because of the terms of agreement and the USA supported a Panamanian revolution resulting in Panama giving the United States control of the canal for a price of 10 million dollars and annual payment of 250,000 dollars. Roosevelt also drafted a document called the “Roosevelt Corollary” which said the United States would intervene in any Latin American Country that manifested serious economic problems. This was after Germany and Britain had sent ships to Blockade Venezuela’s coast line after they had a debt they refused to pay. Although Roosevelt didn’t want to lose allies in Europe he also
Theodore Roosevelt wanted to carry out all of McKinley's policies when he took over when McKinley was assassinated. In negotiations in Paris after the war, America got Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Due to popular opinion and business interest, McKinley decided to pay $20 million for the islands. After Theodore Roosevelt took over, he quickly became a master politician and became one of the first modern presidents. Roosevelt traveled to Europe and was the most educated president on foreign affairs. His campaign was based off of the saying “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” This overall meant actions speak louder than words. Roosevelt wanted to create a canal through central america so when traveling by waterway, ships would no longer have
Theodore Roosevelt is considered by many to be America’s first progressive president due to his conservationism, his military prowess, and the natural ease with which he handled national and worldwide politics. He had a vision for the place he wanted America to be, a courage that made him admirable, and a jovial attitude that made people love him. Not only did he take steps to make the office of president more important than it once was, he tried to do so in ways that were important. One of these ways was by protecting the natural beauty of America so that it would not be entirely depleted before it could replenish itself. Another way was by proving his leadership, his bravery, and his dedication to complete the task at hand in the military. His struggle for equality in his nation and international peace also show his determination to make the world better. These points prove that Theodore Roosevelt had his eyes set on the future and was determined to move toward it.