Directions: Read the following passages on “Big Stick”, “Dollar” and “Moral Diplomacy.”
Then, write a letter to President Obama advising him on which method would be the best
in today’s world (2013). In your letter, be sure to include examples of each method.
“Big Stick” Diplomacy
By the 1900s, the United States was becoming a major player in world affairs.
In 1904, President Roosevelt issued Roosevelt’s Corollary. It was a statement
which expanded upon the Monroe Doctrine. Monroe had said that the US
would not allow European powers to colonize newly independent nations in
the western hemisphere, nor would the US interfere with such nations.
Roosevelt modified this by saying that the US had the right to intervene in the
region if a nation had trouble paying its debts. Roosevelt wanted to make sure
that the imperialist nations did not use debt collection as an excuse to occupy
territories in the Caribbean or Latin America.
This doctrine came to be known as Roosevelt’s “big stick” diplomacy”. The
name came from a West African proverb which said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. It
meant that the US did not intend to be a threatening presence in the Western Hemisphere, but neither
would it hesitate to forcefully protect its own interests.
“Dollar” Diplomacy
Following Roosevelt, President William Taft sought to “substitute money for
bullets” and promoted a foreign policy best known as “dollar diplomacy”. He
believed that the US could best maintain order in nations abroad by
increasing US foreign investments. As a result, his administration
encouraged US bankers to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean and
wired US financial help to China to finance railroads. Unfortunately, Taft’s
policy sometimes meant huge losses for US businesses. It also created
enemies among some Latin American peoples who opposed US involvement
and resented US efforts to “buy influence” in the region.
“Moral” Diplomacy
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson succeeded Taft
and renounced dollar diplomacy. Instead, he
advocated what came to be known as “missionary
diplomacy”, later called “moral diplomacy”. Wilson based his foreign policy on the
idealistic view that it was the role of the US to promote democracy and moral
progress in the world. For this reason, he opposed imperialism and proclaimed that
the US would not, “…seek one additional foot of territory by conquest.”
Unfortunately for Wilson, however, events abroad soon tested his convictions. In
1915, when a series of revolutions and assassinations rocked the nation of Haiti,
Wilson sent in the US Marines to protect US property and banking interests which
had been established under dollar diplomacy. Fearing that the US intended to
make the country a US territory, many Haitians responded violently. Following a
series of bloody skirmishes, the Haitian government ended the violence by signing a treaty that made Haiti
a protectorate – but not a territory – of the United States.