The Big-Stick vs. Dollar Diplomacy

Paper Summary:

The paper explains the term "Big Stick Diplomacy", which refers to President Roosevelt's administration's foreign policy. The paper describes how Roosevelt metaphorically used his big stick on several occasions, particularly in Latin America. The paper then discusses President William Taft's "Dollar Diplomacy" that describes the United States' efforts to use money in the form of loans to countries in Latin America and East Asia to further US aims. The paper compares the leadership of both presidents and asserts that while Roosevelt prevented wars using creative tactics and mediated disputes between foreign nations to sustain peace and protect U.S. interests, Taft just used economic power to manipulate foreign relations.

From the Paper:

"President Theodore Roosevelt felt, throughout his entire political career that being well-prepared for a conflict was the United States' best strategy as a preventative measure to avoid war. His belief, taken from the African proverb, "speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far," summarizes his leadership (Abrams, 1978). Forcing the United States to flaunt its power was, in his mind, the most effective way to keep other countries from attacking. Simply carrying the big stick without using it would hopefully be enough to discourage their challenges. The media helped to hype this statement coining the term Big Stick Diplomacy to refer to his administration's foreign policy. Political cartoons during his presidency often depicted Roosevelt with a large object, usually a club or stick, swinging it at others to force them into submission with mere threat."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Abrams, R. E. (1978). Theodore Roosevelt. Retrieved October 19, 2007, from Profiles of U.S. Presidents: Grant - Eisenhower Web site: http://www.presidentprofiles.com/Grant-Eisenhower/Roosevelt-Theodore.html
• Biographical Information. (n.d.). Knox, Philander Chase. Retrieved October 19, 2007, from Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Web site: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000296
• Coletta, P. E. (1989). William Howard Taft. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Profiles of U.S. Presidents: Grant - Eisenhower Web site: http://www.presidentprofiles.com/Grant-Eisenhower/Taft-William-Howard.html
• Jordan, W. D., Greenbalt, M., & Bowes, J. S. (1996). The Americans: A History. Houghton Mifflin.

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