Doc of the Day: Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
On December 6, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt submitted his annual message to the Congress of the United States. As was his custom, Roosevelt wrote at length about many national problems, from railroad regulation to conservation of natural resources. When it came to foreign policy, however, he wrote several long paragraphs about the relations between the United States and its neighbors in Latin America. In one key paragraph, the president modified the diplomatic policy that had come to be known as the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt asserted new American rights relative to other countries in the region and proclaimed a broad ability to set the rules for the Caribbean Sea and countries that surrounded it. What the president had done would come to be called the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
Timeline from Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
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Comment by Nolan G. Swenson on 30 November 2009:
Theodore Roosevelt’s contributions to modern society are incomprehensible. In no way could anybody fathom a world without the Panama Canal. Its benefits have been reaped for nearly a century now and I believe its future benefits may be even grander due to the world’s current state of urgency and mass transit.