Roosevelt Wields His Big Stick
By Commander Henry J. Hendrix, U.S. Navy
A scholar of the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt looks at the international impact of the Great White Fleet a century ago.
Theodore Roosevelt loved the Navy, especially the fleet of battleships he sponsored during his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and President of the United States. For him, the battleships were the "Big Stick" that made his "Speak Softly" foreign policy so effective. During his administration he had turned to the Navy time after time, first to face down the German and British fleets threatening Venezuela's independence in the winter of 1902-03, then to guarantee Panama's independence movement, and later to effect the return of a kidnapped American citizen in Morocco.
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