Good Essay About On The Relevance Of Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary To The Monroe Doctrine

On December 6, 1904, during the annual State of the Union address, the then President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt presented a corollary to the existing Monroe Doctrine as part of ongoing attempts at international diplomacy (Roosevelt par.4). The Monroe Doctrine, which proved ideal as Roosevelt’s blueprint document, was subject to an 1823 caution issued against Europe. According to the terms of the mentioned policy, the United States was to maintain its neutrality in all matters concerning Europe and in return, the European nations were to stay clear of the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt’s corollary expanded the United States’ influence beyond South America to the rest of the world and at the same time, established the country’s role as the “international police” (Roosevelt par.3).
The relevance of Roosevelt’s corollary was twofold: it highlighted the United States’ aim of spreading democracy and warned opposing forces that the country would not hesitate to use force where there was a need for the same. By that logic, Roosevelt created the foundations on which the United Stated dictated future relations with other nations. For instance, as part of the document in question, the man asserted that it would be a mere cliché if any government exhibited the “desires to maintain its freedom [but lacked the] responsibility of making good use of it” (Roosevelt par.5). For the first time in history, there was a condition set for democracy ideologies and as a result, the clause created situations where the United States could aid nations fight for their independence but still maintain control over the latter’s affairs. It was the perfect way of creating suitable conditions for possible investors in any given country; after all, with the American troops stationed in a particular territory, business persons were ready to expand to them without hesitation.