America Claims an Empire

By: Molly Viscarra

Teddy Roosevelt and the World
 Vice President until
William McKinley
was assassinated
in 1901
He mediated the
Russian/Japanese
War
 Treaty of Portsmouth
 Roosevelt was trying to come
to an agreement with Russia
and Japan
 A meeting was held in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
 Russia agreed to let Japan
take over the interests in
Manchuria
 Japan accepted half of
Sakhalin Island and forgo
the payment
 President Roosevelt won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for
negotiating this treaty
 Nicaragua
 One way that the Panama
Canal was able to go through
 The banks were in debt and
Taft helped them pay the
money
 The United States gained
control of the national
banks and the state-owned
railroad system
 The people of Nicaragua
revolted against the president
of their country
 more than 2,000 marines
were sent there and some
of them even stayed until
1933
 “Big Stick” Diplomacy
 President Roosevelt
said “Speak softly and
carry a big stick; you will
go far.”
 This was also called the
Roosevelt Corollary
 It stated that the
United States would
now use force to
protect its economic
interests in Latin
America
 Russo-Japanese War
 Both countries were fighting
for control over Korea
 Japan began the war by
attacking Russia
 Japan continued
attacking Russian fleets
and eventually won all
the battles they fought
 1905: Roosevelt declared a
peace negotiation between
Russia and Japan
 “Great White Fleet”
 Sent by President
Roosevelt
consisted of 16 new
battleships
Roosevelt wanted to
make a point to Japan
and the United States
that the Navy was
ready to fight
 Roosevelt Corollary
 Added to the Monroe
Doctrine in 1904
 It stated that “the United
States would intervene as a
last resort to ensure that
other nations in the Western
Hemisphere fulfilled their
obligations to international
creditors, and did not violate
the rights of the United
States or invite ‘foreign
aggression to the detriment
of the entire body of
American nations.’”
 William Howard Taft
Asked bankers in
America to loan their
money to Nicaragua
so they could pay
their debts
 Panama Canal
 Man-made waterway used for
transportation between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans of
commercial ships and goods
 Two possible routes:
 One through
Nicaragua-less
obstacles
One through Panama-
shorter, filled with
mountains and swamps
 United States had to get
permission from Columbia to
build the canal
 More than 1,000 ships passed
through when it opened
 Dollar Diplomacy
 Created by the Taft
administration
The U.S. government
guaranteed loans to
foreign countries by
American
businesspeople
Used to justify keeping
European powers out of
the Caribbean
 The End
Overall this time period changed America
greatly
It was an influence on the whole world