Zachary Lawson

History of the Americas

Compare and Contrast Essay

Big Stick, Dollar, and Moral: Three

Foreign Policies of America

Word Count 850

9/17/10
Compare and Contrast: American Foreign
Policy
Big Stick Policy, Dollar Policy, Moral Policy

By Zachary Lawson

In the early 20th century, three American presidents use three distinctive policies to define the
foreign role of the United States of America. President Theodore Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy, President
Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy and President Wilson’s Moral Policy had similarities in region and economics but
split ways when it came to the military.

Military
President Roosevelt was well known for his Big Stick Policy which is also known as The Roosevelt
Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The name originates from a favorite African proverb of Roosevelt’s
which stated “Speak softly and carry a big stick and you will go far”. Essentially, if you say what you want
to happen and have the firepower to back it up, your objective will be achieved. Roosevelt applied this
theory in his foreign policy by adding that not only should the United States prevent any European
influence in Latin America, but, should actually become a “police state” i. This would be done by
managing any Latin American affairs that conflicted with the interests of the United States through
military force.

President Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy was intended to be a considerably less aggressive stance on
foreign affairs. The intent was for the United States to exercise economic authority over the smaller
governments. The country of Nicaragua was one such country. After a failed presidency, the country was
left deep in debt to European powers. In light of the Monroe Doctrine, the United States decided to
what it could to prevent and European influence in the Western Hemisphere ii. The Nicaraguan
government defaulted on its first payment to Europe causing the United States to assume control of the
customs house. This action fueled resentment towards the Americans and in July 1912, Nicaraguan
nationalists launched a revolt against the United States iii. President Taft was pressured into returning to
the Big Stick ways of doing things and sent a flotilla of ships to crush the revolt. The Big Stick and Dollar
diplomacies exemplified similar military strategies, but, President Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy was much
different.

It was Wilson’s belief that the force of the United States was to promote morality throughout
the world and to let countries be as they were iv: the direct opposite of Big Stick and Dollar. Wilson even
attempted to offer compensation for the things done by Roosevelt and Taft such as the Panama Canal v.
Wilson’s less than eager stance on the military kept the United States out of World War I as long as
could have been done.
Economics
In a series of events that led to the Roosevelt Corollary, President Roosevelt was faced with his
first problem in the Caribbean: The Dominican Republic. Similar to Nicaragua, a series of unsuccessful
presidencies and dictatorships had dug the country deep into debt to European powers. The San
Domingo Improvement Company (SDIC) was formed in New York for the purpose of taking over the
Dominican debt and further close off European influence from the Western Hemisphere. The SDIC was
expected to turn the Dominican economy around and transform the country into a protectorate of the
United States. When this did not happen, Roosevelt turned to a military-centric, aggressive approach
and stationed the U.S. navy in Dominican waters.

Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy was heavily weighted on economic authority vi. One such location was
the country of Haiti. At the time of Taft’s presidency in 1909, Haiti was home to many foreigners, mostly
Germans and Frenchmen. The large coffee market was very attractive to European powers such as
Francevii. Just like most Latin American countries, Haiti was also deep in debt. The French National Bank
attempted persuading the Haitian government to accept financial assistance. This action frightened the
U.S. minister to Haiti. President Taft was made known of the potential French involvement and urged
American investors to reroute funds to Haiti with hopes of making Haiti a protectorate of the United
Statesviii, not unlike President Roosevelt’s proposal with the Dominican Republic.

Economics also played a role in Wilson’s policies. However, he did not economics as a tool of
power; rather, he said that the United States had the role to promote free enterprise and trade
throughout the world. His actions did not attempt to take over any country. His policy was to support
their fledgling governments and keep them from collapse.

These three policies were key in shaping the American stance on foreign affairs, each in their
own way. The Dollar and Big Stick policies exercised aggression and strong intervention both
economically and militarily. Wilson’s Moral Policy was the antithesis of the other two with its calm
military, compensation, and limited direct involvement.
Endnotes
i
Schwartz, 45

ii
Ibid. 83
iii
Dollar Diplomacy
iv
Schwartz 92

v
Cole
vi
Big Stick and Dollar Diplomacy

vii
Ibid.
viii
Schwartz, 84