When it comes to foreign policy, Teddy Roosevelt’s doctrine was “speak softly but carry a big stick.” The problem for TR was that he was great with the big stick, but he never spoke softly in his life. A good example of this was that by 1907 Japan had emerged as a world power and had their eyes set on the pacific. The problem was he had just recently moved into the pacific and intended on controlling the region. Roosevelt’s answer was to show off his big stick when he commissioned 16 new battleships that he painted white and called it the Great White Fleet. He then took his new fleet around the world to show off America’s strength and he made sure he included stops in Japan.
Historically Speaking 