Isolation during the Administration of Theodore Roosevelt

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Isolation during the Administration of Theodore Roosevelt
Isolationism was a move in the American foreign policy that actively opposed the involvements of the country in Alliances with other nations. The American isolation was majorly experienced by European countries that had different economic and political systems. The United States avoided international cooperation because the isolationists had a different ideology from those of the countries in Europe. The country isolated itself from treaties and declarations of war. Roosevelt believed that there were better ways of solving disputes other than war.
In 1902 Venezuela was given a loan by the European nations, the dictator Cipriano Castro refused to repay the loan completely. Britain and Germany resorted to starting a war with Latin America to destroy Venezuela for refusing to pay the loan. The two countries sent ships to Latin America’s coastline to block any activity from going on. President Theodore spent most his time during the first term of his tenure trying to help Latin America. He thought that the countries had boundary disputes, but he was persuaded by Britain and Germany that they didn’t have any issue to do with the border of Venezuela. However, Theodore Roosevelt was not happy with the decision of the European nations to initiate war as means of solving the dispute. He demanded that the countries use arbitration to resolving the matter. The Dominican Republic also had problems with the European nations.

The businessmen persuaded the government to collect money from Latin America which was already debt-ridden. The Dominican Republic pleaded to Roosevelt administration who ordered an American tax collector to collect the taxes. This move was to deny them any money that would help them fund military action against the Latin Americans.
Even though Roosevelt was seen to be very aggressive in implementing the foreign policy, he was a peace broker. In 1904 Japan started a war with Russia, fighting over the control of the Far East. The Japanese launched an attacked on Port Arthur without informing the Russians. The war resulted in many deaths, though Japan was winning. President Theodore Roosevelt approached the two countries and convinced them to have peaceful negotiations. Both countries agreed with the idea and met with Roosevelt in Portsmouth to help negotiate for peace. His role in the Russo-Japanese as a peacemaker awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize for peace. Theodore Roosevelt also assisted in resolving the dispute between France and Germany over who to was to rule Morocco. Germany felt left out in the agreement between France and the British over control of Morocco and Egypt. The United States rejected the claim of France over Morocco as well as the British’s claim over Egypt. In 1906, the settlement was made that allowed France to have control of Morocco and Britain to control Egypt. The intervention of Roosevelt in this dispute is believed to have prevented a war that was likely to happen. Roosevelt was also involved in the rebellion of Panama against Columbia. The United States had agreed with Britain to construct a canal through Panama, a move that Columbia did not agree with. The U.S. supported Panamanian revolution that prevented the soldiers of Columbia from reaching the independent Panama by staging their naval ships. However, they did not initiate any war against Columbia who was already feeling threatened. President Roosevelt later visited Panama to witness the construction of the canal. The United States also benefited from the deal by gaining control of the Panama Canal Zone which led to a tremendous boost to its economy. This was one of the achievements of isolation during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Isolation of the United States had gained respect from many countries and earned power for the country. Roosevelt believed that any dispute in the small countries needed powerful intervention which to him was the United States. The country, therefore, continued with isolation without fear that other nations will take control of the rest of the world. The United States refused to join the League of Nations. Joining the League would have been a violation of the policy because it was an alliance of many countries. The isolationist’s position could, however, be questioned with the United States involvement in World War I, but it had its own self-interests to protect and was not necessarily in the war to fight.
Despite the long practice of the traditional policy by the United States, the isolationists realized they could not be isolated from the rest of the world if they wanted to foster world peace. Roosevelt was a good ambassador of peace and even though he implemented the foreign policy, there were benefits to the country in most treaties he arbitrated. The United States later realized that for them to grow economically, they could not avoid trade deals with other countries. Its advocacy for democracy around the world could be impossible without joining other powerful European nations as this was the only way of finding a chance to exercise leadership to fight for the democratic world. The practice of isolation during Roosevelt’s tenure was relatively favorable and advantageous to the country.