The “Big Baton Politics”: How, with the Monroe Doctrine, the US substantiated its right to invade sovereign states

Exactly 115 years ago, on December 6, 1904, US President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking before Congress, gave his own expanded interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. This interpretation was nicknamed the “Roosevelt Amendment”, as well as the “Big Club Policy”. According to her, US intervention in the internal affairs of Latin American countries was recognized as legitimate and justified if they were not able to independently cope with their problems or take actions that could lead to the involvement of European states in political processes on the American continent.

The Monroe Doctrine

It is worth noting that already in the 1820s, most of the colonies of Spain and Portugal in Latin America gained independence. In 1820, Spain was swept by a revolution. Two years later, the French authorities, dissatisfied with the unrest on their borders, appealed to the leading European powers to support the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.

• James monroe
• globallookpress.com
• © Stapleton Historical Collection

In October – December 1822, the Verona Congress was held, at which the leaders of the Holy Union approved the French invasion of Spain. In the spring of next year, French troops entered the territory of this country.

However, in assessments of the “parade of sovereignty” in the former Latin American colonies, European states disagreed. Austria, Prussia and Russia advocated the restoration of Spanish sovereignty over former possessions in Latin America. However, this did not suit Britain, which conducted trade in Latin American markets and was afraid of increased competition. As a result, the decision on the former colonies during the Verona Congress was never made.

Later, the British invited the United States together to advocate for the political separation of the New and Old Worlds. However, Washington chose to make its own statement.

On December 2, 1823, US President James Monroe in a letter to Congress called for a division of the world into European and American systems of government. In his opinion, Washington should not have interfered in the affairs of Europe, and European countries - in the affairs of Latin America.

According to historians, the United States, hiding behind the defense of the freedom of choice of Latin American peoples, sought to decide the fate of the Western Hemisphere themselves.

"Police power"

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US expansionism became more aggressive.

“US corporations, including agricultural ones, entered the territory of Latin American states and earned extra profits there, which they did not intend to share with the peoples of these countries,” said Yegor Lidovskaya, director general of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Center.

In 1901, US President William McKinley died of a wound received during the assassination attempt. The country was headed by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. According to historians, under him, the United States continued its course towards becoming an imperialist power, the influence of which spread far beyond its borders.

• Theodore Roosevelt
• © Wikimedia commons

On December 6, 1904, Theodore Roosevelt, in his address to Congress, gave a new interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. He said that the United States allegedly wants to see neighboring countries “stable, orderly and prosperous,” and to achieve this, they can use force against them.

“The appeal was that Latin American states can use their independence, but only if they dispose of it“ correctly ”from the point of view of Washington. And if they do something wrong, then there is a reason for intervention from a large civilized power, ”said Yegor Lidovskaya.

“In the Western Hemisphere, following the United States’s Monroe Doctrine may force them, perhaps against their will, in flagrant cases of violations of the law or manifestation of powerlessness to fulfill the duties of an international police power,” Roosevelt said in his address to Congress.

• Roosevelt's “Big Club” Caricature
• © Wikimedia commons

According to Yegor Lidovsky, then the president actually made it clear that the United States could freely invade the territory of other states.

“You need to understand that no sharp reversal in US policy has occurred after Roosevelt’s statement. This was a natural development of the course that the United States followed earlier.

In the mid-19th century, Washington annexed almost half of Mexico, then occupied the islands off the east coast of America, previously controlled by Spain. In 1902-1903, the United States intervened in the crisis that arose due to the fact that the Venezuelan authorities took forced loans from European businessmen, ”the expert emphasized.

According to Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Roosevelt’s statement did not immediately transform the United States into a world power, but it became a serious step in this direction.

“The United States reached its peak of influence after World War II, but the theses of 1904 and the events that followed them were an important stage in turning the United States into an“ international policeman, ”he said.

Yegor Lidovskaya said that Roosevelt’s position on Latin American issues received an unofficial name - the "big baton policy."

"Roosevelt always liked the supposedly African proverb" Speak softly, but hold a large club in your hands and you will go far. " He adhered to the principles set forth in it in US policy on the territory of Latin America, ”Lidovskaya explained.

“The right of the strong reigned”

Roosevelt's initiative was not formally formalized in US law, but the country's authorities actually adopted it in resolving international issues. The army has become one of the key instruments of the foreign ministry.

In the early twentieth century, the United States undertook several interventions in Cuba, moving it from time to time under its direct control. In 1909, a pro-American coup took place in Nicaragua, another three years later the country was occupied by American troops. In 1910-1919, a border conflict erupted between the United States and Mexico, resulting in the occupation of Veracruz. In addition, the Americans occupied Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

“Hiding behind humanitarian rhetoric, US authorities used the army to advance their economic interests and establish Washington-controlled regimes,” said Yegor Lidovskaya.

According to experts, US policy in Latin America had little in common with the principles of international law.

“However, in the absence of efficient international institutions, then few people were interested in international law. The rule of the strong reigned in American foreign policy, ”said Konstantin Blokhin.

• Caricature on the "protection" of Latin America from Europe by Americans
• © Wikimedia commons

In his opinion, both the Monroe Doctrine, and its expanded interpretation by Theodore Roosevelt, became signals to the world that the United States considers the Western Hemisphere to be its patrimony.

“The Latin American countries were considered sovereign, but the way the United States behaved on their territory did not differ much from the colonial policies of the European powers in Asia and Africa,” concluded Konstantin Blokhin.