September 2: Carry a Big Stick

On 2 September 1901, Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech at the Minnesota State Fair in which he publicly stated his diplomatic philosophy that American should “Speak softly and carry a big stick;” a philosophy he attributed as an African proverb. Less than two weeks later, on September 14, William McKinley died from wounds suffered in a September 6 assassination attempt and Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States of America.

In terms of foreign policy, Roosevelt is most known for co-forming the Rough Rider Regiment during the Spanish American War in which he served as a lieutenant colonel in Cuba and for building the Panama Canal. However, he also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts as a mediator during the Russo-Japanese War.

In terms of domestic policy, Roosevelt was celebrated and criticized as a trust buster as he aggressively used the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up monopolies. He was also an avid conservationist for whom we can credit for America’s national parks system. To decide that vast amounts of land should be owned and enjoyed by the people of a country and not by individuals was revolutionary.
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Although the national parks were celebrated by Ken Burns in his extraordinary documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, one of the first people to visually celebrate the national park system was Ansel Adams. Adams was an American photographer who is best known for his large black and white images; especially those from Yosemite National Park; a park that covers 761,268 acres in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Photo caption: Contemporaneous image of Teddy Roosevelt with his big stick. (top) Ansel Adam’s “Moon Rising and Half Dome” taken in Yosemite National Park. (bottom)

 

6 Responses

  1. Tyler Lynch says:

    Roosevelt was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897, one year before the Spanish-American war broke out. He truly lived by the statement “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” He didn’t want to be behind a desk making decisions during wartime so he rounded up volunteers to form the First U.S. Volunteer Calvary Regiment.
    He had cowboy volunteers from the western territories along with Ivy League friends who became known as the “Rough Riders.” Roosevelt’s volunteers fought valiantly and are best known for making dual charges up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill in Cuba.

  2. Tabitha Watkins says:

    Thank goodness for Roosevelt’s large and sturdy stick, without him who knows what would be left of “Old Faithful” and the animals that abide at Yosemite National Park. The park’s website states that for over 90 years they have been preserving wildlife as best as they can like the grizzly bear, California red-legged frog, and foothill yellow-legged frog. Ansel Adams just happens to be one of my favorite photographers. The way he captures nature, it makes me stand back in awe and appreciate what God has given to us. One of Ansel Adams’ most popular pieces of work “The Tetons and the Snake River” were so well liked, they were honored by being taken up to space in the Voyager spacecraft to explain to a possible alien civilization what earth was like. Nearly 28 years after Adams’ death, his photographs keep getting more and more valuable. No other photographer has been able to grasp the beauty and stillness in nature that he has ever accomplished. Well done, Mr. Adams, well done.

    Tabitha Watkins

  3. Caleb Schonschack says:

    As a child Theodore Roosevelt was quite sickly but I feel that might have played into why he was so hyperactive and mischievous; it seems people always want to do what their told they can’t. The Young Roosevelt loved to study nature and especially the creatures inside of it. I feel that his lifelong interest for nature played a huge role in why he played such a significant part in setting up the National Park system that we have today. Roosevelt’s policies truly followed his famous slogan, “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to demonstrate American power with no intention of anything else.

    Caleb Schonschack

  4. aseiler says:

    Theodore Roosevelt is probably one of the most memorable presidents along side his distant cousin and step-nephew Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Eleanor Roosevelt was Teddy’s niece and he had guardianship over her). Both of these great leaders had a multitude of fantastic speeches and quotes. One of my personal favorites is “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Teddy was telling people to believe in what they want to achieve and that a positive attitude can go a long way.
    -Amber Seiler

  5. Jalen Walker says:

    A fascinating fact that i found out was that the rough riders were made up native Americans, college athletes, cowboys, and Ranchers. They all met in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. They were all from the Southwest because they were use to the hot climates and that would come in handy because they would be fighting in Cuba. The cool part about the Rough Riders was they had a problem rejecting people not acquiring people, everybody wanted to be in this group. Police officers and war veterans were also apart of this group. They wanted to be apart of the Rough Riders because they wanted to see the action of war again. This was an excellent Today in History. I really found this the most interesting!

  6. Matthew Brooks says:

    president Roosevelt philosophy speak quietly and carry a big stick reminds me of a movie i once saw called Walking Tall it is about a person played by Dwayne Johnson who is coming home from the army who arrives at his old town and see that it is overrun by a powerful drug dealer who has a cover a casino owner. During the movie he carves a very large 2×4 into a bat which is his weapon and he is very soft spoken and only resort to violence if talking does not work.

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