Panama--Panama Canal

Carl Cavanagh Hodge examines Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas and policies regarding naval policy in the context of international relations and a naval arms race in the first decade of the twentieth century. Hodge emphasizes Roosevelt’s reading and use of the ideas of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and he compares American naval plans with those of Great Britain and Germany. Hodge frames Roosevelt’s policies within the context of friendly relations with Great Britain, an increasingly assertive Germany, and the rising power of Japan, especially in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War. Hodge highlights the acquisition and construction of the Panama Canal and the voyage of the Great White Fleet as key parts of Roosevelt’s overall naval strategy. He notes Roosevelt’s embrace of the battleship as a means of engaging other nations’ fleets abroad, and he asserts that Roosevelt saw the fleet as an important symbol of American power. 

Eight photographs, including those of Roosevelt and Mahan, and one illustration supplement the article. A text with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears in the endnotes. 

William N. Tilchin examines the foreign policy of President Theodore Roosevelt. Tilchin asserts that Roosevelt was not interested in practicing coercive, economic diplomacy, and he identifies the nations that Roosevelt saw as friendly, such as Great Britain, and those he treated cautiously, Germany and Japan. Tilchin looks at how Roosevelt undertook his diplomacy, identifying five elements of “big stick diplomacy,” such as strengthening the United States Navy. Tilchin identifies discrete episodes or crises in Roosevelt’s presidency, and he describes how Roosevelt resolved them, including the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, Germany’s attempt to bully Venezuela, and the revolt in Panama. He highlights Roosevelt’s dispatch of the Great White Fleet, his reluctance to invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and his diplomacy during Morocco’s dispute with Germany.

A photograph of Roosevelt with Emperor William II of Germany, and pictures of the Great White Fleet and Secretary of State Elihu Root supplement the text, as does a political cartoon of Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Michael B. Brennan delivers a eulogy about Theodore Roosevelt to the Spectacle Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In doing so, Brennan provides a biography of Roosevelt, noting the highlights of his career, and he quotes extensively from Roosevelt’s second inaugural address. A photograph of Roosevelt visiting with workers at the Panama Canal supplements the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007-04-20

James M. Strock examines Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to leadership by identifying and exploring twenty tenets of Roosevelt’s leadership style. Among these are seizing the initiative, hiring talented subordinates, and delegating authority. Strock draws extensively from Roosevelt’s leadership of the Rough Riders and his management of the Panama Canal construction for examples with which to illustrate Roosevelt’s leadership, and he cites Elihu Root and Gifford Pinchot as examples of talented subordinate leaders. Fifteen of the twenty tenets offer examples of how Roosevelt managed those who worked for him in various capacities.  

Six photographs populate the article, including ones of Roosevelt, Root, and Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In a pamphlet written for the Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1935, James Lippmann confesses that he became an “unqualified hero-worshipper” of Theodore Roosevelt. Lippmann argues that Roosevelt recognized that the United States had become a world power and that it had to accept the responsibilities and burdens that came with that power, including the building of the Panama Canal. Lippmann asserts that Roosevelt’s knowledge of history created in him an awareness of the pitfalls that the United States had to avoid. A full page photograph of Roosevelt working at his desk at Sagamore Hill in 1905 supplements the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1935

In a variety of quotes, Theodore Roosevelt comments on the Panama Canal Zone and the construction of the Panama Canal. He opines that if he left the decision of whether to construct the canal up to Congress, its construction would still be decades in the future. He also says that the United States has no interest in establishing a colony in Panama or interfering in the affairs of Panama.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1904-1918

A famous palindrome refers to Theodore Roosevelt and the construction of the Panama Canal.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

William N. Tilchin surveys the major works on President Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy from 1956 to 1986, looking at nine books and one article. Tilchin provides detailed reviews of eight of the books, and highlights the discussion of diplomacy in the ninth. In doing so, Tilchin addresses the historiography of Roosevelt and his foreign policy, and he demonstrates how Roosevelt’s reputation as a diplomat grew from the low point it reached with Henry F. Pringle’s biography of 1931. Tilchin touches on the major international crises and issues of Roosevelt’s presidency, including the Philippine American War, the creation of the Panama Canal, and the voyage of the Great White Fleet. The essay is supported by 183 endnotes and includes a listing of publications about Roosevelt’s diplomacy not addressed in the text.

The article also contains three text boxes: one lists the leadership of the Theodore Roosevelt Association; another, “About the Author,” notes Tilchin’s work as a teacher and historian; and a third says that this issue of the journal “is dedicated to the people of the State of North Dakota.” A portrait of Roosevelt and a photograph of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt with elements of her air wing illustrate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable examines the similarities between the reelection campaigns of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 and President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Gable discusses the foreign policy issues faced by Roosevelt, and he notes the marked policy differences between Roosevelt and Reagan. He closes with a look at how presidents have fared in trying to win a second term. A photograph of Reagan in front of the Roosevelt statue at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., comprises the second page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1984-08-20

Photograph showing President Roosevelt, standing, facing front, with Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, and others, most dressed in white, on back of train, at Culebra or Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906

President Roosevelt and others stand on the back of a train car in the Panama Canal Zone.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906-11

Newspaper clipping of cartoon showing a cartoonist looking on as Theodore Roosevelt draws a picture of Uncle Sam digging the Panama canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-1918

Newspaper clipping of cartoon showing Theodore Roosevelt deepening the Mississippi River with a shovel. In the background Uncle Sam is digging the Panama canal and a man labeled Germany says “Der selfish pig vas goin’ ter make use of das canal himself aldreaty yet!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907

Photograph shows President Roosevelt at the Panama Canal construction site.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906-11-26

President Roosevelt accepts John F. Stevens’ resignation as Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal project, expecting him to stay in the position until a suitable replacement can be selected and trained. He does not, however, accept all the complaints Stevens has leveled against the Isthmian Canal Commission, Congress, and the realities of “public service.” Roosevelt has not yet decided which, if any, of the bids made on the project will be accepted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-14

John A. Gable examines Theodore Roosevelt’s connections to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He looks at its founding by Roosevelt’s father, notes the many specimens donated by Roosevelt, and highlights contributions made to the museum in various capacities by other members of the Roosevelt family. Gable details the design, construction, and contents of the museum’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, including its murals and dioramas featuring scenes from Roosevelt’s life and work.

Photographs of the interior and exterior of the Memorial Hall as well as one of James Earle Fraser’s equestrian statue of Roosevelt outside of the museum accompany the article. A full page photograph of one of the dioramas, depicting a scene near Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch, is also found in the article.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is found on the second page of the article.

Clarece Martin describes the experience of the Reverend Archibald Stobo, the fourth great grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt, as an immigrant to Panama at the end of the seventeenth century. She details the failure of the Scottish colony in Panama, Stobo’s move to South Carolina, and his ties to the Bulloch family of Georgia.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1981

Historical reenactor Bob Boyd recounts the four years he spent doing a one man show as Theodore Roosevelt. He explains how a typical program would proceed with an emphasis on its press conference when he would take unscripted questions from students. Boyd discusses the genesis of the program and how he garnered the role of Roosevelt. He explains the role of the Florida Department of Citrus in sponsoring the program and how its success led to its touring nationwide.  Boyd also explains how he studied and prepared to accurately portray Roosevelt.

Two photographs accompany the article: one shows Boyd in costume as Roosevelt greeting students and the other shows Boyd as he appears out of costume.

In the context of President Jimmy Carter’s work negotiating a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, William C. Sexton reviews President Theodore Roosevelt’s mediation of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and argues that Roosevelt’s actions set the table for future presidents to act as peacemakers. He looks at Roosevelt’s actions during the negotiations, reviews some of his administration’s other accomplishments, and says that advances in technology like those pioneered by the Wright brothers added to America’s power and prestige.

A listing of the Officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of this article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In the “Book Notes” column, John A. Gable reviews two books that cover different aspects of the era of Theodore Roosevelt. He praises David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 for its “careful research, balanced judgment, and good prose.” Gable compares McCullough’s verdict on Roosevelt’s actions regarding the Canal with the work of other Roosevelt scholars, and he gives over much of his review to an extended quote from a letter McCullough wrote to President Jimmy Carter supporting passage of the 1977 Canal treaties.

Gable endorses, with some reservations, They Were Ragtime, a popular history of the United States in the Progressive era written by Warren Forma. Gable lists many of the personalities from entertainment, the arts, and the business world who populate Forma’s work, and he argues that the work is valuable for its look at popular culture in turn of the twentieth-century America.