Revolution (Panama : 1903)

Uncle Sam, with a bundle of papers labeled “Canal Plans,” pats a diminutive man, wearing a hat labeled “Panama,” on the shoulder. The man smiles broadly and is leaning on a large sword. Canal construction equipment is just offshore, in the background. Caption: Uncle Sam — Well! Well! You boys have at last had a revolution which will help the whole world.

comments and context

Comments and Context

Sometimes in cartoons, as well as texts — and perhaps more so, literally — history can “read between the lines.” Joseph Keppler Junior’s cover cartoon in Puck appeared one week after the United States and the new Republic of Panama concluded a treaty that recognized the latter’s national independence.

Charles Fletcher Lummis praises President Roosevelt for maintaining the Cuban treaty and protecting giant redwoods. However, he believes that the United States was wrong in its rapid recognition of the Republic of Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12

President Roosevelt encloses copies of his message about Panama. Matthew Hale had said that it was difficult to refute the statement that the revolution in Panama had been planned in Washington. Roosevelt believes that the burden of proof is on the person making that argument, and that statements about the date of his message about Panama are a lie. Roosevelt had planned to take the Isthmus through ethical and legal means before the revolution broke out.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-06

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Gurney Cannon, Chairman of the Notification Committee, to formally accept his nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and to approve the platform adopted by the Republican National Convention. In the letter, Roosevelt provides a comprehensive defense of his foreign and domestic policies and outlines what he believes are the major differences between the Republican and Democratic parties in the upcoming election. Roosevelt discusses, among other topics, his position on international relations, antitrust legislation, tariffs, the gold standard, pensions for Civil War veterans, the military, civil service, commerce, agriculture, taxation, and self-government in the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-12

In response to the Senate resolutions, President Roosevelt requests all documents, sent or received and of any kind, from the State Department related to the revolution in Panama since May 1, 1903.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-26

In response to the Senate resolutions, President Roosevelt requests all documents, sent or received and of any kind, from the Navy Department related to the revolution in Panama since May 1, 1903.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-26

In response to the Senate resolutions, President Roosevelt requests all documents, sent or received of any kind, from the War Department related to the revolution in Panama since May 1, 1903.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-26

President Roosevelt is pleased that John Bigelow approved of his Panama message. He defends Philippe Bunau-Varilla and his actions during the Panama treaty negotiations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-06

President Roosevelt approves of Senator Lodge’s speech. There continue to be rumors that Philippe Bunau-Varilla received assurances from the government during the Panamanian revolution. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hay gave no such assurances or any sort of information. The article pointed out by Mr. Morgan shows that Bunau-Varilla successfully anticipated American actions many weeks before he ever met with Roosevelt or Hay, so Roosevelt is pleased the article has been made public. Bunau-Varilla surmised what would happen before any negotiations and even before Roosevelt had decided on his own course of action.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-06

President Roosevelt compliments Silas McBee’s editorial and was himself hesitant to mention the government’s activities related to the Panamanian revolution. There have been rumors that Philippe Bunau-Varilla advised the Panamanian revolutionaries of American intentions. However, Bunau-Varilla received no encouragement from Roosevelt or William H. Taft. Bunau-Varilla simply forecasted American interference based on previous actions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-06

President Roosevelt appreciates John Bassett Moore’s help with the message, which turned out “pretty satisfactory.” Roosevelt directs Moore to a remarkable Le Matin article where Philippe Bunau-Varilla closely forecasted American actions in the event of a revolution in Panama. The article appeared before Bunau-Varilla had met with any American officials and even before Roosevelt had formulated his own policy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-06

Panamanian president Tomás Arias announces the separation of Panama from Colombia and the creation of their own independent nation. The “pacific” nature of the people and the open, honest government both contributed to this end result. There is hope that the Panama Canal and Panama’s relationship with the United States will bring happiness and abundance to the nation, still reeling from the “demoralization caused by the last war.” The Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty signed November 2 will help ensure this new time of peace and rebuilding. Self governance must be done with the good of the entire community in mind and a unity of purpose, as the intolerance of old will lead to ruin. The report writer recounts internal disagreements around the last election and the detention of Colombian, Cuban, Mexican, and Nicaraguan officials who were working against this new unity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-23

Charles E. Magoon writes to Acting Secretary of State Bacon about tensions in Panama. An enclosed translated letter from former president Tomás Arias requests that Secretary of State Elihu Root speak to Panamanians on his upcoming trip to appease concerns that the United States will go back on President Roosevelt’s instructions in 1904 to end aggressive action there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-03

In a chapter titled “A Most Just and Proper Revolution,” taken from the second volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex, Edmund Morris details the machinations in Washington, D.C. and Panama that resulted in the revolution against Colombian rule on the Isthmus and the establishment of the independent nation of Panama. Morris describes the careful actions and words of administration figures like Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay, and he charts the movement of ships of the United States Navy sent in support of the insurrection. Morris adds to his Panama narrative interludes about the November 1903 elections in the United States, Roosevelt’s visit to Sagamore Hill, and his compilation of a reading list.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2001

Henry J. Hendrix argues that President Theodore Roosevelt did not see diplomacy and the deployment of the United States Navy as separate and unrelated actions, but rather he saw and used them as complements to one another, and Hendrix cites examples of episodes during Roosevelt’s presidency to bolster his argument. Hendrix cites the Venezuelan crisis of 1902, intervention in Panama in 1903, the kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris in 1904, and the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 as examples of Roosevelt deploying assets of the United States Navy in support of his diplomatic efforts. Hendrix asserts that Roosevelt used a very hands on approach to his statecraft, in effect acting as his own Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy.

Two photographs of Hendrix and one of Secretary of State John Hay appear in the article along with a text box containing the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In two quotes Theodore Roosevelt explains that he did not foment a revolution in Panama, but concedes he did prevent Colombia from turning the revolution into a larger war, and did not suppress the revolution.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1914-1915

In a pair of quotes, Theodore Roosevelt comments about how the Panamanians were justified in their revolution from Colombia, and that while he did not foment the revolution, neither did he stop it from happening.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1903-1915

Two books undergo scrutiny in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section while ten others are mentioned in a “Book Notes” subsection that lists recently released or reissued titles. Elizabeth E. Roosevelt reviews Richard H. Collin’s Theodore Roosevelt’s Caribbean and gives a brief overview of each of the work’s four sections, praising the book for its portraits of key players involved in the various diplomatic tussles of the Roosevelt administration in the Caribbean basin. The review is followed by seven excerpts from Collin’s book, ranging from a single sentence to short paragraphs. Donald F. Kirkpatrick reviews Ralph H. Lutts’s The Nature Fakers which chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s fight with William J. Long and other nature writers who attributed human traits to animals.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

Serge Ricard argues that President Theodore Roosevelt practiced a style of diplomacy that was clothed in self-righteousness and was backed by the threat of force. Ricard argues that Roosevelt’s diplomacy lacked nuance because Roosevelt reduced all conflicts and disputes to a “simplistic vision of right and wrong.” He asserts that Roosevelt lacked Woodrow Wilson’s endless self-examination and William H. Taft’s commitment to dollar diplomacy, but that he viewed America’s role in the revolutions of the Philippines and Panama in black and white terms with the United States playing the role of guardian of progress and civilization. Ricard closes by arguing that Roosevelt’s style of diplomacy has endured to the detriment of the United States and its foreign policy record.

John A. Gable writes a brief introduction to this article in which he notes Ricard’s credentials, and he stresses that the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal welcomes the opportunity to air debates about Roosevelt’s record. 

Frederick W. Marks explores why Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy record is either ignored or dismissed in high school textbooks. Marks examines Roosevelt’s diplomacy, especially his dealings with Latin American nations, to assert that Roosevelt had a record worthy of study and recognition. Marks notes the irony in Roosevelt’s poor treatment at the hands of historians as Roosevelt was an accomplished historian and a president of the American Historical Association. Marks concludes his article by asking why Roosevelt’s record is downplayed, and he argues that Roosevelt’s larger than life personality overshadows his achievements and that the standards for judging diplomatic behavior in 1900 and 1985 are markedly different. 

A photograph of Marks and of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site appear in the article.