Rooseveltian Maxim: How Theodore Roosevelt's Naval Diplomacy Shaped U.S. Power

The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) saw the United States rise to a position of considerable geopolitical power, largely due to Roosevelt himself. His administration’s development of foreign policies shaped the influence of the United States in the Pacific Region and eventually positioned the U.S. as a global power. By focusing on Roosevelt’s dealings with the Empire of Japan, it is clear how Roosevelt shaped the global view of the United States before World War I. Roosevelt’s power as a diplomat is clear in his relationship with Japan, and examining this relationship offers a snapshot of how Roosevelt’s actions influenced the U.S.'s growing role in world affairs. This project will explore the U.S.-Japan relationship to better understand how the U.S. sought to expand its influence after a long period of isolation. Through Roosevelt's foreign policy initiatives, such as the Taft-Katsura Agreement of 1905 and the Root-Takahira Agreement of 1908, the U.S. sought to assert and develop its influence in the Pacific. The central question I seek to answer is how the U.S. relationship with the Empire of Japan provides insight into how the U.S. was seen at the start of the 20th century and how Roosevelt empowered or failed to empower the U.S. as a global influence before the beginning of the First World War. The Empire of Japan and the U.S. ended their respective periods of isolationism to flex their power and assert influence on their regions, placing them in almost direct conflict with each other. I have put together a comprehensive list of secondary sources: books, articles, book reviews, and dissertations to inform the scholarship of my topic. For fall semester of 2024, a big part of the project was focused on a deep reading of the materials and synthesized into a literature review to inform of what other authors believe to be the case and how their arguments inform my own. This semester, I plan to collect primary sources and use this data to draw conclusions in relation to the secondary sources.