Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

Quoting Proverbs in 1904, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” These words have become a piece of American history and a philosophy that is part of the foundation of this nation. The desire being not to dominate the world, but to use the power the US has to help defend and protect it from forces that would try to dominate. This philosophy was tested during World War I. The citizens of the US had no desire to join the conflict. In general, they believed that the two sides would work it out without the involvement of the United States. There were many forces at play pushing and pulling the destiny of the United States and WWI; some calling for neutrality and others pushing towards full belligerency, but ultimate US involvement in WWI was inevitable. Although the war had been going for three years and America was reading about the atrocities Germany was carrying out across Europe, there were many forces causing the US to remain neutral. The US had recently been involved in the Spanish-American War and the American public had no desire to go back to war. Although the local papers described the brutality of the Central Powers toward the peoples of Europe, it was far from home and Americans were not interested. Further, the nation had trade agreements with countries on both sides of the war and there was concern that US involvement would damage that trade. Woodrow Wilson campaigned for and won re-election in 1916 on the statement, “What did we do?…. We didn’t go to war!” further proving America did not want to be involved. Other forces were pushing the United Starts towards belligerency and engagement in WWI. Germany tried to seize British ports and close off US trade with our allies. They deployed submarines to control the waters around Europe and began attacking and sinking trade ships. These attacks on trade ships spread to include passenger vessels as well when Germany bombed the Lusitania and the Sussex, causing the deaths of a few hundred innocent American citizens. Finally, the US intercepted the Zimmerman Telegram. In this telegram, Germany promised to help Mexico win back Texas, New Mexico and other provinces lost to the US if Mexico would join Germany and support their efforts in the war. Despite the many forces at play, it was inevitable that the US would ultimately join in the war. The open trade the US enjoyed with Europe and the rest of the world was intentionally being impacted by German U-boats. The interception of the Zimmerman Telegram raised the ire of the American public as it became obvious that Germany was not going to stop its aggression in Europe. Russia was replacing their regime with a republican government. This made it all the easier for America to side with Russia now that they were not a monarchy. Finally, Wilson’s call to create a peacekeeping sanction with other countries helped to ease the minds of congress and therefore, made our entry into the war not only tolerable but also necessary.
In 1917, politicians and citizens in general did not want to join the First World War, but other forces were pulling us in and, eventually, it would not be possible for the US not to participate. In the 4 years of World War I, nine million people died; 112,000 were Americans. The war was in effect for three years before the US stepped in. We brought forces to fight on sea and soil. In eight months, it would be over. It is difficult to imagine what would have become of those European nations had the US not stepped in. At this point, the “big stick” prevailed and the goal was met. The US was still a young nation with growing pains, but the political role of helping secure peace was further defined. The US felt a commitment to help those who were less fortunate than our great country. We had resources available to us that most did not and it drove us to become a leader for freedom everywhere.