The United States, at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th, began to emerge on the world stage as a full-fledged nation. As a nation, it needed to be in contact with the current events happening around it. From 1898 to 1919, the US was eagerly involved in both Europe and Latin America because it found vital stakes in both spheres.

Theodore Roosevelt was one of the first presidents who moved America onto an international stage. The world saw his big stick, his great white fleet and his artful maneuvering of the Russo-Japanese treatise. Later, Woodrow Wilson was charged with continuing America’s influence on a moral basis, as well as tying America into the First World War in Europe. These two presidents set the stage for America in the western hemisphere and

the eastern hemisphere, respectively.

Beyond the Panamanian strip, America found the constant revolutions, unpaid debts and general instability in its own backyard to be a magnet for European interference. To prevent any possible European encroachment upon US soil by way of Latin America, Theodore Roosevelt traversed the continent of Latin America to assist foundling nations and “discourage” those that might be deleterious to American interests. He liberated Cuba from the greedy hands of Spain and then watched over its development. Later presidents would also recognize the importance of healthy relations with Latin America, and would send US Marines to countries in internal strife, such as Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

Some historians might claim that the United States had no business in Latin America, and in the meantime squandered her resources there as she ignored Europe. This erroneous belief could be founded on the deceptive weakness of floundering young countries. These dissidents fail to realize that the United States was linked to

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