The Big Stick in the Caribbean Sea

What it is

This colored cartoon was drawn by William Allen Rogers and published in 1904 in the New York Herald. It shows a figure representing President Theodore Roosevelt striding through the Caribbean Sea carrying a huge club labeled 'BIG STICK,' with ships labeled 'DEBT COLLECTOR' and 'THE PREVENTER' nearby islands including Santo Domingo and Cuba.

Why it matters

The cartoon illustrates Roosevelt's foreign policy approach, often summarized by his phrase about speaking softly while carrying a big stick, especially toward Caribbean and Latin American nations. It visually ties together his use of naval power and his claim to an 'international police power' in the region, as expressed in his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It is a classic teaching image for understanding American dominance in the Caribbean during this era.

Look closer

• What do the labels on the ships and the club suggest about the cartoonist's view of American policy?
• Why might the artist have drawn Roosevelt wading through the sea rather than on land?
• What does this cartoon leave out about how Caribbean nations themselves viewed these American actions?