The Rooseveltian Solution

Abstract

This chapter explores Theodore Roosevelt’s set of principles regarding the United States’ responsibility to intervene in response to “crimes against civilization,” a creed profoundly influenced by the 1894–1896 massacre of Ottoman Armenians. It also traces the evolution of Roosevelt’s thinking on an alliance with Britain, a significant feature of which was the prevention of extreme humanitarian atrocities and protection of peoples such as the Armenians. It explains why Roosevelt believed the nations that he considered most “civilized,” led by Britain and the United States, had a responsibility to censure injustices that offended the civilization of the day. It discusses Roosevelt’s most public articulation of these principles in his neglected Second Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It also traces his diplomatic interventions, alongside Britain, for Eastern European Jews and in the Congo, and demonstrates the practical limits of Roosevelt’s attempts to intervene in the Armenian question and pursue a broader alliance with Britain.