What is the article about?
The choice of a foreign policy has never been easy for any country on any time slot; this choice, however, is especially difficult for the United States, seeing how it has been separated from Europe and Asia and was at some point in history literally torn apart, sinking in the bloodbath of the Civil War.
As a result, the U.S. has had to seek a specific policy in building its relationships with the rest of the states. The policy offered by Roosevelt is often considered the staple of the U.S. imperialism, yet at the same time is the most frequently quoted one. In his article “Big Stick Abroad,”
Describing Roosevelt’s policy, Cooper spends a great deal of time talking about the relationships between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Cooper made it clear that the approach chosen by the former made these relationships became even more stringent with the application of the Big Stick policy, which can hardly be considered a surprise in the light of the history of the U.S. – U.K. communication. Cooper also specifies the role of the Big Stick policy I the process of creation of the Panama Canal (Cooper 222).
Therefore, it can be assumed that the key subject of the article is the specifics of the foreign policy conducted by Roosevelt and the aftereffects of the given policy.
Describing the factors that predetermined the design of Roosevelt’s policy of cautious diplomacy combined with a rough attitude, the results that the application of the given policy had, and the stage that Roosevelt’s policy set for the further political strategies to be applied, Cooper makes it clear that the Big stick Abroad concept was flawed, yet it brought the U.S. to the economic pinnacle that it would be topping for the next several decades running.
What is the author trying to say or argue?
While at first it might seem that Cooper’s key intent is to give credit to Roosevelt’s politics and at the same time consider the reasonability of Roosevelt’s policy towards England in the light of the stringent relationships with the latter, on a second thought, Cooper’s article can also be viewed as an attempt to consider the traditions in the American foreign policy.
Indeed, with the given vision of Cooper’s intent, the speculations concerning the effects that Roosevelt’s policy has led to suddenly gain an additional shade of meaning. As the Big Stick Abroad policy is viewed through the prism of the modern foreign policy strategies, Roosevelt’s call for rising to the greatest of the opportunities, which Cooper quotes in the end of his speech, suddenly gains an additional meaning.
Instead of being viewed as a retrospective into the U.S. ancient history, the article becomes an approach to consider the current foreign policies of the U.S. With that being said, one can assume that the author is trying to convince the audience that foreign policy is the field that requires amazing flexibility. Despite Roosevelt’s policy of Big Stick Abroad might be considered not quite fair, especially towards the smaller and less influential states, which Roosevelt “bullied” with his approach, the ends justified the means.
The United States were in desperate need for an economic growth, which Roosevelt provided with his amazing approach, showing that, no matter the obstacles, with an adequate evaluation of the state’s assets, the solution will always be found. Cooper showed the Big Stick Abroad approach as the proof of the idea that in foreign policy, there is time for bold political moves and for careful steps.
What are your views on the topic or the subject of the article?
The issue concerning the approaches in foreign [politics is rather complicated. On the one hand, it can be assumed that on political ground, there is no room for sentiments; therefore, every state should use the opportunities that are at hand with no regard to the consequences that the specified political moves are going to have on the lest successful states.
On the other hand, the art of conducting a foreign policy presupposes following the basic ethical rules that have been established to control the relationships between the states. In addition, it is reasonable to suggest that, with the policy of pursuing solely the interests of its own nation, the government of a state is moist likely to be given a cold shoulder by the rest of the states, which adopt more lenient approaches towards treating the less influential states.
It is important to keep in mind, though, that the Big Stick Abroad approach was used so that the U.S. could invest into the Panama Canal project and make sure that the result will open a whole new pool of business opportunities for the U.S., including trade, the creation of international joint ventures, etc.
Therefore, it seems that the Big Stick Abroad approach was right for the USA at the time, yet it would be wrong to adopt it on a regular basis. Thus, it seems that Cooper’s work shows not the necessity in the Big Stick Approach, but the necessity to be flexible and use the resources at the state’s disposal to build strong relationships with the rest of the world.
Works Cited
Cooper, John Milton. “Big Stick Abroad.” American Perspectives: Readings in American History, 5th Ed. Vol. 2. Ed. History Department at Houston Community College. Upper saddle River, NJ: Pearson Custom Publishing. 2011. Web. Pearson E-Text. 21 Jun. 2013. Web.