Criticism of Theodore Roosevelt
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Before, during, and after his Presidency - and continuing today, there has been criticism of Theodore Roosevelt. He has been criticized for a range of topics such as his involvement in The Philippine-American War and Spanish–American War, racism towards Native Americans, Intervention in Latin America under The Roosevelt Corollary, Brownsville affair, U.S involvement in The Separation of Panama from Colombia, support for eugenics, Expansion of Executive Power, and splitting the Republican vote during the 1912 presidential election when he ran as a third-party candidate for the Bull Moose Party.
Criticism of Roosevelt's foreign policy
Big Stick ideology
American historian and Socialist activist Howard Zinn in his book 'A People's History of the United States' cites 'Big Stick Imperialism' as a reason for Roosevelt not being a genuine progressive.[1]
“Teddy Roosevelt, who was seen as a ‘progressive’ president at home, used the ‘big stick’ to extend American power overseas, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, reinforcing U.S. domination rather than promoting genuine democracy.”
Noam Chomsky denounces Roosevelt's foreign policy in his book Year 501: The Conquest Continues.[2]
“Theodore Roosevelt… declared that ‘the most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages.’ This is part of a long-standing tradition in U.S. policy, where moral rhetoric about civilization and progress is used to justify military interventions and the extension of state power abroad.”
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was a foreign policy declaration made by Roosevelt in 1904, which asserted that the United States could intervene in Latin American countries' internal affairs to maintain stability and prevent European intervention.
Some Latin American leaders and anti-imperialist writers criticized the Roosevelt Corollary as a form of U.S. imperialism rather than hemispheric protection.[3]
Philippine-American War
The Philippine-American War faced significant criticism for its brutality and the high civilian death toll, with estimates of civilian casualties ranging from 200,000 to over a million due to violence, famine, and disease.[4]
Roosevelt portrayed the conflict as a struggle of “civilization” versus “savagery,” using racialized language that justified U.S. colonial rule and violence as benevolent or necessary.[5]
Spanish–American War
"Roosevelt's involvement in the Spanish–American War is controversial for reflecting a complex mix of imperialistic ambitions presented under the guise of 'promoting democracy', raising questions about the true motivations behind military actions."[6]
Involvement in The separation from Panama from Columbia
Roosevelt's supported Panama's independence in order to secure land for the Panama Canal. When negotiations with Colombia failed, Roosevelt backed Panamanian rebels and sent U.S. naval forces to prevent Colombia from stopping the revolt, which helped ensure Panama successfully broke away.[7][8]
Support for annexing Hawaii
Roosevelt supported the annexation of Hawaii and viewed it as an important strategic step for the United States.[9]
When the United States failed to annex Hawaii in 1893, Roosevelt labeled it "a crime against white civilization".[10]
"We should annex Hawaii immediately. It was a crime against the United States, it was a crime against white civilization, not to annex it two years and a half ago. The delay did damage that is perhaps irreparable; for it means that at the critical period of the island's growth the influx of population consisted, not of white Americans, but of low-caste laborers drawn from the yellow races."
Accusations of Racism and discriminatory policies
Roosevelt believed in a racial hierarchy that placed Whties at the top.[11]
Native Americans
Roosevelt's policies have had negative impacts Native Americans, characterized by his support for policies that aimed to assimilate them and dismantle their tribal lands. He viewed Native Americans as obstacles to American expansion and promoted the Dawes act, which led to significant land loss for Indigenous peoples.[12]
"I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are."
Blacks
Roosevelt had a complex and often contradictory view of Blacks; while he appointed some to prominent positions and advocated for individual merit, he also stated "as a race and in the mass they are altogether inferior to the whites."[13]
Irish and German-Americans
During World War I, Roosevelt was vehemently opposed to what he called "hyphenated Americans," denouncing German-Americans and Irish-Americans, Claiming were not true Americans. As they demanded neutrality and opposed support for the British cause.[14] In a speech to the lay Catholic organization. Knights of Columbus—with its German and Irish membership, he said in 1915:
The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American.[15]
In 1894, Roosevelt wrote:
- "We must Americanize in every way, in speech, in political ideas and principles, and in their way of looking at relations between church and state. We welcome the German and the Irishman who becomes an American. We have no use for the German or Irishman who remains such ... He must revere only our flag, not only must it come first, but no other flag should even come second".[16]
After the U.S. joined World War I in April 1917, Roosevelt grew more agitated towards German-Americans. In a speech delivered on July 4, 1917, he questioned immigrants' loyalty to their new country during the war. He accused politicians who voted against war of appeasing German-American voters. Roosevelt said "pacifists" who supported Germany were traitors to the United States. He called for 100 percent allegiance to America by anyone living in the country, emphasizing the need for universal military service as an act of patriotism. Over and over he denounced "hyphenated Americans," a term specifically targeting German-Americans and Irish-Americans who had called for American neutrality instead of aid to Britain.[17][18]
Italians
The 1891 New Orleans lynchings were the murders of 11 Italian Americans by a mob for their alleged role in the murder of police chief David Hennessy after some of them had been acquitted at trial.
Roosevelt described the lynching of them as a "rather a good thing" in a letter to his sister.
“Monday we dined at the Camerons; various dago diplomats were present, all much wrought up by the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans. Personally I think it rather a good thing, and said so.”
Japanese Americans
Roosevelt wanted to exclude large numbers of Japanese immigrants from the United States to prevent racial tensions and conflicts, while also advocating for a diplomatic approach to manage relations with Japan. He brokered the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907, which aimed to limit Japanese immigration while maintaining good diplomatic ties with Japan.[21][22]
Bully pulpit
"Bully pulpit" was coined by Roosevelt to describe his Presidency as a powerful platform to advocate for his agenda and influence public opinion.[23][24]
Murray Rothbard thought the “bully pulpit” was a way for Theodore Roosevelt to increase government power without passing new laws.[25]
Criticism of his economics
Anarcho-Capitalist economist Murray Rothbard argued Roosevelt's Square Deal wasn't program of fairness and more a justification for expanding federal power over the economy. He argues that instead of truly balancing the interests of workers, consumers, and businesses, it increased government intervention through trust-busting, regulation, and labor mediation in ways that often benefited large, established corporations that could adapt to new rules.[26][27]
Hepburn act
Zinn argues Roosevelt supported the Hepburn act not to challenge corporate power, but to preserve The Capitalistic system.[28]
Roosevelt supported the regulatory Hepburn Act because he feared something worse. He wrote to Henry Cabot Lodge that the railroad lobyists who opposed the bill were wrong: "I think they are very shortsighted not to understand that to beat it means to increase the movement for government ownership of the railroads." His action against the trusts was to induce them to accept government regulation, in order to prevent destruction.
Support for Eugenics
In 1914 Roosevelt stated: "I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding; and when the evil nature of these people is sufficiently flagrant, this should be done. Criminals should be sterilized and feeble-minded persons forbidden to leave offspring behind them."[29][30]
Splitting The Republican vote
Roosevelt split The Republican vote after leaving to form The Bull Moose Party during The 1912 election, which enabled Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency despite Roosevelt finishing second with 27.4% of the popular vote.[31][32]
Brownsville affair
The Brownsville affair occurred in August 1906 in Brownsville, Texas with White Buffalo Soldiers and black soldiers from the 25th Infantry Regiment in a segregated unit stationed at nearby Fort Brown. When a white bartender was killed and a white police officer wounded by gunshots one night, townspeople accused the members of the African-American soldiers, Although their commanders said the soldiers had been in the barracks all night, evidence was allegedly planted against the men.[33]
As a result of a United States Army Inspector General's investigation, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the discharge without honor of 167 soldiers of the 25th Infantry Regiment, costing them pensions and preventing them from ever serving in federal civil service jobs. The case aroused national outrage in both black and white communities. After more investigation, several of the men were allowed to re-enlist.
See also
Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt
References
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). "The Empire and the People". A People’s History of the United States (2nd ed.). Harper Perennial. pp. approx. 395–400. ISBN 978-0060838652. Search this book on
- ↑ Chomsky, Noam (1993). Year 501: The Conquest Continues. South End Press. Chapter 1, "The Great Work of Subjugation and Conquest". Discusses the U.S. use of military and moral rhetoric, including Theodore Roosevelt's justification of violence abroad, as part of the broader history of American imperial expansion. ISBN 978-0896086380.
- ↑ Kshyk, Christopher J. (2015). "Roosevelt's Imperialism: The Venezuelan Crisis, the Panama Canal, and the Origins of the Roosevelt Corollary". Inquiries Journal. 7 (03).
- ↑ "The Philippine-American War, 1899–1902". Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Kramer, Paul A. (June 2, 2006). "The Philippine-American War as Race War". History News Network. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ "The Spanish-American War, 1898". Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ↑ "The Panama Canal and Panama's Independence". Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ↑ "Panama Canal". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 2026-06-06.
- ↑ "Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alfred S. Hartwell". The Theodore Roosevelt Center Digital Library. Dickinson State University. June 7, 1897. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ Roosevelt, Theodore (May 1896). "A Republican View". The Century Magazine. 52 (1): 103. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Teddy Roosevelt, Race, Imperialism, and National Parks". History. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Timeline". American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Teddy Roosevelt, Race, Imperialism, and National Parks". History. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ Frederick C. Luebke, Bonds of Loyalty: German-Americans and World War I (1974) pp 68, 140, 174. online
- ↑ Theodore Roosevelt, "Address to the Knights of Columbus New York City- October 12, 1915" online
- ↑ Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York, New York: Basic Books. p. 267. ISBN 0-465-04195-7. Search this book on
- ↑ "Colonel Roosevelt's speech delivered at Forest Hills, L. I.." July 4, 1917, online
- ↑ Brands, T.R. p. 762.
- ↑ "When Italians Were the Ones Being Called "Dirty Beggars"". Open Society Foundations. April 10, 2014. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ "Digital Library Record (libID=o280928)". Theodore Roosevelt Center. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ "Gentlemen's Agreement." Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Gentlemens-Agreement. Accessed 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Gentlemen's Agreement." Densho Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Gentlemen's_Agreement/. Accessed 5 June 2026.
- ↑ Cullinane, Michael Patrick; Elliott, Clare Frances (February 18, 2014). Perspectives on Presidential Leadership: An International View of the White House. Routledge. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-1-135-07903-1. Search this book on
- ↑ Nelson, Stephen James (September 16, 2009). "Chapter 4 The Bully Pulpit: Use It or Lose It". Leaders in the Crossroads: Success and Failure in the College Presidency. R&L Education. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-1-60709-249-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Murray N. Rothbard, *The Progressive Era*, Chapter 7: “The Roosevelt Revolution,” Mises Institute (2007).
- ↑ Murray N. Rothbard, The Progressive Era, Chapter 7: “Theodore Roosevelt: The First Progressive, Part I”.
- ↑ Murray N. Rothbard, The Progressive Era, Chapter 8: “Theodore Roosevelt: The First Progressive, Part II”.
- ↑ Zinn, Howard (2003). A People's History of the United States (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. p. 351. ISBN 978-0-06-052842-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Roosevelt, Theodore (January 3, 1914). "Twisted Eugenics". The Outlook (New York).
- ↑ Dyer, Thomas (1992). Theodore Roosevelt and the Idea of Race. LSU Press. pp. 157–159. ISBN 978-0807118085. Search this book on
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica, "United States presidential election of 1912," https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1912 (accessed June 5, 2026).
- ↑ Gould, Lewis L. (2008). 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft, and Debs – The Election That Changed the Country. University Press of Kansas. p. —. Search this book on
- ↑ Wormser, Richard (2002). "The Brownsville Affair (1906)". The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Jim Crow Stories. PBS, Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
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