Roosevelt's "Smart Yankee Trick"

Abstract

PERHAPS NEVER in his presidential career was President Theodore Roosevelt so deeply involved in affairs of member states of British Empire as in early months of 1908. He was, at time, gravely concerned over Japanese-American relations, recently soured by issue of Japanese migration into United States. The Japanophobia then current, which manifested itself in such actions as effort of San Francisco School Board to establish segregated schools for Orientals, had brought about much of tension, and although Roosevelt had no sympathy with actions of San Franciscans, he could not ignore bitter feeling in California and other western states over issue of Oriental migration, nor dangers to Japanese-American relations arising from this feeling.' In end, he was able to bring about some abatement of tension by conclusion of Gentlemen's Agreement, and to diminish possibility of further disputes with Japan through Root-Takahira agreement of 1908. But he was unsure of good faith of Japan in enforcement of migration understanding, and in movement of American naval forces to Pacific in 1908 and their subsequent voyage around globe, there was an obvious use of Big Stick as an encouragement to Japan to respect terms of agreement. In midst of negotiations with Japan and flourishing of Big Stick, however, Roosevelt was operating on another level. He sought also creation of a form of common front among English-speaking nations concerned as was United States with matter of Japanese migration, and conceived of what he described as a convention among these nations so that the Asiatic peoples would not come to English-speaking countries to settle, and our own people would not go to theirs. It was an effort entirely in accord with his belief in need to protect what he regarded as superior civilization nurtured among English-speaking peoples, and with his other activities calculated to further growth of an Anglo-American entente.