Theodore Roosevelt's Legacy in Foreign Policy

At the turn of the 20th century, Americans witnessed the rise of the United States as a great power. From an isolated nation to one that amassed the capability to fight destructive wars overseas, the Presidential administration of Theodore Roosevelt served as the hinge that enabled this transition. My thesis examines Theodore Roosevelt's influence on international relations and his impact on American leaders following his time in the White House. I discuss four foreign policy schools offered by Walter Russell Mead: Hamiltonians, Wilsonians, Jeffersonians, and Jacksonians; and I compare similarities and differences between each school while speculating the nature of Roosevelt's foreign policy. Focusing on Roosevelt's presidential successors who were in office during the Cold War, I identify tenets of Roosevelt's foreign policy echoed throughout the second half of the 20th century.