Theodore Roosevelt Quotes
I did not intend that Uncle Sam be held up while he was doing great work for himself and all mankind.
America had reached an agreement with Colombia to buy the Canal Zone to built an inter-ocean canal. There was great momentum in the US and much of the world for such a project. But the ever changing government of Colombia decided to reneg on the agreement and demanded more money. Roosevelt felt that the United States was being “held up” and so he supported a small insurgent group in Panama who declared Panama independence from Colombia. President Roosevelt sent an American warship to be sure that the Colombians could not land forces and put down the revolution. Roosevelt then negotiated a treaty for the Panama with the new revolutionary government of Panama. This divided American public opinion much of which thought that in effect Roosevelt, not liking the terms the Colombian owners of Panama insisted upon, just took Panama through the fiction of a revolution. TR thereafter always tried to explain his actions. See {589008} for additional material.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, 26th President of the United States (Republican, NY), Describing his policies with respect to the Panama Canal
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
See {588984} for more on the Canal.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., often referred to as Teddy or his initials T. R., was an American statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously served as 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 and the 25th vice president of the United States from March to September 1901. Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies.
