Week 4

This past week in Latin American Civilization we’ve been learning about the Spanish-American War and Theodore Roosevelt. It was very interesting to hear and talk about the United States president from a different angle and to think about him in a modern perspective. Theodore Roosevelt was aggressive and pig-headed, he got what he needed to get done done and he didn’t care what anyone had to say otherwise. He believed that his way was the only right way and anything else was unacceptable. For these traits he was highly revered in the United States as he exemplified a lot of how we identified ourselves at the time. That being said, as we read about his behavior towards other countries, particularly Cuba it begins to change my perspective a little. Additionally, now when I think of Roosevelt, I can help but draw similarities between him and Trump. They both are presidents who ran without the support of their entire party and who are incredibly active. I can’t help but wonder how we in the United States would react to the election of Theodore Roosevelt now. Would there be as much backlash as there is for the current president? Will Trump be held with the same esteem as Roosevelt one day? It’s interesting to see how it all plays out. That being said, I greatly hope that Trump doesn’t push an imperial agenda as hard as Roosevelt, though the times of imperialism seem to be over. Although, our relations with Latin American countries could potentially be very interesting in the next few years.