By 1904 the United States had the economic scale and commercial interests to move beyond a narrowly continental policy. Coastal trade, overseas routes, and the Panama Canal made maritime movement central even to exchanges between parts of the United States. Cargo could move around South America or, when storms or sensitive loads made a calmer route preferable, across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, and Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Flexible presidential statements suited foreign policy because Americans valued constitutional restraints at home while accepting greater executive latitude in dealings abroad.
Notable Point · 1:03:39-1:06:46
Maritime commerce pushed the doctrine toward Pax Americana
Roosevelt's stronger policy reflected an economy and trading system that increasingly required oceanic access, naval investment, and global reach.