Neighbor makes clear which countries Roosevelt considered barbarian: the Carib- bean, Central and South American states. As he saw it, there was an American „duty toward the people living in barbarism to see that they are freed from their chains, and we can free them only by destroying barbarism itself.“[104]  As revisionist historian William A.Williams concludes, their ‘barbarism’ consisted in not being „organized to link up with the modern industrial system in a practical and efficient manner. It was economically necessary to change them in certain ways and to a limited degree if the fruits of expansion were to be harvested.“[105]

   In 1902 this necessity became evident. The Venezuelan government had taken up loans from the governments of Great Britain, Germany and Italy. Now it seemed that it would default on those debts and the three nations decided to make Venezuela pay. They sent battleships into the Caribbean and intended to block the Venezuelan coast until the money was paid back. In the United States the public was outraged over what they saw as an infringement of the Monroe-Doctrine. The president mean- while feared that this crisis might become a precedent  if the financial instability in the Caribbean was not checked and might invite regular European intervention.
For now he contended himself with threatening to sent the Navy to Venezuela to chase the Europeans out of waters of the Western hemisphere. But the need for change persisted.[106]

   Germany seemed to be a special menace to U.S. hegemony in the Americas and especially the Caribbean which Americans had come to consider as their ‘backyard’ [107] and were particularly sensitive about. Kaiser Wilhelm was building a strong navy which was to help him in his imperial ambitions, his search for ‘a place in the sun’. He was getting into conflict with just about every-one , everywhere he and his navy appeared. And now he had turned up in American waters.[108]

   In 1904 a new crisis appeared. In Santo Domingo (now: Dominican Republic) the business interests of German, French and American ventures clashed. The Roosevelt administration intervened directly on behalf of the U.S. banks and shipping compa- nies. These foreign quarrels upset the Santo Domingan population and riots erup- ted. Roosevelt now believed he had some ‘policeman’ work to do.[109]  On Decem- ber 6, 1904, Roosevelt revealed his intentions to Congress in what come to be known as the ‘Roosevelt Corollary’ to the Monroe-Doctrine:

„It is not true that the United States feels any land hunger(..). All this country
desires is to see its neighboring countries stable, orderly and prosperous. Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society (..) [and] the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercice of an international police power.(...) We would interfere only (..) if it became evident that their inability or unwillingness to do justice at home and abroad had violated the rights of the United States or had invited foreign aggression.“[110]

   Santo Domingo felt the impact first. It had to cede the right to collect customs to the United States who would then distribute them according to its notion of ‘sensi- ble budget planning.’ The U.S. had found a compromise between non-intervention and imperialistic control and effectively erected a protectorate over Santo Domin-go.[111]

   The Roosevelt Corollary established a particular form of imperialism as the ratio- nale for coping with Latin American states; instead of outright colonization or ter- ritorial seizure, the U.S. turned the continent into its exclusive sphere of influence through military presence and economic influence. American banks, fruit and mining companies would penetrate the economies of those states and knew they had an ally in the federal government, whenever their interests would be threatened by ‘wrongdoing or impotence’. More than 20 times would this ally use its force to ‘sort things out’ in Latin America until 1920.[112]

   Walter LaFeber remarks that in many ways, the Roosevelt Corollary represents a historic break with the original Monroe Doctrine and a reflection of Roosevelt’s ideas of civilization as well as an anticipation of  20th century U.S. policy toward Latin America. While Monroe was favorable to revolutions that propelled the for- mer colonies into the democratic age, Roosevelt opposed them as a cause for disor- der and favored strong governments which often turned out to be dictatorships. The Monroe-Doctrine forbade all intervention, hemispheric or non-hemispheric, whereas Roosevelt’s version declared U.S. intervention to be a rightful means of establishing and maintaining his sense of order. President Monroe wanted U.S. economic power to enter and profit from Latin American markets, his counterpart of 80 years later wanted to exert total control over them. A Monroe-Doctrine led foreign policy had no use for military involvement as it respected the integrity of internal affairs, the Rooseveltian course heavily depended on the use of force as it was considered the only way of cleaning up the messy internal affairs. And as an internal U.S. develop-
ment, the president had largely extended his constitutional powers. He often didn’t even care to consult Congress but simply acted as he deemed right.

   In 1911 the new version of the Monroe-Doctrine was once more amended as Senate passed the ‘Lodge Corollary’ prohibiting the sale of any strategic (a flexible expres- sion!) area to any non-hemispheric company that could act as an agent for a foreign government.[113]

   Americans had clearly shown to Latin Americans and Europeans alike their deter- mination to exert influence by the use of force in the internal affairs of sovereign sta- tes in order to restore what Americans considered stability and security. Instead of fostering a stable order, this policy upset Latin Americans and was itself the reason for much of the turmoil this region experienced.
Another case exemplifies how the United States tried to have things go its way.