Which policy extended the right to intervene in Latin America and became associated with Roosevelt?

• A. Moral imperialism
• B. Panama Canal Zone
• C. U.S.S. Maine
• D. Roosevelt Corollary

Answer: (D)

The policy being tested is Roosevelt’s assertion that the United States could intervene in Latin American affairs to stabilize the region and prevent European powers from intervening. This became known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Building on the Monroe Doctrine’s warning against European involvement in the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelt argued that the U.S. would act as an international police power to right financial and political disturbances in Latin American countries if their instability might invite European intervention. This approach reflected his “big stick” diplomacy and led to American interventions in several Caribbean nations in the early 1900s.

The other options don’t fit this concept: the idea of moral imperialism describes a broader attitude toward imperialism, not a formal policy; the Panama Canal Zone is a region created by treaty and is not a policy itself; the U.S.S. Maine was a warship associated with the Spanish-American War, not a policy.