Rough Riders and Nation Building

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Why the United States shouldn’t be involved in nation-building The Rough Riders and Nation-Building The most famous unit fighting in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, the Rough Riders were the first U.S. volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Led by former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, the scene in this picture shows Roosevelt’s dismounted cavalry troops atop San Juan Hill. The Battle at San Juan Hill proved difficult but was a decisive victory that led to the liberation of Cuba. The Rough Riders, formed along with other military regiments in response to the Spanish declaration of war against the United States of America in 1898, were a part of a larger military buildup ordered by President William McKinley. President McKinley’s justification to Congress for authority to intervene in the Cuban Crisis was clearly defined in a policy written nearly 80 years earlier. During the infancy of our young nation, President James Monroe created and distributed a doctrine outlining the restrictions and consequences of any world powers attempt at that time to try to reclaim and settle Latin America. President Monroe created this doctrine with the mindset that any reclamation of the Latin America by European nations would lead to the eventual takeover of America itself. The declarations stated that the U.S. would not get involved with the affairs of Europe, and that “We should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety” (Monroe Doctrine 1823). With this doctrine the United States and President James Monroe made it clear to European nations as well as the rest of the world that a threat to Latin America was indeed a threat to the United States of America sovereignty and with such an act all alliances and peace would be breached. The success of this policy led to
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