Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley and was elected in his own right in 1904. A committed proponent of an isthmian canal, he grew impatient when the Colombian senate rejected the Hay-Herran Treaty in August 1903 over its terms for a canal concession, and gave tacit approval to a Panamanian separatist movement, positioning US naval vessels to deter Colombian troops from suppressing the November 1903 uprising. The United States recognised the new Republic of Panama within days and quickly concluded the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty granting it control of a canal zone, allowing construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914) to proceed. Roosevelt later defended his methods bluntly, telling a Berkeley audience in 1911 that he had 'took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal but to debate me,' a remark that became emblematic of his 'big stick' approach to Latin America.

• Lived: 1858 CE – 1919 CE
• Nationality: american
• Roles: President of the United States (1901-1909)