Wilson was particularly stubborn about forcing democracy on others. He disliked the Mexican leader Victoriano Huerta because his rule did not reflect the wishes of his people, so he encouraged anti-Huerta forces in Northern Mexico. Roosevelt wanted to export American values and ideas in an attempt to benefit the world. He thought force should be used to persuade, just like Wilson when he sent forces to weaken Huerta’s control. The only difference was that Roosevelt acted aggressively in foreign affairs and even acted without the consent of Congress sometimes.
Roosevelt and Wilson had similar intentions for the United States and its relation to Latin America but their actions to reach them were divergent. Roosevelt’s character can be summed up in his famous quote “speak softly and carry a big stick” to show his forceful actions against other nations, and Wilson can be thought of as man who acted on moral principle rather than selfish materialism. Though these leaders forced Latin America to side with them with principles like the Monroe doctrine, they fought against violence and economic inefficiency and did improve conditions in these