All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly, and prosperous. Any country
whose people conduct themselves well can count upon
our hearty friendship. If a nation shows that it knows how
to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social and
political matters, if it keeps order and pays its obligations,
it need fear no interference from the United States. Chronic
wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general
loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America,
as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some
civilized nation.
-President Theodore Roosevelt, "Message to Congress,"
December 6, 1904
This statement was intended to justify which type of policy?
A. Laissez-faire
B. Democracy
C. Nationalism
D. Imperialism