The policy of American presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Taft (1909-1913) towards Latin American countries was particularly aggressive. At the same time, neither one nor the other hid their imperialist claims. In 1904, Roosevelt declared: “In the Western Hemisphere, the acceptance of the Monroe Doctrine by the United States may compel it… to perform international police functions.” President Taft added to this interpretation of the doctrine: "Our foreign policy… may safely resort to active intervention in order to enable our capitalists and our merchants to invest their capital profitably." The first formulated the essence of the policy, which was called the “big stick” policy, and the second – the essence of “dollar diplomacy.” The “big stick” policy was designed to forcefully provide the American imperialists with unimpeded investment of capital in Latin America and the exploitation of its wealth. “Dollar diplomacy” was used to ensure the security of American capital.