The cartoon below was published in the early 1900s:

image of president theodore roosevelt carrying a large bat with the words "big stick" written on it. roosevelt appears to be walking across the caribbean sea pulling a train of ships with the words "the receiver" and "debt collector" written on them. along the shore of the sea, the following countries are labeled: santo domingo, cuba, mexico, panama, and venezuela. roosevelt’s size is quite large in relation to the caribbean sea and the countries along the shore
public domain

why does this cartoon depict roosevelt carrying his “big stick” through the caribbean?

roosevelt believed that an aggressive foreign policy was needed to prevent caribbean nations from incurring major debts with european nations.
roosevelt believed that a strong military presence in the caribbean was needed to protect the united states from attack by latin american nations.
roosevelt felt that the united states had a moral responsibility to protect citizens from civil unrest in caribbean nations.
roosevelt wanted to seize control of resources available in the caribbean to promote u. s. business interests.