In December 1907, in a show meant to demonstrate American prowess, Roosevelt sent sixteen U.S. battleships on a tour of the world. When the Great White Fleet stopped in Tokyo in1908, Japanese and American officials signed the Root-Takahira Agreement, in which both countries agreed to respect the Open Door policy in China and each other’s territorial integrity in the Pacific.

Popular pages: The Gilded Age & the Progressive Era (1877–1917)