The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

The contest for the 1912 presidential election was a varied one: A former president, Roosevelt, was running as the Progressive candidate against his former vice president and current US president, William Taft; the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson; and the populist Democratic Socialist Eugene V. Debs. Roosevelt drew energetic crowds wherever he went. In an age before polling, he thought that he would win. Although he won 27% of the vote in the best showing for a third party in American history aside from Abraham Lincoln, he lost to Wilson. It was a crushing defeat because his Republican friends blamed him for splitting the Republican Party’s vote. The once-celebrated persona was suddenly isolated.

Given his policies as president, it was somewhat ironic that Roosevelt chose to go on a speaking tour of South America and launch an expedition there. Roosevelt’s policies toward the region were imperialistic. He had no compunction against interfering in the domestic affairs of any country in the Western Hemisphere in pursuit of American interests. Indeed, he even codified this interventionist policy with the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (See: Index of Terms), which had simply forbidden Europe from intervening in the affairs of countries in the Western Hemisphere. He interfered in Panama’s politics, fomenting a revolution to ensure American control of the Canal Zone. When confronted with protesters on his speaking tour, Roosevelt was unapologetic and defended his policies robustly.

Roosevelt also had no hesitation about entering the territories of Indigenous peoples, who might be hostile, on his expedition. Had the Cinta Larga attacked the expedition, it can be assumed that Roosevelt would not have followed Rondon’s instructions to die rather than fight back. However, the Cinta Larga would likely have prevailed had they attacked, and thus it was their non-interference that ensured the success of the expedition.