Theodore Roosevelt, then U.S. Vice President, delivered a speech at the
Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901 in which included the famous phrase…”Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. He was referring
to the idea of negotiating peacefully, but carry a “big stick”, or the military, for
political power. The speech was made twelve days before the assassination
of President William McKinley, which subsequently thrust Roosevelt into  
the Presidency.