who said walk softly and carry a big stick

The phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” is commonly attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. He popularized it in public speech and writing, framing a diplomatic approach that pairs measured, courteous language with the credible threat or potential use of power to back it up. Roosevelt himself wrote that he had been fond of a West African proverb, and he first publicly used the idea in 1901 when addressing the Minnesota State Fair, later tying it to his broader foreign policy approach often described as “big stick diplomacy.”