Signs of Crisis in the Gilded Age

The one document that stood out to me in this section was the letter penned by Ruben Dario to Teddy Roosevelt. This is because it is in the form of poetry, which is new in the course. Dario, in a way, tells Roosevelt, that "Yes, you are strong and when the US shouts, "the sound is like the roar of a lion"." But he goes on to say that "our America lives. And dreams. And loves. And it is the daughter of the Sun. Be careful." By "our America", he is referring to Latin America. He is is saying "no" to the looming danger of North America taking over.
He also mentions poetry, which I find interesting ("But our own America, which has had poets since the ancient times of Nezahualcóyolt"). He goes on to talk about culture. By this, Dario shows that the strength of a group people is not based just on military power or financial status, but also on the richness of culture and traditions, which is what keeps people together. The Latin Americans are "A thousand cubs of the Spanish lion are roaming free", and a big number of cubs can easily take down a big monster lion like the United States, especially when they are connected by culture and tradition. He even manages to make North Americans come across as barbaric and primitive, with the line "O Men with Saxon eyes and barbarous souls," which is usually the opposite of what we've seen in history, where it is the indigenous in Latin America that are seen as uncivilized (barbaric also assumed).
His language is also that of poet: very ornate and almost mythical. I feel like the fact that he used poetry shows how strong culture can be in the strength of a people.