New Map Explores the History of Presidential Trips Abroad
From Teddy Roosevelt’s visit to Panama in 1906 to Trump’s trip this week, U.S. presidents have made more than 900 visits to foreign places.
In taking his first trip abroad as president this week, Donald Trump joins a long tradition. Since Teddy Roosevelt went to Panama in 1906 to inspect construction work on the Panama Canal, U.S. presidents have made 921 visits to foreign places, including the nine on Trump’s itinerary. A new interactive map allows you to explore where the presidents—and their secretaries of state—have gone.
One thing that stands out is the dramatic increase in presidential travel after World War II. The obvious explanation is the advent of jet aircraft, which shortened trips and put the entire globe within reach, says Robert Nelson, director of the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond, which created the map. But the shift also