Monroe Doctrine, 1823 - Office of the Historian

Monroe Doctrine, 1823 ... In his December 2, 1823, address to Congress, President James Monroe articulated United States' policy on the new political order ... Menu Menu Home HistoricalDocuments ForeignRelationsoftheUnitedStates Aboutthe ForeignRelationsSeries Current StatusoftheForeignRelationsSeries Historyofthe ForeignRelationsSeries EbooksInitiative Quarterly Releases DepartmentHistory Overview Administrative Timeline Biographies oftheSecretariesofState PrincipalOfficersandChiefsofMission Travelsof theSecretaryofState Travelsof thePresident VisitsbyForeignHeads ofState WorldWarIandthe Department Buildingsofthe DepartmentofState U.S. DiplomaticCouriers GuidetoCountries GuidetoCountryRecognitionand Relations WorldWideDiplomaticArchives Index MoreResources BrowseResourcesbySubjectTag Conferences ContactUs DeveloperResources&APIs EducationalResources FrequentlyAskedQuestions KeyMilestones OpenGovernmentInitiative AShortHistory oftheDepartment AboutUs Home Milestones 1801-1829 MonroeDoctrine,1823 Milestones:1801–1829 NOTETOREADERS “MilestonesintheHistoryofU.S.ForeignRelations”hasbeen retiredandisnolongermaintained.Formoreinformation,pleaseseethefullnotice. MonroeDoctrine,1823 InhisDecember2,1823,addresstoCongress,PresidentJamesMonroe articulatedUnitedStates’policyonthenewpoliticalorderdevelopinginthe restoftheAmericasandtheroleofEuropeintheWesternHemisphere. PresidentJamesMonroe Thestatement,knownastheMonroeDoctrine,waslittlenotedbytheGreatPowers ofEurope,buteventuallybecamealongstandingtenetofU.S.foreignpolicy. MonroeandhisSecretaryofStateJohnQuincyAdams drewuponafoundationofAmericandiplomaticidealssuchasdisentanglement fromEuropeanaffairsanddefenseofneutralrightsasexpressedinWashington’s FarewellAddressandMadison’sstatedrationaleforwagingtheWarof1812.Thethreemain conceptsofthedoctrine—separatespheresofinfluencefortheAmericasand Europe,non-colonization,andnon-intervention—weredesignedtosignifyaclear breakbetweentheNewWorldandtheautocraticrealmofEurope.Monroe’s administrationforewarnedtheimperialEuropeanpowersagainstinterferingin theaffairsofthenewlyindependentLatinAmericanstatesorpotentialUnited Statesterritories.WhileAmericansgenerallyobjectedtoEuropeancoloniesin theNewWorld,theyalsodesiredtoincreaseUnitedStatesinfluenceandtrading tiesthroughouttheregiontotheirsouth.Europeanmercantilismposedthe greatestobstacletoeconomicexpansion.Inparticular,Americansfearedthat SpainandFrancemightreassertcolonialismovertheLatinAmericanpeopleswho hadjustoverthrownEuropeanrule.SignsthatRussiawasexpandingitspresence southwardfromAlaskatowardtheOregonTerritorywerealsodisconcerting. Fortheirpart,theBritishalsohadastronginterestinensuringthedemiseof Spanishcolonialism,withallthetraderestrictionsmercantilismimposed. Earlierin1823BritishForeignMinisterGeorgeCanningsuggestedtoAmericans thattwonationsissueajointdeclarationtodeteranyotherpowerfrom interveninginCentralandSouthAmerica.SecretaryofStateJohnQuincy Adams,however,vigorouslyopposedcooperationwithGreatBritain, contendingthatastatementofbilateralnaturecouldlimitUnitedStates expansioninthefuture.HealsoarguedthattheBritishwerenotcommittedto recognizingtheLatinAmericanrepublicsandmusthavehadimperialmotivations themselves. BritishForeignMinisterGeorgeCanning ThebilateralstatementproposedbytheBritishtherebybecameaunilateral declarationbytheUnitedStates.AsMonroestated:“TheAmerican continents…arehenceforthnottobeconsideredassubjectsforfuture colonizationbyanyEuropeanpowers.”Monroeoutlinedtwoseparate spheresofinfluence:theAmericasandEurope.Theindependentlandsofthe WesternHemispherewouldbesolelytheUnitedStates’domain.Inexchange,the UnitedStatespledgedtoavoidinvolvementinthepoliticalaffairsofEurope, suchastheongoingGreekstruggleforindependencefromtheOttomanEmpire,and nottointerfereintheexistingEuropeancoloniesalreadyintheAmericas. Bythemid-1800s,Monroe’sdeclaration,combinedwithideasofManifestDestiny, providedprecedentandsupportforU.S.expansionontheAmericancontinent.In thelate1800s,U.S.economicandmilitarypowerenabledittoenforcethe MonroeDoctrine.Thedoctrine’sgreatestextensioncamewithTheodore Roosevelt’sCorollary,whichinvertedtheoriginalmeaningofthe doctrineandcametojustifyunilateralU.S.interventioninLatinAmerica. TableofContents 1801–1829:SecuringtheRepublic BarbaryWars,1801–1805and1815–1816 NapoleonicWarsandtheUnitedStates,1803–1815 LouisianaPurchase,1803 Warof1812–1815 Rush-BagotPact,1817andConventionof1818 AcquisitionofFlorida:TreatyofAdams-Onis(1819) andTranscontinentalTreaty(1821) MonroeDoctrine,1823