Historical Significance of the Monroe Doctrine Essay

The true intention of the Monroe Doctrine was to make the U.S.’s position clear on where they stood on foreign affairs, but that changed as soon as other land was left for grabs. This document was created in 1823 in order to solidify the stance of the United States which was neutral in a conflict. The conflict was Europe wanted Latin America, but Latin America wanted to be their own countries. The next conflict that is important to this argument is Texas Independence. In the 1830’s Mexico wanted to increase national government by offering land grants to Americans and Mexicans and this eventually lead to Texas wanting to be separated from Mexico.

The United States fifth president, James Monroe, wrote the Monroe Doctrine. He wrote it as a response to the Czar of Russia diplomatic inquiries. The Czar of Russia’s inquiries involved how the United States would answer if European colonization were restarted in the Western Hemisphere. In the Monroe Doctrine, President Monroe responded, in the seventh annual message to congress, by proclaiming four very important points. The first point was that the United States would not get involved in European dealings. Monroe stated that they would not be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. He went on to say that they would do well in their efforts among those to be considered equal among like nations of the earth. Monroe took a strong stance toward the independence of the United States. He also challenged

The Monroe Doctrine expressed the idea that new countries should be allowed to develop without interference from any stronger nations. The Monroe Doctrine is a doctrine that European nations should not interfere with American nations or try to acquire more territory in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was derived from President James Monroe's message in Congress on December 2, 1823 and became a part of the United States foreign policy. Earlier in the Unit they asked me to give the 4 key points made in the Monroe Doctrine. And these are the points President James Monroe made. One that America never took apart of the European power struggles, neither did it agree with the policy they had to do so. Two they had not interfered with the other European colonization. Three that the American continents had not nor would they interfere with the other European power. Four, finally they would consider any attempt by any European power dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States of America.

In this essay I will be explaining to you all on how the Monroe Doctrine came to be, who the document was authored by and how they gained the inspiration and where he got his ideas for this document from. I will explain what nations were affected by the policies of the Doctrine which I will explain in a little bit. I will explain how this document helped the Mexican President Juarez in successfully revolting against the Emperor Maximillian of the French. I will also cover how the British affected the document and also how President Roosevelt wanted to extend the Doctrine with his “Roosevelt Corollary.”

Monroe Doctrine: statement issued by President James Monroe stating that the Western Hemisphere was off limits to further European intervention

In this document, Monroe mentions that if Europe intervened in any way, that the United States would view it as an unfriendly act against the United States. This remained the cornerstone of American foreign policy for many decades.

In 1823, President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, creating the basis for future foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine stated that “the American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers” (1). This means that Europe can not claim anymore land in the Americas, protecting the US from being encroached upon from other foreign countries during this period of colonization. Even though the US would not be able to militarily defend the doctrine and itself from European Powers, this fake image of power kept Europe out for the most part. The Doctrine was issued due to occurring events and existing ideas in the 1800s.

On December 18, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was issued by President James Monroe in his message to Congress. Although written by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, he decided to name it after the President. The Monroe Doctrine was written as a result of George Canning's offer to jointly protect Latin America with the UK, which we blatantly denied. Global issues such as the French Revolution, War of 1812 and the Mexican Independence Revolution all contributed to the making of the Monroe Doctrine by reminding us of George Washington's warning against making any permanent alliances or agreements with any foreign country.

James Monroe, the current president in 1823, read a message at a meeting with the 18th Congress on December 2, 1832. This message as we know is called the Monroe Doctrine. This message included a warning to the European nation not to meddle with the Western Hemisphere, saying "that the American continents, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers." (Web Guides) It also was a way to increase nationalism. At the time, James Monroe mentioned that the main goal of this message was to meet the problems and concerns at the time. (Milestone Documents)

For starters, the Monroe Doctrine further clarified the position of the United States, and shared an initial response when the problem arose about settlements within North America. Since 1821, Britain and Russia’s movement along the Pacific caught President Monroe’s eye.

Nations in Europe were against the Monroe Doctrine as those who had independence in the western hemisphere were going to retain it. The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy that opposed European colonization in The Americas beginning in 1823. Any attempt by a European power to oppress or control any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as hostile against the United States. However, European countries could view the United States recognizing and not interfering with their existing colonies positively. Monroe states, “In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so.” By stating this in the doctrine, European countries would not be pleased considering that America would not get involved in the internal affairs of or the wars between European powers. European countries were upset as they could no longer colonize The Americas for territory, resources, and wealth.

During the early year of the nineteenth century, aside from Mexico, almost every other important colony in Latin America gained independence from its Mother country in Europe. However, as this occurred, certain powerful monarchies in Europe threatened to stamp out representative governments if they developed in the old colonies. That was the reason that in 1823, President James Monroe issued his now-famous policy statement called The Monroe Doctrine. In it, Monroe warned the European power that he would considered any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. In other words, the Monroe Doctrine warned the European monarchies that they could expect a strong response from

Throughout the document, Monroe directly says “In the wars of European powers in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy to do so” meaning the U.S. will not partake or interfere with any European fight. However, this does not mean we will not defend ourselves or our neighbors if European powers made efforts to rule land within our areas of interest. Monroe relayed this important and powerful statement as “…to the defense of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens…this whole nation is devoted.” The issue of any potential attempt to colonize within our hemisphere would have been seen as a threat, which the U.S. would react to as such in the defense of our republic. On the other hand, Monroe did state he would not interfere with any European colonies that were already in existence within the Americans, but they could not continue expansion.

In the official Monroe Doctrine, it states that the United states did not seek to control any other countries they merely wanted to protect smaller countries against other major countries that wanted to imperialize them (Document K). The purpose of this document is to announce that America will no longer abide to the wishes of other countries, that they will assert their own opinions and take control on matters. The Americans used to be dominated by Britain and understand the struggle of being an effect of imperialism and have now made it their job to protect other countries who have a disadvantage. Richard Rush in the Memoranda of a Residence of the Court of London explains that America does not want Latin America to remain under the control of Spain, any other country, or themselves they want Latin America to govern themselves (Document B). The intended audience of his letter was the courts of London in an attempt to gain their support to help make Spain secede their right to the Latin American colonies. The United States wanted to charter more support behind their actions to help protect Latin American and thought that London would make a good ally un suppressing Spain. While the Monroe Doctrine was being proposed, other major powers did not want to interfere with Latin America’s colonization in fear that they would no longer be allies with Spain. In conclusion, America has a precedent in becoming involved in other countries affairs since implementing the Monroe

The Roosevelt Corollary greatly affected American foreign policy. It was in sharp contrast to the Monroe Doctrine, put in place to stop foreign intervention with the American continents. In 1823 President Monroe implemented US policy that stated European powers were not allowed to colonize or interfere with the newly budding United States or the Americas. In 1904 President Roosevelt expanded upon this policy in response to European intervention with Latin America. This policy became known as the Roosevelt Corollary. The document echoed the style of leadership President Roosevelt became synonymous with. This more aggressive form of policy became known as Big Stick Diplomacy. Foreign policy in the United States would forever be