Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine, expressed in 1823, proclaimed that the Americas should be closed to future European colonization and free from European interference in sovereign countries' affairs. It further stated the United States' intention to stay neutral in European wars and in wars between European powers and their colonies but to consider any new colonies or interference with independent countries in the Americas as hostile acts toward the United States. It was issued by President James Monroe during his seventh annual address to Congress.

Legacy

Although it would take decades to coalesce into an identifiable policy, John Quincy Adams did raise a standard of an independent U.S. foreign policy so strongly that future administrations could not ignore it. One should note, however, that the policy succeeded because it met British interests as well as those of the United States and, for the next 100 years, was secured by the backing of the Royal Navy.

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The first use of the yet unnamed doctrine was in 1836, when Americans objected to Britain's alliance with Texas on the principle of the Monroe Doctrine.

Related Topics:
1836 - Texas

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On December 2, 1845, US President James Polk announced to Congress that the principle of the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced and that the United States should aggressively expand into the West (see Manifest Destiny).

Related Topics:
December 2 - 1845 - James Polk - Manifest Destiny

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In 1852 some politicians used the principle of the Monroe Doctrine to argue for forcefully removing the Spanish out of Cuba.

Related Topics:
1852 - Cuba

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Between 1864 and 1867, Napoleon III invaded Mexico and set up a puppet regime, and Americans proclaimed this as a violation of "The Doctrine" (See Maximilian Affair). This was the first time the Monroe Doctrine was widely referred to as a "Doctrine".

Related Topics:
1864 - 1867 - Napoleon III - Invaded Mexico - Maximilian Affair

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In the 1870s, President Ulysses S. Grant extended the Monroe Doctrine, saying that the U.S. will not tolerate a colony being transferred from one European country to another.

Related Topics:
1870s - Ulysses S. Grant

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In 1895, U.S. Secretary of State Richard Olney extended the Monroe Doctrine to give the U.S. authority to mediate border disputes in South America. This is known as the Olney interpretation.

Related Topics:
1895 - U.S. Secretary of State - Richard Olney - South America - Olney interpretation

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The Drago Doctrine was announced in 1902 by the Foreign Minister of Argentina. Extending the Monroe Doctrine, it set forth the policy that no European power could use force against an American nation to collect debt.

Related Topics:
Drago Doctrine - 1902 - Argentina

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In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted the right of the U.S. to intervene in Latin America. This is the largest extension that has ever been added to the Monroe Doctrine.

Related Topics:
1904 - Theodore Roosevelt - Roosevelt Corollary

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In 1930 the Clark Memorandum was released, concluding that the Doctrine did not give the United States any right to intervene in Latin American affairs when the region was not threatened by Old World powers, thereby reversing the Roosevelt Corollary.

Related Topics:
1930 - Clark Memorandum

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