Brenden Cofer
Mr. Ford
Dual Credit US History 1301
November 1, 2018
The Monroe Doctrine
The United States enjoyed a prosperous and peaceful time after the War of 1812, which was known as The Era of Good Feelings. The end of another war with Britain brought a sense of unity and purpose which was shared among all Americans. It was a time for expanding our nation, defining our boundaries and protecting our people.
During his annual message to congress on December 2, 1823, President James Monroe cautioned them about the threat of expansion by European nations in the Western Hemisphere. The letter he read, which was later called The Monroe Doctrine, introduced The United States policy toward European interference in the Western Hemisphere. The document was named for President Monroe, who is credited with writing it. Monroe’s Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams is also given credit for the content. It is believed Thomas Jefferson also had a role in the creation of the document because he was a close and trusted advisor to the president. (Shrock, Randall. “The Monroe Doctrine.” Monroe Doctrine, 2000, autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy3/E64ContentFiles/UnitedStatesHistory/MonroeDoctrine.html)
It’s purpose was to warn Europe from interfering in the Western Hemisphere and other interest of the United States. Secretary Adams was successful in convincing President Monroe to create a policy so European countries, like Spain, would not try to colonize any new territory in the Western Hemisphere. Many former colonies of Spain had won their independence which benefited the United States and Britain with free trade of goods.
Monroe presented four important ideas to congress in his letter: The United States would not get involved in European affairs; The United States would not interfere with European colonies that already existed in the Western Hemisphere; No other nation could form a new colony In the Western Hemisphere; and if a European nation tried to interfere with a nation in the Western Hemisphere, the United States would view it as a hostile act. Even though Monroe’s letter was read to congress, the message was meant for the world to hear. His statement about the people in the West “are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers” was directly aimed at the European countries that wanted to profit from the rich lands of The Americas. (Library of Congress http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/monroe/aa_monroe_doctrine_3.html)
Monroe wrote this letter as a formal statement in his annual address to members of congress. With the United States in a peacetime status, Monroe must have assumed most congressmen understood his ideas. But, an average citizen at that time would probably not be able to understand everything he wrote about. Monroe and Adams were very thorough about the details of the letter. They weren’t just thinking about the present status of the nation but years in the future. The letter is a very reliable source of the events of the time.
The United States was a new country that earned it freedom less than fifty years before Monroe wrote this letter establishing its place in the world as a dominant force. The document has direct and strong language about what the leaders of this country expected from the European nations.
From the letter to congress, Monroe’s words state the action the United States would take, “It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense. With the movements in this hemisphere we are of necessity more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers.” (“Founding Era.” Teaching American History, teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/monroe-doctrine/)
The citizens of the United States were not ready to loose the freedom and happiness they fought so hard for. Monroe also included the new territories and governments that had won their independence from Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe in this letter to congress. Our young nation was taking on the role of guardian and peacekeeper for the Western Hemisphere.
At the time it was written, Monroe’s letter was an unnamed document. During this time, the U.S. did not have the military strength to enforce the policy and the rest of the world didn’t pay much attention to its contents. (Library of Congress http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/monroe/aa_monroe_doctrine_3.html)
The letter didn’t serve any real purpose until the 1840’s. This is when presidents John Tyler and James Polk used the policies in the document for protecting our interests in the expansion of our nation and earning it the name of The Monroe Doctrine. Tyler applied the doctrine against France and Britain when they were trying to prevent the U.S. annexation of Texas. Polk used the doctrine against British attempts to colonize California and Oregon. In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, the United States intervened in boundary disputes and financial crisis in the region. But by the 1920s some Latin American countries began to protest the United States’ interference in their affairs. (Shrock, Randall. “The Monroe Doctrine.”
Monroe Doctrine, 2000, autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy3/E64ContentFiles/UnitedStatesHistory/MonroeDoctrine.html)
Pan Americanism, acting with other American nations, was born during World War II and it declared that an attack on one American nation was an attack on all. In 1948, the Organization of American States was formed to achieve the same goals of the Monroe Doctrine through Pan Americanism. (Shrock, Randall. “The Monroe Doctrine.” Monroe Doctrine, 2000, autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy3/E64ContentFiles/UnitedStatesHistory/MonroeDoctrine.html)
With the rise of Communist threats in Cuba in 1961, the United States no longer consulted its allies in Latin America. It acted alone with actions against Cuba, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Again, in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan publicly upheld the Monroe Doctrine as the United States opposed Communism in the Western Hemisphere.
This summer, I watched the HBO series about the life of John Adams. I was interested in the period of time following the Revolutionary War and learning what the founding fathers did for our nation after the war. I chose the Monroe Doctrine because of the influence John Quincy Adams, John Adams son, had on President Monroe. While I was doing research, I learned that he had become the 6th president of the United States after Monroe’s second term was over.
The Monroe Doctrine has great historical importance because it set a clearly defined policy for the United States to use in the future. It let Europe and the rest of the world know we would defend this Hemisphere from interference or invasion and protect our interests and its neighbors too. It was written so well that it did not loose its meaning as times changed and the world grew more crowded. The Monroe Doctrine was one of the models our nation used to become a superpower in the world.