Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe's annual message to Congress on 2 December 1823 contained what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. It made two key declarations: first, that the American continents were "henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonisation by any European powers"; second, that the United States would regard any European attempt to extend its political system to the Americas as "dangerous to our peace and safety." The doctrine was drafted primarily by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams in response to concerns about the Holy Alliance's potential to restore Spanish control over the newly independent Latin American states, and about Russian expansion along the Pacific coast. Britain, which also opposed European intervention in Latin America (for commercial reasons), effectively guaranteed the doctrine with its naval power. At the time, the doctrine went largely unnoticed in Europe. Over the following century, however, it became the cornerstone of US hemispheric foreign policy, invoked to justify interventions in Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, and elsewhere. The Roosevelt Corollary of 1904 extended it to assert an American right to intervene in Latin American affairs.
- Year: 1823 CE
- Category: Political
