Monroe Doctrine

Can powerful states declare their neighboring countries a sphere of influence? This key foreign-policy question emerged as part of the Monroe Doctrine—a document that formulated American perception of the Western hemisphere in the 19th century and beyond. President James Monroe announced this doctrine to the U.S. Congress on December 2, 1823. He advocated for the creation of spheres of influence, in which the United States sphere in the Americas was distinct from those of the Europeans in the Old World and their existent colonies elsewhere. Read on to learn more about the Monroe Doctrine's significance and impact on the course of history.

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Contents
Contents

A sphere of influence is a geographic region in which the impact of a particular country is deemed to be important or exclusive.

Monroe Doctrine, Fig. 1 - Uncle Sam stands with a rifle between the outrageously dressed European figures and the native-dress-wearing representatives of Nicaragua and Venezuela, Victor Gillam, 1896, StudySmarter.

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Fig. 1 - Uncle Sam stands with a rifle between the outrageously dressed European figures and the native-dress-wearing representatives of Nicaragua and Venezuela, Victor Gillam, 1896.

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When did President James Monroe articulate the Monroe Doctrine?

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Which President formulated the Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine?

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When was the Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine issued?

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Monroe Doctrine: Purpose

The purpose of the Monroe Doctrine, formulated in 1823 by the United States, was to establish the Western hemisphere inaccessible to European colonialism. The doctrine stated that Americans would not interfere in European affairs, reflecting Monroe's goal of avoiding engagement in European wars. By claiming the entire North and South America as its backyard, the United States followed a similar trajectory to that of the European great powers, thereby establishing a defensive posture in international relations

Today, American politicians do not typically invoke the Monroe Doctrine in an explicit way. However, their actions often display an implicit belief in the spheres of influence, in which they still perceive the Western hemisphere as their own.

Monroe Doctrine: Summary

Monroe Doctrine summary can be outlined in the three key points of President James Monroe's speech:

  1. North and South Americas are closed to European colonisation
  2. Any further attempt to extend European political systems in the Americas will be treated as a threat to the US peace and safety
  3. The United States would not interfere in European affairs

First, according to Monroe, North and South America were to be the domain of the United States and could not be colonized by Europeans from this point forward:

The occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers....”1

Second, should any such attempt at future colonization be made, it would justify a hostile response on the part of the United States:

We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.”2

Finally, Monroe declared the intention to refrain from engaging in European affairs as well as their colonial affairs abroad:

Our policy in regard to Europe, which we adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting in all instances the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none.” 3

Monroe Doctrine, Fig. 2 - James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, 1830-1842, StudySmarter.

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Fig. 2 - James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, 1830-1842.

Monroe Doctrine: Significance and Background

The significance of Monroe's doctrine lies in four important aspects:

Their combination provided a strong intellectual, commercial, and geopolitical foundation for articulating the Monroe Doctrine.

Geopolitics is a discipline that studies international relations by focusing on geography and politics.

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Monroe Doctrine

Political Thought of American Enlightenment

First, 18-century American intellectuals, including some of the Founding Fathers, analyzed the European political experience as part of the American Enlightenment. In turn, the American Enlightenment was part of the American Revolution (1776). As a result, they rejected the European models, such as the institution of aristocracy, criticized political corruption, and advocated for republicanism and individualism. One particular aspect of European affairs that American thinkers disparaged was the military conflicts between the European empires both in the Old World and in their colonies. Thus, the Monroe Doctrine had the intention to have an amicable relationship with the European powers while refraining from interfering in their affairs.

American Enlightenment was a time period in the 18th-19th century that displayed tremendous intellectual zeal in the realm of political thought, culture, society, philosophy, and natural sciences. This period was linked to the earlier European Enlightenment and shared its emphasis on:

  • Rationality
  • Individualism
  • Scientific exploration
  • Social progress

Early 19th-century International Relations

The immediate catalyst for the Monroe Doctrine was the multiple developments in international affairs at this time. Specifically, the United States was concerned about the activity of other countries in the Americas.

For instance, Russia discovered Alaska for settlement in 1732 and had since then engaged in various pursuits in that area—from fur trapping to modest missionary work carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church.

  • In 1821, Tsar Alexander I released an edict that the United States perceived negatively. The tsar declared the area north of the 51st parallel as Russian. This edict also sought to regulate foreign trade and ship movements in the region. Russia additionally displayed an interest in other parts of the North American west coast. It even had a small settlement called Fort Ross in California in 1812-1841. Americans saw Russian activities in the Pacific Northwest as a challenge to their own expansion and trade, and Tsar Alexander’s edict was one of the catalysts for the Monroe Doctrine.

However, Russia was not the only power that the United States perceived with concern. The Americans were also worried that Spain may attempt to reclaim its former colonies in Central and South America.

The most immediate example was Mexico, which became formally independent from Spain in 1821—the same year as Alexander I’s edict. A decade earlier, Venezuela gained its independence in 1810. Peru, which bore the most powerful Spanish footprint at one point, became free of Spain in 1821-1824.

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Monroe Doctrine

Manifest Destiny

The term "Manifest Destiny" was coined two decades following the Monroe Doctrine. The writer John O’Sullivan was an advocate of American expansion on the continent in 1845. However, this concept is relevant for two reasons. First, American expansion westward occurred prior to articulating the term.

For instance, the 1803 Louisiana Purchase by the U.S. government doubled the size of the United States. The subsequent Lewis and Clark expedition sought to explore these vast lands and to locate the northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.

Second, like President James Monroe, O’Sullivan disparaged the involvement of European powers in the internal affairs of the Western hemisphere. The concept of Manifest Destiny also had religious undercurrents and the belief in one’s superiority and the mission of continental expansion granted by God. Specifically, Manifest Destiny served as an intellectual source to dispossess the Indigenous people of North America of their land.

Monroe Doctrine, Fig. 3 - American Progress, John Gast, 1872 is an allegory depicting the modernization of the American west, StudySmarter.

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Fig. 3 - American Progress, John Gast, 1872 is an allegory depicting the modernization of the American west.

Monroe Doctrine: Trade

One of the central applications of the Monroe Doctrine was trade. Declaring Central and South America as the United States sphere of influence eventually translated into business monopolies by such corporate giants as the United Fruit Company (1899). Over time, the United Fruit Company and others like it came to dominate the Caribbean and Central America and control trade routes. The colloquial term “banana republic” used to describe the historic single-product economy in places like Guatemala or Costa Rica comes from the monopolistic behavior of the United Fruit Company as well as its competitors such as the Standard Fruit Company (present-day Dole Food Company). Therefore, the Monroe Doctrine served as a pretext to expand into Latin America and dominate parts of the region economically.

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Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Doctrine: Impact

The Monroe Doctrine had a significant impact on the foreign policy of the United States and, in consequence, the rest of the world. Some of the key impacts of the doctrine include:

  • The United States became as a major player in international affairs and asserted its dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
  • It prevented European colonization and intervention in the Americas, which helped newly independent nations establish their political systems
  • The Monroe Doctrine became a cornerstone of American foreign policy and was used by successive American presidents to justify interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • The impact of the Monroe Doctrine can still be felt today, as it remains an influential moment in US history and continues to shape its international relations in the region.

The Aftermath

The Monroe Doctrine led to other related developments in American foreign policy.

The Roosevelt’s Corollary

By the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt amended the Monroe Doctrine with what is referred to as Roosevelt’s Corollary. On December 6, 1904, the President delivered his own message to Congress just like his predecessor James Monroe decades earlier. Influenced by the European involvement in Venezuela, Roosevelt suggested that the United States has the right to intervene in Latin American countries up to and including military action. The initial spirit of the Monroe Doctrine was to protect the young United States. In contrast, the Roosevelt Corollary justified war as a way to maintain order in the region.

Monroe Doctrine,  Fig. 4 - "Hands Off! This in reality entails no new obligations upon us, for the Monroe Doctrine means precisely such a guarantee on our part." Political cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt using the Monroe Doctrine to keep European powers out of the Dominican Republic, Louis Dalrymple, 1904, StudySmarter.

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Fig. 4 - "Hands Off! This in reality entails no new obligations upon us, for the Monroe Doctrine means precisely such a guarantee on our part." Political cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt using the Monroe Doctrine to keep European powers out of the Dominican Republic, Louis Dalrymple, 1904.

By this time, the Americans were quite involved in European affairs as well. For instance, Theodore Roosevelt brokered the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) to conclude the Russo-Japanese War. Americans also participated in the First World War (1914-1918), which they entered in 1917. By the conclusion of the Second World War (1945), the United States emerged as a global superpower.

The Truman Doctrine of 1947 sought to counter Communism all around the world.

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Monroe Doctrine

The Cold War

Whereas it is not invoked explicitly, the Monroe Doctrine was relevant during the Cold War and continues to be so today. The United States continues to exert the greatest influence in the Americas. During the Cuban missile crisis (1962), the United States placed missiles targeting the Soviet Union in places like Turkey. The Soviet Union responded by placing similar missiles in Cuba, which the United States considered its backyard. All the more serious in the nuclear age, the crisis de-escalated four days later. Therefore, the United States transformed from having a somewhat defensive foreign policy to maintaining hundreds of military bases around the world and leading a powerful military alliance NATO.

Monroe Doctrine: Dates

The Monroe Doctrine has been present throughout much of the United States' history. Here are some important dates:

DateEvent
1803
  • The Louisiana Purchase marked significant territorial expansion across the continent for the U.S.
1823
  • The Monroe Doctrine sought to prevent further European colonialism in the Americas and delineated the U.S. sphere of influence.
1845
  • Manifest Destiny promoted the U.S. territorial expansion westward across North America.
1904
1947
  • The Truman Doctrine sought to challenge Communism and the Soviet Union globally and justified the expansion of the U.S. sphere of influence.
1962
  • The Cuban missile crisis was an example of the Monroe Doctrine in the 20th century.

Monroe Doctrine - Key Takeaways

  • The Monroe Doctrine, articulated by President James Monroe in 1823, is one of the most critical documents in early American foreign policy.
  • The Monroe Doctrine responded to the Russian interest in the Pacific Northwest and the fear of the Spanish return to the newly independent Latin American countries, such as Mexico.
  • The American Enlightenment and Manifest Destiny provided the intellectual backing for the Monroe Doctrine.
  • Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary (1904) effectively extended the Monroe Doctrine in order to support American interventionism in the Americas.

References

  1. 1 “Seventh Annual Message to Congress,” December 2, 1823, in the Annals of Congress, (Senate), 18th Congress, 1st Session, pages 14, 22–23, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=041/llac041.db&recNum=4.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.

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