The Monroe Doctrine

• In the early 1800's, inspired by the revolutions in America and France, Latin American colonies began to revolt against Spain.
• Beginning with Haiti in 1804 and continuing with Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Central America several years later, native Americans rose up against the Spanish Empire. Led by daring military leaders such as Simon Bolivar, the countries were increasingly successful and by 1823 the Spanish Empire had lost almost all of its colonial possessions in the New World.
• The United States, itself a product of a democratic revolution, supported the revolts both on a moral level and an economic level.
• Great Britain, one of the more liberal European governments at the time, also supported the revolutions, though mostly out of a desire to trade with the new countries.
• Other, more conservative European governments, however, were hoping to reconquer much of the New World for their own purposes. As a result, in August of 1823, George Canning, the British Foreign Secretary, sent a letter to the US proposing a joint declaration supporting the colonies' independence as well as opposing interference in their affairs.
• In the letter, Canning asked, "Is not the moment come when our Governments might understand each other as to the Spanish American Colonies?" Canning made 5 statements that both America and England agreed upon. His reasoning for making a joint declaration is that "If there be any European Power which cherishes other projects, which looks to a forcible enterprize for reducing the Colonies to subjugation�such a declaration on the part of your government and ours would be at once the most effectual and the least offensive mode of intimating our joint disapprobation of such projects." (From British Foreign Secretary George Canning's Overture for a Joint Declaration with the United States on the Spanish Colonies in America, 1823.)
• Although the American government agreed with Britain, it did not want to make a joint declaration for fear of looking subservient to Great Britain. In addition, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams believed that Canning's aim was "especially against the acquisition to the United States themselves of any part of the Spanish American possessions."
• At Adams' urging [he remarked to Monroe that "it would be more candid, as well as more dignified, to avow our principles explicitly to Russia and France, than to come in as a cock-boat in the wake of the British man-of-war," (From John Quincy Adams's Account of the Cabinet Meeting of 07 Nov 1823.)], the United States went ahead with it's own statement, which Monroe delivered in December 1823 as part of his annual message to Congress.
• The main message of the Monroe Doctrine was 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." (From the Monroe Doctrine, 02 Dec 1823.) Monroe warned that European attempts to interfere with newly formed South and Central American governments would be considered unfriendly towards the United States. He did, however, reaffirm several times the principle that the United States respected the affairs of Europe and that it would not become involved in them.
• There were almost no immediate effects. The reactionaries stayed out of Latin America and the United States had no reason to apply it. The term "Monroe Doctrine" was actually not used until about 20 years later, when the significance of the doctrine first impacted the United States.