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Monroe Doctrine: United States
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The Monroe Doctrine was an American declaration of US policy toward Europe and Latin America. It stated that the Americas were “not to be considered as subjects for furture colonization by any European powers.” Further, it opposed European powers’ interference in any affairs of the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine was a response to the European powers helping Spain return to power in South America, were many republics had declared independence. Although the British and US leaders agreed that they wanted to protect America from aggression of a European power, the US chose to act alone in this declaration. When the British suggested a joint Anglo-American warning to European powers, John Quincy Adams (US Secretary of State) advised against the move. This was because the US was sure that Britain would support the policy, and because European powers were unlikely to attack South America anyway, since the British navy would defeat them.
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The Monroe Doctrine was the idea presented by 5th President, James Monroe, stating that European Powers of Britain, Spain, France and Russia should not attempt to colonize the American continent. According to the White House Web site, WhiteHouse.gov, the original speech given by President Monroe did not actually take the name of "The Monroe Doctrine" until 1851, which was 20 years after his death. The doctrine has since been applied as justification for intervening in Latin American affairs.
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In more modern times, the Monroe Doctrine has undergone change. The Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, called to strengthen arrangements for collective security in the Western Hemisphere during World War II (1939–1945) and to discuss problems resulting from Argentina's neutrality against the Axis powers, met in February 1945. Participants adopted the Act of Chapultepec, which broadened the Monroe Doctrine with the principle that an attack on any country of the hemisphere would be viewed as an act of aggression against all countries of the hemisphere. The act ... had a provision for negotiation of a defense treaty among American states after the war. Meeting at Petrópolis, out-side Rio de Janeiro, from 15 August through 2 September 1947, the United States and nineteen Latin American republics (Canada was a member of the British Commonwealth and did not directly participate) drew up the so-called Rio Pact, a permanent defensive military alliance that legally sanctioned the principle from the Act of Chapultepec and foreshadowed the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization two years later.
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The Monroe Doctrine states that the Americas are “not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.” This bold statement, regarding the welfare of the entire eastern hemisphere, was made possible by two main factors. The first and perhaps the most important factor was the dominance of the British Navy. The British needed to trade with the new American freed-colonies and would therefore prevent any European aggressor from capturing the new colonies. The second factor in issuing the statement was American Nationalism. Americans believed that they were ready to be involved in international affairs and be respected by the European powers. No European power really considered the US as a threat because they still had a small and developing military.
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During the 1870s and 1880s the Monroe Doctrine took on new meaning. The United States began to interpret it both as prohibiting the transfer of American territory from one European power to another, and as granting the United States exclusive control over any canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Central America. The latter claim was recognized by Britain in the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty in 1901. The United States continued to expand the meaning of the doctrine when President Grover Cleveland successfully pressured Britain in 1895 to submit its boundary dispute with Venezuela to arbitration.
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The Monroe Doctrine was created to project the United States’ sphere of influence into the Americas and fill the void left by Spain. It was ... due to the upstart nation’s fear of Latin American colonization by other more powerful European imperialists. In short, they saw Latin America as their own "backyard" and field for exploitation. Even before setting out to impose their will on the peoples of Latin America, one of the first applications of the spirit of the doctrine was the "internal imperialism" against the indigenous peoples of North America, oppressing and obliterating entire civilizations in the country’s move westward. Hundreds of thousands of square miles belonging to Mexico were "acquired" as well.
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