LESSON 51: The Monroe Doctrine

The United States opposed intervention in the Americas by European powers for decades after many Latin American countries became independent. 

The Napoleonic Wars in Europe did not just affect Europe and the United States. South and Central America were controlled by European powers during these wars. As the European powers were engaged in continuous wars, and their resources were diverted elsewhere, Latin American colonies controlled by Spain and Portugal began to rebel and seek independence from their own “mother countries.”  A revolutionary, Simon Bolivar, was a great leader that helped many of these countries fight for their independence. Bolivar is sometimes referred to as, “the Liberator,” and “the George Washington of South America.” Many of these countries also gained inspiration from the successful American Revolution.

By the 1820’s, the wars in Europe had come to an end. Many European powers were talking about sending armies back to the Western Hemisphere to reclaim and reconquer lost colonies. Others may have been planning a new round of colonization. The United States, being a renegade colony itself, and having just fought a war with England that some have referred to as the “Second American Revolution,” saw European armies crossing the Atlantic as a very serious threat to its own existence.

In 1823, while delivering his State of the Union speech, President James Monroe issued what has come to be known as the “Monroe Doctrine.” In it, Monroe said that the United States would be opposed to any European country that attempted to recapture a breakaway colony, or to any European country that wanted to start new colonies in the Western Hemisphere, including the Caribbean Islands. In return, Monroe stated that it would be the official US policy to remain neutral in European affairs, and to stay out of any future European wars. This policy has guided the US up until the World Wars, and events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960’s. For good or bad, the Monroe Doctrine is still referred to and guides US foreign policy, even to this day.