Monroe Doctrine

Context

While President Monroe and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, deserve most of the credit for establishing this doctrine, a confluence of events, some old and some new, created the environment permitting its issuance.

Beginning with George Washington's presidency in 1789, the nation's foreign policy stressed neutrality unless American interests were directly affected, and the Monroe Doctrine represented both a continuation and a reaffirmation of this approach. Diplomatic triumphs that occurred several years before the Monroe Doctrine was issued also laid the groundwork for this statement. The successful resolution of the War of 1812 through the Treaty of Ghent and the acquisition of Florida from Spain permitted the United States to gain greater control over trade and territory. These accomplishments also allowed American negotiators to approach European countries from a position of strength rather than weakness. European countries were also undergoing great change with the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the peace treaty known as the Congress of Vienna, and South American countries were successfully challenging Spanish colonial regimes and declaring their independence. As Europe restored its monarchies and South American countries resisted colonization, Americans were reminded of their own colonial heritage. They realized that they had more in common with the “American system” of independence and equality than with the “European system” of absolutism and tyranny. The United States' identification with its southern neighbors also demonstrated its sense of vulnerability toward Europe, despite its recent diplomatic triumphs.

The final and most immediate impetus for the Monroe Doctrine came from the British foreign minister Stratford Canning in August 1823. Concerned about the renewed alliance between France and Spain, Britain invited the United States to join it in issuing an Anglo-American statement opposing further Spanish and French colonization in the Americas. Spain's intention to send troops into South America to put down rebellions gave the British proposal a particular sense of urgency. While Monroe gave the British offer serious consideration, including receiving favorable endorsements from both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, he ultimately concluded that the United States should issue its own statement to demonstrate that America was truly independent and neutral and not merely an appendage of Britain.

The American System of the Monroe Doctrine should not be confused with Henry Clay's American System, an economic program consisting of tariffs, internal improvements and a national bank, originally proposed in 1824.