Monroe Doctrine

Impact

The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 emerged from a series of diplomatic triumphs that increased American independence and lessened European involvement in national affairs. The Monroe Doctrine affirmed the nation's new autonomy after the War of 1812 and the Transcontinental Treaty by reiterating its neutrality, while also expanding its influence by forging alliances with newly independent South American states and warning Europe that these states were off limits to further colonization. As the United States continued to grow economically and territorially during the nineteenth century, the Monroe Doctrine served as an important warning to Europe to mind its own affairs. Issued at a time of unusual peace, the doctrine anticipated that this harmony would not last and acted as a unilateral warning to thwart any potential European invasions or interferences before they began. Although the United States was by no means a military powerhouse after 1815, it had enjoyed enough military successes in the recent War of 1812 to competently challenge a foreign invasion. This experience, coupled with the difficulty of launching a war from Europe, made the doctrine's threat of retaliation a credible one. For these reasons, the Monroe Doctrine succeeded in keeping Europe out of American affairs and allowed the country to expand and prosper.

When Theodore Roosevelt issued his Corollaries to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904 and 1905, the United States' prerogative to defend South America from a European invasion took on a more sinister aspect. By the early twentieth century, the United States was becoming an economic and military power, and its interventions in South America had more to do with economic interests than regional solidarity. In many ways, the United States had become the colonizer the Monroe Doctrine was supposed to ban from the Western Hemisphere.

The Monroe Doctrine was a powerful and enduring statement of American independence, neutrality, and nonintervention that was issued at a time when the young nation was finally able to assert itself against European encroachments. This doctrine successfully insulated America from outside intrusions and enabled it to prosper, although, later, the doctrine's imperialistic possibilities became more pronounced as the United States grew in power. Even as late as 1962, the Monroe Doctrine retained its original intent: thwarting a European invasion of the Western Hemisphere. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy invoked the doctrine to impose a naval blockade on Cuba to challenge the presence of Soviet missiles.