The Monroe Doctrine explained
Learn more about the Monroe Doctrine.
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Transcript
In the early 19th century, the United States government was worried that European powers would create new colonies in the Western Hemisphere to undermine U.S. influence.
Russia, Spain, and France—three countries that had current or past colonial holdings in the Americas—were all a cause for concern. By announcing U.S. foreign policy to the world with the Monroe Doctrine, U.S. President James Monroe hoped to fend off potential conflict with Europe.
The 1823 doctrine made four main points:
The U.S. wouldn’t interfere in European conflicts.
The U.S. wouldn’t interfere with existing European colonies or territories in the Western Hemisphere.
European powers wouldn’t attempt any further colonization in the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. would view any European attempts to colonize or control nations in the Western Hemisphere as hostile acts.
Since the military of the young United States wasn’t equipped to actually battle European powers looking to claim land in the Americas, the document had little or no impact on global politics.
But, when the U.S. emerged as a superpower at the turn of the 20th century, that changed.
The Roosevelt Corollary, which was added to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904, established that the U.S. thought of itself as an international police power in the Western Hemisphere.
The document was no longer about fending off European intervention.
Rather, it allowed the United States to interfere in Latin America however it saw fit, laying the groundwork for decades of U.S. intervention to come.
Learn more at Britannica.com.
Russia, Spain, and France—three countries that had current or past colonial holdings in the Americas—were all a cause for concern. By announcing U.S. foreign policy to the world with the Monroe Doctrine, U.S. President James Monroe hoped to fend off potential conflict with Europe.
The 1823 doctrine made four main points:
The U.S. wouldn’t interfere in European conflicts.
The U.S. wouldn’t interfere with existing European colonies or territories in the Western Hemisphere.
European powers wouldn’t attempt any further colonization in the Western Hemisphere.
The U.S. would view any European attempts to colonize or control nations in the Western Hemisphere as hostile acts.
Since the military of the young United States wasn’t equipped to actually battle European powers looking to claim land in the Americas, the document had little or no impact on global politics.
But, when the U.S. emerged as a superpower at the turn of the 20th century, that changed.
The Roosevelt Corollary, which was added to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904, established that the U.S. thought of itself as an international police power in the Western Hemisphere.
The document was no longer about fending off European intervention.
Rather, it allowed the United States to interfere in Latin America however it saw fit, laying the groundwork for decades of U.S. intervention to come.
Learn more at Britannica.com.