Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine can be considered as the United States first major declaration to the world as a fairly new nation. The Monroe Doctrine was a statement of United States policy on the activity and rights of powers in the Western Hemisphere during the early to mid 1800s. The doctrine established the United States position in the major world affairs of the time. Around the time of the Napoleonic Wars in the 1820s, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia all gained their independence from Spanish control ("Monroe Doctrine" 617). The United States was the first nation to recognize their independence from Spain. The European powers had still considered the new nations as still belonging to Spain. The Americans had a sense of pride in the former Spanish colonies gaining independence. They felt as if the American Revolution was a model for these new Latin American nations (Faragher 265). After Napoleon went down, the monarchy in Spain regained power ("Monroe Doctrine" 617). The Spanish had felt embarrassed after losing their colonies to independence. In 1815 Tsar Alexander I of Russia and the monarchs of Austria and Prussia formed the Holy Alliance. This alliance was a group set out to maintain autocracy (Migill 594). Spain then demanded the return of its colonies of the New World (Migill 594). With the possibility of help from the Holy Alliance and France, Spain’s goal was looking realistic. The Americans also feared that if the Spanish colonies were recaptured the United States might be next ("Monroe Doctrine" 617). Great Britain refused to let the Spanish take back their now independent colonies. As free countries the new Spanish-American nations could trade more goods with Great Britain. However, if Spain regains control of their former colonies then trade with Great Britain would decrease drastically ("Monroe Doctrine" 617). The Russian Tsar attempted to extend his interest of expansion in North America. In 1821 Russia had claims on the North Western coast of the North American continent as low as the 51st parallel, deep into the Oregon Territory (Migill 595). On September 14th of the same year Tsar Alexander I issued an Imperial Ukase (decree), saying that no foreign vessels could come within 100 Italian miles of Russian territory. Although the decree was never enforced, John Quincy Adams, the Secretary of State at the time, strongly opposed it. Adams felt that many regions of North America were still unexplored such as Alaska and North Western Canada.