Monroe Doctrine Dbq

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The Monroe Doctrine reflected the concerns and ambitions of a fledgling nation that was brave enough to declare its sovereignty on the world stage. The Doctrine, in stating that European powers ought not to intervene in America’s affairs, established the US as a world power, although one that had inadequate, hemispheric aspirations. However, these aspirations would extend, and in future years the Doctrine would substantiate its usefulness for interventionists, as well as protectionists. Being conceivably the most distinguishable and the most revered as regards principles of diplomacy, the doctrine’s influence on the popular imagination was so great that it described the limits of standard decisions on policy, in turn influencing the choice of preferences that US Presidents had for most of the last two centuries. The US had then recently endured the military and pecuniary challenges that Britain and France had inflicted in the course of the Napoleonic …show more content…

The relationship between these two nations was highly strained following the Revolutionary War. The War of 1812 also added to the strain. Both nations, however, collaborated in the doctrine’s formulation, hence bettering their relations. For the US, the formulation was crucial, considering that in comparison to Great Britain (which was already a superpower then), the US was vulnerable. As the US grew in strength, the Doctrine confirmed its “entitlement” to exert its influence over North and Latin America, hence allowing it to threaten an intervention in Mexico when the French refused to remove Maximilian from power. The Doctrine is what allowed the US at the beginning of the 20th century to justify its occupation of countries like the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Essentially, the doctrine gave the United States a basis that allowed it to exercise extensive control over several Latin-American

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