Main content
US history
Course: US history > Unit 4
Lesson 1: Politics and society in the early nineteenth century- The election of 1800
- Jefferson's presidency and the turn of the nineteenth century
- The Louisiana Purchase and its exploration
- Jefferson's election and presidency
- The War of 1812
- The War of 1812
- The Monroe Doctrine
- The presidency of John Quincy Adams
- Politics and regional interests
- The Market Revolution - textile mills and the cotton gin
- The Market Revolution - communication and transportation
- The Market Revolution - impact and significance
- Irish and German immigration
- The 1820s and the Market Revolution
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
The Monroe Doctrine
In 1820, James Monroe articulated the US foreign policy goal of ending European colonization in the Americas.
Want to join the conversation?
- In, When did the USA become a world power? 2:07(16 votes)
- " It was gradual.
The US became a world power sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, although the exact moment probably cannot be identified because people were not precisely measuring the size of economies back then. Towards the end of the 19th century, the US became the largest economy on earth."
- Quora(26 votes)
- What is the difference between world power and super power?(9 votes)
- The term super power is interchangeable with world power, great power, and major power - they all mean basically the same thing.
A super power is an extremely powerful and influential nation - one of the most powerful / influential in the world.
Examples of super powers c. 2020:
- United States
- China
- Russia
- United Kingdom
- France
These countries have very strong economies, widespread political influence, and permanent seats - with veto power - on the UN Security Council.
The five "Great Powers" c. 1820 (when the Monroe Doctrine was drafted):
- France
- Britain
- Russia
- Austria
- Prussia
Hope this helps!(9 votes)
- Didn't John Adams write the Monroe Doctrine?(6 votes)
- The Monroe Doctrine was primarily written by John Quincy Adams while he was serving as Secretary of State for President Monroe.
John Quincy Adams was the son of John Adams (the second president of the United States), and succeeded James Monroe to become the sixth president.(4 votes)
- Why is the Us not a super power?(0 votes)
- From the author:The United States was still a very small and weak nation at the time of the Monroe Doctrine. It wasn't until after the Civil War in the late 1800s that the United States developed the industrial and military capacity to be a major player on the world stage.(12 votes)
- Can everyone agree that Monroe paved the way in diplomatic relations with other countries. I know George Washington and Jefferson addressed these issued, but they never did anything about them. Also, Why wouldn't Britain just take America back once they gained strength again??(4 votes)
- Even though the United States were against European imperialism they still have done plenty of imperialism and colonization against Mexico,Guam,Puerto Rico,Hawaii, Philippines,and some other islands and countries. Why is that so that even though in this document which denounced colonization the United States have done these actions again and again?(4 votes)
- Why was the doctrine named after James Monroe while John Quincy Adams was the one to compose it? Should it have been Adams Doctrine?(2 votes)
- John Quincy Adams did most of the writing, but the ideas were not uniquely his own. Furthermore, Monroe presented the doctrine during his own State of the Union speech to Congress.
It wasn't actually named the Monroe Doctrine until decades later, in 1850. My guess would be that it was named for Monroe because he presented these ideas during his presidency.(3 votes)
- How did other countries from America feel about this?(2 votes)
- I found this on http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/usforeignrelations/exhibits/show/the-monroe-doctrine/foreign-interpretations
While the Monroe Doctrine was used by the U.S. as a foreign policy document, other nations were well aware of it and took it into account when interacting with the United States. The doctrine was specifically invoked by United States policymakers to justify intervention in Latin America in the late nineteenth century. Likewise, the doctrine was also invoked by some residents of the Philippines because they felt that they were being unfairly encroached upon by the U.S. These are just a few of many different examples of how the Monroe Doctrine was used by the United States and how other countries viewed and interpreted the document as well.(2 votes)
- Is great Britian still angry with us that we won the war?(2 votes)
- Why is Monroe not all that famous even though he did some pretty cool things as president?(1 vote)
- It was because while Monroe did some pretty important things, he was overshadowed by people like Lincoln or Washington.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- On December 2, 1823,
U.S. President James Monroe was giving his annual
State of the Union Address to Congress when he threw
in a couple of remarks about the United States' relationship with the powers of Europe. He said, "The American continents, "by the free and independent condition "which they have assumed and maintained, "are henceforth not to
be considered as subjects "for future colonization
by any European powers. "In the wars of the European powers "in matters relating to themselves "we have never taken any part, "nor does it comport
with our policy to do so. "We owe it, therefore, to candor "and to the amicable relations existing "between the United States
and those powers to declare "that we should consider
any attempt on their part "to extend their system to
any portion of this hemisphere "as dangerous to our peace and safety." So, basically, in one fell swoop, James Monroe told the
crowned heads of Europe to stay out of the Americas. He said, "As far as I'm concerned, "the era of colonization is over." Stop giving us the side-eye. Stop looking at your
maps and trying to decide where you might place
a little colony next. No more European
colonization in the Americas. What's more, don't interfere. The Americas are the
United States' concern so we don't want the powers of Europe to meddle in any of the affairs of Latin America or South America. You can keep your system, and by system, Monroe meant monarchy, out of the Americas. This is the hemisphere of democracy. So, this is an incredibly bold statement. Let's not forget here
that the United States is not exactly a world power in 1823. They could, at best, be
said to be a minor power, even in the Americas. The United States is not a
major world military power, it's not a major world Navy power. Let's remember that in this era, having a strong Navy was
tantamount to being able to take over the world. They're kind of a second-rate nation in a second-rate part of the world. So, what was the response
when the United States made this incredibly bold assertion that they would not permit
any more colonization or interference in the
Americas from Europe? Mmm... Crickets. Nobody really cared. To the established powers of Europe, the United States was no
more than a little mosquito, buzzing around, maybe
making a lot of noise, a bit annoying, but pretty easy to swat. No matter how much noise
the United States made, the only thing that mattered to the great powers of the
world was whether or not the United States could
enforce the Monroe Doctrine, which with such a weak military presence, they certainly could not. Nevertheless, the Monroe Doctrine became a key facet of American foreign policy throughout the 19th century
and into the 20th century. It became a justification
for Manifest Destiny and would play a major role
in the foreign policies of Teddy Roosevelt and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So, where did the Monroe
Doctrine come from? Well, let's take a minute
to look at some of the major world events of the time period and the major players who brought
the Monroe Doctrine about. All right, dateline 1820. It has been a bad couple of
years for monarchy in Europe. For one thing, the Napoleonic
Wars and the French Revolution have been convulsing the powers of Europe for several years. By 1815, the Revolution
has more or less finished and the monarchies of
Europe have been reinstated. But, this revolutionary fervor coming from the French Revolution, coming also from the American Revolution, has started to spread. So, movements for independence
are now taking hold in South America. There's a Chilean
movement for independence, Argentinian movement for independence, Venezuelan movement for independence. So, they've kind of
caught the democracy bug. The people in the United
States are cheering for their southern brethren, saying, "Excellent work, picking up democracy, "breaking away from
old-fashioned, monarchical, "tyrannical Europe. "We're totally on your side." But it's easier to make an
independence movement happen when the home country is
distracted with another war, aka the Napoleonic Wars. Once the Napoleonic Wars are over, the monarchies of Europe start saying, "Hmm, you know what? "Since Spain is in
control of these nations, "now Spain has the time and energy "to consider maybe putting
down these revolutions." So, they're no longer distracted by war, and they have the
manpower and the bandwidth to think about maybe trying
to reinstate, or secure, Spanish rule in South
America where nations have been in the process of revolution. Now, we don't know the extent to which Spain was actually planning on putting these revolutions down, but we do know that the
United States and England were very concerned that the monarchies of the continent-- France and Spain-- might join together and try to put down all of these revolutions. Now, wouldn't they want that? Well, for the most part, it
kind of came down to markets. If you think back to early
American colonial society, the economic system was
known as mercantilism. Mercantilism is the practice of colonies kind of existing to
enrich the mother country. So, all trade goes
through the home country. That means that the home country
is going to be making sure that the colonies are not trading with any other international partners because they want to be
the ones who are enriched by the natural resources of the colonies. So, when Chile and Argentina and Venezuela revolt from Spain, it means that their
markets are now opened up to the United States and to England. So, England and the United
States are not eager to see these new nations be returned to their colonial status because, thanks to mercantilism, they're not going to be able to trade with them anymore. With this idea in mind, the British Foreign Secretary, a man named George Canning, approached the American
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, and he said, "Why don't we make a joint proclamation "between the United
States and Great Britain "saying that the powers of Europe "should not interfere in the New World.? And John Quincy Adams thought, "Hmm, I'm not sure if I
like you British folks." Remember that the War of
1812 had not taken place too long beforehand. The United States was not quite ready to be friends with the United Kingdom yet. And they were a little bit afraid that if the United States made a
joint declaration with England that it would seem a little bit like a flea on the back of a rottweiler saying, "Don't mess with us or we'll bite you!" The United States didn't
have nearly the strength to actually make an equal partnership so it might have looked a little bit like they were hiding behind the
British in a joint declaration, but J.Q.A. thought this
actually still sounded like a pretty good plan
so he floated the idea to President James Monroe. Now, there's kind of a movement of nationalism
going on at this time in the United States. Even though the United States didn't technically win the War of 1812, they kind of felt like they had. So, they're busy kind of creating a new nationalist rhetoric
in the United States. They're feeling pretty
good about themselves. They stood up to their old
foe of Great Britain, and won. Or, at the very least, didn't lose, but to them it was kind of the same thing. So, John Quincy Adams
crafts for James Monroe what will become known
as the Monroe Doctrine. Now, Monroe is not only concerned about the possibility of European
powers coming down here and trying to start fights with each other over the fate of South America. Monroe was also worried about Russia, who had recently made some
territorial claims in Canada, saying that their territory should come all the way down there. The Russians have started
putting some forts on the coast of California, close to modern day San Francisco. So, Monroe sees the old
monarchical powers of Europe sort of encroaching both from
the north and the south here. And so, in 1823, he makes the announcement of the Monroe Doctrine. He says, "No more colonization. "Russia, get out of there. "And no more interference, in general. "So, don't try to turn these new republics "back into colonies under
the rule of monarchies. "In fact, just keep your monarchy "out of our hemisphere altogether." Monroe makes this statement
completely outside of the relationship
with the United Kingdom so it doesn't have this kind
of riding on the coattails feeling of being allied with Britain. But nevertheless, the only
way that the United States can actually count on the
Monroe Doctrine being enforced is because the British Navy
is so incredibly powerful. I'm going to draw a very bad boat here. Nobody who heard about the
Monroe Doctrine thought, "Ah, man, we better not make
the United States angry." What they thought was, "Ah, man, we better not make
the British Empire angry." Because they knew that the British Navy, which wanted neutrality of the seas, which wanted to be able to continue to have these trade relationships with new nations in South America, would defend the neutrality
and the independence of South America by proxy, and by doing so, kind of
enforce the Monroe Doctrine. So, this is interesting. You could think of this as
being a little bit weaselly on the part of Monroe,
declaring that the Americas should remain free of
the influence of Europe, but counting on the United
Kingdom to enforce it. Or you could think of it as perhaps a brilliant policy maneuver. I don't know. Certainly, the nations of
South America and Latin America appreciated this
declaration of independence for the Americas coming
from the United States, but they certainly knew
that it was more about the United States making sure that they, themselves, were
protected than wanting to have a real equal
partnership with South America. So, the Monroe Doctrine
really didn't amount to much for most of the 19th century. It was certainly a justification as the United States
continued to push west in their quest of Manifest Destiny, but it will become increasingly important in the 20th century as the United States steps onto the world
stage with things like the Spanish American War, under the auspices of William McKinley, and making famous Theodore
Roosevelt, saying that the Caribbean is the province
of the United States, and the nations of Latin
America and South America. They're only to be dealt with
through the United States. So, you can see the Monroe Doctrine as a very early expression
of the United States' intention to become a world power and to be the leading
and most powerful nation in the Americas. And you can also see it as an expression of American isolationism, which will really be the leading aspect of
American foreign policy up until the Spanish American War. As early as George
Washington's Farewell Address, Washington expressed the
view that the United States should just not get involved
in the business of Europe. That that would only lead to heartbreak. While the Monroe Doctrine
is now kind of taking not only that idea that the United States should not become involved
in the affairs of Europe, but also turning it around and saying that Europe should not become involved in the affairs of the Americas, drawing an even stronger barrier between the old world and the new.