For What Purposes Do Us Presidents Construct Doctrines and Do They Have a Defining Impact on Us Foreign Policy or Are They Merely Rhetoric?
For what purposes do US presidents construct doctrines and do they have a defining impact on US foreign policy or are they merely rhetoric?
Many presidents of the United States of America have constructed doctrines during their terms in office that have come to define their foreign policy aims, from James Monroe in 1823 right up until the very recent Bush Doctrine. This essay will focus on three of these doctrines, namely the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the Truman Doctrine of 1947 and the Reagan Doctrine of 1984. Although there are many other presidential doctrines in the history of American foreign policy, several of these, such as Polk’s doctrine in 1845 and the Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957, appear to simply be reiterations of previous presidential doctrines. We will see that, although rhetoric is used quite freely in the president’s announcements of their doctrines, it would be wide of the mark to argue that the doctrines themselves are merely rhetoric. Instead should become clear that the doctrines shaped American foreign policy not only during the doctrine’s author’s term in office, but also for many of his successors.
The Monroe Doctrine came about for two main reasons. Firstly, a clash with Russia over the north-western coast of North America led Secretary of State John Adams to suggest the principle that the Western hemisphere was no longer an option for colonisation by the European powers. Also, more importantly, the US was afraid that reactionary European powers would seek to recolonise the newly independent Latin American countries. Unveiled by President James Monroe in his State of the Union Address in December 1823, the doctrine contained two main points. Firstly, the United States would commit to a policy of non-colonisation, with Monroe saying that ‘the American continents…are henceforth not to be considered as subjects to future colonisation by any European powers’ (Avalon Project, 1996). Hart (1916) suggests that this part of the doctrine came
Many presidents of the United States of America have constructed doctrines during their terms in office that have come to define their foreign policy aims, from James Monroe in 1823 right up until the very recent Bush Doctrine. This essay will focus on three of these doctrines, namely the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the Truman Doctrine of 1947 and the Reagan Doctrine of 1984. Although there are many other presidential doctrines in the history of American foreign policy, several of these, such as Polk’s doctrine in 1845 and the Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957, appear to simply be reiterations of previous presidential doctrines. We will see that, although rhetoric is used quite freely in the president’s announcements of their doctrines, it would be wide of the mark to argue that the doctrines themselves are merely rhetoric. Instead should become clear that the doctrines shaped American foreign policy not only during the doctrine’s author’s term in office, but also for many of his successors.
The Monroe Doctrine came about for two main reasons. Firstly, a clash with Russia over the north-western coast of North America led Secretary of State John Adams to suggest the principle that the Western hemisphere was no longer an option for colonisation by the European powers. Also, more importantly, the US was afraid that reactionary European powers would seek to recolonise the newly independent Latin American countries. Unveiled by President James Monroe in his State of the Union Address in December 1823, the doctrine contained two main points. Firstly, the United States would commit to a policy of non-colonisation, with Monroe saying that ‘the American continents…are henceforth not to be considered as subjects to future colonisation by any European powers’ (Avalon Project, 1996). Hart (1916) suggests that this part of the doctrine came