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

Bibliography: Work Cited Faragher, John Mack. Out of Many One: a history of the American people. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1997. May, Ernest R. The Making of the Monroe Doctrine. Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1975. Migill, Frank N, ed. Great Events from History. Unknown-1830. Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1975 "Monroe Doctrine." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1984 ed. Monroe, James. "Monroe Doctrine." 2 December 1823. A History of the Monroe Doctrine. Ed. Dexter Perkins. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1955. 394-6. Perkins, Dexter. A History of the Monroe Doctrine. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1955. Williams, Harry T. The History of American Wars. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.