The Monroe Doctrine
It was on December 2, 1823 (189 years ago today) that President James Monroe gave a speech setting out his policy which has ever since been known as the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine states that any attempts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. According to the Monroe Doctrine, the United States will neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries.
The Monroe Doctrine was issued at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved independence from the Spanish Empire (except for Cuba and Puerto Rico) and the Portuguese Empire. The United States, working in agreement with Britain, wanted to guarantee no European power would move in.
President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. It is believed that the Monroe Doctrine was written by Monroe's Secretary of State, and successor in the Presidency, John Quincy Adams.
Monroe's speech became a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets, and would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt (in Venezuela and Cuba), John F. Kennedy (in Cuba), Ronald Reagan (in Nicaragua and Grenada) and many others. The Monroe Doctrine has persisted with only slight variations for almost two centuries.
This was Monroe's gift leading up to Christmas of 1823. Little is known about how the Monroes celebrated Christmas in the White House, but one Christmas that was very memorable for Monroe was Christmas of 1776. It was on Christmas Day in 1776 that Monroe, a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was wounded in the shoulder while serving with General George Washington in the surprise attack against the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey.
The Monroe Doctrine was issued at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved independence from the Spanish Empire (except for Cuba and Puerto Rico) and the Portuguese Empire. The United States, working in agreement with Britain, wanted to guarantee no European power would move in.
President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. It is believed that the Monroe Doctrine was written by Monroe's Secretary of State, and successor in the Presidency, John Quincy Adams.
Monroe's speech became a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets, and would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt (in Venezuela and Cuba), John F. Kennedy (in Cuba), Ronald Reagan (in Nicaragua and Grenada) and many others. The Monroe Doctrine has persisted with only slight variations for almost two centuries.
This was Monroe's gift leading up to Christmas of 1823. Little is known about how the Monroes celebrated Christmas in the White House, but one Christmas that was very memorable for Monroe was Christmas of 1776. It was on Christmas Day in 1776 that Monroe, a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was wounded in the shoulder while serving with General George Washington in the surprise attack against the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey.