Monroe Doctrine Essay

Ever since its inception as a nation, the United States of America followed a foreign policy of isolationism right up to president Jefferson. This was become the European nations, which were at the helm of American affairs, were involved in several conflicts and turmoil, and American presidents realized the folly of involving such a young nation in war. Thus in 1793, when France declared war on Britain, Americans had divided opinions on the course of action. The federalists wanted to support Britain, and Hamilton, the secretary of treasury, rallied their cause. Secretary of state, who like many other Americans wanted to support France against Britain. However George Washington stuck by his policy of isolationism and avoided conflict. John Adams, and his successor Thomas Jefferson also adapted this policy. When this conflict between Britain and France increased, Jefferson placed an embargo on trade with both nations. While this action highlighted American neutrality, it was also harmful for the American economy, which led to the removal of the embargo. This step highlighted the folly of the policy of isolationism; making it obvious that United States had to make a stand, while continuing its policy of neutrality, not simply isolate itself from world affairs. Hence was a predecessor to the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was the fruition of early American foreign policy. It was delivered by president James Monroe, in his seventh annual address to the Congress on the 2nd of December 1823. It stated that United states would not tolerate any attempt by the European powers to colonize or interfere in the functioning of the western hemisphere, whilst the western hemisphere would in no way interfere in the European sphere of influence. It was meant to protect the newly independent Latin American states from European control. It was a defining moment in the separation of the old and new world, and became a long-standing American policy with minor variations, to be invoked by several American presidents. The Monroe doctrine, was delivered, and not read out in the congress unlike the other addresses. In this address Monroe gave the background for such a policy and the existing state of foreign relations, in which he mentioned negotiations with France, and dialogue with Russia on their commercial interests in the United States. He also talked about the Treaty of Ghent and the difference between US and Britain on the boundaries between the US and Canada. The president also announced to Congress a new round of negotiations with the British toward establishing a treaty that would define the exclusive and shared commercial interests of the United States and Great Britain as regarded states and territories bordering on lakes and rivers emptying into the St. Lawrence River. Thus he justified the need for such a policy and in his address included military strategies and provisions to safeguard it, like authorizing additional naval force for safeguarding their commercial interests in the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic coast. The key paragraph of the address, which summed up the foreign policy stated â€Å"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. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere, but with the Governments who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any inter- position for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States†. The Monroe doctrine had its backgrounds in the foreign policy of earlier four presidents, as well as in the experiences of Monroe and Adams as diplomats. James Madison, during his presidency, continued to follow Jeffersonian foreign policy of prohibition of trade with both nations. In 1810, however, the Congress reversed itself, realizing its ill effects on the country’s economy authorizing the president to pursue trade with both countries, provided each accepted America’s policy of neutrality, or trade with only one, if that one accepted America’s view of neutral rights. Of the two, only France complied, hence Madison declared a state of â€Å"non-intercourse† with Great Britain. This led to the war of 1812 between America and Great Britain. The war, which initially proved to be disastrous for America, ended with the treaty of Ghent in 1814, and thus paved way for Monroe’s foreign policy to avoid future war, while protecting American rights. Monroe, who was inspired by Jefferson, and loyal to Jeffersonian policy, saw the need to avoid war, at the same time asserting America’s independence. John Quincy Adams, unlike his father deflected from the Federalist Party, and supported Jefferson in his placement of the embargo on trade with both nations. Thus both Adams and Monroe were inspired by Jeffersonian ideas, and saw the crucial need of making a stand as a newly independent nation, while avoiding the calamity of war. Monroe and Adams were faced with several problems regarding foreign policy, the foremost of which included renegotiating terms with Great Britain, on the treaty of Ghent and establishing new boundaries, reasserting rights that had been previously challenged. Later there arose a problem of Spanish claim over Florida, and Britain, it was suspected, was providing them help. This led to serious and long negotiations between America and Spain for the purchase of Florida, which ultimately led to the Adams- Onis treaty, Onis being the Spanish minister to America. This was considered one of Adams greatest successes as secretary of state, until he drafted the Monroe Doctrine, which influenced American foreign policy for generations to come. The doctrine grew out of several diplomatic problems. The first was the minor clash with Russia concerning the northwest coast of North America. In this quarrel, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams expressed the principle that the American continents were no longer to be considered as a field for colonization by European powers. That principle was incorporated verbatim in the presidential message. The other and more important part of the doctrine grew out of the fear that the group of European governments commonly called the Holy Alliance would seek to reduce the Latin American states that had recently gained independence from Spain to a colonial status once again. When France crossed the Pyrenees to help put down a rebellion against the Spanish monarch, Britain worried that this might lead to a joint French-Spanish expedition to retake the Latin American colonies for Spain, which would harm British economic interests in the area. The British foreign minister George Canning communicated with the American minister in London, Richard Rush, and suggested that a joint declaration opposing such a development would serve both their interests. Thus in 1823, the British foreign secretary, George Canning, through Richard Rush, proposed to Monroe that America should join powers with Britain for the joint protection of South American colonies from the Holy Alliance. There was once again a division of views on this matter. Adams believed that Britain had great self-interest behind such an offer. When Monroe consulted with Jefferson and Madison on this issue, Jefferson asked him to accept the proposal, however Madison, like Adams cautioned Monroe to be wary as it most definitely has British self-interest involved. According to Harry Ammon, Quincy Adams was convinced that Britain had ulterior motives in this offer. He believed that using this joint action as bait, Britain was hoping to discourage American intention of taking over Cuba, which Adams believed, was inevitable. After much debate in the cabinet, the decision was reached to reject this proposal, for it seemed that America had nothing to gain through this alliance, and President Monroe was anyway reluctant to do anything that might make the US appear subservient to Britain. However America still needed to protect the southern states from being restored to Spain via the holy alliance. Also if such an attack occurred, and Britain interceded and emerged victorious, Americans would be left at the mercy of the British once again, and the Southern territories would fall under British control. It was then decided that the southern countries needed to be protected not only from Spain, the Holy alliance, or Britain, but also from all non-American powers, and this is how the genius idea behind the foreign policy, to be called Monroe Doctrine emerged. This doctrine, though presented as the annual presidential address, was the brainchild of John Quincy Adams, the secretary of state, whose main motive behind this policy, according to Edward Renehan Jr. , was to deter colonialism. Even though the doctrine shaped future American foreign policy, the immediate impact of the Monroe Doctrine was mixed. It was successful to the extent that the continental powers did not attempt to revive the Spanish empire, but this was on account of the strength of the British Navy, not American, which was relatively limited. According to Alejandro Alvarez, the doctrine was simply a policy for the United States’ self defense, not for its aggression or for its isolationism. The Monroe doctrine also had not stated any disapproval towards Pan-Americanism or even cooperation with other European nations. The Monroe Doctrine was especially influential in the history of Latin American countries. Around the early 1800’s many Latin American areas, under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, had declared their independence from the controlling powers in Europe. These new countries lacked the military strength and experience to fight with foreign powers, however, when the Monroe doctrine was put into effect, they were safeguarded from these wars, and thus welcomed this policy. Over the years, the doctrine became the defining foreign policy of the United States, with continuous changes and variations, however, its two main ideas held true through the years. First, that the United States would not tolerate European powers further colonizing the American continents or interfering in its affairs. And second, that the United States would not interfere in existing European colonies or in Europe itself. According to Edward Renehan Jr. , the Monroe Doctrine had a significant impact, not only in the development of Foreign policy, but also on American history, which would have been significantly different, if not for this doctrine. In essence, ‘Without its existence Latin America would have been severely regionalized by European powers to serve their colonial interests, and a range of European powers, not just Spain but also Holland, Germany, France, and Great Britain—would have gained a major foothold, introducing not only new lines to the map, but also new languages and cultures’. The coinage of the term ‘Monroe doctrine’ first came from President James K. Polk in 1845, when he successfully invoked this doctrine to thwart of French and British efforts against annexation of Texas, as also British threats in Oregon and California. He also expanded the doctrine to include his belief of ‘manifest destiny’. A concept, which along with the Monroe Doctrine came to be referred as Polk Doctrine. Monroe Doctrine greatly changed the American foreign policy, by shifting the emphasis from neutrality, to respect towards America, as a newly independent nation. With the ending of the war between European nations, and the restoration of peace, the American foreign policy was liberated from its earlier inhibitions, which had existed ever since Washington’s presidency. Monroe seized the opportunity to let matters of neutral rights of America dissolve in the background, while bringing to the forefront the concept of the United States as the most powerful in the Americas, and a country which was a serious and powerful republic, which no longer needed the aid or patronage of foreign nations to achieve its diplomatic aims. The Monroe Doctrine was significant in defining and paving the way for American foreign policy for centuries. It was initially drafted simply as a means of asserting America as a power as well as for American self defense, and highlighting it as an independent nation. Its true brilliance was realized only decades later when it was recalled time and again by several Presidents of the United States. It was the first act that grew to see America as a superpower in the world. This simple assertion of non-interference separated the old world from the new world, thus making the United States the biggest power in the Western Hemisphere. It was the first decisive step in the foreign policy of America after Jefferson’s embargo on trade, and it greatly changed as well as shaped foreign policy as the United States for the first time asserted itself as a power without the support or patronage of another nation.