The Monroe Doctrine - Essay Example

How did the Monroe Doctrine come to be established? What were its long term effects?

Introduction

A doctrine refers to a set of ideologies, creeds or beliefs held by a particular government that uses it to govern their policies especially when it comes to foreign or international matters (Murphy 7). On 22nd December, 1823, James Monroe delivered, in one of the most memorable Congress sessions, an important speech that would forever impact the way the United States dealt with its international matters. Even though the message was delivered through a simple speech, it later came to be interpreted as law, proclamation and official government stance of the United States (Livingstone 31). According to Livingstone (31), in the speech, Monroe’s contemplations took on the grandeur and power of law itself as they echoed American beliefs of that time down to the present day America. Monroe affirmed that his country would no longer accept or tolerate colonization or foreign supremacy by foreign states in the Western Hemisphere because of conflicts with England, Russia and Spain. In essence, the speech represented a milestone not only for the United States, but the entire North and South America continents as well since it ensured that the hard-earned independence of those nations would be preserved. Nations in these two continents had long struggled to free themselves from the colonial power of European states, and this Doctrine served as a building ground for the fight for independence among these states (Livingstone 33). Staying in line with this, this essay will delve deep into the history of the Monroe Doctrine discussing how it came to be established and its long-term implications citing some of the most significant events revolving around the Doctrine.

Establishment of the Monroe Doctrine

After the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), the United States government feared that some European powers would reinstate monarchial regimes in their foreign protectorates. This was after France’s move to reinstate the Spanish Monarchy wherein they would be allowed to control Cuba (Mecham 44). As the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) reached their final stages, Austria, Prussia and Russia came together to defend monarchism. Together, the three countries approved military incursions to reinstate Bourbon rule over Spain and its former colonies that were in the process of reestablishing their independence (Mecham 44). Great Britain, one of U.S.’s most celebrated allies, shared the same sentiments with the United States, but from a different point of view whose ultimate goal was declaring no further colonization by European governments in the New World. Great Britain’s intention for blocking European states from the New World was to prevent competition for the trade it conducted with the New World. It is important to remember that even after the Monroe Doctrine was being implemented, Great Britain was the sole country enforcing it through their Royal Navy; this is because the United States was lacking adequate naval capability (Dent 32). Granting Spain the ability to reinstate its power over its former protectorates would have affected Britain’s most profitable foreign market. For this reason, Great Britain proposed to the United States that they jointly implement a policy that would lock other European states out of the New World (Mecham 44). Nonetheless, the United States never looked forward to a joint statement due to the recent memory of the 1812 War eventually giving out a unilateral statement. Nonetheless, U.S.’s prompt was the Russian provocation of Ukase of 1821, wherein the latter country was trying to affirm their rights to the Pacific Northwest forbidding non-Russian vessels from using the Northwest coast (Murphy 53).

Even though it took the country up to the years of George Washington to completely establish itself as an isolationist state, the foundations of the Monroe Doctrine had started to materialize as early as the 1700s when the nation not only declared its aim of keeping out of Europe, but also passed different policies that would ensure they stayed outside European affairs (Murphy 57). The Monroe Doctrine was simply a supplementary principle reaffirming the nation’s stance of keeping out of Europe. Alexander Hamilton, considered as one of the founding fathers of the United States, stated his desire to maintain the independence of North America alone, but the protection was stretched to South America after the declaration of the Monroe Doctrine. Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers of his desires to make the United States a world superpower even though European nations controlled a bigger potion of the Americas compared to the United States (Dent 90). His desire was to elevate the United States to a dominant position making them the sole intermediary between the New World and European nations. James Madison, also a founding father to the United States and once a Secretary of State to Thomas Jefferson’s regime, expressed the opinion of waning off European rule from the Americas, but his sentiments where at that time weak as it was earlier stated that European countries controlled more territories in the Americas than the United States (Dent 90).

Another key issue concerning the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine is who wrote the contents. According to Livingstone (40), John Quincy Adams was the sole author of the Monroe Doctrine who later went to become the president. At the time the speech was being delivered, John Quincy Adams was on Monroe’s cabinet members as the Secretary of State. His main responsibility then was foreign affairs as dictated in the American Constitution. His main duty was to define and develop the country’s foreign policy. Nonetheless, other members of the cabinet including Monroe also made inputs to the Doctrine (Livingstone 40).

Contents of the Monroe Doctrine

Before one understands the long term effects of the Monroe Doctrine, it is important to understand the specific contents of the Doctrine in order to have an idea of their potential implications. The content of the Doctrine touched on four key issues:

• Attempts to colonize North and South American territories by European states would be considered as aggressive actions, which demand the intervention of the United States
• Any interference with states in the Americas by European states would also be considered as aggressive actions, which demand the intervention of the United States
• There would be not interference on existing European protectorates by the United States
• There would be not interference on internal affairs of European countries by the United States (Dent 90).

Long Term Effects of the Monroe Doctrine

The long term implications of the Monroe Doctrine are related to: (1) response by international powers, (2) reaction in Latin America, (3) events surrounding Simon Bolivar, (4) "Big Brother" policy, (5) the "Olney Corollary", (6) Canada becoming allies with the United States, (7), "Roosevelt Corollary," (8) Clark Memorandum, (9) World War II, (10) attempts by Latin States to reinterpret the Monroe Doctrine, (11) the Kerry Doctrine, and (12) the Cold War (Dent 102).

The international response of the Doctrine was that since the United States lacked a strong army and navy during that period, international powers largely ignored the doctrine. Most European states considered the move as an act of revolt forcing them to conspire against the United States. Nonetheless, Great Britain tactically approved the move enforcing the Pax Britannica forcing European states to respect the neutrality of the oceans. The Pax Britannica was in line with implementing laissez-faire free trade policy, which was against mercantilism. If the New World were reinstated to Spanish colonies and any other Austrian power, it would become harder for Britain to access those markets (Murphy 76).

In Latin America, even though the reaction the Doctrine was favorable, a number of nations considered as very suspicious. Simon Bolivar campaigns against the Spanish conquests in Latin America wrote that even though Argentina, Colombia and Mexico were happy about the Monroe Doctrine, they were well aware that their independence rests on British arms and their mighty navy (Mecham 43). These nations were aware of the fact that the United States wielded overly little power during that time making the Doctrine powerless without the backing of the British. Simon Bolivar was a Venezuelan political and military leader who played a key role in the establishment of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela as independent states from Spanish colonialism (Mecham 43).

Following the Bolivar-related events, different European states advanced their moves to conquer different territories particularly in South America including Britain some of which were met with aggressive reactions from the United States. The United States used military action to force French forces out of Mexico helping the country reinstate the Maximilian rule. The Spanish military also attempted to conquer Cuba, but were overpowered by the American military in a fight that Americans termed as the Spanish-American War, and the Cubans termed as the War for Independence (Dent 107). It also led to the ceding of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the United States. The United States controlled Cuba till 1902 when the country gained full independence (Dent 108). Another significant event that took place after Bolivar’s remarks was the British territorial dispute with Venezuela in 1895, which latter strongly affirmed British’s position as a strong ally of the United States. Venezuela requested America to act as a mediator over a regional dispute between the former country and Britain. Nonetheless, even after using the Monroe Doctrine in their negotiations, still Venezuela lost the territory the Britain. This confirmed the notion that only Britain was the only European country that could reasonably interfere with South American affairs (Dent 111).

The "Big Brother" policy, on the other hand, was formulated by James Blaine almost a century after the Monroe Doctrine, wherein critics argued that it was simply an extension of the Doctrine (Livingstone 67). During the time of its formulation, Blaine held a similar position as Monroe as a Secretary of State serving under President James Garfield. The main intention of the policy was to rally South American states behind the United States’ headship wooing them to open their markets to traders in the United States.

Finally, one of the major key concerns of the Monroe Doctrine was the Second World War and the Cold War. After the start of the Second World War, nearly all countries in North, South and Central America and practically the entire Western Hemisphere supported the United States. A survey conducted on nearly all Americas found out that some of the most significant and backed countries in the Americas included: Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, West Indies and Greenland (Mecham 98). Also, during the Cold War, the Doctrine was used in protecting South America from foreign interests in Europe. Cuba set up a communist government that had strong ties to the USSR. Following Cuba’s move, the United States offered military and intelligence aid to other Latin governments who felt threatened by the Communist movements in Cuba. Following the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy claimed that the basis of U.S. intervening in the missile attacks on Cuban soil was the Monroe Doctrine (Mecham 98).

Conclusion

This essay has discussed the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine, contents of the Doctrine and the long-term impacts of the doctrine. The Doctrine, as it was argued, was established in 1823 after the United States founding fathers saw it fit to protect the Americas against invasion by European nations. The contents of the Doctrine were able to come true because of Britain’s role in Anglo-American affairs. Even though the content of the Doctrine were many, they can be classified into two themes: (1) the United States would prevent any interference or invasion of Central or South American countries by European states, and (2) the United States would not interfere in other internal affairs of European states. The long-term implications included: (1) response by international powers, (2) reaction in Latin America, (3) events surrounding Simon Bolivar, (4) "Big Brother" policy, (5) the "Olney Corollary", (6) Canada becoming allies with the United States, (7), "Roosevelt Corollary," (8) Clark Memorandum, (9) World War II, (10) attempts by Latin States to reinterpret the Monroe Doctrine, (11) the Kerry Doctrine, and (12) the Cold War. Unfortunately due to the world limit of the present research, not all of the abovementioned issues could deeply be delved into. It is important for further research be conducted in order to allow a reader to fully understand how all those issue impacted the world to date and their possible implications in the future.