Monroe Doctrine

Shall we entangle ourselves at all, in European politicks, & wars, on the side of any power, against other…?

Letter James Monroe to Thomas Jefferson Seeking Foreign Policy Advice,
October 17, 1823.
Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years

James Monroe, Half-Length Portrait, Seated at Desk…
Pendleton's Lithography,
circa 1828 [?].
By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present

On October 17, 1823, President James Monroe wrote a letter to his friend and Virginia neighbor Thomas Jefferson seeking advice on foreign policy. The issue at hand was whether to join forces with Britain in a joint-declaration against Spain's efforts to regain sovereignty in South America.

Both Jefferson and former president James Madison, whom Monroe also consulted, recommended cooperation with Britain. However, Monroe's Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, was more cautious. "It would be more candid," Adams warned Monroe at a November 7, 1823 cabinet meeting, "as well as more dignified, to avow our principles explicitly to Russia and France, than to come in as a cockboat in the wake of the British man-of-war."

John Quincy Adams,
from an original painting by J.D. Healy,
Engraving, 1898.
Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present

Heeding Adams's advice, Monroe chose to pursue a course independent of Great Britain. He outlined his policy, later known as the "Monroe Doctrine," in an address to Congress on December 2, 1823. "We should consider any attempt [on the part of European nations]," Monroe declared, "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety." Although the United States lacked the power or influence to uphold the Monroe Doctrine, it remained in force largely because it was consistent with Great Britain's interest in maintaining access to Latin American markets.

As the United States gained military and economic strength, American leaders began to interpret the Monroe Doctrine as justification for U.S. involvement in Latin America. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had been an enthusiastic supporter of the Spanish American War, added the "Roosevelt Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine. In order to prevent European nations from involving themselves in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, the Roosevelt Corollary proclaimed the exclusive right of the United States to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries.

Law Office of James Monroe
Fredericksburg, Virginia,
Theodor Horydczak, photographer,
circa 1920-1950.
Washington as It Was, 1923-1959

• Visit Presidents, a feature presentation of the Learning Page to find more American Memory resources on United States presidents. Direct access to online information about James Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, and Theodore Roosevelt is readily available at this site.
• Search the Today in History Archive on Spanish-American War or Latin America to learn more about how the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary influenced U.S. foreign policy. Read about U.S. Marines landing at Guantánamo Bay and U.S. troops pulling out of the Dominican Republic.
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