The 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,