President Monroe proclaims the Monroe Doctrine
- Date
- 2 December 1823
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Americas (hemispheric)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
In his seventh annual message to Congress on 2 December 1823, President James Monroe set out the principles that became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Drafted largely by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, the statement declared that the Americas were no longer open to future European colonisation and that the United States would regard any European attempt to extend its political system or to recolonise the newly independent Latin American republics as a threat to American peace and safety. In return, the United States pledged not to interfere in Europe's internal affairs or existing colonies. The immediate context was fear that the conservative Holy Alliance might help Spain reconquer its lost American empire, together with Russian expansion along the Pacific coast. At the time the United States lacked the power to enforce the doctrine, and it was British naval supremacy that effectively deterred European intervention. Yet the principle endured, was repeatedly reinterpreted, and became a cornerstone of United States foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, later invoked to justify expansion and intervention across Latin America.
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Empires active in 2 December 1823
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Qing Dynasty1636 CE – 1912 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Mughal Empire1526 CE – 1857 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Congress of Vienna and the Concert of EuropeSeptember 1814 – June 1815
- The Slavery Abolition Act ends slavery across the British Empire28 August 1833 (in force 1 August 1834)
- Britain abolishes the transatlantic slave trade25 March 1807
- The Revolutions of 1848 (the Springtime of Peoples)1848–1849
- Commodore Perry forces the opening of Japan1853–1854 (Treaty of Kanagawa, 31 March 1854)
- Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the birth of the British Raj1857–1858 (rebellion); Government of India Act 2 August 1858
Further reading
The wider story
Empire of the Summer Moon
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