Monroe Doctrine: America Warns Europe to Stay Away
Monroe stands before Congress and draws a line across two continents. European powers can keep their monarchies and their wars — but the Western Hemisphere is closed for colonization. The message arrives at a perfect moment: Spain's American empire is crumbling, and Britain's navy secretly backs the policy without anyone saying so out loud. Monroe's secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, actually wrote most of it. The doctrine won't get its famous name for another 30 years, but it immediately reshapes how every nation calculates power in the Atlantic. One speech, and suddenly 16 million square miles have new rules.
December 2, 1823
203 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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