Download The Monroe Doctrine

Early Life:
 Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April 28, 1758, the son of
Spence and Elizabeth Monroe.
 The Monroe’s were not as wealthy as their neighbors living in
Westmoreland County (the Lees and Washington’s) but they were
still able to live comfortably and in affluence.
 His mother died when he was young and Spence Monroe died in
1774 when James Monroe was sixteen years old.
 His uncle, Joseph Jones sent James Monroe to study at the College of
William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA after his father died.
Revolution:
 James Monroe joined the military to fight in the Revolution in the late summer of 1775.
 In December 26, 1776 –Battle of Trenton – James Monroe under the command of Captain William
Washington went ahead of Washington’s troops to secure a route leading to the town of Trenton.
General Washington’s troops followed the next morning and then the Hessian (German) troops
tried to rally, Monroe and Capt. Washington dispersed them. During the Battle, James Monroe was
wounded in the left shoulder.
Early Political Career:
 In 1786, Monroe and his new wife Elizabeth Kortright-Monroe settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia,
and there he studied law for three years.
 In 1794, President Washington appointed James Monroe as minister to France, much to
everyone’s surprise since Robert R. Livingston was the favored candidate.
 While minister to France, Monroe obtained the release of Thomas Paine, author of “Common
Sense” and Madame de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette’s wife, who were both imprisoned by the
French Government.
 1797 Monroe’s term as Minister to France ended when relations between France and the United
States were not improving. (France felt that the United States abandoned them for Great Britain
when John Jay signed a new treaty with Great Britain).
 From 1799 to 1802 Monroe served as the Governor of Virginia, and during his terms, he oversaw
the construction of the state’s first penitentiary and state armory, he also approved the
manufacturing and purchase of arms.
Presidency:
 James Monroe started having thoughts about running for president in 1815 and with the help of
his son-in-law George Hay, began to plan his campaign.
 James Monroe was elected president in 1816, and served from 1817- 1825. He was the fifth
President, and the last of the founding fathers.
 Monroe selected for his cabinet John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State, William H. Crawford as
Secretary of the Treasury, John C. Calhoun as Secretary of War, and William Wirt as Attorney
General. Daniel D. Tompkins was elected vice president. Because Monroe appointed both
Democratic-Republicans and Federalists, and tried to avoid political tension, his presidency was
called the “Era of Good Feelings.”
 James Monroe was concerned with military defense and so he reorganized the army and the nay,
and reformed the military academy of West Point.
 He resolved the majority of border disputes of the United States, particularly north and south.
Florida in 1819:
Spain had long rejected repeated American efforts to purchase Florida. But by 1818, Spain was facing a
troubling colonial situation where the cession of Florida made sense. Spain had been exhausted by wars in
Europe and needed to rebuild its credibility and presence in its colonies. Revolutionaries in Central America
and South America were beginning to demand independence. Spain was also unwilling to make any further
investment in Florida and it worried about the border between New Spain (a large area including today's
Mexico, Central America, and other regions) and the United States. Spain had almost no military or government
presence in Florida and was unable to stop Seminole warriors who routinely crossed the border and raided
American villages and farms.
By 1819 Spain was forced to negotiate because it was losing its hold on its American empire, with its western
colonies primed to revolt. While fighting escaped African-American slaves, outlaws, and Native Americans in
U.S.-controlled Georgia, Andrew Jackson had pursued them into Spanish Florida, but at the same time, he
attacked and captured Spanish forts in Florida that he felt were assisting the raids into American territory.
To stop the Seminole Indians based in East Florida from raiding Georgia settlements, and offering havens for
runaway slaves, U.S. Army led increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory, including the 1817–1818
campaign by Andrew Jackson that became known as the First Seminole War. The United States now effectively
controlled East Florida. Control was necessary according to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams because
Florida had become "a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States,
and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them." Spain requested British intervention,
but London declined to assist Spain in the negotiations.
Facing the grim fact that he must negotiate with the United States or possibly lose Florida without any
compensation, Spanish foreign minister Onis signed a treaty with Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
Similar to the Louisiana Purchase statutes, the United States agreed to pay Spain $5 Million. The Adams-Onis
Treaty drew a definite border between Spanish land and the Louisiana Territory.
In the provisions, the United States ceded to Spain its claims to Texas west of the Sabine River. Spain retained
possession not only of Texas, but also California and the vast region of New Mexico. At the time, these two
territories included all of present-day California and New Mexico along with modern Nevada, Utah, Arizona
and sections of Wyoming and Colorado.
The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819—which was not
ratified by the United States and the new republic of
Mexico until 1831—also mandated that Spain
relinquish its claims to the country of Oregon north
of the 42 degrees parallel (the northern border of
California). Later, in 1824, Russia would also
abandon its claim to Oregon south of 54’40,’ (the
southern border of Alaska.)
The Monroe Doctrine:
The Monroe Doctrine was the declaration by President James Monroe, in December 1823, that the United
States would not tolerate a European nation colonizing an independent nation in North or South America.
Any such intervention in the western hemisphere would be considered a hostile act by the United States,
though the United States would respect existing European colonies.
What prompted Monroe’s statement, which was expressed in his annual address to Congress (what today
would be considered the State of the Union Address) was a fear that Spain would try to take over its
former colonies in South America, which had declared their independence.
It was believed that France, which had invaded Spain and restored its former king to the throne, was
behind Spanish intentions to become involved again in South America.
The European powers took note of Monroe’s declaration, but what kept the Spanish (and presumably the
French) from meddling in the western hemisphere was not so much Monroe’s statements as very real
threats from the British. It seemed apparent that the Royal Navy would stop the Spanish involvement, as
the British wanted to protect their interests in the Caribbean.
The Monroe Doctrine, although named for President James
Monroe, was really the idea of John Quincy Adams, the
future president who was serving as Monroe’s Secretary of
State.
And while it wasn’t thought to be terribly important at the
time, it was later invoked by other presidents such as
Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman. And the idea that
European powers should not interfere in the western
hemisphere became an important part of American foreign
policy.
1. Why was Monroe’s time as president known as the “Era of Good Feelings”?
2. What were Monroe’s primary concerns as president?
3. Why did Spain entertain the idea of ceding Florida to the United States?
4. What role did Andrew Jackson’s Seminole Wars play in the purchase of Spanish Florida?
5. What were the terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty?
6. Summarize the Monroe Doctrine:
a. What was the motivation for the implementation of the policy?
b. To who was the doctrine addressed?
c. Summarize the doctrine in your own words.