Download Part 1, Background: On December 2, 1823, President James

Part 1, Background:
On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe used his annual message to Congress for a bold
assertion: 'The American continents ... are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future
colonization by any European powers.' Along with such other statements as George Washington's
Farewell Address and John Hay's Open Door notes regarding China, this 'Monroe Doctrine' became a
cornerstone of American foreign policy. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had played the most
important role in developing the wording of the declaration, and he also influenced the doctrine's
overall shape.
Two things had been uppermost in the minds of Adams and Monroe. In 1821 the Russian czar had
proclaimed that all the area north of the fifty-first parallel and extending one hundred miles into the
Pacific would be off-limits to non-Russians. Adams had refused to accept this claim, and he told the
Russian minister that the United States would defend the principle that the 'American continents are no
longer subjects of any new European colonial establishments.'
More worrisome, however, was the situation in Central and South America. Revolutions against
Spanish rule had been under way for some time, but it seemed possible that Spain and France might
seek to reassert European rule in those regions. The British, meanwhile, were interested in ensuring the
demise of Spanish colonialism, with all the trade restrictions that Spanish rule involved. British foreign
secretary George Canning formally proposed, therefore, that London and Washington unite on a joint
warning against intervention in Latin America. When the Monroe cabinet debated the idea, Adams
opposed it, arguing that British interests dictated such a policy in any event, and that Canning's
proposal also called upon the two powers to renounce any intention of annexing such areas as Cuba and
Texas. Why should the United States, he asked, appear as a cockleboat (small boat) trailing in the wake
of a British man-of-war?
Part 2, Four things that the Monroe Doctrine did:
The primary intent of the Monroe Doctrine was to discourage any European country from snatching up
Spanish colonies as Spain became too weak to protect these holdings. The doctrine pronounced that
any attempt to colonize or interfere with American states in North or South America Would be taken as
an act of aggression by the United States and would be met with military resistance. Although the
United States technically was not powerful enough to enforce this policy, Britain helped to enforce it
because of its agreement with anti-mercantilism policies.
Coming up to the War of 1812, both French and British ships had ignored the rights of American
merchant ships, seizing both their crews and cargo for their own needs. Recognizing this disrespect to
American sovereignty, power and independence, the U.S. government took steps to secure America's
position as a world power, strengthening the Navy and taking up new diplomatic positions. The
Monroe Doctrine was part of these developments, intending to prevent foreign incursions into
American spheres of influence under the auspices of expansion or assistance to foreign colonies.
Although American international policy had been to remain isolated from European affairs, the War of
1812 demonstrated for the first time that the United States had to actively, rather than passively, guard
her independence and autonomy. In the Monroe Doctrine, America announced is ascension as an
international power, one that could dictate its own policies and goals independent of the influence of
other nations.
Just as the Monroe Doctrine declared the status of America as a new world power, so also it defined its
own sphere of influence in North and South America. This created a great departure from traditional
European views of western Atlantic lands, which had long been considered a source of new resources
for Europe. In the Monroe Doctrine, this "New World" was forever separated from the influence of the
"Old World," marking the end of European expansion into these areas that Christopher Columbus had
started in the late 15th century.
Part 3,
Spain:
You have just recovered from a bloody war with France and have come out victorious. Napoleon has
been defeated and now you must decide how you want to pursue trade in the new world. You had to
pull most of your troops from your Spanish colonies in North and South America to fight Napoleon,
but now that he has been taken care of, you can turn your attention again to the “new” world. Do you
want to try to retake the countries by force? At the congress of Verona you got the backing of Russia,
Prussia and France to try and take these places back by force.
Russia:
Your main interest in North America is trading furthers in the Northwest (modern Canada) and Alaska.
Your have stepped out boldly and claimed that no ship other than Russian can travel above the 51st
parallel in the pacific to interfere with your fur trading. You have little interest in the actual continent
of North American and domestic issues are more important to you right now than branching out and
creating colonies in the Northwest. You seem to think that colonization is more of a European thing.
You would rather see your own people prosper. There have been too many revolutions in new world
for you to want to experiment there. You don’t have the time for a revolution or the means to protect
an empire in the Americas. You are content trading furs and bringing all the wealth right back to
Russia.
Great Britain:
You are the greatest world power at this time in history. You are searching for ways to continue to keep
this power as the great war against Napoleon is now over. You have established good relationships with
the new Latin American countries who have won their freedom from Portugal and Spain. There is talk
now, however, of Spain and Portugal trying to take their old colonies back by force. What will your
plan of action be if this happens? You could defeat one of these countries fairly easily, but fighting
them both would be a serious stretching of your military resources.
Part 1
1. Why would Adams refuse to accept the Russian claim of the land north of the fifty-first parallel?
2. How would the Monroe Doctrine affect the reassertion of Spain and France's power in South
America?
Part 2
3. Why would the Monroe Doctrine stop European countries from taking old Spanish colonies?
4. How did the US sure up its position as a world power?
5. What did the US learn about its role in European affairs from the War of 1812? How did the Monroe
Doctrine effect this?
6. How did the Monroe Doctrine change the traditional European views of America?
Part 3
For this part of the assignment you will imagine yourself as a European diplomat in the United States.
Your job is to write a letter to your government describing the Monroe Doctrine and suggest how the
government should react to it. You can choose to be a diplomat from either Spain, Russia, or Great
Britain. Once you have chosen which country you want to represent, you will read the short description
of that country and use that as background knowledge for your letter. Your letter should be roughly two
paragraphs long.