Category: Monroe Doctrine

Most of the past presidents have been able to confront and overcome many problems during their terms, and this president is no exception. During his two terms as president, James Monroe has confronted several problems which he met in office, some of these are the Missouri Compromise, the Panic of 1819, the acquirement of the territory of Florida, and one of the most influential actions throughout history, the Monroe Doctrine.

At the start of his presidency, Monroe started a series of tours across the nation with the objective of reaching out to the people of the country and to check on the conditions in which the country found itself after the war. The first tour that he took was headed north, tour in which it was first thought the most bitter, but surprisingly ended in a warm welcome for the president. The trip took about fifteen weeks back to Washington, D.C., with a result of being a success. During the tour, the Boston Columbian Centinel described the reception in Massachusetts as the beginning of the ‘Era of Good Feelings’ for the country.

After that, he continued with two more tours in which he was received with cheers and and in which he was able to win the hearts of the people of the different regions of the country.

Some time later came one of the major domestic crises during Monroe’s presidency term, the Panic of 1819.

The recession of 1819-1822, which was largely blamed on bankers and others, it was one of the economic forces that made many Americans look to Jackson as the savior of the working class and the typical hero of the country (‘Panic of 1819’). William Jones, the first president of the bank of the United States, decided to take some actions in which he just made it worse by creating speculation and inflation. Later came a proposal to close the Bank of the United States but wasn’t supported enough by congress, because at that time 40 members owned stocks at the bank. The bank tried to stabilize the problem so that it wouldn’t come out of hand but it was too late, it was already on its way to the depression. This affected very largely to the country, creating mistrust towards banks and its money, and even affecting farmers, which would later survive at the crisis by changing to a subsistence lifestyle.

And this got difficult to deal with the fact that the government couldn’t interfere with the bank, just as stated in the McCullough v Maryland: ‘the Bank of the United States, though privately run, was a creation of the federal government that could not be touched by the states’.

Just as Jefferson stated a few years ago: ‘We are to be ruined by paper, as we were formerly by the old Continental paper’. (‘Panic of 1819’). At the end, Monroe supported a policy proposed by William Crawford, Secretary of Treasury, in which it was intended to relax payment terms on mortgages for lands purchased from the federal government.

It wasn’t until 1822 when it settled down to be stable.

Around that time came another event, the Florida Purchase. It started 1818, when Andrew Jackson received a letter from Monroe in which it stated for him to command troops that were fighting the Seminoles and the Spanish at the moment. Around the same time, Secretary of State, Adams was negotiating with Luis Onis Gonzalez, Spain’s minister about legitimization of American claims of West Florida. But jackson’s troops at the time approached the territory of Florida, taking over of Florida. After the invasion, Onís and London were outraged by Jackson’s actions, in which two british citizens were killed and affected the negotiations for the treaty.

Adams was able to hold back the protests from London and continued with negotiations with Spain which later decided to cede East Florida. Meanwhile Congress failed to censure Jackson and he became incredibly famous.

After the chaotic part of the invasion and of the protests, Adams got to sign a treaty (Adams-Onís Treaty) in which Spain agreed to cede Florida and give up Northwest territories to the United States and in exchange the U.S. would pay Spain 5 million dollars and recognize Texas as part of Spain’s territory.

The United States was expanding its territory at a fast pace and one of those territories that came along with a crucial issue for the country was Missouri, which requested for admission to the Union in 1819 but was rejected because it could affect a balance between the states, slavery. At that moment, Missouri was growing rapidly—it had been organized as a formal territory only at the beginning of 1819—and approximately 10,000 of its 60,000 inhabitants were slaves (Purcell, Sarah), and was mostly settled by southerners. This meant that Missouri would be joining as a slave state unbalancing the 22 states deal. If Missouri was admitted, it would give the southerners more power than the northerners in court. Monroe suggested a solution, to resettle the blacks back to Africa, but it wasn’t considered at all as a solution. Monroe feared that this dispute could divide the Union. At the end, after a new Congress would be convened, Missouri would be admitted as a slave state along with Maine as a free state and they agreed on outlawing slavery on western territories above the 36/30′ north latitude line. Monroe, satisfied, signed the bill on March, 1820.

One of the last actions that Monroe accomplished was one of the most important in the history of the United States, the Monroe Doctrine. Henry Clay was the first to propose Monroe about recognizing, but Monroe didn’t followed the idea until his second term. It started with some rumors that started in Europe in which France would consider helping Spain to regain its old colonies in Central and South America. When the rumor spread all its way to the United States, people reacted, protesting to protect the new nations and to recognize them as independent nations.

Works Cited

1. Genovese, Michael A. “Monroe, James.” Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Third Edition, Facts On File, 2017. American History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17967&itemid=WE52&articleId=211628. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.
2. James Monroe.’ Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 11, Gale, 2004, pp. 111-113. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3404704530/GVRL?u=ppjsh_ca&sid=GVRL&xid=40188fa4. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.
3. Kelley, Brent. James Monroe. Chelsea House, 2000, Infobase eBooks, ebooks.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=105958&ISBN=9781438137414, Accessed 9 Dec. 2019.
4. “Panic of 1819: The First Major U.S. Depression.” The Globalist, 10 Feb. 2009, www.theglobalist.com/panic-of-1819-the-first-major-u-s-depression/.
5. Preston, Daniel. “James Monroe: Domestic Affairs.” Miller Center, 20 June 2017, millercenter.org/president/monroe/domestic-affairs
6. Purcell, Sarah J. “The Era of Good Feelings?: 1816–1819.” Early National Period, Facts On File, 2004. American History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17967&itemid=WE52&articleId=193956. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.

The primary case of American Imperialism is the contention among Britain and Venezuela over land off the shore of Venezuela. America truly did close to nothing, yet the moment they were included Britain upheld off so as not to annoy America. This demonstrated America what sort of intensity they had, among different nations. This is the place the U.S. started to pick up it’s self image, where it chose to build it’s outer impact, explicitly in the Southern Americas.

The greatest demonstration of American Imperialism during this timeframe, was the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was a record whose reason for existing was to ensure the nations of South America. It said that any endeavor to colonize or attack a South American nation would be taken as an immediate danger against the U.S. Fundamentally attempting to affirm it’s predominance over the locale, utilizing it’s recently discovered power and impact over different nations of the world. The Monroe Doctrine in the end prompted a huge, direct clash with Spain in Cuba. Spain controlled Cuba, and kept on raising incomes. At one point, Cuban natives had enough and there was an open rebel against Spain. The Spanish militarily put down the resistance, and ruled them, much like Stalin attempted to do in Eastern Europe. At the point when the American open was made mindful of what was happening in Cuba, there were rallies, with the individuals advising the Government to help. In the end, the administration chose to, and a warship was requested their, to help with the tumult. At the point when the ship was sunk, the U.S. accused Spain, and the request for war was given by President McKinley April, 1898. The U.S. moved over the Spanish in under two months, with Theodore Roosevelt driving his scandalous mounted force and George Dewey’s prevalent maritime instructing abilities. After this, the U.S. stayed until another administration had been set up. This demonstrates the U.S. applying it’s capacity in South America, utilizing the Monroe Doctrine to it’s full limit.

The last case of American Imperialism in the late 1800s is Hawaii. The occurrence began with Pearl Harbor. The U.S. arranged a settlement with Hawaii, which enabled them to fabricate the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The U.S. before long started to control sugar estates. At the point when Queen Liliuokalani restricted U.S. control, the U.S. supplanted the levies that it had lifted. As the Hawaiian economy fizzled, the manor proprietors started to take control and had the option to expel the Queen from power. Hawaii applied for addition and was affirmed in 1898.

From these things we can perceive how and why the U.S. was seen as imperialistic during the late 1800s. Everything began with the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine prompted the contention with Spain over Cuba, and the Spanish-American War. This brought about the control and extension of Hawaii. Hence, Roosevelt’s statement is demonstrated to be exemplified by the late nineteenth century United States.

Chapter 6 titled as ‘Good Neighbors? The United States and the Americans 1900-1945’ covers in depth how United States used various policies of expansionism to develop a firm grip on the western hemisphere placing them on a strong footing with the Europeans and paving way to United States becoming one of the most powerful nations of the World. This chapter also discusses in detail the significance of world events such as the World War II, Spanish American War in dictating specific means by which the United States excercised its dominance in Latin Countries. American policies such as the Gunboat Policy, Good Neighbor Policy and Monroe Doctrine Policy for Intervention and developing Pan Americanism are discussed. The author of this chapter primarily believes that the Americans justified their dominance during the mentioned period by using altruistic principles presenting examples of cases where America resorted to alternatives to direct military interventions which were equally unethical and promoted the same goal. The Study of this period and these American policies is a pivotal part of International Relations as it demonstrates how the Americans operate. The United States play a significant role in shaping international policies in the modern world and therefore it is necessary to become aware of how dominance can be asserted in a realist world that is power oriented. All these policies that America adopted were an example of realist policies and show us how the United States successfully countered European Imperialism.

Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine was the longest lasting American foreign policy. It was pronounced initially by the President John Monroe in his speech to Congress on December 2nd 1823. It consisted of three important statements.

The Doctrine stated that various parts of the western hemisphere should not be considered a subject for colonization by any European power. Secondly it stated that there were vast differences between the European political system of monarchies and the Western hemisphere system of democratic republics. Lastly the Doctrine stated that if the Europeans would not interfere in American matters then the Americans would do the same. The author points out that even though at the time the Monroe Doctrine held very little significance it was later used by the United States as means of justification for American involvement in their Southern neighbors. Monroe Doctrine as stated by the Author “acted as a smokescreen for a new kind of colonialism directed from the Washington” (page 145). An example of this is the taking over of Cuba by the Americans to provide them control of the Carribbean and taking over Philippines by using this doctrine as a justification. The Americans also justified this as it was an alternative to European Protectionism and prevented Europeans from cutting of the Americans from lucrative markets such as China. The Americans as stated by the Monroe doctrine asserted that the Europeans had no right to interfere in their matters.

Gunboat Diplomacy to Good Neighbour Policy

In the 1920’s anti interventionist ideas were on the rise portraying a negative American Imperial image therefore the Republican government which was in power at that time decided to withdraw and decrease military presence in Nicaragua , Dominican Republic and Haiti. However in 1926 America sent back troops in the Caribbean due to bloody civil wars that followed showing that direct rule in the Carribbean created more trouble for the Americans then solving them. An example highlighted by the author is that of Nicaragua where a general Augusto Sandino continued to wage guerrilla war against the Americans and soon became a symbol of resistance for American Imperialism throughout Latin America. As per the order of Herbert Hoover troops were withdrawn form America in 1931. A year later Sandino was murdered after leaving a negotiating session with the American supported Nicaraguan government and therefore in 1936 Nicaragua fell in the hands of military dictator Anastazio Somoza. American critics pointed out that there was no achievement in American policy of being good neighbors with brutal rulers who only ruled for their gain and forutne. Therefore there was a shift in policy by the Americans. An example of this presented by the author is that of compromise reached with the Mexico in the late 1930’s. The United States had an oil dispute with the mexicans. In 1917 the mexicans nationalised all mineral resources including oil. Only after extended negotiations in which the Mexican government agreed to recognize pre-1917 American property rights did the United States grant Mexico full diplomatic recognition in 1924. However, in 1938 the Mexican President, Lazaro Cardenas, nationalized all property held by foreign oil companies. Roosevelt didnot resort to military expedition and acknowledged Mexico’s right to control its raw materials and the Mexican government agreed to pay restitution to those Americans whose property had been nationalized. This example illustrates how americans deviated from their typical policy of interventionism and resorted to good neighbors policy.

Pan-Americanism

Pan Americanism is defined as the political, cultural and commercial cooperation between North and South America. Prior to the world war II America was in fear that Mexico and other Latin countries might be inclined towards fascist Italy and Nazi Germany as both European countries as well as Japan had increased their trade and investment in Latin America. Thus Roosevelt administration set it as their goal to strengthen the Pan American movement. In 1910 Pan American Union was established to increase inter relations in America but however the author views it as a vehicle for promoting hemispheric trade. Latin Americans used the body as a means to voice their discontent and frustration at the involvement of America in internal affairs. With Nazi activists continuosly prevalent in Latin America the Americans used the Pan American Movement to justify the need for hemispheric cooperation. In 1939 the Declaration of Panama went even further by effectively creating a security perimeter around the Western Hemisphere and establishing an economic co-ordination committee. At the time of election Rossevelt had said he would never send Americans to fight a foreign war but however at time of World War II Rossevelt used the Pan American movement and said it was the duty of Americans to become the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ (page 159).

Author Background

Dr Best studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds before moving to London where he studied for his PhD at the London School of Economics. He joined the LSE as a Lecturer in 1989.

In June 2016, Dr Antony Best won an LSE Excellence in Education Award with other members of the Department. Designed to support the School’s aspiration of creating ‘a culture where excellence in teaching is valued and rewarded on a level with excellence in research’ (LSE Strategy 2020), the Excellence in Education Awards are made, on the recommendations of Heads of Department, to staff who have demonstrated outstanding teaching contribution and educational leadership in their departments.

Dr Best’s main fields of research interests lie in Anglo-Japanese relations, the origins of the Pacific War; the international history of East Asia; the history of modern Japan, and intelligence and International history.

Personal Evaluation

The reason why I chose this topic is solely to study how America tackled European Imperalism and established its own dominance. This topic successfully covers in depth American politics and narrates the journey of America in becoming a “Great Power”. The topic that intrigues me the most is how the Americans adapted to change and resorted to an agile change in policies. An example of this is transitioning from a policy of direct interventionism to good neighbor policy. Another topic of interest for me is how the Americans used their supreme tactics successfully in masking their Imperialism and portraying it as a necessity for all Latin Countries. The Monroe Doctrine played a pivotal role in cleaning American conscience and hid the atrocities of America.

Conclusion

The author successfully narrates in depth all historical events and uses modern day examples to support these facts. Each policy employed is covered in depth with cause, effects and criticism. The author accomplishes his ultimate goal of capturing the attention of its readers and inculcating in them a new profound interest for international relations. Therefore I would strongly recommend this book to all avid readers who wish to study history in depth from a neutral perspective.