Lucille Sollazzo, age 14, of Staten Island, N.Y., for her question:
WHAT IS THE MONROE DOCTRINE?
Fifth President of the United States was James Monroe, a man who gave over 40 years of his life to public service. A fighter in the Revolutionary War, he went on to serve in the Virginia Assembly and in the Congress of the Confederation. He was also a U.S. Senator, a minister to France, Spain and Great Britain, a governor of Virginia and both U.S. Secretary of State and War.
James Monroe is best remembered for his Monroe Doctrine. This proclamation, which was issued in 1823, warned European countries not to interfere with the free nations of the Western Hemisphere.
In an address delivered to the Congress on Dec. 2, 7823, President Monroe practically guaranteed all the independent nations in the hemisphere a chance to control their own destinies.
The Doctrine also announced to the European nations that the United States would not allow new colonies to be created here nor would existing colonies be allowed to extend their boundaries.
Three leading absolute monarchies of Europe pledged themselves to put an end to the system of representative government in Europe. The United States feared they might also try to suppress representative government in the Americas. The three monarchies were Russia, Austria and Prussia. They were sometimes called the Holy Alliance.
Great Britain steadily opposed the doctrine of the Holy Alliance and suggested a joint warning with the United States to be issued against European aggression in the Americas. President Monroe went along with John Quincy Adams, his Secretary of State, that the British offer be rejected and the United States make a solo stand by issuing the Monroe Doctrine.
The attitude of the American government forced Emperor Napoleon III to give up an attempt to set up a European kingdom in Mexico.
Unfortunately, the Monroe Doctrine didn't help the United States with trade nor did it improve relations faith the Latin American countries. The nations which the Monroe Doctrine was supposed to protect resented the way the United States assumed its own superiority over them.
President Theodore Roosevelt gave new life and meaning to the Monroe Doctrine in the early 1900s with his "big stick'' policy.
After World War I, the United States worked hard to improve relations with the Latin American countries. President Herbert Hoover made a good will tour of South America and President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his Good Neighbor policy, saying that all of the Americas should have a share in upholding the Monroe Doctrine.