The Monroe Doctrine After 200 Years: A Strategic Hinge Period in American History.

• Author: McNamara, Thomas E.

Our oldest remaining national policy, the Monroe Doctrine, is 200 years old this December. Historically, it was an anchor in the ever-changing currents of world events for over a century and its influence continues into its third century. It is worth looking at its origins and early history.

The World of Monroe and Quincy Adams: Monarchy vs. Republic

The Western world in 1823 was recovering from the tumult and tragedy of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, which tore apart the social, economic, and political fabric of Europe. In reaction, the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 established a "Concert of Europe" to, inter alia, define borders and spheres of influence, restore "legitimate" monarchy, abolish republics, and stabilize Europe. Eighteenth century monarchs opposed republics but felt no threat from them. After Robespierre and Napoleon, their nineteenth century successors feared republics and revolution, vowing to destroy them.

In Latin America, rebellions had begun during the wars and the Holy Alliance (Austria, Prussia, Russia), assisted by France, agreed in Vienna to help a weak Spanish monarchy recover its American colonies. The pragmatic United Kingdom, in contrast, saw the Americas through commercial, not monarchical, lenses and favored independence because recolonization threatened British trade and finance.

In North America, less violent struggles were underway. The War of 1812 ended with the Treaty of Ghent, which for the first time showed Britain respected United States' independence--for the same commercial reasons. Yet, it adamantly opposed US westward expansion beyond the Louisiana Territory. Thus, as a lever, Britain refused in the treaty to define the US-Canadian border west of the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, Russia was assisting its Spanish partner by extending its Alaskan colonial claims down the Pacific coast to California. This was the scene the Monroe administration faced on taking office in 1817. Russia, Spain, France, British Canada, and the British navy surrounded the US with monarchical powers, intent on extinguishing or containing the United States.

A New US Foreign Policy

By 1817, President James Monroe had substantial diplomatic experience, but he was not a strategic thinker. Fortunately, he chose as secretary of state America's first and greatest career diplomat, and its most successful and consequential secretary of state, John Quincy Adams. The brilliant Quincy Adams began his career in 1779 in Paris with his father, John Adams. In 1794 Washington named him, at age 27, minister to the Netherlands. By 1817, Quincy Adams had spent almost half his life as a diplomat abroad; been minister to six European nations; was chief negotiator of the Treaty...