What Gave Rise to America’s Monroe Doctrine?

[unhappycamper]

http://watchingamerica.com/News/233471/what-gave-rise-to-americas-monroe-doctrine/



Strictly speaking, America’s involvement in World War I actually violated the Monroe Doctrine’s principle of mutual nonintervention, which means that from then on America no longer upheld the Monroe Doctrine.

What Gave Rise to America’s Monroe Doctrine?
Huanqiu , China
By Xing Yue
Translated By Chase Coulson
13 February 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer

In 1823, U.S. President James Monroe declared in a report to Congress, “the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers ... America will not intervene in the affairs of state of any existing Powers, but also does not allow European Powers to intervene in the affairs of the Americas.”* This message is what is often called the Monroe Doctrine. Contained within it are two principles — a principle of noncolonialism on the American continent and a principle of mutual nonintervention between America and the European powers.

Strictly speaking, America’s involvement in World War I actually violated the Monroe Doctrine’s principle of mutual nonintervention, which means that from then on America no longer upheld the Monroe Doctrine. However, due to the “the Americas are for the Americans” implication within the Monroe Doctrine, whenever subsequent generations would speak of the doctrine, they would mainly point to the fact that it left nations within the American continent to the sole intervention and control of the U.S. In a Nov. 18, 2013 address, Secretary of State John Kerry declared the end of the Monroe Doctrine, which must be understood to say that American would no longer brandish its big stick and wave it around the American continents.

That being said, regarding the Monroe Doctrine, the puzzling question on everyone’s minds has always been this: According to the historical conditions at the time, why would America, a relatively weak country compared to the European powers, make such a brazen statement to Europe as, “you’re not allowed to intervene in the affairs of the Americas”? Moreover, wouldn’t it then need to back up that statement?

How Could the Monroe Doctrine Come into Being?

During the time of the Napoleonic Wars, there was a revolt in Spain’s American colonies; multitudinous colonies on the western edge of Latin America gained their independence from the empire. The U.S. welcomed this, showed vigorous support for the Latin American revolutions and was the first to recognize many of these nations’ independence.