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"Theodore Roosevelt and his Big Stick in the Caribbean" by WilliamAllen Rogers is in the public domain.

The Monroe Doctrine and AmericanImperialism

By Mike Kubic2017

The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy beginning in 1823 that opposed Europe’s colonization of theAmericas. Mike Kubic, a former Newsweek magazine correspondent, discusses the parameters of thepolicy, as well as its effects both nationally and globally. As you read, take note of how the meaning andimplementation of the Monroe Doctrine have changed over time, and the effect that this has had onAmerica’s foreign policy.

When the British poet John Donne wrote in 1624that “No man is an island, entire of itself; everyman is a piece of the continent” he defined aninescapable condition that pertains not only toindividuals — it shapes the fate of countries. OurFounding Fathers were aware of the hazards andburdens of belonging to the family of nations,and busy as they were creating their own society,they wanted to keep their coexistence with othersdown to a minimum.

President George Washington said so inSeptember 1796 in his famous Farewell Address.Turning to the subject in his 32-page list of thingsthe nation should and should not do, hecautioned that: “It is our true policy to steer clearof permanent alliances with any portion of theforeign world,” and added that “The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is… tohave with them as little political connection as possible.”

A quarter of a century later, minimizing foreign involvement was still the United States policy. JohnQuincy Adams, the Secretary of State in 1821, declared America to be “the well-wisher to the freedomand independence of all,” but rejected the idea that “She… goes abroad in search of monsters todestroy.”

Yet only two years later, Adams authored a seminal1 document that pointed American foreign policy inthe opposite direction. It was a declaration that made the United States the guardian of theindependence of all the nations of the North and South American continents — the entire half of theglobe called The Western Hemisphere.

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1. strongly influencing later development

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The doctrine, presented by President James Monroe in his December 2, 1823 annual message toCongress, declared that the United States would regard any extension of European power “to anyportion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety” and asserted that “The Americancontinents… are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any Europeanpowers.”

In a breathtaking about-face, the proclamation reversed George Washington’s policy of American non-involvement and self-restraint in dealings with foreign nations. Instead, it warned them to restrainthemselves in their dealings with the U.S.- protected Western Hemisphere.

The Monroe Doctrine illustrated two truths about our (and every other nation’s) foreign policy. Itstarted by setting forth principles that were meant to be immutable.2 And over time, it showed howthey can be changed in response to changing circumstances — such critical facts as its politicalstability, the growth of the economy, and its military readiness.

As long as our country was preoccupied with building up these strengths, the Monroe Doctrine andAmerican foreign policy remained largely the same. But as time went on, the relative strengths ofAmerica and the foreign powers underwent a profound change.

To begin with, America became the magnet for millions of people who were brave, restless, and hardyenough to hazard the long and dangerous journey to what was seen as the land of endlessopportunities. They arrived in staggering numbers. In 1820, the U.S. population was 9.5 million and itsaverage annual increase was 240,000. By 1901, the corresponding totals were 77.6 million and 1.5million.

The immigrants were capable, and they worked hard. By 1895, the U.S. had surpassed Great Britain inmanufacturing output and by 1900, the New World was producing more energy than Germany, France,Austria-Hungary, Russia, Japan, and Italy combined. Between the end of the American Civil War and theturn of the century, U.S. coal production rose by 800 percent, steel rails by 523 percent, and wheatproduction by 256 percent.

“No nation has ever experienced such an increase in its power without seeking to translate it intoglobal influence,” wrote former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Diplomacy, his history of the U.S.foreign policy. And successive U.S. administrations were no exceptions. They began stretching themeaning of the Monroe Doctrine until it covered practically any action they wanted to take in theHemisphere.

For example, President James K. Polk tried to justify the 1845 annexation of Texas by arguing that as anindependent state it might become “an ally or dependency of some foreign nation,” and thus endangerAmerican security.

In 1861, State Secretary William H. Seward proposed to invade Cuba on similarly specious3 grounds –he warned that if the South should secede from the Union, some European power might exploit theUnion’s weakness to take over the island. (President Lincoln turned down the idea.)

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2. Immutable (adjective): unchanging over time or unable to be changed3. Specious (adjective): superficially plausible, but actually wrong

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By the end of the century, the meaning of the Monroe Doctrine had been expanded to justify U.S.hegemony4 throughout the hemisphere and America was ready to flex its muscles still farther. AsSecretary Kissinger pointed out, “no one articulated this attitude more [effectively] than TheodoreRoosevelt, the president who insisted that it was America’s duty to make its influence felt globally.”

The Roosevelt Corollary

President “Teddy” Roosevelt, the fifth cousin to Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. president during WorldWar II, was a study in contrast. He was the son of a wealthy, patrician5 family that had lived in New Yorkfor 200 years, and as a Harvard-educated adult, he travelled the world to study scientific subjects andauthored 17 books. But he was pugnacious,6 loved strenuous7 physical exercise, and during the 1898Spanish-American War won fame for such bravery as leading the charge of his Rough Riders up theSan Juan Hill in Cuba.

As the Vice President and successor of President William McKinley, Roosevelt continued todemonstrate both sides of his personality. He negotiated a treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese Warin 1905, and became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. But already years earlier, he wasAmerica’s foremost advocate of an aggressive foreign policy that broke the limits of the MonroeDoctrine.

For example, in 1893, Roosevelt — then a Civil Service Commissioner — demanded the annexation ofthe Hawaiian Islands after their American residents had brazenly overthrown Queen Liliuokalani.

Two years later, he called for a war with Britain because of its dispute with Venezuela over theboundary of the British Guayna.

And In 1901, as the vice president, he supported the so-called Platt Amendment that compelled theCuban government to let the U.S. to intervene unilaterally8 in Cuban affairs, and gave Washington alease on two naval bases.

Sworn-in as the president following the 1901 assassination of McKinley, Roosevelt announced that hewished “to see the United States the dominant power on the shores of the Pacific Ocean"; started amajor naval build-up; and urged the construction of a Central American canal that would enable theships to quickly reach the Pacific. When he was elected president, the U.S. ranked fifth among navalpowers. By 1917, it had 20 battle ships and was second only to Great Britain.

Roosevelt’s recent biographer, Nathan Miller, argued in his Theodore Roosevelt, a Life that the presidenthad distorted the Monroe Doctrine because he believed that “America had the moral obligation tooverawe9 international bullies, maintain order, and uplift backward peoples.”

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4. Hegemony (noun): leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others5. belonging to or characteristic of the aristocracy6. Pugnacious (adjective): eager or quick to argue7. Strenuous (adjective): requiring or using great exertion8. used to indicate that something is done by only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the

agreement of others9. Overawe (verb): to impress someone so much that they become silent or inhibited

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But whatever his intentions, Roosevelt’s major legacy was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine that —rather than protecting the Hemisphere — put the fear of Uncle Sam10 into South American debtors.What prompted the measure was chaos in the Dominican Republic after it defaulted on its foreigndebts, and Italy threatened to interfere in support of the creditors.

The president first declared that “If any South American country misbehaves toward any Europeancountry, let the European country spank it,” and said he wanted “to do nothing but what a policemanhas to do in Santo Domingo.” But on second thought, he instructed on May 20, 1904 his Secretary ofWar to read at a ceremonial dinner an open letter that spelled out the so-called Roosevelt Corollary tothe Monroe Doctrine.

It said in part that “If a nation shows that it knows how to act with decency… , if it keeps order and paysits obligations, then it need fear no interference from the United States.” But, Roosevelt added with hiscustomary bluntness, “brutal wrongdoing, or an impotence11 which results in a general loosening ofthe ties of civilized society, may finally require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the WesternHemisphere, the United States cannot ignore this duty… ”

After an Italian cruiser appeared off the coast of the Dominican Republic, Roosevelt saw to it that thedebts were collected by an American.

Two of Roosevelt’s successors tried to rid the Monroe Doctrine of the sting of his “big stick”12 policy.One of them was Woodrow Wilson, who in January 1917 announced his plan for the League of Nationsby proposing “that the nations should… adopt the doctrine of President Monroe... that no nationshould extend its polity13 over other nation or people... that all nations henceforth avoid entanglingalliances which would draw them into competitions for power... ”

His proposal was accepted by 58 foreign countries but rejected by the majority of U.S. Senators, someof whom saw it as an example of the entangling alliances abhorred14 by George Washington. The otherpresident was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who renounced the embarrassing Platt Amendment.

In the 1890s, the United States, once again by unilateral action15 extended the doctrine to include theright to decide how a dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain over the boundaries of BritishGuiana should be settled. Secretary of State Richard Olney told the British, “Today the United States ispractically sovereign16 on this continent and its fiat17 is law upon the subjects to which it confines itsinterposition…. its infinite resources combined with its isolated position render it master of thesituation and practically invulnerable as against any or all other powers.” The British, troubled by therise of Germany and Japan, could only acquiesce18 in American pretensions.19 But Latin Americannations protested the way in which Washington had chosen to ‘defend’ Venezuelan interests.

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10. a national personification of the American government or the United States in general11. Impotence (noun): inability to take effective action12. Theodore Roosevelt’s policy asserting the United States’ domination when it is considered the moral imperative13. a form or process of civil government or constitution14. Abhor (verb): to regard with disgust and hatred15. “Unilateral action” is when one country acts on their own and without the support of other countries.16. Sovereign (noun): a supreme ruler17. a formal authorization or proposition18. Acquiesce (verb): to accept something reluctantly but without protest19. Pretension (noun): a claim or the assertion of a claim to something

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“The Monroe Doctrine and American Imperialism” by Mike Kubic. Copyright © 2017 by CommonLit. This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA2.0.

Roosevelt’s ‘Big Stick’ Latin American policy became synonymous with the Monroe Doctrine, much tothe chagrin20 of later American policymakers, who sought in various ways to change the image of theMonroe Doctrine. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the cousin of Teddy Roosevelt announced hisintention to replace the Big Stick with the Good Neighbor.21 At his direction, for example, the UnitedStates renounced22 the right to intervene in Cuban affairs under the Platt Amendment. But it did notgive up its naval base in Guantanamo Bay.23

A variety of treaties signed during and after World War II attempted to turn the Monroe Doctrine into amultilateral24 undertaking, renamed the Inter-American System. When the United States dealt with theproblem of Castro’s Cuba, for example, or intervened in the Dominican Republic in 1965, Washingtonwas always careful to declare that it was acting with, and even at the behest25 of, the Organization ofAmerican States.

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20. Chagrin (noun): distress or embarrassment at having failed21. the foreign policy designed to improve relations with Latin America22. Renounce (verb): to formally declare one’s abandonment of a right23. The United States still owns Guantanamo Bay, the location of the prison that holds suspected terrorists of the Iraq

and Afghanistan Wars.24. having members or contributors from several groups, especially different countries25. a person’s orders or command

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Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Which of the following identifies the central idea of the text?A. America has remained true to the objectives of the Founding Fathers in matters

concerning foreign affairs.B. The Monroe Doctrine has reinforced the initial intentions of the Founding

Fathers for the United States to not involve itself with other nations.C. The United States continues to become more aggressively involved with the

affairs of other nations.D. America turned away from the original wishes of the Founding Fathers by

extending its power through the Monroe Doctrine, the terms of which evolvedover time to allow further influence.

2. PART B: Which section best supports the answer to Part A?A. “'The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is… to have with

them as little political connection as possible.’” (Paragraph 2)B. “As long as our country was preoccupied with building up these strengths, the

Monroe Doctrine and American foreign policy remained largely the same.”(Paragraph 8)

C. “By the end of the century, the meaning of the Monroe Doctrine had beenexpanded to justify U.S. hegemony throughout the hemisphere and Americawas ready to flex its muscles still farther.” (Paragraph 14)

D. “When the United States dealt with the problem of Castro’s Cuba, for example,or intervened in the Dominican Republic in 1965, Washington was always carefulto declare that it was acting with, and even at the behest of, the Organization ofAmerican States.” (Paragraph 30)

3. PART A: What is the meaning of “about-face” in paragraph 6?A. turnaroundB. setbackC. reprimandD. announcement

4. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A?A. “The doctrine, presented by President James Monroe in his December 2, 1823

annual message to Congress” (Paragraph 5)B. “the proclamation reversed George Washington’s policy of American non-

involvement and self-restraint” (Paragraph 6)C. “it warned them to restrain themselves in their dealings with the U.S.”

(Paragraph 6)D. “It started by setting forth principles that were meant to be immutable.”

(Paragraph 7)

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5. PART A: How has the Monroe Doctrine changed over time?A. The Monroe Doctrine was initially aimed towards ensuring the safety of

Americans, then became a tool to gain power, but its power has declinedsomewhat over the past century.

B. The goals of the Monroe Doctrine have remained consistent over the years, withthe protection of America being its ultimate goal.

C. The Monroe Doctrine shifted from a means of securing peace in America to away to gain additional power through the invasion of foreign countries.

D. The Monroe Doctrine was initially a means for America to extend its power, buthas since been modified to protect America.

6. PART B: Which quote from the text best supports the answer to Part A?A. “minimizing foreign involvement was still the United States policy: John Quincy

Adams, the Secretary of State, in 1821 declared America to be ‘the well-wisher tothe freedom and independence of all’” (Paragraph 3)

B. “And over time, it showed how they can be changed in response to changingcircumstances — such critical facts as its political stability, the growth of theeconomy, and its military readiness.” (Paragraph 7)

C. “As long as our country was preoccupied with building up these strengths, theMonroe Doctrine and American foreign policy remained largely the same.”(Paragraph 8)

D. “he supported the so-called Platt Amendment that compelled the Cubangovernment to let the U.S. to intervene unilaterally in Cuban affairs, and gaveWashington a lease on two naval bases.” (Paragraph 19)

7. How do paragraphs 12-13 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

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Discussion QuestionsDirections: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared toshare your original ideas in a class discussion.

1. In your opinion, does the Monroe Doctrine’s influence still exist today? If so, in what waysdoes it affect foreign policy? What role does the Monroe Doctrine play in the War on Terror?

2. In your opinion, was the Monroe Doctrine necessary to ensure America’s security? Do youthink it is necessary today?

3. In the context of the text, how has America changed over time? How and why has America’sviews on foreign policy changed over time? Cite evidence from this text, your ownexperience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

4. In the context of the text, what is fair? America involved itself with other countries forreasons of personal security and gain: was this fair? Cite evidence from this text, your ownexperience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

5. In the context of the text, how does power corrupt? How did the power America gainedfrom the influx of immigrants alter its original values? Cite evidence from this text, your ownexperience, and other literature, art, or history in your answer.

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