Monroe Doctrine

"The Monroe Doctrine"

James Monroe was born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He attended school until the age of sixteen. He then entered the College of William and Mary (Sauer, 2000, p. 233). Monroe enlisted in the army during the Revolutionary War and at the age of eighteen he became lieutenant. He served under Washington and he was later made a captain for his efforts in the battle at Trenton, New Jersey, where he was wounded in the shoulder. From then on Monroe was active in a variety of politics.

Monroe became the state legislator of Virginia in 1782, served three years in Congress starting in 1784, and became Minister to France from 1794 to 1796. He also governed Virginia from 1799 to 1802 and became the Secretary of State during the Madison Presidency. While serving in this position he helped in the negotiations of the War of 1812(Sauer, 2001, p.235-36). Monroe was chosen for candidacy by his predecessor James Madison. He served two terms as president and had virtually no opposition in either election. This was due to the fall of the Federalist Party. At the end of Monroe's first term he dealt with The Panic of 1819 and in the Missouri Compromise during 1820 (Text, 2005). The most important and most influential document of this time would come at the end of his last term, the Monroe Document.

The Monroe Doctrine was one of the first declarations by the United States in terms of foreign policy. It established the United States position in world affairs by declaring what they believed were their rights and powers over the Americas. It was written by James Monroe and John Quincy Adams and delivered by President Monroe in his speech to congress on December 2, 1823 (Best, 2004, p.132).

The p...

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...the United States from the minute it was written and will most likely continue to adhere to U.S. foreign policy. Although the Monroe Doctrine is not a law, the Presidents of both the past and the future have and will continue to use it when making decisions that will in turn alter Americans lives.

References

Best, A. (2004). International History of the Twentieth Century. New York Taylor & Francis.

Perkins, D. (1955). A History of the Monroe Doctrine. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.

Podell, J.,& Anzovin, S. (2001). Speeches of the American Presidents. Bronx, NY: H.W. Wilson Company.

Sauer, P. (2000). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Presidents. Indianapolis, IN: Macmillan USA, Inc.

Text(2005) References to knowledge available from class textbook and professor's lectures (although not a acceptable source I still cited these to avoid plagerism).