Was the Monroe doctrine really necessary?

Answer 1

While named after the President that wrote the 1823 message to Congress, the Monroe Doctrine was the brain child of Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams. Basically the Doctrine warned that the United States was no longer to be considered an area open to European influence or colonization. The US promised not to interfere in the affairs of Europe and Europe would respect that the Western Hemisphere was closed to colonization by any power. Two developments convinced Adams that such a Doctrine was necessary. First, the expanded Russian exploration and fur trapping south of Alaska, which had been Russian since 1741. The Russians built Fort Ross close to Spanish San Francisco and the Czar in 1821 ordered foreign ships to stay 100 miles clear of Russian American shores. The second, yet more important problem Adams saw, was the chance that Austria and France would send troops to the Western Hemisphere to help Spain regain her lost colonies in South America. Actually, Adams realized the US could not enforce the provisions of the Monroe Doctrine, but Great Britain had previously proposed that the two nations issue a proclamation that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further colonization. It was in England’s economic interests that the new Latin nations be allowed to trade with other nations, namely Great Britain. While this US “show of force” annoyed the British, Adams realized that the British Navy would help the US uphold the Monroe Doctrine.