Changes

In his December 2, 1823, address to Congress, President James Monroe articulated United States’ policy on the new political order developing in the rest of the Americas and the role of Europe in the Western Hemisphere. The statement, known as the Monroe Doctrine, was little noted by the Great Powers of Europe, but eventually became a longstanding tenet of U.S. foreign policy. Monroe and his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams drew upon a foundation of American diplomatic ideals such as disentanglement from European affairs and defense of neutral rights as expressed in Washington’s Farewell Address and Madison’s stated rationale for waging the War of 1812.   A hundred years later, President Theodore Roosevelt’s assertive approach to Latin America and the Caribbean has often been characterized as the “Big Stick.” Roosevelt essentially strengthened to United States position vis a vis Latin America and it became to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.