LAD/Blog #11: Monroe Doctrine

Overall Message:
In his doctrine, President Madison wanted to be sure that the United States' foreign policy was spelled out clearly for all of the European powers, as to ensure that there would be no surprises in the near future.  He explicitly stated that America's rights when dealing with other countries must be protected, and therefore, his country will never even be considered as a potential colony for any other country in the future.  However, Monroe also explained how the US still had high hopes for other countries, such as Spain and Portugal, and their own personal success.  Any country that was completely independent, with no colonies or dependencies, were seen as okay to interact with.  Basically, this was the US' way of putting themselves first and making sure that the country was stable and flourishing before even starting to think about making allies or coming to the aid of other countries. 

Conditions:
Monroe believed in was in America's best interest to never interfere in future wars between European powers.  The country should only interfere or prepare for defense if Americans' own rights were denied.  Additionally, to ensure all neutrality, Monroe stated that the US would not interfere with colonies of European powers either, as that also would just stir up more trouble.  The main idea here was that America should, and would, remain neutral as it was best for the country and several other countries.  That being said, the policy further stated how European powers were to be held at blame, too, if something happened that jeopardized America's happiness and stability, such as a war.  It wasn't just all on America's shoulders to remain neutral.  

Washington's original Proclamation of Neutrality in 1973 is very similar to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.  Both of these important documents were scripted under the main idea of neutrality.  Washington, as the first President of the United States, first introduced the idea of neutrality, in order to keep the US safe after their gaining of independence after the Revolutionary War.  However, after several events in history, such as the War of 1812, President Monroe saw it necessary to once again lay out the rules and guidelines of neutrality as the previous proclamation was not enough to keep the US from interacting with other countries.  Thus, the Monroe Doctrine was born, in order to preserve and ensure the nation's neutrality, just like it had been for the first time in Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality.