Monroe Doctrine announced

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe delivered his annual message to Congress in Washington and announced what later became known as the Monroe Doctrine. Drafted with major input from Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, the message warned European powers against new colonization or political intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Monroe tied the declaration to the independence of the new Latin American republics and to the security of the United States.

The doctrine addressed a diplomatic crisis created by the collapse of Spain's American empire and by fears that the Holy Alliance might help restore colonial rule in the Americas. Adams opposed a joint declaration with Great Britain because he wanted the United States to speak independently rather than appear as a junior partner of the British Empire. The message therefore asserted a distinct American sphere of political principle even though the United States still lacked the naval power to enforce the claim on its own.

The Monroe Doctrine became a lasting framework for nineteenth-century American foreign policy in dealings with Europe and Latin America. Later presidents and diplomats repeatedly invoked Monroe's 1823 message when resisting European intervention and justifying a special American role in the hemisphere.