III.

The Monroe Doctrine

In 1823 President James Monroe delivered an address to Congress in which he asserted that the United States should stay out of European affairs and that European powers should not interfere in the Americas. The Monroe Doctrine, as the assertion came to be called, carried no legal authority, but it defined U.S. policy in Latin America and justified westward expansion across the continent. Aside from occasional disputes over American expansion, until the late 19th century foreign policy continued to be dominated by a desire to avoid foreign crises and, where possible, to live in isolation.