The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-09-22
THE MONROE
DOCTRINE
Origin of a Fundamental PrinCi-
pie of the American Nation
PROCLAIMED IN 1923
CeCentIy Involved by the Mexican RevoIu-
tion-COrrectness of Doctrine ReCog-
nzied by European Countries

The Monroe Doctrine, which was in
volved in the recent Mexican situation,
takes its name from President James
Monroe, who in his message to Con-
gress in 1923 first formally stated it
1t has been regarded as the corallary
of Washington's policy of nOn-entangle
ment in European affairs. One i'm
piled our keeping out of European at.
fairs; the other Europe keeping out OF
American affairs.
As originally stated it applied to the
boundary dispute in the Northwest, in
which Russia, Great Britain and the
United States were interested. Russia
had assumed to exclude foreigners from
disputed territory extending to the fif.
ty.first parallel of latitude. President
Monroe said:
"The occasion has been judged proper
for asserting a principle in which the
rights and interests of the United
States are involved, that the American
continents, by the free and independent
conditions which they have assumed
and maintained, are henceforth not to
be considered as subject for future
colonization by any European powers. -
This controversy was settled in 1870
by treaty with Russia. This part of
doctrine was again formulated by
President John Quincy Adams in 1926
in proposed instructions to the dele
gates from the United States to the
Panama Congress.
The second part of the doctrine, deal
ing with the nOn-interventiOn by Eu-
rope as the first dealt with non-coloni-
cation by Europe, related to the pro-
posed action of the Holy Alliance (Rus.
STA, Austria and Prussia), as announced
by the congress Of Verona in 1872, d.
rected against the system of represen-
tative government in Europe and aim
ed at the reimposition of the Spanish
yoke on the South Americans then IN
revolt, the independence of which had
already been recognized by the United
States. This &C lion by the European
powers threatened commercial interests
in Latin-American states and England
proposed to the United States a joint
declaration against the action of the
alliance. Without waiting for a reply
from Washington. London notified the
French government of its opposition.
President Monroe's declaration follow
ed promptly. He said:
1--WE owe it. therefore, to candor and
the amicable relations existing between
the United States and these powers to
declare that we should consider any at
tempt on their part to extend their sys-
TEN to any portion of this hemisphere
as dangerous to our peace and safety.
With the existing colonies and depend
encies of any European power we have
not interfered nor shall we interfere.
But with the governments who have
declared their independence and mani
tested it and whose independence we
have on great consideration and justly
acknowledged, we could not view. any
interposition for the purpose of op.
pressing them or in any other manner
controlling their destiny than as a
manifestation of an unfriendly dispose
ton toward the United States.
Before that jefferson had said: Our
first and fundamental maxim should be
never to entangle ourselves IN the
brois of Europe. Our second, never
to suffer Europe to intermeddle in cls-
Atlantic affairs" :, an.
President Polk in lS45 said: ut
should be distinctly announced to the
world as our settled policy that. no III,
ture European colony or domain shall
with our consent be planted or estap'
lished in any part of the North Amerl'
can Continent. baltimore Sun.