Page 254 - American Stories, A History of the United States

him as pro-British. He therefore advocated unilateral action by the United States rather
than a joint declaration with the British. As he told the cabinet in November, “It would 9.1
be more candid, as well as more dignified, to avow our principles explicitly to Russia
and France, than to come in as a cock-boat of the British man-of-war.”
Adams managed to swing Monroe and the cabinet around to his viewpoint. In his 9.2
annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823, Monroe included a far-reaching
statement on foreign policy that was actually written mainly by Adams, who was elected
president in 1824. What came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine solemnly declared Monroe Doctrine A key foreign 9.3
that the United States opposed further colonization in the Americas or any effort by policy declaration made by
European nations to extend their political systems outside their own hemisphere. President James Monroe in 1823, it
In return, the United States pledged not to involve itself in the internal affairs of declared the Western Hemisphere
off limits to new European
Europe or to take part in European wars. The statement envisioned a North and South colonization; in return, the United
America composed entirely of independent states—with the United States preeminent States promised not to meddle in
among them. European affairs.
Although the Monroe Doctrine made little impression on the great powers of
Europe when it was proclaimed, it signified the rise of a new sense of independence Quick Check
and self-confidence in American attitudes toward the Old World. The United States How and why did America’s recogni-
would now go its own way free of involvement in European conflicts and would protect tion of the Latin American republics
its own sphere of influence from European interference. change its relationship with the
european Powers?
conclusion: The End of the Era of Good Feeling

The consensus on national goals and leadership that Monroe had represented could
not sustain itself. The Era of Good Feeling turned out to be a passing phase and some-
thing of an illusion. Although the pursuit of national greatness would continue, there
would be sharp divisions over how to achieve it. A general commitment to the settle-
ment of the West and the development of agriculture, commerce, and industry would
endure despite differences over what role government should play in the process; but
the idea that an elite of nonpartisan statesmen could define common purposes and
harmonize competing elements—the concept of leadership that Monroe and Adams
had advanced—would no longer be viable in the more contentious and democratic
America of the Jacksonian era.

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