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America’s most famous early foreign policy statement, making clear that the American continents would no longer be subject to European colonization.
“The occasion has been judged proper for asserting as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”
This issue of the Rhode-Island American from Providence includes a full printing of President James Monroe’s 1823 annual message to Congress. It remains one of the most important and far-reaching annual messages on the state of the Union in the nineteenth century. In it, Monroe announced what later became known as the “Monroe Doctrine,” a prohibition against European powers colonizing or interfering in the governments of nations in the Western Hemisphere. Largely the creation of Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, the doctrine marked a defining moment in Monroe’s presidency and informed American foreign policy for more than a century.
[JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.] JAMES MONROE.
State of the Union Message,
Rhode-Island American, and General Advertiser (Providence), December 9, 1823. 4 pp., 13¾ x 21 in.
Inventory #26277.01
Price: $1,750
Excerpts
“In the discussions to which this interest has given rise and in the arrangements by which they may terminate the occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.” (p2/c3)
“In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted at their last session, instructions have been given to all the Ministers of the United States accredited to the powers of Europe and America, to propose the proscription of the African Slave Trade, by classing it under the denomination, and inflicting on its perpetrators the punishment, of piracy.” (p2/c3)
“A strong hope has been long entertained, founded on the heroick struggle of the Greeks, that they would succeed in their contest, and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth.” (p3/c1)
“In the wars of European powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced, that we resent injuries, or make preparation for our defence. With the movements in this hemisphere, we are, of necessity, more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political system of the allied powers, is essentially different, in this respect, from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective governments. And to the defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted.” (p3/c1)
“We owe it therefore, to candour, and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But, with the governments who have declared their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration, and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling, in any other manner, their destiny, by any European power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United States. In the war between those new governments and Spain, we declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided no change shall occur, which, in the judgment of the competent authorities of this government, shall make a corresponding change, on the part of the United States, indispensable to their security.” (p3/c1)
“Our policy, in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars, which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting in all instances, the just claims of every power, submitting to injuries from none.”(p3/c1)
“If we compare the present condition of our Union with its actual state at the close of our Revolution, the history of the world furnishes no example of a progress, in improvement in all the important circumstances which constitute the happiness of a nation, which bears any resemblance to it.” (p3/c1)
Historical Background
After the War of 1812 ended in 1815, the United States feared foreign intervention in Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and Latin America. In 1821, Russia claimed control of the entire Pacific coast from Alaska to Oregon and closed the area to foreign shipping. At the same time, Spain was rumored to be planning to reconquer its former Latin American colonies, and the United States feared intervention in newly acquired Florida. Britain also claimed territory in the Oregon country of the Pacific Northwest and had a flourishing trade with Latin America, which would decline if Spain regained its New World colonies. In 1823, British Foreign Minister George Canning privately proposed that the United States and Britain jointly announce their opposition to further European intervention in the Americas.
Instead, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams convinced President Monroe to make a unilateral declaration of American policy. John Quincy Adams wrote what has since become known as the Monroe Doctrine, announcing that the Western Hemisphere was henceforth closed to further European colonization, while pledging that the U.S. would not interfere in internal European affairs. At the time, America’s military resources were negligible. Ironically, the threat of intervention relied on Great Britain’s overlapping interest in keeping other European powers and Russia from extending their interests in the Americas. Therefore, the Royal Navy enforced the Monroe Doctrine. Nevertheless, for the American people, the Monroe Doctrine was the proud symbol of American hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. Unilaterally, the United States had defined its rights and interests in the New World.
Monroe also addressed many other subjects in his message to Congress, including the international slave trade, the possible construction of a canal to connect the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River, and the Greek War of Independence. Congress had outlawed the importation of enslaved Africans beginning in January 1808, but the international slave trade continued, and slaves continued to enter the United States illegally, largely through Spanish Florida and Texas. In 1820, Congress made participating in the slave trade the equivalent of piracy and a capital offense, though did not do much to enforce it. (The first and only American executed for slave-trading in the United States was Nathaniel Gordon, in 1862.)
From 1821 to 1830, Greeks waged a successful war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. During that time, however, Greece experienced two civil wars and suppression by an Egyptian army allied with the Ottomans. Only when Russia, Britain, and France decided to intervene and defeated an Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at Navarino in 1827 did Greek independence become a strong possibility. The London Protocol of February 1830 finally recognized Greece as an independent nation. In this message, Monroe reflects early optimism for Greek independence based on the passage of the Greek Constitution of 1823, which made direct reference to the Constitution of the United States.
Additional Content
This issue also includes the proceedings of Congress on December 1 and 2 (p2/c1-2); a brief editorial on the State of the Union address: “This interesting document was communicated to both Houses of Congress on Tuesday, at noon, and reached this town at about noon on Saturday. It will be found to embrace a full and gratifying exposition of the state of the foreign and domestick relations of the United States.” (p3/c2); an article on the likely favorite candidate of Rhode Island in the upcoming 1824 presidential election (p3/c2); and a variety of advertisements and notices, including one warning readers against harboring a sixteen-year-old runaway apprentice (p4/c2).
Rhode-Island American, and General Advertiser (1809–1823) was a semi-weekly newspaper published in Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1808 as The American by William W. Dunham and David Hawkins Jr., the newspaper changed in October 1809 to this title. Dunham left in 1812, and Hawkins retired in 1813, when John Miller and William M. Mann took over publication. William Giles Goddard (1794-1846), an 1812 graduate of Brown University, moved to Massachusetts to study law but became an associate editor of the Massachusetts Spy. In 1814, he returned to Providence and purchased an interest in the Rhode-Island American. Mann died in 1817, and Goddard became sole proprietor that year and continued publishing the newspaper until 1825, when he sold it. He then became a professor at Brown, where he remained until 1842.
