Results of the Monroe Doctrine

Results of the Monroe Doctrine

Until the late 1800's, Europe's respect for the rights of the smaller American nations rested less upon the Monroe Doctrine than upon fear of the British Navy. A possible exception to this rule occurred in the 1860's, shortly after the American Civil War, while the wartime Army and Navy of the United States were still strong. During those years, the attitude of the U.S. government encouraged Emperor Napoleon III to give up an attempt to set up a European kingdom in Mexico. It was not until the 1880's, when the United States began to enlarge its new Navy of modern steel ships, that the United States again had enough power to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.

In some ways, the Monroe Doctrine strained relations between the United States and the Latin American countries. The nations that the doctrine supposedly protected resented the way the United States assumed superiority over them. They also feared "The Colossus of the North" more than they feared any European nation.

Excerpt adapted from the "Monroe Doctrine" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999