1823

President James Monroe addresses Congress

During his annual message to Congress in late 1823, President James Monroe included a warning to European powers that they should not interfere in affairs in the Americas.

According to The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the powers that be in the United States were wary of European intervention in Florida, the Pacific Northwest and Latin America. The result was a statement from President Monroe, later referred to as the Monroe Doctrine, announcing that the western hemisphere was closed to further colonization by European nations.

President Monroe also noted that the U.S. would not interfere in

the internal affairs of nations in Europe.