Roosevelt and the Monroe Doctrine

A historic American prejudice against the Spanish, evident during the American invasion of Mexico in 1846, reared its head again as the Caribbean came to the attention of Americans. The Monroe Doctrine, declared in 1823, promised American intervention to stop European attempts to regain control in the Americas. Lands where the Europeans had been ousted were no longer open to their return, and any European powers seeking to do so would face American intervention. "Roosevelt and the Monroe Doctrine As His Big Gun" makes clear the opportunity taken by President Roosevelt's administration to keep Europe out of the Americas and the Caribbean. Through this policy, the United States was able to justify disrupting Spanish control in the Caribbean, and yet unable to enact colonialism on its own part.