MONROE, JAMES. — American politician, born in Westmoreland County (Virginia) on 28 April 1758, died in New York on 4 July 1831. He fought in the War of Independence, was a member of the Virginia legislature, and subsequently of the Congress of the new Confederation; he was sent to France as plenipotentiary minister from 1794 to 1796.
Returning to France in 1803, he concluded with Napoleon the purchase of Louisiana on behalf of his government. In 1811 he was appointed secretary of state, until,
in 1816, he was elected president of the Confederation and re-elected in 1820. During the eight years of his administration he purchased Florida from Spain; he peacefully resolved, through the Missouri compromise, the first conflict surrounding the issue of slavery; and, in a message to Congress of 2 December 1823, proclaimed the famous “doctrine” known by his name, by which he established the guidelines of United States foreign policy. In opposition to European imperialism (the continental powers appeared intent on reconquering Latin America), he sought to defend American democracy from what were regarded as dangerous contacts with European absolutism; this doctrine aimed to prevent new attempts at European colonization in the Americas and any interference by the states of Europe, while reaffirming the United States’ renunciation of intervention in European affairs. Reaffirmed in the message of 1824, it served to discourage new European colonial ventures beyond the Atlantic and constituted the premise of United States expansionism.