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Foreign Policy

Annual Message to Congress — Formulation of the Monroe Doctrine

Name: Annual Message to Congress — Formulation of the Monroe Doctrine
Start: 1823-12-02
Location: United States

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe delivered his annual message to Congress, declaring that the Western Hemisphere should be free from future European colonization and that European interference in the affairs of independent American nations would be viewed as hostile to U.S. interests.

This statement — later called the Monroe Doctrine — established a long‑lasting U.S. foreign‑policy principle asserting hemispheric autonomy from European control and shaped American diplomacy throughout the 19th century and beyond.

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