YEAR: 1823

Monroe Doctrine

Formulated first by President James Monroe in 1823, many are taught in U.S. schools that this imperialist doctrine is in actuality a benevolent, even anti-colonial document. The myth perpetuated by the doctrine is that the U.S. was graciously guaranteeing the newly independent nations of Latin America that had liberated themselves from Spanish colonialism that no European power would again colonize them.

In reality, what the Monroe Doctrine ensured in the 19th century was the “freedom” for the United States to pursue its “Manifest Destiny” across the continent. In the two centuries since the Monroe Doctrine was established, there have been countless examples of the ruling class looking to expand the borders of the United States — and with it the white supremacist, Christian, and fundamentally capitalist regime of the U.S. ruling class: from the endless wars of annihilation against Indigenous nations, to the annexation of half Mexico, to the colonization of Hawai’i, Guam, and Puerto Rico, to various conspiracies to annex Cuba and the Trump administration's most recent attacks on Venezuela.

From the present day, it can seem that the current borders of the continental United States were the “destiny” made manifest by colonialism, but that is far from the truth. At many points in U.S. history, much more maximalist designs had strong purchase among sectors of the ruling class, including plots to annex and colonize Cuba, Mexico, Canada, Central America, Greenland and beyond.