Monroe Doctrine

Monroe Doctrine

Established in 1823 to express the American view that the entire Western Hemisphere should be free from external colonization or influence, a statement aimed at the time at keeping Europe out of American affairs.  During the Cold War, it meant that the United States viewed attempts by the Soviet Union to establish Communist governments in the Americas as unacceptable threats to American interests.  Today, American policy still reflects the Monroe Doctrine as evidenced in the close relationship between the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere and the influence of American government in regional policy decisions.