The Monroe Doctrine was a foreign policy statement given by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823. It asserted that the Americas should be closed to further colonization by European powers and that any attempt by European nations to interfere in the affairs of newly independent countries in the Western Hemisphere would be seen as a direct threat to the United States. The doctrine aimed to protect the newly independent countries of Latin America from European imperialism and to establish the United States as the dominant power in the Americas. It became a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy for years to come.
