The 19 th century saw the American society undergo multiple reforms in several sectors including commerce, foreign policy, the economic ideologies and socio-political structures. Inspired by the rising nationalism, the Monroe Doctrine Reformation became a cornerstone of the American Foreign policy and its influence spanning over a century. Notably, it redefined the American-European foreign policy relations by setting up new terms of engagement between the Western Hemisphere and Europe. While there were various reforms in that period, The Monroe Doctrine Reforms emerged as the most important reforms because of its domestic and international affairs implications not just at the time but also in the subsequent years. Precisely, the reforms paved way for the Independence of the America from European influence which allowed the US to grow the American identity separate from the realm of European autocracy.
Description of Reform
The Monroe Doctrine was a Declaration made by President James Monroe containing statements outlining American’s position to disentangle itself from the European powers influence in the coming years. It contained three main concepts: Separation of Latin American domestic affairs from interference by European nations, Sovereignty of States in the Americas fro0m Colonization and The Right of Self-Determinism for the countries (Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). Evidently, the composition of the Monroe Doctrine expressed the American position regarding the New Order foreign relations with Europeans power. Also, contained in the document was a reaffirmation of non-involvement of America on European affairs. In a way, the Doctrine was greatly inspired by nationalistic beliefs that created the need for absolute independence from the former colonial powers ( Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). At the time, in many nations in Latin America had gained independence from Spain and thus the Declaration was made primarily with the intention of protecting the interests of nations in the Americas.
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Evaluation of the Effect of Religion and Philosophy on Reform with Examples
According to Lapsansky-Werner, (2008) the Monroe Doctrines reforms on America’s foreign policy was both impacted by the religious beliefs and philosophical ideologies held by many Americans at the time. By extension, a careful evaluation of the document reveals that various religious principles and philosophical views on the role of state in society greatly influenced the perspectives outlined in the document. Arguably, at the time Americans were rapidly beginning to create their own unique religious beliefs guided by the Church reforms that existed at the time ( Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). To illustrate this, Monroe himself born an Anglican, upheld Deism religious principles that primarily sought to challenge the traditional ideologies of the existing political structure and social beliefs. The Monroe Doctrine contains several aspects of the Deism. In principle, challenging the European aristocracy was in itself a form of Deism because it openly challenged the legitimacy of the puppet monarchial system of governance in the Americas. Precisely, it is accurate to hypothesize that the decision to separate the New World Order from the Old-World order in itself was aligned to the values of Deism.
From a philosophical point of view, multiple theorists allude that two philosophical spectrum greatly influenced the Monroe Doctrine. First, as Lapsansky-Werner, (2008) notes the principle realism an emerging philosophy in the America that upheld the notion of the importance of autonomy in handling domestic affairs of the Western Hemisphere as opposed to allowing other foreign nation to dictate the policy frameworks of internal affairs of sovereign government in America (Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). Basically, by cutting any external influence of the European powers, the Monroe Declaration incorporated these philosophical views in the document. The core facets of principled realism called for foreign policy approaches that helped to preserve the interests of America and other Latin America nations without the interference from their former colonial masters. Many Americans from the 19 th century era and previous centuries strongly believed the future prosperity of the country hinged upon complete independence from their colonizers because it was the only way that they achieve unprecedented growth and gain equal status in world affairs with other countries in Europe.
The second philosophy that greatly influenced the Monroe Doctrine was Manifest Destiny. Under the theory, the Monroe’s administration sought to pursue economic expansion through protecting its commercial interests in the region. However, with competing interests from the European powers, it would be impossible for the US to secure territorial control in the Western Hemisphere ( Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). Through incorporating manifest destiny principles in the Doctrine, America gained control over the European nations with trade interests in the Western hemisphere. In sum, The Monroe Decree contained several elements that indicated considerable influence of religion and philosophy.
Effects of Reform on American Society
The effects of the Monroe Doctrine impacted all key aspects of the American society- International Relations, Trade and Governance. Without the European powers meddling in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, Americans enjoyed the liberty to control their own social economic growth and development. More importantly, it set the foundation for the country’s future foreign policy that was used by America in addressing both Latin America and European affairs ( Lapsansky-Werner, 2008). To illustrate, the country even during the World War 1 and World War II remained neutral and refrained from taking side in the spirit of the Monroe Declaration. The Monroe reforms also impacted the American society by stimulating rapid economic, social and cultural changes. Without the influence of Europe, the country was at liberty to forge new political and economic ideologies based on American values and ideals.
Conclusion
Monroe Doctrine shaped the American policy for the next 100 years with reforms experienced across all the sectors of the nation especially its economy. The New World Order became independent from their colonial masters and thus in the following years successfully achieved rapid growth and expansion of their influence not just within Latin but also across the globe. In essence, the Declaration set America on the path to become the world super power.
Reference
Lapsansky-Werner, E. J. (2008). Prentice Hall United States History: Modern America. Michigan .
