[This document is] the most momentous [pronouncement] which has been . . . offered . . . since that of Independence. That made us a nation. This sets our compass and points the course.
—Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, October 24, 1823 from the EDSITEment resource American Memory, from correspondence in which the authors discussed ideas eventually incorporated into the Monroe Doctrine.

In Monroe's message to Congress on December 2, 1823, [the President] delivered what we have always called the Monroe Doctrine, although in truth it should have been called the Adams Doctrine.
—The Monroe Doctrine from Information USA, an exhibit of the U.S. Department of State, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Internet Public Library.

James Monroe spent most of his life in public office, devoting a significant portion of his career to foreign affairs. He served as George Washington's Minister to France, but was eventually recalled by the President. Thomas Jefferson appointed Monroe as a special envoy for negotiating the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida. He and principal negotiator Robert Livingston exceeded their authority and all expectations by acquiring the entire Louisiana Territory as well as a claim to all of Florida. Next, Monroe became Minister to Great Britain. Under James Madison, he served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War.

Monroe brought a vision of an expanded America to his presidency—a vision that helped facilitate the formulation of what has become known as the Monroe Doctrine. Because this Doctrine bears his name, the general public is not inclined to recognize the significant contributions made by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and unofficial presidential advisor Thomas Jefferson.

In this unit, students will review the Monroe Doctrine against a background of United States foreign relations in the early years of the republic. In particular, they will examine Monroe's involvement in American diplomacy while serving in a variety of positions before he was elected president. They will become familiar with Monroe's beliefs in an expanded United States as well as an expanded role for the United States in the Americas. Students will also read primary source material reflecting the independence movement in South America, which served as the direct impetus for the Monroe Doctrine. Finally, small groups will analyze some documentary evidence of Adams's role and Jefferson's advice regarding the Monroe Doctrine. The class will debate how credit for the Doctrine should be "allocated."

This unit of study prepares students to reflect on the Doctrine. What were its most significant goals? In what ways, if any, was it intended to provide peace and safety for the United States, protect the newly independent Latin American states, and/or promote expansionist goals of the United States in the Western Hemisphere?

• What were the circumstances leading to the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine?
• What were its major provisions?
• What were Monroe's contributions to American foreign policy prior to and during his terms as president?
• What contributions did John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson make to the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine?

• List events in early American diplomatic history that contributed to the formulation of the Monroe Doctrine.
• Discuss the reasons President Monroe used when recommending that Congress recognize the revolutionary governments of Spanish America.
• Paraphrase the central points of the Monroe Doctrine.
• Weigh the relative contributions to the Monroe Doctrine of President Monroe, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and former President and unofficial advisor Thomas Jefferson.
• Decide whether the Doctrine was intended to provide peace and safety for the United States, protect the newly independent Latin American states, and/or promote expansionist goals of the United States in the Western Hemisphere.

• Review each lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.
• Download the Master PDF for this lesson. Print out and make an appropriate number of copies of any handouts you plan to use in class.
• Each activity in this unit of study is designed for use as a stand-alone lesson. Taken all together, the lessons provide a fairly comprehensive review of U.S. diplomacy before 1823. Since available time and curriculum needs vary by classroom, the following guidelines for use are provided:
  • If you have only one class period to devote to the Monroe Doctrine, complete Lesson Three: The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading.
  • If you have two class periods to devote to the Monroe Doctrine, begin with Lesson One: The Monroe Doctrine: U.S. Foreign Affairs (circa 1782-1823) and James Monroe. The teacher can use the annotated timeline in a review of American diplomacy in the years before the Monroe Doctrine. Students can take notes, as desired, on the basic timeline or on a timeline you customize. Then complete Lesson Three: The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading.
  • If you have four class periods, add Lesson Four: The Monroe Doctrine: Whose Doctrine Is It? Students should use the edited versions of the documents. Some of the information provided in Lesson Two about the independence movement in South America is provided on the timeline.
  • If you have a full week, add Lesson Two: The Monroe Doctrine: President Monroe and the Independence Movement in South America and use the lessons in order.
• According to Information USA, an exhibit of the website of the U.S. Department of State (a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet Public Library):

  In Monroe's message to Congress on December 2, 1823, he delivered what we have always called the Monroe Doctrine, although in truth it should have been called the Adams Doctrine.

  Information USA should not be regarded as an authoritative scholarly source. However, the suggestion that John Quincy Adams—Monroe's Secretary of State—has received insufficient credit for his role in formulating the Monroe Doctrine is not unique. In this lesson, the suggestion provides a motive for students to take a closer look at the Monroe Doctrine, as well as some of the international events and domestic ideas that provided the impetus for it.
  
  When students read correspondence between Monroe and former President Thomas Jefferson, they also will note Jefferson's apparent influence on Monroe. In the culminating lesson of this unit of study, students will decide for themselves if the famous Doctrine has been correctly or incorrectly named. Any well-reasoned conclusion based on evidence will be fine because this unit has a different underlying purpose: As students explore the relative influence of Monroe, Adams, and Jefferson on the Monroe Doctrine, they also will be analyzing the Monroe Doctrine itself and events contemporary to it.

• Throughout this unit, students will read and analyze a variety of primary documents. The following materials from EDSITEment resources may be useful to teachers seeking expert advice on the use of primary documents:
  • Using Primary Sources in the Classroom on American Memory
  • The Historian's Sources on The Library of Congress, a link from American Memory
  • Document Analysis Worksheets and History in the Raw on Digital Classroom
  • Making Sense of Documents on History Matters