Show THE MON M ON ROE DOCTRINE ITS ORIGIN AND INTENT Ti morill the kindness and gen ero I 1 tv of mr hadley D Jo johnson linson our dear friend and highly respect ed citizen in furnishing us with facsimiles fic similes of manuscripts 0 on n this subject w we e will in this thia and in in succeeding issues publish the correspondence between president Ifon monroe rae thomas jefferson james madison Madi siou sou and richard rush uter to england disclosing the of those great statesmen towards toward the policy which later be of national creed cluie a part our under nader the name of the monroe doctrine the first correspondence of any imp importance tance on this subject was a letter written by president mouroe monroe to thomas jefferson an exact copy of which is as follows oakhill october 1823 dear sir I 1 transmit to you two dispatches which were received from mr ir rush while I 1 was lately in washington n tou which involve lat eresto of the highest im importance they contain two letters f from ro ra mr canning suggesting designs of the holy alliance against the independence of south america km erica and proposing a coo co o pera opera tian between bet great britain and the united states in support of it against the members of that alliance the project aims in the first instance at a mere expression of opinion somewhat in the abstract but which it is expected by mr canning will have a great political effect by defeating the combination by mr answers which are also enclosed you will vill see the light in which he views views the subject and the extent to which he may may have gone many tant considerations are involved in this proposition shan shall we entangle ourselves at all in european politics and wars on the side of any any power against others presuming sumin cr that a concert by agreement of the kind proposed may lead to that thai result 2nd and if a I 1 cue case can exist in which a sound maxim may and ought to be departed from is not the present instance precisely rec isely that case 3rd ard has not the epoch arrived when great britain must take her stand either on the side of the monarchs of europe or of the united states and in consequence either in favor of despotism or of liberty and may it not be presumed that aware of that necessity her government has seized on the present occurrence as that which it deems the most suitable to announce and mark dark the commencement of that career my own impression is that we boht to meet the proposal of the brit british ish governments government and to make it known that we would view an interference on the part ot of the european powers and especially an attack on the colonies by them as an attack on ourselves presuming that if they succeed with them they would extend it to us I 1 am gen sensible s I 1 ble however of tte the extent and difficulty of the question and shall be happy to have yours and air 0 opinions p on it I 1 table do not wish to trouble either of you with small objects but bat the present one is vital involving the high interests for which ww have so 80 long and sc jar mo 1 1 mv 10 kind as to enclose dispatches wita am tt M afi of the motive fi y with great greatT respect esp beet and andas ls dj am dear sir yo ui r y 7 mr Jeffer soiA sorly lette cep wu as as follows s t 0 dear S sir ir the p m t a by the letta va mae the mostad men ial W ever eer of ered lince tance M 6 ISM M 1 t ROA 0 made us a nation tins this sets our compass and points the course which we are to steer through the ocean of time opening on us and never could we embark on it under circumstances more auspicious our first and fundamental maxim should be never to entangle ourselves our sees in n the broils of europe our second never to suffer europe to intermeddle with cis atlantic affail affairs rs america north and south has a state set of interests distinct from those of europe and peculiarly her own she should therefore have a system of her own separate and apart from that of europe while the last is laboring to become the domicile of despotism our endea endeavor or should hould surely surel y be to make our hemisphere that of freedom one nation most of all could disturb us in this pursuit she now offers to lead aid and accompany us in it by acceding to her proposition we detach her from the band of despots bring her mighty weight into the scale of free government and emancipate a continent at one stroke which might otherwise linger long in doubt and difficulty great britain is the nation which can do us the most harm of any one or all on earth and with her on our side we need not fear the whole world with her then we should the most sedulously cherish a cordial friendship and nothing would tend more to td knit our affections than to be fighting once more side by side in the same cause not that I 1 would purchase even her amity at the p price rice of taking part in her wars but the war in which the present proposition might engage us should that be its consequence is not her war but ours its object is to introduce and es cablish the american system of keeping 0 out oi of our land all foreign powers of never permitting those of europe to intermeddle with the affairs of our nations it is to maintain our own principle not to depart from it and if to facilitate this we can effect a division in the body of the european powers and draw over to our side its most powerful member surely we should do it but bat I 1 am clearly clealy of mr cannings opinion that it will prevent instead of provoke a war with great britain withdrawn from their scale and shifted into that of our two continents all europe combined would not undertake such a war for how would they propose to get at either enemy without superior fleets nor is the occasion to be alighted slighted which this proposition offers of declaring our protest against the atrocious violations of the rights of nations by the interference of any one in the internal affairs of another so flagitiously begun by bonaparte and now continued linued by the equally lawless alli alii ance calling itself holy but we have first to ask ourselves a question do we wish to acquire to OUT our own confederacy any one or more of the spanish pro provinces I 1 candidly confess that I 1 have ev ever or looked on cuba cub a as the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our system of states the control which with florida ft drida point this island would give us aver the gulf of mexico and the countries countr iea and the isthmus borda bordering on it as well as all those whose waters flow into it it would fill up the measure of our political well being yet as I 1 am sensible that this can never be OlAa obtained ined even with her own consent but bat by war and its independence j which is our second interest and especially its independence of england can be secure dL without it I 1 have no hesi hesitation citation in ia abandoning my first wish to ia facture chanzes chances and aca rafi its ande inde and the friend 1 ce W with peace 2 aln A is s of england wp vw aai and to flo dation ii at the expose x war emr lie enmity s 1 could honestly therefore jom in declaration koosed noosed ro nosed cwi aim not at f ye wat 0 those chit wei im 41 nS y H not stas T 9 M 1 I b M 0 t h aj WN uan 3 any other power as auxiliary stipendiary pen diary or any other form or pretext and most especially their transfer to any power by conquest conques t cess cession ion or acquisition in any other way I 1 should think it therefore advisable vi sable that the executive should encourage the british government to a continuance in in the disposition expressed in these letters by an assurance of his concurrence with them as far as his authority goes and that as it may lead to war the declaration of which requires an act of congress the case shall be laid before them for consideration at their first meeting and under the reasonable aspect in which it is seen by himself I 1 have been so long weaned from political subjects and have so long ceased to take any interest in them that I 1 am sensible that I 1 am not qualified to offer opinions on them worthy of any attention but the question now proposed v involves es consequences so lasting and effects so decisive of our future destinies as to rekindle re kindle all the interest I 1 have heretofore felt on such occasions and induce me to the hazard of opinions which will prove only my wish to contribute still my mite I 1 towards anything which may be useful to conr country and praying you yoa to accept it at only what it is worth I 1 add the assurance of my constant and affectionate friendship and respect thos jefferson |