Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/256

 208 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS first of these paragraphs he declares that the gov ernments of Russia and Great Britain have been informed that the American continents henceforth are not to be considered subjects for future col onization by any European powers. In the second paragraph he says that the United States would consider any attempt on the part of the European powers to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. He goes further, and says that, if the gov ernments established in North and South America who have declared their independence of European control should be interfered with by any European power, this interference would be regarded as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to the United States. These utterances were addressed especially to Spain and Portugal. They undoubt edly expressed the dominant sentiments of the people of the United States at the time they were uttered, and, moreover, they embodied a doctrine which had been vaguely held in the days of Wash ington, and from that time to the administration of Monroe had been more and more clearly avowed. It has received the approval of successive adminis trations and of the foremost publicists and states men. The peace and prosperity of America have been greatly promoted by the declaration, almost universally assented to, that European states are not to gain new dominion in America. For con-