Essay #1

The strength of a countries government is often measured by its foreign affairs. In America’s early stages as an independent government we worked and fought closely with Great Britain and France. Wars were fought against both countries such as the Quasi War against the French and the War of 1812 against the British; regardless of the wars fought, we still were able to get both nations to bend to the will of the U.S. government. France and Great Britain were both powerful countries but America deemed to be stronger especially against Great Britain. During the time period spanning from the end of the American Revolution to the Mexican War, America was in the process of proving its independence and strengths to the world-we were able to have great feats in foreign affairs with France and Great Britain, with being most successful with Great Britain.
To begin with, the corner stone of American foreign policy is the Monroe Doctrine written by John Quincy Adams during James Monroe’s presidency. The policy was released on December 2, 1823 and has four parts to it. It states that no new colonies can be settled in the Western hemisphere, and if a new colony is attempted to be started we will take it as an act of war. Also, America will not interfere with any existing colonies or interfere with any European affairs. JQA, the greatest secretary of state in American history, knew that the British would enforce the Monroe Doctrine because it was in their best interest. The British did enforce the doctrine, which strengthened our government immensely. In addition to the relationship between Great Britain and the Monroe Doctrine, America fought two major wars against Great Britain. The American Revolution and the War of 1812 were both fought and America came out on top both times. The fact that we won both wars is not the reason why we were more successful with Great Britain, it is what happened after the fighting that matters most, the treaties. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ended the American Revolution and recognized America as our own country and the Treaty of Ghent was signed at the end of 1814. The Treaty of Ghent stated that there would be no more impressment from Great Britain, they would leave the Northwest Territory, and that Americans would receive status-quo antebellum. As Americans,