Shall we entangle ourselves at all, in European politicks, & wars, on the side of any power, against other…?
Letter James Monroe to Thomas Jefferson Seeking Foreign Policy Advice, October 17, 1823. Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division’s First 100 Years James Monroe, Half-Length Portrait, Seated at Desk… Pendleton’s Lithography, circa 1828 [?]. By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present On October 17, 1823, President James Monroe wrote a letter to his friend and Virginia neighbor Thomas Jefferson seeking advice on foreign policy. The issue at hand was whether to accept an offer from Great Britain to issue a joint declaration warning other powers such as Spain and France not to intervene in the affairs of Central and South America. Both Jefferson and former president James Madison, whom Monroe also had consulted, recommended cooperation with Britain. However, Monroe’s Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, was more cautious, arguing instead for an independent denunciation of any further European colonizati
