US foreign policy declaration warning European powers against further colonization in the New World and against intervention in the governments of the American hemisphere; it also disclaimed any intention of the USA to take part in the political affairs of Europe. The background of the doctrine, spelt out in President James Monroe’s annual message to Congress in 1823, was the threat of intervention by the Holy Alliance to restore Spain’s South American colonies, and the aggressive attitude of Russia on the north-west coast of America. The doctrine was infrequently invoked in the 19th century, but after the development of territorial interests in Central America and the Caribbean it became a tenet of US foreign policy. During the early 20th century it developed into a policy whereby the USA regarded itself as responsible for the security of North and South America; this consistently complicated relations with Latin American countries.