LATIN AMERICAN INFLUENCES

During the eighteenth century, North American trade with Latin America, most notably with the Spanish Caribbean, grew to considerable proportions. Sugar, molasses, cocoa, and coffee were imported through New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. In exchange, North American merchants supplied the Spanish colonies with foodstuffs, lumber, and manufactured goods despite Spanish officials' efforts to enforce decrees to restrict this commerce. Trading was accompanied by the keen interest of a small group of scientific men—many from the American Philosophical Society—in Latin American civilization. Philadelphia became the capital of Hispanic studies in the United States. Prominent Philadelphia publishers helped publicize the writings of Spanish American exiles living in the city. These publications, mostly of a revolutionary nature, provided a utopian picture of American democracy and highlighted Spanish Americans' capability for establishing reliable, democratic governments. Yet the general public in the United States remained skeptical, for it considered its neighbors politically inept and culturally backward.

From 1810, the revolutions in the Spanish American colonies generated broad sympathy and interest among American political leaders and prorevolutionary enthusiasts for the cause of liberty on the continent. Their interest was mainly focused on Spanish America, as in Brazil the revolution began later and ended with the establishment of a monarchy under strong British influence. The Philadelphia Aurora and the Richmond Enquirer promoted the independence of the colonies and the Weekly Register regularly published news from Spanish America.

In Washington there was much discussion about the economic benefits the United States would reap from the disruption of the Spanish commercial monopoly. Until then, most North American merchandise got to Spanish America either as contraband, or was allowed in by the occasional trade treaty with Spain. Consuls were sent to the main South American seaports to collect information on the new trading possibilities. Yet reports that Spanish America could offer more markets for U.S. agricultural produce and more supply of specie (Spanish American gold and silver) and facilities (the use of Spanish American ports on the Pacific coast by American vessels trading with the East Indies) for trade with the East Indies did not convince all Americans. Eastern merchants were more concerned about protecting their well-established trade with Cuba, which was firmly under Spanish control. Southern planters were worried that their crops would face strong competition from Spanish American produce. On the other hand, western farmers were enthusiastic about trading with the southern continent via the Mississippi River and New Orleans.

From 1817 to 1825, the revolutions in Spanish America had a considerable effect on the debate over foreign policy. First, the U.S. policy of strict neutrality regarding all foreign conflicts was challenged. From Congress, Henry Clay—a fervent supporter of the revolutionists—claimed that neutrality was consistent with immediate recognition of the independence of the Spanish colonies. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams opposed recognition on the grounds that it would be dangerous to back up unstable governments. Second, the role of the United States in the Western Hemisphere was discussed extensively. The United States was either to take up a leading position in the continent, as Clay hoped, or remain aloof from hemispherical affairs, as Adams favored. The section of President James Monroe's message to Congress in 1823 known as the Monroe Doctrine cast the United States as defender of the Western Hemisphere against European intervention. Yet the debates on U.S. participation in the Panama Congress of 1826, organized by the Latin American countries, clearly show that Americans were unenthusiastic about involvement in the hemisphere.

See alsoLatin American Revolutions, American Response to; Monroe Doctrine; Panama Congress; Presidency, The: James Monroe .

bibliography

Bernstein, Harry. Origins of Inter-American Interest, 1700–1812. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1945.

Griffin, Charles Carroll. The United States and the Disruption of the Spanish Empire, 1810–1822: A Study of the Relations of the United States with Spain and the Rebel Spanish Colonies. New York: Columbia University Press, 1937.

Johnson, John J. A Hemisphere Apart: The Foundations of the United States Policy toward Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.

Lewis, James E., Jr. The American Union and the Problem of Neighborhood: The United States and the Collapse of the Spanish Empire, 1783–1829. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Simmons, Merle. La revolución norteamericana en la independencia de Hispanoamérica. Madrid: MAPFRE, 1992.

Weeks, William E. John Quincy Adams and American Global Empire. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992.

Whitaker, Arthur P. The United States and the Independence of Latin America, 1800–1830. New York: Russell & Russell, 1941.

Monica Henry