Introduction

Beginning of article

Ever since the time of the Monroe Doctrine, first proclaimed in 1823, the United States has taken a special interest in the lands south of its border. Disgusted by colonialism in the decades after its independence, Washington adopted the doctrine in a backlash against unchecked European acquisitiveness and hegemonism.

As the years passed, however, the U.S. itself tilted toward colonialism, albeit not with the lustfulness of the European great powers. Nonetheless, America seized territory from Mexico during the 1846-48 Mexican War and again from Spain during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Indeed, during much of its history, the U.S. has considered Latin America almost a …