THE story of the Monroe Doctrine is the story of inter-
American relations. From the experience of several years of
interpreting Latin American affairs for newspapers in the
United States, I discovered, some time ago, that all roads led
to the Monroe Doctrine. There was no problem of Pan Amer-
icanism, political or economic, which had not been, in one way
or another, at one time or another, related to the Monroe Doc-
trine or one of its multiple derivatives. Historical documents,
treatises, textbooks, the official utterances of statesmen, and the
newspaper editorials on both sides of the Rio Grande gave
ample evidence of that.

Of course, only ignorance of the original sources, the scope,
and the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine could have resulted
in its transformation into an ever-changing and ever-timely
international issue which is continuously breaking into the
front-page. Only this general ignorance could account for the
differences, suspicions, and resentment which the Monroe Doc-
trine has sown in more than a century of inter-American rela-
tions. And these suspicions and this resentment, despite the
optimistic assurances to the contrary which have come lately
from official circles, are very much alive today. The over-
enthusiasm of naïve or interested commentators who seem to
think that all the problems of Pan Americanism have been
solved by the pleasant smiles exchanged at Montevideo is
premature and childish.

But, how had the misunderstanding arisen? How had this
myth, this legend of the Monroe Doctrine been allowed to
take form, a gigantic form? To find out, I undertook the
writing of this book.

I must, here, frankly make a confession. When I set out
on my search for the truth about the Monroe Doctrine, I

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