Rethinking the Whiggish Narrative: The Monroe Doctrine and Condominium in Latin America
| Autor | Christopher Rossi |
| Cargo del Autor | Adjunct Faculty Member, University of Iowa College of Law. ba from Washington University, PhD and ma in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, llm in public international law from the University of London and jd from the University of Iowa |
| Páginas | 161-198 |
161
Rethinking the Whiggish Narrative:
e Monroe Doctrine and
Condominium in Latin America
Christopher Rossi*
Introduction: The Birth of the Root Doctrine
United States Secretary of State Elihu Root toured Mexico
and South America in 1906,1 proclaiming good will, mutual
respect, sovereign equality, and according to his close associate
James Brown Scott, and to his successor as United States
Secretary of State Robert Bacon, a new doctrine—the Root
Doctrine.2 Root presented its core components in a speech
* Adjunct Faculty Member, University of Iowa College of Law. from
Washington University, PhD and in international relations from Johns Hopkins
University, in public international law from the University of London and
from the University of Iowa. Email: c-rossi@uiowa.edu
1 Root ’s South American visits included Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile,
Peru, Panama, and Colombia.
2 J.B. Scott and R. Bacon, “Introductory Note.” In: R. Bacon and J.B. Scott
(Eds.). Latin America and the United States: Addresses by Elihu Root. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1917 [hereinafter Latin America and the United States].
ey did not coin the term, however, as South Americans began referring to his
speech in such terms during his tour. See, e.g., Speech of Senator Ruy Barbosa, 2
Aug. 1906. In Latin America and the United States, p. 27 .
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Derecho internacional: investigación, estudio y enseñanza
in Rio de Janeiro at the Third Conference of American
Republics:
We wish for no victories but those of peace; for no territory
except for our own; for no sovereignty except the sovereignty
over ourselves. We deem the independence and equal rights
of the smallest and weakest member of the family of nations
entitled to as much respect as those of the greatest empire;
and we deem the observance of that respect the chief gua-
ranty of the weak against the oppression of the strong. We
neither claim nor desire any rights or privileges or powers
that we do not freely concede to every American republic.
3
More loosely conceived than a set of instructions or edicts,
and only informally received into the canon of doctrines that
have framed United States foreign policy, Root’s formulation
nevertheless galvanized South America ocialdom. e emi-
nent Argentine jurist, Luis Drago, referenced Root’s “eloquent
expression” in Rio as constituting “a separate political factor, a
new and vast theater […] which will serve as a counterpoise”
to the “other hemisphere.” He praised Root as “the highest
and most eloquent representative of American solidarity,”4 a
disciple of hemispheric independence and fraternity in the
tradition of the proto-Pan-Americanist, United States poli-
tician, Henry Clay (1777-1852).5 Moreover, Drago associated
3 Address to the ird Conference of the American Republics, Rio de Janeiro,
31 July 1906. In Bacon and Scott, Latin America and the United States, p. 10.
4 Speech of Dr. Luis M. Drago, 17 Aug. 1906. In Bacon and Scott, Latin
America and the United States, pp. 93-97.
5 See Ibid., p. 94 (referring to Clay as a defender of independence and soli-
darity among the Americas).
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Rethinking the Whiggish Narrative
Root’s words with the “traditional policy of the United States,
which, without accentuating superiority or seeking preponde-
rance, condemned the oppression of the nations of this part
of the world and the control of their destinies by the great
powers of Europe.”6 Peru’s foreign minister interpreted Root’s
message as part of the United States’ guarantee of indepen-
dence for all American countries.7 Brazil’s ambassador to the
United States expressed the shared sentiment that Root’s
presence “assuredly means that America forms a political
system separate from that of Europe—a constellation with
its own distinct orbit.”8
By numerous accounts during Root’s tour, a burgeoning
sense of Pan-American unity held this orbit together. Alejan-
dro Alvarez would refer to it as a triple bond of unity based
on hemispheric colonization and emancipation, fear of re-
conquest, and a new, twentieth century spirit of community.
For Alvarez, it would produce a theoretically distinct, subs-
tantively mature addition to international law—American
International Law.9 He would benignly regard the Monroe
6 Ibid., p. 96.
7 “Speech of His Excellency Javier Prado y Ugarteche, 11 Sept. 1906.” In
Bacon and Scott, Latin America and the United States, pp. 116-117.
8 “Speech of His Excellenc y Joaquim Nabuco, 31 July 1906.” In Bacon and
Scott, Latin America and the United States, p. 4.
9 A. Álvarez, “Latin America and International Law.” American Journal of
International Law, vol. 3, 1909, p. 347. See also L. Obregón, “Noted for Dissent:
e International Life of Alejandro Álvarez,” Leiden Journal of International Law,
vol. 19, 2006, pp. 983-1016.
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