ve descended to us from
the fathers of the Republic, supported and enforced by every succeeding
President of the United States.

The foreign policy of these early days was not a narrow one. During
this period we secured the evacuation by Great Britain of the country
wrongfully occupied by her on the Lakes; we acquired Louisiana; we
measured forces on the sea with France, and on the land and sea with
England; we set the example of resisting and chastising the piracies of
the Barbary States; we initiated in negotiations with Prussia the long
line of treaties for the liberalization of war and the promotion of
international intercourse; and we steadily demanded, and at length
obtained, indemnification from various governments for the losses we
had suffered by foreign spoliations in the wars of Europe.

To this point in our foreign policy we had arrived when the
revolutionary movements in Spanish and Portuguese America compelled a
modification of our relations with Europe, in consequence of the rise of
new and independent states in America.

The revolution which commenced in 1810, and extended through all the
Spanish American continental colonies, after vain efforts of repression
on the part of Spain, protracted through twenty years, terminated in
the establishment of the independent States of Mexico, Guatemala, San
Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, Chile, Bolivia, the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay,
to which the Empire of Brazil came in time to be added. These events
necessarily enlarged the sphere of action of the United States, and
essentially modified our relations with Europe and our attitude to the
rest of this continent.

The new States were, like ourselves, revolted colonies. They continued
the precedent we had set, of separating from Europe. Their assumption of
independence was stimulated by our example. They professedly imitated
us, and copied our National Constitution, sometimes even to their
inconvenience.

The Spanish American colonies had not the same preparation for
independence that we had. Each of the British colonies possessed
complete local autonomy. Its formal transition from dependence to
independence consisted chiefly in expelling the British governor of the
colony and electing a governor of the State, from which to the organized
Union was but a step. All these conditions of success were wanting in
Spanish America, and hence many of the diffi