The Birth of the Monroe Doctrine

What it is

This painting, made after Clyde O. DeLand in 1912, imagines a scene from 1823 showing President James Monroe standing beside a globe in a cabinet meeting, surrounded by five seated men in period dress. It depicts the discussion that led to the Monroe Doctrine, a key foreign policy statement of his presidency.

Why it matters

Because it was painted nearly a century after the event, this is not a firsthand image but a later artist's imagined reconstruction. It reflects how later generations wanted to remember Monroe and his cabinet as the architects of an important moment in American foreign policy.

Look closer

• How can you tell this painting was made long after the event it shows?
• What details—like the globe and map—did the artist use to suggest the subject of the meeting?
• Why might later artists want to create dramatic images of historical events they never witnessed?