Florida is honoring former President James Monroe with a statue in Monroe County, and remembering his legacy.
State leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Cord Byrd and VISIT FLORIDA CEO Bryan Griffin, were present at the unveiling. They spoke about the legacy of the fifth man to serve as President.
DeSantis said Monroe “grew to understand the U.S.’s unique role in the Western Hemisphere,” with Florida “a big part of that given our proximity to the Caribbean islands.”
“He outlined a vision to Congress in 1823 about the proper role of foreign powers’ involvement in the Western Hemisphere. And it became known as the Monroe Doctrine, which he defined as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power,” DeSantis said in Big Piney Key.
Arguing that the philosophy “waxed and waned” in the years since, DeSantis said it continues to influence foreign policy today, having been “reinvigorated” with the “snatching” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the election of Javier Milei in Argentina.
“You know, you see some of these elections that are happening, and you’re starting to see the tide shift. But I think it’s clear that not (allowing) people into the hemisphere was the right policy then, and remains the right policy now,” DeSantis said.
Byrd called Florida the “14th colony” by way of extolling Florida’s “significance at the founding” of the country and Monroe’s understanding of the “potential of Florida.”
“Florida exists because of President James Monroe on the actions he took to negotiate the Adams-Onis Treaty to acquire the Florida territory, and then under his leadership, ultimately see through to the territory’s being established on March 30, 1822,” Griffin added.
