Pan-Americanism

Pan-Americanism is a movement that seeks to create, encourage, and organize relationships, an association (a Union), and cooperation among the states of the Americas, through diplomatic, political, economic, and social means.

History
Following the independence of the United States of America in 1776 and the independence of Haiti in 1804, the struggle for independence after 1810 by the nations of Hispanic America evoked a sense of unity, especially in South America, where, under Simón Bolívar in the north and José de San Martín in the south, there were co-operative efforts. Francisco Morazán briefly headed a Federal Republic of Central America. Early South American Pan-Americanists were also inspired by the American Revolutionary War, in which a suppressed and colonized society struggled, united, and gained independence. In the United States, Henry Clay and Thomas Jefferson set forth the principles of Pan-Americanism in the early 19th century, and soon, the United States declared through the Monroe Doctrine a new policy concerning interference by Europe in the affairs of the Americas.

In the 19th century, South American military nationalism came to the fore. Venezuela and Ecuador withdrew in 1830 from Gran Colombia, the Central American Federation collapsed in 1838, Argentina and Brazil fought continually over Uruguay, all three combined in the Paraguayan War (1865–1870) to defeat Paraguay, and Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific (1879–1883). However, during that period, Pan-Americanism existed in the form of a series of Inter-American Conferences—Panama (1826), Lima (1847), Santiago (1856), and Lima (1864). The meetings' main objective was to provide for a common defense. The first of the modern Pan-American Conferences was held in Washington, DC (1889–1890), with all nations represented except the Dominican Republic. Treaties for arbitration of disputes and adjustment of tariffs were adopted, and the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics, which later became the Pan-American Union, was established. Subsequent meetings were held in various South American cities.

In the 20th century, US President Franklin Roosevelt embraced a robust formulation of Pan-Americanism during World War II through the establishment of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. Following his Good Neighbor Policy, Roosevelt endeavored to foster the development of peaceful commercial and cultural relations between the American Republics through the skillful use of cultural diplomacy.

Evolution
The intended liberalization of commercial intercourse did not occur, but collaboration was extended to a series of areas, such as health (Pan-American Health Organization, established 1902), geography and history (Pan-American Institute of Geography and History, 1928), child protection and children's rights (International American Institute for the Protection of Children, 1927), rights of the woman (Inter-American Commission of Women, 1928), indigenous policies (Inter-American Indigenist Institute, 1940), agriculture (Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences), collective continental defense (Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, 1947), economic aid (Inter-American Development Bank, 1959), infrastructure works (Pan-American Highway) and peacekeeping (the Inter-American Peace Force after the invasion of the Dominican Republic, 1965), and human rights (Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 1979).

The American states also adopted a series of diplomatic and political rules, which were not always respected or fulfilled, governing relations between the countries like arbitration of disputes, peaceful resolution of conflicts, military non-intervention, equality among the member states of each organism, and in their mutual relations, decisions through resolutions approved by the majority, the recognition of diplomatic asylum, the Private International Law Code (Bustamante Code, 1928), the inter-American system of human rights (American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 1959; and the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States).

Pan-Americanism and the Monroe Doctrine
Serving as a core principle of U.S. foreign policy in the 1800s, United States President James Monroe announced in 1823 the establishment of the Monroe Doctrine, which implied that any further imperial actions into the Western Hemisphere by European countries would be unilaterally opposed by the United States. Subjugation under former imperial and colonial rule was a shared experience for most American nations, and this formed an important pillar of the Monroe Doctrine and consequently Pan-Americanism, where there was relatively unified opposition toward further inward imperial conquest by European nations.

Although the Monroe Doctrine originally declared U.S. opposition to new European expansion in the Americas, the United States used its increased influence in the region to promote its own strategic interests. Throughout the 1800s, the Monroe Doctrine was invoked multiple times in the Americas, including during the annexation of Texas (1845), the Mexican-U.S. War (1845-1848), and the 1861 Spanish Invasion of Santo Domingo. In almost all cases, U.S. influence increased in the region and the U.S. government’s policy toward Latin America became more expansionist in nature.

In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added a "Corollary" to the Doctrine, which would later become known as the Roosevelt Corollary. Under this new interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, opposition to European expansion continued, but in the event of "bad behavior" on the part of Latin American countries, "is was [now] the obligation of the United States to intervene in order to prevent European action."

Meanwhile, U.S. diplomats were also pursuing a contrasting policy of Pan-Americanism—a political movement that sought to promote the respect of national sovereignty, continental cooperation and further integration. These conflicting foreign policy objectives launched by the U.S. government created intense discourse among U.S. and Latin American leaders regarding hemispheric anti-interventionist policies and doctrines at future Pan-American Conferences.

Despite the push by U.S. diplomats for further integrated and unified American continents, the U.S. government countered attempts by Latin Americans to enshrine the principles behind the Monroe Doctrine and Corollary in international law, instead favoring a form of American (United States) exceptionalism that allowed continued intervention by the United States in Latin American affairs to protect U.S. interests. While many Latin American countries and intellectuals immediately criticized the Corollary and viewed U.S. foreign policy regarding national sovereignty as hypocritical, Washington continued to push back against any formal attempts by countries in Latin America to establish a standard interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine and its Corollary—that is, any attempt to "Pan-Americanize" the Monroe Doctrine and apply national sovereignty rights equally to all countries in the Americas.

Economic Impacts
In 2019, 15.1 and 14.6 percent of all US imports were exchanged with Canada and Mexico, respectively. A significant portion of these imports involved food products. At 76%, the vast majority of all Canadian exports in 2021 were shipped South into the United States. Of these exports, goods such as lumber, automotive and aircraft components, aluminum, wheat, and vegetable oils were among the top exported commodities. Similarly, 76.4% of all Mexican exports, such as computers, cars, and crude petroleum, were destined for the United States. In 2017, 12 and 10 percent of all US exports were exchanged with Canada and Mexico, respectively.

Congresses and conferences

 * 1826 in Panama. Congreso Anfictiónico de Panamá Congress of Panama. Organized by Simón Bolívar.
 * 1847–1848 Congreso de Lima
 * 1856–1857 Congreso de Santiago
 * 1864-1864 Congreso de Lima
 * 1889/90 in Washington D.C. International Conference of American States. The day of this meeting, 14 April, has been celebrated since 1930 as Pan American Day.
 * 1901/02 in Mexico City
 * 1906 in Rio de Janeiro
 * 1910 in Buenos Aires
 * 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland Pan-American Conference of Women.
 * 1923 in Santiago, Chile
 * 1928 in Havana
 * 1933 in Montevideo
 * 1936 in Buenos Aires (Peace Conference)
 * 1938 in Lima
 * 1942 in Rio de Janeiro (conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs)
 * 1948 in Bogotá
 * 1949 founded Office of Latin American Education, which became the Organization of Ibero-American States
 * 1954 in Caracas
 * 2nd Latin American Congress of Education took place in Quito
 * 1967 Buenos Aires
 * 1969 Viña del Mar
 * 2005 Panama City, Panama – Congreso de Escritores y Escritoras de Centroamérica to create the Federación Centroamericana. Sponsored by the Asociación de Escritores de Panamá.
 * 2006 Panama City, Panama – Sponsored by the President of Panama, Martín Torrijos – Latin American and Caribbean Congress in Solidarity with Puerto Rico’s Independence