The Clark Memorandum tried to separate Monroe from Roosevelt

J. Reuben Clark's 236-page memorandum grounded the Monroe Doctrine in national self-preservation while denying that the doctrine governed relations between the United States and other American states. It confined Monroe's purpose to preventing European interference and therefore excluded Roosevelt's interventionist corollary. Prepared under Calvin Coolidge, the memorandum became public during Herbert Hoover's administration as a Good Neighbor approach gained support. Its use of the phrase "national security" also receives attention. The competing interpretation offered here questions whether Washington could enforce protection against European intervention without becoming involved in Latin American foreign policy and, potentially, domestic security. That objection concerns the consequences of enforcement and does not establish that Roosevelt's interpretation was correct.