• 48 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Monroe Doctrine Comics Ideas

One comic idea per press for the message of 1823: a panel, a strip or a symbol for one side.

Monroe Doctrine Comics Ideas

More filters
Show all 48
  1. Greece fights for independence and America stays home1. News arrives of the Greek struggle for independence.2. Americans cheer for "the liberty and happiness of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic".3. The policy holds: no part in Europe's wars.Fact: Staying out of Europe was the other half of the bargain.

Next step Comic formats for a school project

All 48 ideas

The whole story 12

  • A class skit with four parts 1. The United States reads out the message. 2. The allied powers of Europe whisper behind a map. 3. Britain nods from the side, thinking of trade. 4. The new republics clap, and one of them raises an eyebrow.
  • A lighthouse keeper explains the new rule to four ships 1. A ship carrying settlers for a brand-new colony: turned back. 2. A ship bound for a colony that already exists: waved through. 3. A ship carrying a crown for a new republic: turned back. 4. The keeper ties up the rowboat for good: no trips to Europe's quarrels.
  • A map that changes in four frames 1. Spain's empire in the Americas, shaded in one color. 2. The shading falls away, piece by piece, as colonies become nations. 3. Dotted arrows from Europe hover over the Atlantic. 4. A line down the ocean, dated December 2, 1823, and the arrows stop.
  • A newspaper front page: four headlines tell it 1. Headline: Spain's Colonies Now Nations. 2. Headline: Will Europe's Kings Help Spain Take Them Back? 3. Headline: President to Europe, No New Colonies Here. 4. Headline: And We Will Keep Out of Your Wars. Fact: The headlines are made up. The four points are in the message.
  • A street of new houses and an old landlord 1. New owners move into houses an old landlord once held. 2. The landlord's friends offer to help him get the houses back. 3. A neighbor up the street posts a notice: no new landlords here, and those still renting stay as they are. 4. The notice ends: and I will keep off your street. Caption: Label each figure, so the reader sees who stands for whom.
  • The Atlantic Ocean tells the story 1. The ocean speaks: for centuries I carried governors west. 2. Then the colonies stopped taking orders. 3. In 1823 a message crossed me going east: no more colonies. 4. On the far shore, hardly anyone looked up at first.
  • Before, during and after, two panels each 1. Before: Spain's colonies become nations. 2. Before: fears that Europe will help Spain return. 3. During: the United States decides to speak alone. 4. During: on December 2, 1823 the message is read to Congress. 5. After: Europe's great powers take little notice. 6. After: in 1850 the passage is first called the Monroe Doctrine.
  • The doctrine that waited 27 years for its name 1. 1823: a few paragraphs inside a long annual message. 2. The years go by and the paragraphs are mostly ignored. 3. 1850: people begin to call them the Monroe Doctrine. 4. The paragraphs, now famous, take a bow.
  • The message of 1823, start to finish, in six panels 1. By 1823 most of Spain's colonies in the Americas are independent nations or close to it. 2. Americans fear that Spain and France may try to take them back. 3. Russia is pushing south from Alaska along the Pacific coast. 4. Britain suggests a joint statement. The United States decides to speak alone. 5. December 2, 1823: the message goes to Congress. 6. Its three ideas: separate spheres, no new colonies, no intervention.
  • The view from a European court 1. A court of crowned heads talks of returning Spain's colonies. 2. A message from Washington is read out: do not. 3. Shrugs all around: the United States has only a small navy. 4. A minister points out the window at the British fleet, which wants the new nations' trade.
  • Who, when, what, why: a four-question comic 1. Who: President James Monroe, in words credited chiefly to his Secretary of State. 2. When: December 2, 1823, in the annual message to Congress. 3. What: separate spheres, no new colonies, no intervention. 4. Why: new nations to the south, and Russia moving down the Pacific coast.
  • Word crosses the Atlantic: London asks, Washington answers 1. London, 1823: Britain's foreign minister proposes a joint declaration. 2. Washington: the president and his Secretary of State weigh the offer. 3. The Secretary of State argues against it: a shared statement could tie American hands later. 4. The reply is no, thank you. 5. The United States writes its own. 6. It goes to Congress on December 2.

What it said 12

  • A clerk reads it aloud and the president is not in the room 1. December 2, 1823: a written message is carried into Congress. 2. A clerk stands and reads it out. 3. Members lean in at the lines about Europe. Fact: From 1801 to 1913 the annual message was sent in writing and read by a clerk.
  • A door labeled "this hemisphere" and a crown on the step One panel. The message objects to Europe's powers extending "their system to any portion of this hemisphere". The crown has a suitcase, and the door stays shut.
  • A friendly letter with a firm last line 1. The message is polite: it speaks of "candor" and of "amicable relations". 2. It explains that the two systems of government are different. 3. The last line is firm: meddling with the new nations would show "an unfriendly disposition toward the United States".
  • A no-new-colonies signpost planted on a beach One panel. The sign carries the message's own words: "not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers".
  • A two-pan scale: you stay out, we stay out One panel. The message was a trade: Europe keeps out of the new American nations, and the United States keeps out of Europe's internal concerns.
  • A very long scroll with one short passage circled One panel. The National Archives describes the doctrine as buried in a routine annual message. Draw the scroll long and the circle small.
  • The fine print: colonies that already exist may stay 1. A European flag on an island colony looks nervous. 2. The message is read: "With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere." 3. The flag relaxes. A second flag, rowing in to start a new colony, is waved away.
  • Four promises, one panel each 1. No new colonies: the American continents are closed to future colonization by Europe. 2. Hands off: an attempt to extend Europe's system here is "dangerous to our peace and safety". 3. Colonies that already exist will be left alone. 4. In return, the United States keeps out of Europe's own affairs.
  • Old words, plain words: a translation panel One panel. Put a line of the message in a speech bubble and its meaning in a caption: "henceforth" means from now on, and "interposition" means stepping in.
  • Three ideas as three characters 1. Separate Spheres draws a line down the ocean. 2. Non-Colonization shuts the door on new colonies. 3. Non-Intervention tells Europe not to step into the new nations' affairs. 4. The three link arms under the date: December 2, 1823.
  • Two halves of a globe agree to mind their own side 1. A globe splits down the Atlantic. 2. The western half says: do not bring your system here. 3. It adds: and we will stay out of your wars. Fact: State Department historians call this idea separate spheres of influence.
  • Why Europe's wars are not our business 1. Europe: crowns quarrel across a table. 2. America reads about it in the paper, an ocean away. 3. A speech bubble quotes the message: "In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves we have never taken any part."

Who it was said to 12

  • A bear walks south along the Pacific coast 1. Russia pushes south from Alaska toward the Oregon country. 2. In 1821 a Russian decree warns foreign ships away from the coast. 3. The message answers: no future colonization. Fact: The sentence on colonization comes in the passage about talks with Russia over the northwest coast.
  • A crown-shaped cookie cutter over a map of the Americas One panel. The message calls the political system of Europe's allied powers "essentially different" from America's. A hand slides the map out from under the cutter.
  • A map of who still held what One panel. Shade the new nations one way and the remaining colonies another, and letter in the promise not to interfere with existing colonies. Cuba and Puerto Rico stayed under Spanish rule until 1898.
  • A newly independent nation reads the message 1. A newly independent nation unfolds the message. 2. Cheers in the square. 3. One reader wonders who will actually stop a fleet. Fact: Latin American reaction was generally favorable, and at times suspicious.
  • A small ship with a bold banner and a big ship behind it 1. A small American ship flies a banner: no new colonies. 2. Behind it, a much larger British ship that wants open trade with the new nations. 3. Europe's other fleets stay in port. Fact: For many years it was Britain's Royal Navy that enforced the doctrine.
  • Addressed to Congress, aimed across the ocean One panel. An envelope addressed to Congress lies on a desk, while a dotted line from it sails out the window and on to Europe.
  • Britain offers to say it together 1. Britain's foreign minister proposes a joint declaration. 2. The Secretary of State objects. 3. One signature at the bottom, not two. Fact: The statement Britain proposed as bilateral became a declaration by the United States alone.
  • Europe's great powers barely look up 1. The message arrives at a European court. 2. A minister glances at it. 3. Back to other business. Fact: The statement was little noted by the Great Powers of Europe at the time.
  • Greece fights for independence and America stays home 1. News arrives of the Greek struggle for independence. 2. Americans cheer for "the liberty and happiness of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic". 3. The policy holds: no part in Europe's wars. Fact: Staying out of Europe was the other half of the bargain.
  • Spain watches its colonies become countries 1. Spain holds a map of its old empire in the Americas. 2. One by one the pieces raise flags of their own. 3. The message warns Europe's powers not to help put the map back together. Fact: Americans feared that Spain and France might reassert colonial rule.
  • Three crowns at one table: Austria, Prussia and Russia One panel. The message speaks of "the allied powers" of Europe. These three monarchies had formed the Holy Alliance in 1815. Put a crown on each chair and the Atlantic outside the window.
  • Two kings and a map of someone else's continent One panel. Spain and France lean over a map of the Americas, a castle-and-lion shield beside one and fleurs-de-lis beside the other. Across the water a notice reads: no new colonies.

Symbols for each side 12

  • A bald eagle holding an olive branch, for the United States One panel. The eagle of the Great Seal, in use since 1782, holds an olive branch in one talon. Perch it on the American shore, facing east.
  • A castle and a lion on a shield, for Spain One panel. The arms of Spain carry a castle for Castile and a lion for León. Set the shield beside a map with pieces missing.
  • A row of crowns for Europe's monarchies One panel. A crown is the plainest sign for a monarchy. Line several up on the far shore and leave the near shore without one.
  • A torn-off calendar page: December 2, 1823 One panel. The date of the annual message that carried the doctrine. Pin it to the corner of the first frame.
  • An early Uncle Sam with no fixed costume yet One panel. Uncle Sam was already a nickname for the United States, but he had no standard look until much later. For 1823 draw him plainly, or use Brother Jonathan.
  • The Atlantic as a fence, a moat or a dotted line One panel. Separate spheres need a divider. Draw the ocean itself as the fence, one side lettered Europe and the other the Americas.
  • Blank new flags on poles, for the young republics One panel. Leave the flags blank or invent them, one pole for each newly independent nation, so that no real flag is drawn wrong.
  • Columbia in a long gown, speaking for the nation One panel. Columbia is a female personification of the United States, the nation as a whole. She can hold the message like a scroll.
  • Gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, for royal France One panel. Three gold fleurs-de-lis on a dark blue field was a banner of royal France. Hang it behind the French king's chair.
  • John Bull, stout and in a waistcoat, for Britain One panel. John Bull first appeared in 1712 and is usually drawn stout, middle-aged and matter-of-fact. Stand him to one side, watching.
  • The Russian bear, as cartoonists have drawn it for centuries One panel. A bear has stood for Russia in cartoons since as early as the 16th century. Give it a map of the northwest coast to study.
  • Two soap bubbles that touch and do not merge One panel. Each bubble is a sphere: one holds Europe, the other the Americas. A crown drifting toward the second bubble bounces off.

How it works

These Monroe Doctrine comics ideas take the message of December 2, 1823 apart for a class comic: what it said, who it was said to, and a symbol for each side. Every strip comes with a beat for each panel.

Read the full guide

What the comic has to get right

The doctrine is a few passages of President James Monroe's annual message to Congress. It makes three points: the Americas and Europe are separate spheres, the American continents are closed to new European colonies, and Europe must not interfere with the newly independent nations. In return the United States would leave existing colonies alone and stay out of Europe's affairs.

Four ways in

The whole story is strips of four or six panels. What it said takes one point at a time. Who it was said to covers Spain, France, Russia, Britain and the new republics. Symbols for each side gives cartoon stand-ins: an eagle, a bear, a row of crowns.

  • The message was sent in writing and read to Congress by a clerk, so do not draw the president at a podium.
  • Keep the cast to 1823. Uncle Sam had no fixed look yet; an eagle or Columbia is the safer choice.
  • Put words in quotation marks only when they are the message's own, copied from the National Archives transcript.

Questions and answers

Who was the Monroe Doctrine aimed at?

The powers of Europe. Americans feared that Spain and France might retake the newly independent nations of Latin America, and Russia was extending its presence south from Alaska toward the Oregon Territory.

Who wrote the Monroe Doctrine?

It was part of President James Monroe's annual message. His Secretary of State is credited as its chief author, and argued that the United States should make the statement alone and not jointly with Britain.

Did Europe obey the Monroe Doctrine?

At first the great powers of Europe took little notice, since the United States had only a small navy. For many years it was Britain's Royal Navy that kept other powers out, and Britain wanted the new nations' trade.

How do you draw a Monroe Doctrine political cartoon?

Choose one symbol for each side, such as an eagle for the United States and crowns for Europe's monarchies. Put the Atlantic between them and let one line of the message do the talking.

More tools

Show 6 more

Browse Drawing Ideas