In what came to be known as the "Monroe Doctrine," James Monroe - on this day in 1823 - told Congress in his State of the Union (mailed to lawmakers) that the Western hemisphere would be off limits for colonization by, or interference from, foreign powers /1 
Monroe's comments were aimed at Britain, Spain, France and Russia (which had settlements in what is today central California). Numerous presidents, including Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Kennedy and Reagan, have used the Monroe Doctrine to justify their respective foreign policies
A most consequential marriage: Theodore Roosevelt married Edith Carrow in London - on this day in 1886. Roosevelt's first wife, Alice, had died in 1884 (ironically on the same day as his mother)
When people today say they're "Republicans" they generally do so in name only. Most might not have have approved of what Rchard Nixon did on this day in 1970: create the Environmental Protection Agency
