RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 7 Dec. 1823 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: manuscript or printed version of Monroe’s annual message to the United States Congress, Washington, 2 Dec. 1823, discussing ongoing negotiations with Great Britain over boundaries and commerce, with France over reimbursement for American property seized during the Napoleonic Wars, and with Russia over its claim to the northwest coast of America; asserting “as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American Continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European Power” [a policy that came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine]; requesting that the governments of Europe proscribe both the African slave trade and the use of privateers during wartime; mentioning the dispatch of American diplomatic representatives to South America; estimating the annual federal surplus to be almost $9 million; predicting that, as long as the nation remains at peace, its debts from the War of 1812 will be paid off within a few years; commenting favorably on the condition of the army, navy, and militia; reporting on the effort to combat Caribbean piracy; commending the postal service for its efficiency and fiscal responsibility; recommending a review of tariff legislation in order to provide additional protection to American manufactures, especially those important to the nation’s defense and independence; encouraging such internal improvements as the construction of a canal connecting the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River; expressing support for the Greek struggle for independence against the Ottoman Empire; describing any attempt on the part of the Holy Alliance “to extend their system to any portion of this Hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety,” a “manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United States,” and an action “endangering our peace and happiness”; and hailing the country’s increasing population, size, and standing in the world (MS in DNA: RG 46, LPPM; Message from the President of the United States, to Both Houses of Congress, at the Commencement of the First Session of the Eighteenth Congress [Washington, 1823]).