Origins

• In the early 1800s, newly acquired independence for Latin American states, followed by the rise of the United States as a major world power, helped gave birth to the idea that this new world of the Western Hemisphere was different from the old world of European monarchies--and that a lot more unites than divides American nations.
  
  

Bolivar's Dream

• Venezuelan military and political leader Simon Bolivar is considered the father of Pan-Americanism. His ideal was a political union of American states with the aim of permanent military and political cooperation.
  
  

History

• American states held a number of conferences mainly devoted to common defense and mutual support for each state's sovereignty. The United States saw in Pan-Americanism a chance to assert itself as a major power by establishing hegemony on the new continent. Other nations soon became resentful of the U.S.
  
  

Pan-Americanism Today

• After the Cold War, the need for political security in Americas largely disappeared, as did the original Pan-American ideals. At the same time, a number of new Pan-American initiatives and organizations have been established, focusing on issues such as trade, migration and drugs.