James Monroe

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• Born: 28 April 1758
• Birthplace: Westmoreland County, Virginia
• Died: 4 July 1831
• Best Known As: President of the United States, 1817-1825

James Monroe served one term as governor of Virginia, then was sent to France by Thomas Jefferson to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. An officer during the American Revolution, Monroe was an all-around statesman whose career included stints as congressman, senator, foreign diplomat and cabinet member. In 1811 he was appointed Secretary of State under President James Madison, and in 1816 Monroe won the presidential election. He was easily re-elected in 1820 (winning 231 of 232 electoral votes), and his administration was termed "The Era of Good Feelings", a time when the United States focused on expansion and ignored the troubles of the European nations. He is famous for the Monroe Doctrine (1823), which proclaimed U.S. hostility toward any European intervention in the Americas.

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is named after President Monroe... Monroe's was the first inauguration held outdoors... He was married to Elizabeth Kortright Monroe in 1786. He died less than a year after she died... Monroe died on 4 July 1831, five years to the day after Jefferson and John Adams... He was succeeded by John Quincy Adams.

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James Monroe, oil sketch by E.O. Sully, 1836, after a contemporary portrait by Thomas Sully; in … (credit: Courtesy of the Independence National Historical Park Collection, Philadelphia)

(born April 28, 1758, Westmoreland county, Va. — died July 4, 1831, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Fifth president of the U.S. (1817 – 25). After serving in the American Revolution, he studied law under Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia. From 1783 to 1786 he served in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. In 1790 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he opposed the adminstration of George Washington. He nevertheless became Washington's minister to France in 1794, though he was recalled two years later for misleading the French about U.S. politics. From 1799 to 1802 he served as governor of Virginia. In 1803 Pres. Jefferson sent him to France to help negotiate the Louisiana Purchase; he was then appointed minister to Britain (1803 – 07). He returned to Virginia and was again elected governor in 1810, though he resigned the office after 11 months to serve as U.S. secretary of state (1811 – 17) and secretary of war (1814 – 15). He served two terms as president, presiding in a period that became known as the Era of Good Feelings. He oversaw the Seminole War of 1817 – 18 and the acquisition of the Floridas (1819 – 21), and he signed the Missouri Compromise (1820). With Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, he developed the principles of U.S. foreign policy later called the Monroe Doctrine.

For more information on James Monroe, visit Britannica.com.

While at William and Mary in 1776, Monroe was commissioned an infantry lieutenant in the 3rd Virginia Regiment. He subsequently rose to lieutenant colonel, serving with the Continental army in the battles of Long Island, New York; Trenton (where he was severely wounded); Brandywine; and the Battle of Monmouth.

In 1782, Monroe entered the Virginia House of Delegates; later he held positions in the Continental Congress (1783–86) and U.S. Senate (1790–93), and as governor of Virginia (1799–1802 and 1811). In 1793–96, he was U.S. minister to France, returning there in 1803 to help negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Thereafter he served as minister in London and Madrid until 1807.

Monroe became secretary of state and a leading advocate for the diplomatic and military policies of James Madison's administration in 1811. As acting secretary of war during the winter of 1812–13 and secretary of war, October 1814–March 1815, he shaped U.S. manpower policies during the War of 1812.

Monroe's presidency (1817–25) contributed significantly to national defense and security. The 1819 Adams‐Onís Treaty (or Transcontinental Treaty) acquired the Floridas, established clear boundaries for the Louisiana Purchase, and extended U.S. territory to the Pacific. His annual message of 1823, subsequently known as the Monroe Doctrine, laid the foundation for U.S. diplomatic hegemony in the Americas. His administrations improved the efficiency of the army and began the professionalization of its officer corps. In 1825, Monroe retired to New York City; he died on 4 July 1831.

[See also Army, U.S.: 1783–1865; Commander in Chief, President as; Revolutionary War: Military and Diplomatic Course.]

Bibliography

• William P. Cresson, James Monroe, 1946.
• Harry Ammon, James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity, 1971

Monroe, James (1758-1831) 5th president of the United States (1817-25), born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Monroe fought in the Revolutionary War and was wounded at the battle of Trenton (1776). He later studied law with Thomas Jefferson and served in the Virginia legislature (1782). As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1783-86), Monroe opposed ratification of the Constitution, believing it granted too much power to the central government. While serving in the Senate (1790-94), Monroe became a staunch anti-Federalist, allying himself with the Jeffersonians. As governor of Virginia (1799-1802; 1811) Monroe proved a solid administrator. In 1803 he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase; giving him national prominence. As minister to Great Britain (1803-07), Monroe failed to effect a treaty acceptable to Jefferson. In 1811 James Madison appointed Monroe secretary of state, and for a time during the War of 1812 he was secretary of war as well (1814-15), reorganizing that department. In the presidential election of 1816 Monroe handily defeated his Federalist opposition, and four years later was easily reelected. His inauguration ushered in what came to be called the “Era of Good Feeling.” Monroe toured the country, put together a strong cabinet, acquired Florida (1819), and approved the Missouri Compromise (1820). His most significant achievement came in the realm of foreign affairs with the declaration, later known as the Monroe Doctrine, that the United States considered the Americas closed to further colonization and would regard as an unfriendly act any interference in their affairs. The principle was formulated with the assistance of secretary of state John Quincy Adams and issued in Monroe's annual message of 1823.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

James Monroe (1758-1831), fifth president of the United States, a founder of the Jeffersonian Republican party and a major agent in acquiring Louisiana and Florida, authored the celebrated American foreign policy statement, the Monroe Doctrine.

James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Va., on April 28, 1758, on his parents' small plantation. He enrolled in William and Mary College in 1774 but left 2 years later, with the beginning of the American Revolution, to enlist as a lieutenant in the 3d Virginia Regiment. He was seriously wounded in the action at Trenton, and his heroism earned him the rank of major. In 1777 and 1778 he was aide to Gen. William Alexander (Lord Stirling) with the rank of colonel. Unable to obtain a field command because of the excess of officers, he returned to Virginia and entered the lower house of the legislature in 1782. At this time he formed his friendship with Governor Thomas Jefferson, with whom he began to study law.

In 1783 Monroe was elected to the governor's council; the next year he, Jefferson, and Richard Henry Lee were members of the Virginia delegation to the Confederation Congress. Monroe labored to strengthen the central government, but after failing to secure reform through Congress, he endorsed the recommendation that a special convention be held. He was responsible for the structure of territorial government incorporated in the Ordinance of 1787. In 1786 he led the fight against the proposal of John Jay, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to negotiate a treaty with Spain closing the Mississippi for 20 years in return for commercial concessions. While a member of Congress he married Elizabeth Kortright, one of the most beautiful women of her generation.

Monroe was not a member of the Constitutional Convention, but as a delegate to the Virginia ratifying convention, he opposed ratification unless the Constitution was amended. After the new government was inaugurated and the amending process under way, he ceased his opposition. At this time he shifted his residence to Albemarle County adjacent to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.

U.S. Senator

After a few years of law practice Monroe entered the U.S. Senate in 1790. He emerged as a leading critic of George Washington's administration, which, he felt, was favoring the commercial class and seeking closer ties with Great Britain. He attributed these policies to the influence of Alexander Hamilton. Monroe joined James Madison and Jefferson in organizing the opposition that developed into the Republican party.

Diplomatic Posts

In 1794 Washington appointed Monroe minister to France. Monroe accepted at the urging of the Republicans, who felt that friendship with France was essential for the preservation of republican government in the United States. Arriving in France immediately after the downfall of Robes-pierre, Monroe was able to ease recent tensions, but he irritated Washington by publicly voicing enthusiasm for the French Revolution. The ratification of Jay's Treaty led to a worsening of relations between France and the United States, and Monroe was recalled in 1796 in a manner casting doubt on his conduct. He published a vindication, asserting that the administration was seeking to join England in the war against France.

As proof that Monroe's recall had not shaken party confidence, the Republicans elected him governor of Virginia in 1799. He proved an able administrator, acting decisively to suppress the attempted slave rebellion (Gabriel's Rebellion) in 1800. In 1803 President Jefferson sent him to France to assist Robert R. Livingston in seeking a port for America at the mouth of the Mississippi River after Spanish authorities had closed the river to American ships. In France, Monroe learned that Napoleon, who had acquired Louisiana from Spain, had offered to sell all Louisiana. Although empowered to buy only a small tract, Monroe and Livingston purchased the whole region. From 1804 to 1807 Monroe was minister to Great Britain.

In 1806 Monroe and William Pinkney concluded a treaty with Great Britain permitting American ships to carry produce of the French colonies to France if American duties were paid. Jefferson and his secretary of state, James Madison, did not consider this arrangement a sufficient compensation for the omission of impressment, which they deemed the sine qua non for any treaty with England. Consequently, it was not submitted to the Senate. Deeply offended, Monroe allowed dissident Republicans in Virginia to run him against Madison in the 1808 presidential election. Madison won, but Monroe garnered enough votes to indicate wide support. In 1811 President Madison, plagued by factional conflicts within his own party and a resurgence of federalism, appointed Monroe secretary of state.

Secretary of State

Monroe's entry into the Cabinet did not change the policy of commercial warfare with Great Britain, but it did strengthen the administration. Enjoying great popularity among the younger Republican congressmen, Monroe worked with them to implement presidential policies. He collaborated with the "War Hawks" in drafting the measures that culminated in the declaration of war against England in 1812. He continued in the State Department during the war, serving simultaneously as secretary of war after John Armstrong retired in disgrace following the burning of the capital.

Presidential Policies

Monroe was named Republican presidential candidate in 1816. The Federalists offered only token opposition. As president, Monroe was an old-fashioned figure, wearing his hair pulled back in a queue and clad in the black clothes of the Revolutionary days. Tall, dignified, and formal in manner, he was admired for his genuine goodness, warmth, and lack of malice. His face was rather plain with massive features, but his widely set gray eyes and his smile reflected benevolence. He did not reach decisions quickly, for he was inclined to reflect carefully on all aspects of a question. His attention to detail gave him a soundness of judgment often lacking in more original minds. His remarkable awareness of the trends of public opinion contributed to his political success. He introduced into the White House a new, more formal note. Although he received congressmen, state party leaders, and citizens freely, he kept diplomats at a distance.

Monroe's Cabinet consisted of John Quincy Adams (State), William H. Crawford (Treasury), John C. Calhoun (War), William Wirt (Attorney General), and Benjamin Crowninshield, followed by Smith Thompson and Samuel L. Southard (Navy). If Monroe's appearance suggested the past, his policies were distinctly contemporary. A moderate nationalist, he supported the Bank of the United States, sought to maintain a large peacetime army, and approved the protective tariff.

Monroe made the restoration of political harmony (which meant, in effect, the elimination of parties) a major goal. To facilitate this, he toured the Union, journeying to New England in 1817 and to the South and West in 1819. The "Era of Good Feeling" that followed was short-lived. In 1820 Monroe, who was unopposed, received all the electoral votes but one.

During Monroe's presidency two major domestic crises occurred. The Panic of 1819 resulted from the overexpansion of credit during and after the War of 1812. The abrupt decline in government revenues forced a drastic reduction in the appropriation for the extensive system of coastal fortifications that Monroe had undertaken. The second crisis took place in 1820, following attempts to make the abolition of slavery a condition for the admission of Missouri to statehood. This conflict so divided the nation that many feared the Union would be destroyed. Monroe opposed any restriction on Missouri, but in the interest of harmony he accepted the compromise admitting Missouri as a slave state but excluding slavery from north of 36°30' in the Louisiana Territory.

Monroe's most important accomplishments were in foreign affairs. In 1819 he capitalized on Andrew Jackson's invasion of Florida to pressure Spain into ceding Florida and establishing the western and northern boundaries of Louisiana. Jackson's seizure of Spanish military posts precipitated a domestic furor. Many felt he should be reprimanded for exceeding his orders. Monroe, who appreciated the advantage Jackson's action gave him in negotiations with Spain, chose a middle course. He restored the posts and acknowledged that though Jackson had violated his orders, he had acted on reasons that seemed sufficient during the campaign.

Monroe Doctrine

In spite of considerable pressure for recognizing the new Latin American states, Monroe held off until 1822, after ratification of the treaty with Spain. His concern that the European powers might intervene in South America to restore Spanish authority seemed justified in 1823, after France suppressed revolution in Spain. Consequently, in 1823 Monroe was inclined to accept Britain's proposal that the United States and Great Britain jointly declare opposition to European interference in Latin America. However, though Jefferson and Madison urged him to accept, Monroe, desiring the United States to pursue an independent course, decided to act unilaterally. In his annual message of Dec. 2, 1823 (subsequently known as the Monroe Doctrine), he expressed disapproval of European intervention and affirmed America's intention of not interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. The message also contained a statement that the Americas were not to be considered open to further European colonization.

Last Years

Monroe's last years in office were harassed by the intraparty battle for the 1824 presidential nomination. His hope for a general rapprochement with England was frustrated when a treaty to suppress the international slave trade was so amended that England withdrew ratification.

Monroe's retirement was plagued by financial difficulties. He obtained some relief when Congress voted him $30,000 in 1826, and a similar sum in 1831. Until his health failed in 1831, he was a member of the board of visitors of the University of Virginia. In 1829, as a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention, he joined Madison in an unsuccessful attempt to arrange a compromise between Eastern and Western interests. He died in New York City on July 4, 1831.

Further Reading

The Writings of James Monroe was edited by Stanislaus M. Hamilton (7 vols., 1898-1903). Harry Ammon, James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity (1971), concentrates on Monroe's political and public life. Useful older biographies are George Morgan, The Life of James Monroe (1921), and William P. Cresson, James Monroe (1946). Lucius Wilmerding, James Monroe: Public Claimant (1960), is an exhaustive study of a minor aspect of Monroe's career.

The presidential elections of 1816 and 1820 are covered in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., History of American Presidential Elections (4 vols., 1971). For Monroe's presidency, George Dangerfield's colorful but overdrawn The Era of Good Feelings (1952) and his briefer and more restrained The Awakening of American Nationalism, 1815-1828 (1965) are important works. There is much material on Monroe in Irving Brant, James Madison (6 vols., 1941-1961), and in Dumas Malone, Jefferson and His Time (3 vols., 1948-1962).

Among the most important works on Monroe's foreign policy are Bradford Perkins, The Monroe Doctrine (1927; rev. ed. 1966); Philip C. Brooks, Diplomacy and the Borderlands: The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 (1939); Arthur P. Whitaker, The United States and the Independence of Latin America, 1800-1830 (1941); Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy (1949); and Bradford Perkins, Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812-1823 (1964).

• Born: Apr. 28, 1758, Westmoreland County, Va.
• Political party: Democratic-Republican
• Education: College of William and Mary, 1774–76
• Military service: 3rd Virginia Infantry, 1776–80
• Previous government service: Virginia House of Delegates, 1782, 1787, 1810; Virginia Governor's Council, 1781–83; Continental Congress, 1783–86; Annapolis Convention, 1786; Virginia constitutional ratifying convention, 1788; U.S. Senate, 1790–94; minister to France, 1794–97; governor of Virginia, 1799–1802; 1811; minister to Great Britain, 1803–7; U.S. secretary of state, 1811–17; U.S. secretary of war, 1814–15
• Elected President, 1816; served, 1817–25
• Subsequent public service: Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1829; regent, University of Virginia, 1826–31
• Died: July 4, 1831, New York, N.Y.

James Monroe was a brilliant secretary of state whose Presidency restored peace and prosperity in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Monroe was born into a family without much money, but relatives helped him attend the College of William and Mary. He left after two years to fight with the 3rd Virginia Infantry under General George Washington during the revolutionary war. He fought in several battles and was wounded while leading a charge at the Battle of Trenton. In 1780 he left the military and studied law under Thomas Jefferson, who was at that time governor of Virginia. In 1782 he served in the Virginia Governor's Council, then in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation from 1783 to 1786. Although he opposed ratifying the new U.S. Constitution, Monroe soon took part in national politics. He was defeated by James Madison for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1788, but two years later was selected by the Virginia legislature for a seat in the U.S. Senate, where he opposed the Federalist economic programs of Alexander Hamilton.

President George Washington appointed Monroe to be U.S. minister to France. He refused to defend the Jay Treaty with Great Britain to the French government, believing the terms to favor British interests against the French, and Washington recalled him. He published a defense of his conduct and an attack on the Federalist foreign policy in a book, A View of the Conduct of the Executive in the Foreign Affairs of the United States (1797). He then served three terms as governor of Virginia.

In 1803 President Jefferson appointed Monroe to a mission to France to purchase New Orleans. Finding that Emperor Napoleon wished to sell even more land, Monroe exceeded his instructions and negotiated a treaty to purchase the entire Louisiana Territory. The following year, however, he failed in an attempt to negotiate the purchase of Florida from Spain. In 1806 he negotiated a commercial treaty with Great Britain that seemed so favorable to the British that President Jefferson refused to submit it to the Senate. In response, Monroe entered the Presidential contest in an attempt to defeat Jefferson's protege, James Madison. But in a replay of their 1788 contest, Madison defeated Monroe once again, this time for the Democratic-Republican caucus nomination.

In spite of their political rivalry, Madison appointed Monroe secretary of state in 1811. Simultaneously appointed secretary of war just after the British sacking of the capital in 1814, Monroe prevented an outright British victory, and he oversaw a favorable peace treaty that ended the War of 1812. By a narrow margin the Democratic-Republican congressional caucus nominated him for the Presidency in 1816. He handily won the general election against Federalist candidate Rufus King.

Since the Capitol had been burned to the ground by the British, Monroe's inauguration took place at the Brick Capitol, a temporary meeting hall for Congress. The Monroes could not move into the President's House, soon to be known as the White House, for six months, and Congress could not use the Capitol again until 1819.

Monroe's two terms saw the disappearance of the Federalist party and the brief establishment of a “no party” period known as the Era of Good Feelings. Sectional conflicts among the North, South, and West took the place of party competition. Monroe was reelected in 1820 by a 231-to-1 vote in the electoral college. The one dissenting vote was cast by William Plumer, an elector from New Hampshire, because he wished to reserve the honor of a unanimous vote for Washington alone.

Monroe appointed an exceptional cabinet: John Quincy Adams as secretary of state, John C. Calhoun as secretary of war, William Crawford as secretary of the Treasury, and William Wirt as attorney general—all men of Presidential stature. The cabinet met 180 times during Monroe's two terms, and most decisions were made by consensus.

In domestic affairs Monroe reduced taxes and paid off much of the public debt. He signed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which forbade slavery in the Louisiana Territory above the southern boundary of Missouri, in spite of his doubts that Congress had the constitutional power to exclude slavery from any part of the Union. The compromise preserved sectional peace. Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill in 1822 because he did not think it was constitutional for the national government to charge tolls for national roads. The following year, however, he submitted his own public works program for construction of roads and canals, to be funded by the national government out of general revenues.

Monroe's major accomplishments were in foreign affairs. In 1818 the United States settled its fishing disputes with Canada, which involved the right of Americans to fish off the coast of Labrador. By the Adams-Onis Treaty (1819) the United States acquired Florida from Spain and all Spanish claims to the Oregon Territory were granted instead to the United States. The United States recognized the newly independent nations of Latin America, and the Monroe Doctrine established the principles that European states were neither to colonize in the New World nor interfere with the governments there. Monroe's only significant failure involved the Senate, which refused to consent to a treaty with Great Britain that would have allowed navies of both nations to put an end to the illegal trade in African slaves.

Monroe retired in 1825 to Oak Hill, his Virginia plantation. He was the last of the “Virginia dynasty” to occupy the White House. Monroe acted as a regent of the University of Virginia and presided over the Virginia state constitutional convention in 1829. He died on a visit to New York City on July 4, 1831.

See also Caucuses, congressional; Jefferson, Thomas; Madison, James; Monroe Doctrine; Washington, George

Sources

• Harry Ammon, James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971).
• George Dangerfield, The Era of Good Feelings (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1952)

(1758-1831), fifth president of the United States. Monroe, who succeeded James Madison as president of the United States in 1817, was the last of the dynasty of Virginia presidents that began with Thomas Jefferson in 1801. Much of Monroe's career was closely associated with his two presidential predecessors. After reading law with Jefferson, he retained close ties with his mentor, and through Jefferson, he became friends with Madison. Jefferson's and Madison's more brilliant minds, broader interests, and greater impact on their times have overshadowed Monroe's place in the history of the early Republic. Nevertheless, he achieved a high degree of success in public life and enjoyed wide popularity. For Monroe politics was a consuming interest; he was a pragmatic man keenly sensitive to political currents.

Though closely linked to Jefferson and Madison in his political career, Monroe had established his own identity early. Leaving the College of William and Mary in 1776, the eighteen-year-old Monroe enlisted in the Continental army and as a junior officer fought under Washington in the fierce engagements of that year, being wounded at the Battle of Trenton. After the war, Monroe served in the Continental Congress and favored reform of the Confederation, but he opposed the ratification of the Constitution in the Virginia ratifying convention, where Madison led the fight for adoption. Monroe broadly approved the basic structure of the new government, but he favored adding to the Constitution more republican provisions, such as the direct popular election of the president and senators. He also wanted a bill of rights added prior to ratification. Monroe's antifederalism did not prevent his election to the U.S. Senate, and he soon joined with Representative Madison in support of Secretary of State Jefferson's opposition to Alexander Hamilton. He was active in organizing the early Republican party. Governor of Virginia at the time of Jefferson's election to the presidency, Monroe later was sent on the successful mission to purchase Louisiana and was subsequently named minister to Great Britain.

As Jefferson's retirement from office approached, Monroe allowed his name to be brought forward by Virginia friends as an opponent to Madison for the Republican nomination for president in 1808. Despite Monroe's differences with Madison, Jefferson succeeded in keeping the circle of friendship from being permanently broken, and in 1811 President Madison brought Monroe into his cabinet as secretary of state. For a time during the War of 1812, Monroe also acted as secretary of war.

Elected president in 1816, Monroe faced challenges different from any of his predecessors. With the demise in national politics of the Federalist party, he sought to end party divisions in the United States and to be the head of the nation, not of a party. The absence of a strong party in Congress in support of the president necessitated the working out of new relationships with Congress and with members of his cabinet. The "era of good feelings," over which Monroe is commonly seen as presiding, lacked the bitter partisanship of earlier years, but the times were not lacking in controversy. Although settled by compromise, the divisions over the admission of Missouri as a state in 1820 provided disturbing evidence of underlying tensions. Monroe's presidency is often remembered for the doctrine that bears his name, but the Monroe Doctrine would become more important in later years than when it was announced in 1823. Still, Monroe's nearly unanimous reelection to a second term in 1820 testified to his successful management of the office and his popularity as president.

Bibliography:

Harry Ammon, James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity (1971; reprint, 1990).

Author:

Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.

See also Elections: 1816 , 1820; Louisiana Purchase; Revolution. For events during Monroe's administration, see Adams-Onís Treaty; American System; Dartmouth College v. Woodward; Erie Canal; Gibbons v. Ogden; McCulloch v. Maryland ; Missouri Compromise; Monroe Doctrine; National Road.

A political leader of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; a leader of the Democratic-Republican party. He was president from 1817 to 1825, between James Madison and John Quincy Adams. He issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, supporting the independence of Spain's colonies in America. The Missouri Compromise was reached in his presidency.

James Monroe was the fifth president of the United States and a distinguished diplomat. His administration was marked by several foreign-policy accomplishments, including the MonroeDoctrine, and a period of domestic tranquility that has been called the Era of Good Feelings.

Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April 28, 1758. He attended the College of William and Mary at the age of sixteen but left in 1776 to fight in the Revolutionary War. He was wounded at the Battle of Trenton but served until the end of the war.

During this period he became acquainted with Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia. Monroe soon adopted Jefferson as his teacher and mentor, a relationship that would endure throughout Monroe's life. In 1780 Monroe began studying law with Jefferson, and in 1786 he established a law practice in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Politics, however, proved a more powerful attraction than a legal career.

Monroe became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782, and from 1781 to 1786 he participated in the Continental Congress. Monroe, like Jefferson, did not favor a highly centralized federal government. He preferred a government system under the Articles ofConfederation, which allocated greater powers to the states, as opposed to the Constitution, which gave the federal government more authority. He did believe in the development of the West and worked with Jefferson to enact laws to further this purpose.

In 1786 he retired from Congress. In 1788 Monroe participated in the Virginia convention that ratified the new federal Constitution. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1790 and served until 1794. After the expiration of his senatorial term, Monroe served as minister to France. President George Washington appointed Monroe to this position despite Monroe's opposition to the Washington administration's policies. When Monroe did not follow his diplomatic instructions and made intemperate remarks about policies with which he disagreed, Washington recalled him in 1796.

Monroe quickly reentered Virginia politics. He was elected governor in 1799 and served a three-year term. In 1802 President Jefferson sent Monroe back to France as a special envoy. He and Robert R. Livingston negotiated the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. Following this success, Jefferson named Monroe minister to England, where he served until 1806.

Again Virginia politics beckoned. Monroe served briefly as governor but left in 1811 to join the cabinet of President JamesMadison. He was secretary of state from 1811 to 1817 and secretary of war, during the War of 1812, from 1814 to 1815. The successful conclusion of the war and the military triumphs of General Andrew Jackson helped boost Monroe's popularity.

In 1816 he was elected president of the United States as a member of the Democratic-Republican party. The Federalist party disappeared after the election, and most politicians belonged to the Democratic-Republican party. With an end to the political feuding of the early years of the Republic, Monroe was able to promote what has been called the Era of Good Feelings. His popularity was so great that he was unopposed for reelection in 1820.

Monroe's presidency produced important domestic legislation, including the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which limited the extension of slavery into new territories. His main efforts, however, were directed at foreign affairs. The Rush-Bagot Treaty, drafted in 1817, restricted the increase of armaments in the Great Lakes area. In 1818 Great Britain agreed to the forty-ninth parallel as the boundary between the United States and Canada from Lake of the Woods on the Minnesota-Ontario border as far west as the Rocky Mountains. In 1819 U.S. diplomats convinced Spain to cede Florida to the United States in return for the cancellation of $5 million in U.S. claims against Spain.

In 1823 Monroe presented the most significant measure of his administration, the Monroe Doctrine. During the Napoleonic Wars, Spain had lost interest in its American colonies. Most of the colonies declared their independence, but the United States was concerned that Spain might try to reassert control. The Monroe Doctrine declared that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization and that any European intervention would be regarded as a threat to the security of the United States. Conversely, the United States agreed not to intervene in European matters. The Monroe Doctrine would be invoked several times by future presidential administrations.

After leaving the presidency in 1824, Monroe retired to Oak Hill, his estate in Virginia that was near Jefferson's Monticello. He served as a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 presided over the Virginia Constitutional Convention.

Monroe's last years were difficult. He left public service a poor man and was too old to rebuild his law practice. He was forced to sell his home and move to New York City to live with his daughter. He died there on July 4, 1831.

For other persons named James Monroe, see James Monroe (disambiguation).

James Monroe
5th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
Vice President	Daniel D. Tompkins
Preceded by	James Madison
Succeeded by	John Quincy Adams
7th United States Secretary of State
In office April 2, 1811 – September 30, 1814 February 28, 1815 – March 4, 1817
President	James Madison
Preceded by	Robert Smith
Succeeded by	John Quincy Adams
8th United States Secretary of War
In office September 27, 1814 – March 2, 1815
President	James Madison
Preceded by	John Armstrong, Jr.
Succeeded by	William H. Crawford
16th Governor of Virginia
In office January 16, 1811 – April 5, 1811
Preceded by	George William Smith
Succeeded by	George William Smith
12th Governor of Virginia
In office December 19, 1799 – December 1, 1802
Preceded by	James Wood
Succeeded by	John Page
United States Senator from Virginia
In office November 9, 1790 – March 29, 1794
Preceded by	John Walker
Succeeded by	Stevens T. Mason
5th United States Minister Plenipotentiary to France
In office 1794–1796
President	George Washington
Preceded by	Gouverneur Morris
Succeeded by	Charles C. Pinckney
4th United States Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain
In office 1803–1807
President	Thomas Jefferson
Preceded by	Rufus King
Succeeded by	William Pinkney
Born	April 28, 1758(1758-04-28) Westmoreland County, Virginia
Died	July 4, 1831 (aged 73) New York, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Kortright Monroe
Alma mater	The College of William and Mary
Occupation	Lawyer Farmer/Planter
Religion	Episcopal
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	Continental Army
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	American War of Independence Battle of Trenton

James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas, as well as breaking all ties with France remaining from the War of 1812.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Education 3 Home life 4 Politics 4.1 Ambassador to France 4.2 Governor of Virginia and Diplomat 4.3 Cabinet Secretary 5 Presidency 1817–1825: The Era of Good Feelings 5.1 Politics 5.2 Internal Improvements 5.3 Missouri Compromise 5.4 Foreign policy 5.4.1 Monroe Doctrine 5.4.2 Spain and Florida 5.5 Native American Policies 5.6 Administration and Cabinet 5.7 Supreme Court appointments 5.8 States admitted to the Union 6 Later life 7 Death 8 Religious beliefs 9 Slavery 10 Legacy 11 Quotations 12 See also 13 Bibliography 13.1 Primary sources 14 References 15 External links

Early years

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in a wooded area of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The site is marked and is one mile from what is known today as Monroe Hall, Virginia.

Monroe's father, Spence Monroe (1727–1774) was a moderately prosperous planter who also learned the carpentry trade. His mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe (1730–1774), married Spence Monroe in 1752. They had four children live to maturity:

• Elizabeth Monroe Buckner - of Caroline County, Virginia
• James Monroe
• Spence Monroe, Jr. - Died at age 1
• Andrew Monroe - of Albemarle County, Virginia
• Joseph Jones Monroe - clerk of the District Court of Northumberland County, Virginia; private secretary to President Monroe; later settled in Missouri.

His paternal 2nd great-grandfather immigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century.^{[clarification needed]} In 1650, Major Andrew Monroe (16-1688), son of David Munro of Katewell who belonged to an ancient highland clan. He patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia.^[1][2]

Education

Between the ages of 11 and 16, Monroe studied at Campbelltown Academy, a school run by the Reverend Archibald Campbell of Washington Parish. There he excelled as a prodigious pupil and progressed through Latin and mathematics at a rate faster than that of most boys his age. John Marshall, later Chief Justice of the United States, was among his classmates. At the age of 16, Monroe enrolled in the College of William and Mary. However in 1774, the atmosphere on the Williamsburg campus was not conducive to study, and the prospect of rebellion against King George charged most of the students, including Monroe, with patriotic fervor. In June 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Monroe joined 24 older men in raiding the arsenal at the Governor's Palace. The 200 muskets and 300 swords they appropriated helped arm the Williamsburg militia. The following spring, Monroe dropped out of college and joined the Continental army. He never returned to earn a degree. Between 1780 and 1783, he studied law under Thomas Jefferson.^{[citation needed]}

Monroe fought in the War of Independence, serving with distinction at the Battle of Trenton, where he was shot in his left shoulder. He spent three months in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, recuperating from his wound.

He is depicted holding the flag in the famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware. Following his war service, he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia.^[3][4]

Home life

James Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830), daughter of Laurence Kortright and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright, on February 16, 1786, in New York City. After a brief honeymoon on Long Island, the Monroes returned to New York to live with her father until Congress adjourned. The Monroes had the following children:

• Eliza Monroe Hay (1786–1835) - married George Hay in 1808 and substituted as official White House host for her ailing mother.
• James Spence Monroe (1799–1801)
• Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur (1803–1850) - married her second cousin Samuel L. Gouverneur on March 8, 1820, in the first wedding ever performed in the White House.

Marker designating the site of James Monroe's birthplace in Monroe Hall, Virginia

Monroe fulfilled his youthful dream of becoming the owner of a large plantation and wielding great political power, but his efforts in agriculture were never profitable. He sold his small inherited Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics, and though he owned land and slaves and speculated in property he was rarely on-site to oversee the operation. Therefore the slaves were treated harshly to make them more productive and the plantations barely supported themselves if at all. His lavish lifestyle often necessitated selling property to pay debts.^[5]

Politics

Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and served in the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786.

In Virginia the struggle in 1788 over the ratification of the proposed new Constitution involved far more than a simple clash between federalists and anti-federalists. Virginians held a full spectrum of opinions about the merits of the proposed change in national government. George Washington and James Madison were leading supporters; Patrick Henry and George Mason were leading opponents. The central actors in the ratification fight were those who held the middle ground in the ideological struggle. Led by Monroe and Edmund Pendleton, these "federalists who are for amendments," criticized the absence of a bill of rights and worried about surrendering taxation powers to the central government. Virginia ratified the Constitution in June 1788, largely because these men suspended their reservations and vowed to press for changes after the new government had been established.^[6]

Virginia narrowly ratified the Constitution and Monroe ran for a House seat in the 1st Congress but was defeated by Madison. In 1790 he was elected United States Senator. He soon joined the "Republican" faction led by Jefferson and Madison and by 1791 was the party leader in the Senate.^[7]

Ambassador to France

Monroe resigned his Senate seat after being appointed Minister to France in 1794.^[8] As ambassador, Monroe was able to secure the release of Thomas Paine when the latter was arrested for his opposition to the execution of Louis XVI.

He managed to free all the Americans held in French prisons, including Madame Lafayette. He issued American passports for the Lafayette family, (since they had been granted Citizenship), before she traveled to Lafayette's place of imprisonment, in Olmutz.^[9]

A strong friend of the French Revolution, Monroe tried to assure France that Washington's policy of strict neutrality did not favor Britain. But American policy had come to favor Britain, and Monroe was stunned by the signing of the Jay Treaty in London. With France and Britain at war, the Jay Treaty alarmed and angered the French. Washington discharged Monroe from his office as Minister to France due to inefficiency, disruptive maneuvers, and failure to safeguard the interests of his country.^[10]

Monroe had long been concerned about untoward foreign influence on the presidency. He was alarmed at Spanish diplomat Don Diego de Gardoqui who in 1785 tried to convince Congress to allow Spain to close the Mississippi River to American traffic for 30 years. Here Monroe saw Spain overinfluencing the republic, which could have risked the loss of the Southwest or dominance of the Northeast^[11]. Monroe placed faith in a strong presidency and the system of checks and balances. In the 1790s he fretted over an aging George Washington being too heavily influenced by close advisers like Hamilton who was too close to Britain. Monroe favored France and so opposed the Jay Treaty in 1795. He was humiliated when Washington criticized him for his support of revolutionary France while he was minister to France^[12]. He saw foreign and Federalist elements in the genesis of the Quasi War of 1798–1800 and in efforts to keep Thomas Jefferson away from the presidency in 1801. As governor he considered using the Virginia militia to force the outcome in favor of Jefferson^[13]. Federalists responded in kind, some seeing Monroe as at best a French dupe and at worst a traitor. Monroe thus contributed to a paranoid style of politics.^[14]

Governor of Virginia and Diplomat

Out of office, Monroe returned to practicing law in Virginia until elected governor there, serving from 1799 to 1802. He called out the state militia to suppress Gabriel's Rebellion. Gabriel and 26 other enslaved people who participated were hanged. In reaction, the Virginia and other legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as the education, movement and hiring out of the enslaved.

Under the first Jefferson administration, Monroe was dispatched to France to assist Robert R. Livingston to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Monroe was then appointed Minister to the Court of St. James (Britain) from 1803 to 1807. In 1806 he negotiated a treaty with Britain to replace the Jay Treaty of 1794, but Jefferson rejected it in 1807 as unsatisfactory, as the treaty contained no ban on the British practice of impressment of American sailors. As a result, the two nations moved closer toward the War of 1812.

Old Republicans in the South, who claimed to adhere to the traditional party "principles of 1798", tried to coopt Monroe and have him elected president in the 1808 election. John Randolph of Roanoke took the lead in the movement to thwart President Jefferson's choice of James Madison as his successor. Jefferson had snubbed Monroe on foreign policy in 1807 and thereby alienated Monroe from the administration. Regular Republican control of key Virginia politicians, along with a number of other factors, however, insured Madison's 1808 electoral success.^[15]

Cabinet Secretary

Monroe returned to the Virginia House of Delegates and was elected to another term as governor of Virginia in 1811, but he resigned a few months into the term. He then served as Secretary of State from 1811 to 1814. When he was appointed to the post of Secretary of War in 1814, he stayed on as the Secretary of State ad interim. At the war's end in 1815, he was again commissioned as the permanent Secretary of State, and left his position as Secretary of War. Thus from October 1, 1814, to February 28, 1815, Monroe effectively held both cabinet posts. Monroe stayed on as Secretary of State until the end of the James Madison Presidency, and the following day Monroe began his term as the new President of the United States.

Presidency 1817–1825: The Era of Good Feelings

During the administrations of Jefferson and Madison the congressional nominating caucus experienced little opposition. However in 1816, this situation changed. Not only Federalists objected to the caucus system but so did an indeterminate number of anti-Virginia Republicans led by the New York delegation. Disorganization and failure to agree on William H. Crawford, Daniel Tompkins, Henry Clay, or another possible contender weakened opposition to Monroe. The boycott by Virginia delegates of the March 12 caucus removed opponents' chances and Monroe received the caucus nomination four days later.^[16] With the Federalist Party in disarray due to the unpopularity of their opposition to the War of 1812, he was easily elected.^[17] The Federalists did not even name a candidate, though Rufus King of New York did run in opposition to Monroe under the Federalist banner.^[17] King carried but three states (Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts) and won only 34 of 217 electoral votes cast.^[17] (See United States presidential election, 1816.)

The collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed,^[17] the only president other than Washington to do so. A single elector from New Hampshire cast a vote for John Quincy Adams, preventing a unanimous vote in the electoral college.^[17] (See United States presidential election, 1820.)

Politics

He made balanced Cabinet choices, naming a southerner, John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, and a northerner, John Quincy Adams, as Secretary of State. Only Henry Clay's refusal to accept a position kept Monroe from adding an outstanding westerner. Most appointments went to deserving Democratic-Republicans, but he did not try to use them to build the party's base. Indeed, he allowed the lower posts to take on diverse political appointees, which reduced anxiety and led to the naming of this period in American history as the "Era of Good Feelings." To build national trust, he made two long national tours in 1817. Frequent stops allowed innumerable ceremonies of welcome and good will. All the while the Federalist Party continued to diminish. The party maintained its vitality and organizational integrity at the state and local level but dwindled at the federal level due to redistricting. The party's Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and there were no notable national conventions after Monroe's last term.

Internal Improvements

During his presidency, Congress demanded high subsidies for internal improvements, such as for the improvement of the Cumberland Road.^[18] Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill, which provided for yearly improvements to the road, because he believed it to be unconstitutional for the government to have such a large hand in what was essentially a civics bill deserving of attention on a state by state basis. This sort of defiance underlined Monroe's populist ideals and added credit to the local offices that he was so fond of visiting on his speech trails.^[19]

Missouri Compromise

The era of "good feelings" endured until 1824, and carried over to John Quincy Adams who was elected President by the House of Representatives in what Andrew Jackson alleged to be a "corrupt bargain." Monroe's popularity, however, was undiminished even when following difficult nationalist policies as the country's commitment to nationalism was starting to show serious fractures. The Panic of 1819 caused a painful economic depression. The application for statehood by the Missouri Territory, in 1819, as a slave state failed. An amended bill for gradually eliminating slavery in Missouri precipitated two years of bitter debate in Congress. The Missouri Compromise bill resolved the struggle, pairing Missouri as a slave state with Maine, a free state, and barring slavery north of the latitude 36/30' N forever. The Missouri Compromise lasted until 1857, when it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the Dred Scott decision.

Foreign policy

Monroe Doctrine

Main article: Monroe Doctrine

After the Napoleonic wars (which ended in 1815), almost all of Latin America revolted against Spanish or Portuguese rule and declared independence.^[20] Americans welcomed this development as a validation of the the spirit of Republicanism. Adams suggested delay in formal recognition until Florida was secured in in 1819. The whole problem of imperial invasion was intensified by a Russian claim to the Pacific coast down to the fifty-first parallel and simultaneous European pressure to have all of Latin America returned to its colonial status.

In March 1822 Monroe informed Congress that permanent stable governments had been established in the United Provinces of La Plata (present-day Argentina), Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico. Adams, under Monroe's careful supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers (ambassadors) to these new countries. They declared that the policy of the United States was to uphold republican institutions and to seek treaties of commerce on a most-favored-nation basis. The United States would support inter-American congresses dedicated to the development of economic and political institutions fundamentally differing from those prevailing in Europe. The articulation of an "American system" distinct from that of Europe was a basic tenet of Monroe's policy toward Latin America. Monroe took pride as the United States was the first nation to extend recognition and to set an example to the rest of the world for its support of the "cause of liberty and humanity."

In his message to Congress on December 2, 1823, Monroe formally announced what was later called the Monroe Doctrine. He proclaimed the Americas should be free from future European colonization and free from European interference in sovereign countries' affairs. It further stated the United States' intention to stay neutral in European wars and wars between European powers and their colonies, but to consider any new colonies or interference with independent countries in the Americas as hostile acts toward the United States.

Although it is Monroe's most famous contribution to history, the speech was written by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, who designed the doctrine in cooperation with Britain.^[21] Monroe and Adams realized that American recognition would not protect the new countries against military intervention to restore Spain's power. In October 1823 Richard Rush, the American minister in London, advised that Foreign Secretary George Canning was proposing that the U.S. and Britain jointly declare their opposition to European intervention. Britain, with its powerful navy, also opposed re-conquest of Latin America and suggested that the United States join in proclaiming a "hands off" policy. Galvanized by the British initiative, Monroe consulted with American leaders and then he and Adams formulated a plan. Ex-Presidents Jefferson and Madison counseled Monroe to accept the offer, but Adams advised, "It would be more candid ... to avow our principles explicitly to Russia and France, than to come in as a cock-boat in the wake of the British man-of-war." Monroe accepted Adams' advice. Not only must Latin America be left alone, he warned, but also Russia must not encroach southward on the Pacific coast. "...the American continents," he stated, "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."

In 1823 the Monroe Doctrine pertained more to the Russians in North America than to the former Spanish colonies in South America. The result was a system of American isolationism under the sponsorship of the British navy. The Monroe Doctrine held that the United States considered the Western Hemisphere as no longer a place for European colonization; that any future effort to gain further political control in the hemisphere or to violate the independence of existing states would be treated as an act of hostility; and finally that there existed two different and incompatible political systems in the world. Therefore the United States promised to refrain from intervention in European affairs and demanded Europe to abstain from interfering with American matters. In the event there were few serious European attempts at intervention.^[22]

Spain and Florida

The relations with Spain over the purchase of Florida proved to be more troublesome, especially after General Andrew Jackson invaded that territory on what he believed to be the president's authorization, which Monroe later denied giving. But largely through the skillful work of John Quincy Adams, a treaty was signed with Spain in 1819 by which Florida was ceded to the United States in return for the assumption of $5,000,000 in claims and the relinquishment of any claims to Texas.^[23]

Monroe began to formally recognize the young sister republics (the former Spanish colonies) in 1822. He and Adams had wished to avoid trouble with Spain until it had ceded the Floridas to the U.S., which was done in 1821.

Native American Policies

Main article: Seminole Wars

Monroe sparked a constitutional controversy when, in 1817, he sent General Andrew Jackson to move against Spanish Florida in order to pursue hostile Seminole Indians and punish the Spanish for aiding them. News of Jackson's exploits ignited a congressional investigation of the 1st Seminole War. Dominated by Democratic-Republicans, the 15th Congress was generally expansionist and more likely to support the popular Jackson. Ulterior political agendas of many congressmen dismantled partisan and sectional coalitions, so that Jackson's opponents argued weakly and became easily discredited. After much debate, the House of Representatives voted down all resolutions that condemned Jackson in any way, thus implicitly endorsing Monroe's actions and leaving the issue surrounding the role of the executive with respect to war powers unanswered.^[24]

Monroe believed that the Indians must progress from the hunting stage to become an agricultural people, noting in 1817, "A hunter or savage state requires a greater extent of territory to sustain it than is compatible with progress and just claims of civilised life."^[25] His proposals to speed up the assimilation process were ignored by Congress.^[26]

Administration and Cabinet

The Monroe Cabinet
Office	Name	Term
President	James Monroe	1817–1825
Vice President	Daniel D. Tompkins	1817–1825
Secretary of State	John Quincy Adams	1817–1825
Secretary of Treasury	William H. Crawford	1817–1825
Secretary of War	John C. Calhoun	1817–1825
Attorney General	Richard Rush	1817
	William Wirt	1817–1825
Secretary of the Navy	Benjamin W. Crowninshield	1817–1818
	Smith Thompson	1819–1823
	Samuel L. Southard	1823–1825

Supreme Court appointments

Monroe appointed Smith Thompson to the Supreme Court of the United States.

States admitted to the Union

• Mississippi – December 10, 1817
• Illinois – December 3, 1818
• Alabama – December 14, 1819
• Maine – March 15, 1820
• Missouri – August 10, 1821

Later life

When his presidency was over on March 4, 1825, James Monroe lived at Monroe Hill on the grounds of the University of Virginia. This university's modern campus was Monroe's family farm from 1788 to 1817, but he had sold it in the first year of his presidency to the new college.^[27] He served on the college's Board of Visitors under Jefferson and then under the second rector and another former President James Madison, until his death.

Monroe had racked up many debts during his years of public life. As a result, he was forced to sell off his Highland Plantation (now called Ash Lawn-Highland; it is owned by his alma mater, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public). Throughout his life, he was not financially solvent, and his wife's poor health made matters worse.^[28]

For these reasons, he and his wife lived in Oak Hill, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death on September 23, 1830. In August 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette and President John Quincy Adams, were guests of the Monroes there.^[29]

Death

Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur in the first White House wedding. In April 1831, John Quincy Adams visited him there.^[30]

Monroe died there from heart failure and tuberculosis on July 4, 1831, becoming the third president to die on July 4. His death came 55 years after the U.S. Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and 5 years after the death of the Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. Twenty-seven years later in 1858 the body was re-interred to the President's Circle at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Religious beliefs

"When it comes to Monroe's ..thoughts on religion," Bliss Isely comments in his The Presidents: Men of Faith, "less is known than that of any other President." He burned much of his correspondence with his wife, and no letters survive in which he might have discussed his religious beliefs. Nor did his friends, family or associates write about his beliefs. Letters that do survive, such as ones written on the occasion of the death of his son, contain no discussion of religion.

Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia and as an adult frequently attended Episcopalian churches, though there is no record he ever took communion.^[27] He has been classified by some historians as a Deist, and he did use deistic language to refer to God. Jefferson had been attacked as an atheist and infidel for his deistic views, but never Monroe.

As Secretary of State Monroe dismissed Mordecai Manuel Noah from his post as consul to Tunis in 1815, for the apparent reason that he was Jewish.^{[citation needed]} Noah protested and gained letters from Adams, Jefferson, and Madison supporting church-state separation and tolerance for Jews.^[31]

Slavery

As governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802, Monroe took a cautious position regarding a slave uprising in Southampton County in October 1799. Monroe took pains to see that the charged rebels received proper legal treatment before they were executed, demonstrating a marked concern for their legal rights. He conducted an exhaustive investigation into the incident and saw to it the slaves involved received a fair trial.

Monroe's governorship is best known for the violent suppression of "Gabriel's slave conspiracy" in 1800, in which freedom-seeking slaves from Henrico and neighboring counties plotted to burn the capital, Richmond, kill its white slaveholders, and kidnap Governor Monroe. The rebellion was quickly crushed, and over 30 blacks were executed in its aftermath. Monroe again took an unpopular position in supporting fair trials and attempting to explain and justify slave actions.

As president of Virginia's constitutional convention in the fall of 1829, Monroe reiterated his belief that slavery was a blight which, even as a British colony, Virginia had attempted to eradicate. "What was the origin of our slave population?" he rhetorically asked. "The evil commenced when we were in our Colonial state, but acts were passed by our Colonial Legislature, prohibiting the importation, of more slaves, into the Colony. These were rejected by the Crown." To the extreme chagrin of states' rights proponents, he was even willing to accept the federal government's financial assistance in emancipating and deporting the slaves. At the convention, Monroe made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."

Although he opposed abolition, Monroe was a leading supporter of African colonization proposals as vice president of the Richmond branch of the American Colonization Society, and the capital of Liberia was named Monrovia after him. He favored gradual, compensated emancipation. In the final analysis, Monroe was a planter and a slave owner who believed in the eventual peaceful end of slavery.^[32]

Legacy

Since its 1824 renaming in his honor, the capital city of the West African country of Liberia has been named Monrovia. It is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.

Quotations

Presidential Dollar of James Monroe

Statue of Monroe at Ash Lawn-Highland

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

"It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin."

"The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil."

"Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever was success so complete. If we look to the history of other nations, ancient or modern, we find no example of a growth so rapid, so gigantic, of a people so prosperous and happy."

"In this great nation there is but one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from them, without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for the purposes of free, enlightened, and efficient government."

"The earth was given to mankind to support the greatest number of which it is capable, and no tribe or people have a right to withhold from the wants of others more than is necessary for their own support and comfort."

See also

	Book:Presidents of the United States (1789 - 1860)
Books are collections of articles which can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Adams-Onís Treaty
• Battle of Monmouth
• List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines
• Monrovia

Bibliography

• Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. (1971, 2nd ed. 1990). 706 pp. standard scholarly biography excerpt and text search
• Ammon, Harry. "James Monroe" in Henry F. Graff ed., The Presidents: A Reference History (1997)
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy (1949), the standard history of Monroe's foreign policy.
• Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. 1996. 246 pp. standard scholarly survey
• Dangerfield, George. Era of Good Feelings (1953) excerpt and text search
• Dangerfield, George. The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815 - 1828 (1965) standard scholarly survey excerpt and text search
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism (1995). most advanced analysis of the politics of the 1790s. online edition
• Heidler, David S. "The Politics of National Aggression: Congress and the First Seminole War," Journal of the Early Republic 1993 13(4): 501–530. in JSTOR
• Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829 (2005), 1600 pp.
• Gilman, Daniel Coit. James Monroe (1911) 312 pages; old barely adequate biography. online edition
• Hart, Gary. James Monroe (2005) superficial, short, popular biography
• Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (2007), Pulitzer Prize; a sweeping interpetation of the entire era
• Holmes, David L. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, May 2006, online version
• May, Ernest R. The Making of the Monroe Doctrine (1975), argues it was issued to influence the outcome of the presidential election of 1824.
• Morgan, George. The Life of James Monroe (1921) 484 pages; old and barely adequate biography. online edition
• Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812-1823 (1964)
• Perkins, Dexter. The Monroe Doctrine, 1823-1826 (1927), the standard monograph about the origins of the doctrine.
• Renehan Edward J., Jr. The Monroe Doctrine: The Cornerstone of American Foreign Policy (2007)
• Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe and John Adams: An Unlikely 'Friendship'". The Historian 67#3 (2005) pp 405+. online edition
• Skeen, Carl Edward. 1816: America Rising (1993) popular history
• Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe on the Presidency and 'Foreign Influence;: from the Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788) to Jefferson's Election (1801)." Mid-America 2002 84(1-3): 145–206. ISSN 0026-2927.
• Scherr, Arthur. "Governor James Monroe and the Southampton Slave Resistance of 1799." Historian 1999 61(3): 557–578. ISSN 0018-2370 Fulltext online in SwetsWise and Ebsco.
• White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801-1829 (1951), explains the operation and organization of federal administration
• Whitaker, Arthur P. The United States and the Independence of Latin America (1941)
• Wilmerding, Jr., Lucius, James Monroe: Public Claimant (1960) A study regarding Monroe's attempts to get reimbursement for personal expenses and losses from his years in public service after his Presidency ended.
• Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty: A history of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (2009)

Primary sources

• Monroe, James. The Political Writings of James Monroe. ed. by James P. Lucier, (2002). 863 pp.
• Writings of James Monroe, edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed., 7 vols. (1898-1903) online edition at books.google.com

References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2008)

1. ^ Scotland's Mark on AmericaBy George Fraser Black
2. ^ Presidential Avenue: James Monroe
3. ^ http://www.umw.edu/jamesmonroemuseum/default.php
4. ^ http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/virginia-homes-13.shtml
5. ^ Gerard W. Gawalt, "James Monroe, Presidential Planter," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 1993 101(2): 251-272
6. ^ Jon Kukla, "A Spectrum of Sentiments: Virginia's Federalists, Antifederalists, and 'Federalists Who Are for Amendments,' 1787-1788," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 1988 96(3): 276-296.
7. ^ Harry Ammon, James Monroe (1971) p. 89
8. ^ "MONROE, James - Biographical Information". United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000858. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
9. ^ Ammon, James Monroe pp 137-8
10. ^ Herbert E. Klingelhofer, "George Washington Discharges Monroe for Incompetence," Manuscripts 1965 17(1): 26-34
11. ^ Ammon, James Monroe pp 55-56
12. ^ Ammon, James Monroe p. 151
13. ^ Ammon, James Monroe p. 193
14. ^ Arthur Scherr, "James Monroe on the Presidency and 'Foreign Influence;: from the Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788) to Jefferson's Election (1801)." Mid-America 2002 84(1-3): 145–206
15. ^ David A. Carson, "Quiddism and the Reluctant Candidacy of James Monroe in the Election of 1808," Mid-America 1988 70(2): 79-89
16. ^ William G. Morgan, "The Congressional Nominating Caucus of 1816: the Struggle Against the Virginia Dynasty," Virginia Magazine of History & Biography 1972 80(4): 461-475
17. ^ ^{a b c d e} "America President: James Monroe: Campaigns and Elections". Miller Center of Public Affairs. http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/monroe/essays/biography/3. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
18. ^ "The administration of James Monroe." Bancroft, Hubert H., ed. (1902). "The Great Republic by the Master Historians". http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Great_Republic_By_the_Master_Historians_Vol_III/jamesmonr_bd.html. 
19. ^ "Cumberland Road". Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States by the Best American and European Writers. 1899. http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Lalor/llCy338.html. 
20. ^ The main exceptions were the West Indies islands especially Cuba and Puerto Rico which remained with Spain until 1898.
21. ^ Ammon, James Monroe, pp 476-92
22. ^ Ammon, James Monroe, pp 476-92
23. ^ Ammon, James Monroe, pp 409-48
24. ^ David S. Heidler, "The Politics of National Aggression: Congress and the First Seminole War." Journal of the Early Republic 1993 13(4): 501–530.
25. ^ Francis Paul Prucha, The great father: the United States government and the American Indians‎ (1986) p. 65
26. ^ Ammon, James Monroe, pp 536-40
27. ^ ^{a b} http://encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com/pages/11188/James-Monroe.html
28. ^ Ashlawn website
29. ^ Auguste Levasseur. Alan R. Hoffman. ed. Lafayette in America. p. 549. 
30. ^ Jon Meacham. American Lion. p. 181. 
31. ^ Richard H. Popkin, "Thomas Jefferson's Letter to Mordecai Noah," American Book Collector 1987 8(6): 9-11
32. ^ Arthur Scherr, "Governor James Monroe and the Southampton Slave Resistance of 1799," Historian; 1999 61(3): 557-578 in EBSCO; Douglas R. Egerton, Gabriel's Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of 1800 and 1802 (1993).

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about: James Monroe

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Monroe

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Monroe

•  "James Monroe". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/James_Monroe. 
• Extensive essay on James Monroe and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
• James Monroe: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
• White House Biography
• James Monroe Biography and Fact File
• James Monroe at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Works by James Monroe at Project Gutenberg
• The Presidential Home of James Monroe (College of William and Mary)
• James Monroe Memorial Foundation
• James Monroe Birthplace
• James Monroe Scholarship Award
• The Papers of James Monroe at the Avalon Project
• Monroe Doctrine and related resources at the Library of Congress
• James Monroe's Health and Medical History
• James Monroe Birthplace Commission
• InfoPlease- James Monroe
• The Religion of James Monroe
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825

Political offices
Preceded by James Madison	President of the United States March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825	Succeeded by John Quincy Adams
Preceded by Himself	United States Secretary of State Served under: James Madison February 28, 1815 – March 4, 1817
Preceded by John Armstrong, Jr.	United States Secretary of War Served under: James Madison September 27, 1814 – March 2, 1815	Succeeded by William H. Crawford
Preceded by Robert Smith	United States Secretary of State Served under: James Madison April 2, 1811 – September 30, 1814	Succeeded by Himself
Preceded by John Tyler, Sr.	Governor of Virginia January 16, 1811 – April 5, 1811	Succeeded by George W. Smith
Preceded by James Wood	Governor of Virginia December 9, 1799 – December 1, 1802	Succeeded by John Page
United States Senate
Preceded by John Walker	United States Senator (Class 1) from Virginia November 9, 1790 – March 29, 1794 Served alongside: Richard H. Lee, John Taylor	Succeeded by Stevens T. Mason
Party political offices
Preceded by James Madison	Democratic-Republican Party presidential candidate 1816, 1820	Succeeded by John Quincy Adams Henry Clay William H. Crawford Andrew Jackson¹
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Rufus King	Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain 1803–1807	Succeeded by William Pinkney
Preceded by Gouverneur Morris	Minister Plenipotentiary to France 1794–1796	Succeeded by Charles C. Pinckney
Notes and references
1. The Democratic-Republican Party split in 1824, fielding four separate candidates.

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v • d • e Governors of Virginia Henry · Jefferson · Fleming · Nelson · Harrison · Henry · E. Randolph · B. Randolph · H. Lee · Brooke · Wood · Monroe · Page · Cabell · Tyler Sr. · G. Smith · Monroe · G. Smith · P. Randolph · Barbour · Nicholas · Preston · T. Randolph · Pleasants · Tyler Jr. · Giles · J. Floyd · Tazewell · Robertson · Campbell · Gilmer · Patton · Rutherfoord · Gregory · McDowell · W. "EB" Smith · J.B. Floyd · Johnson · Wise · Letcher · W. "EB" Smith · Pierpont · Wells · Walker · Kemper · Holliday · Cameron · F. Lee · McKinney · O'Ferrall · J.H. Tyler · Montague · Swanson · Mann · Stuart · Davis · Trinkle · Byrd · Pollard · Peery · Price · Darden · Tuck · Battle · Stanley · Almond · A. Harrison · Godwin · Holton · Godwin · Dalton · Robb · Baliles · Wilder · Allen · Gilmore · Warner · Kaine · McDonnell

v • d • e Cabinet of President James Madison (1809–1817) Vice President George Clinton (1809–1812) · Elbridge Gerry (1813–1814) Secretary of State Robert Smith (1809–1811) · James Monroe (1811–1814) (1815–1817) Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1809–1814) · George W. Campbell (1814) · Alexander J. Dallas (1814–1816) · William H. Crawford (1816–1817) Secretary of War William Eustis (1809–1813) · John Armstrong, Jr. (1813–1814) · James Monroe (1814–1815) · William H. Crawford (1815–1816) Attorney General Caesar A. Rodney (1809–1811) · William Pinkney (1811–1814) · Richard Rush (1814–1817) Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton (1809–1813) · William Jones (1813–1814) · Benjamin Williams Crowninshield (1814–1817)

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v • d • e United States Ambassadors to France Envoys Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee, Silas Deane (substituted by John Adams in 1778) 1776–1779 Ministers Plenipotentiary Franklin 1778–85 · Jefferson 1785–89 · Short 1790–92 · Morris 1792–94 · Monroe 1794–96 · Pinckney 1796–97 · Livingston 1801–04 · Armstrong 1804–10 · Russell (chargé d'affaires) 1811 Barlow 1811–12 · Crawford 1813–15 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Gallatin 1816–23 · Brown 1824–29 · Rives 1829–32 · Harris (chargé d'affaires) 1833 · Livingston 1833–35 · Barton (chargé d'affaires) 1835 · Cass 1836–42 · King 1844–46 · Rush 1847–49 · Rives 1849–53 · Mason 1853–59 · Faulkner 1860–61 · Dayton 1861–64 · Bigelow 1865–66 · Dix 1866–69 · Washburne 1869–77 · Noyes 1877–81 · Morton 1881–85 · McLane 1885–89 · Reid 1889–92 · Coolidge 1892–93 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Eustis 1893–97 · Porter 1897–05 · McCormick 1905–07 · White 1907–09 · Bacon 1909–12 · Herrick 1912–14 · Sharp 1914–1919 · Wallace 1919–21 · Herrick 1921–29 · Edge 1929–33 · Strauss 1933–36 · Bullitt 1936–40 · Leahy 1941–42 · Tuck (chargé d'affaires) 1942 · Caffery 1944–49 · Bruce 1949–52 · Dunn 1952–53 · Dillon 1953–57 · Houghton 1957–61 · Gavin 1961–62 · Bohlen 1962–68 · Shriver 1968–70 · Watson 1970–72 · Irwin 1973–74 · Rush 1974–77 · Hartman 1977–81 · Galbraith 1981–85 · Rodgers 1985–89 · Curley 1989–93 · Harriman 1993–97 · Rohatyn 1997–2000 · Leach 2001–05 · Stapleton 2005–09 · Rivkin 2009–

Persondata
NAME	Monroe, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	fifth President of the United States
DATE OF BIRTH	April 28, 1758(1758-04-28)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Westmoreland County, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH	July 4, 1831
PLACE OF DEATH	New York City

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