Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
Monroe-1OO Years After
NE pEsERyEs A HIGHER PLACE CoUNTRY's HISTORY
BY JAMES WALDO FAwoETT.

BY JAMES WALDO FAWcETT.
~ NE HUNDRED years ago yes
terday James Monroe died at
the home of his son-in-law,
~ Samuel L. Gouverneur, in the
city of New York. He was the
third President of the United States 10
pass from the earthly stage on the Ma
tion's birthday. John Adams ana
eeessors, had died on July I, 1895.
Monroe. according TO modern MS
torians, has been undeservedly ne
elected by the people In whose service
he spent his life. He has become
shadowy flgure in the dim corridors OF
the structural period OF our Govern
ment. 1t Is doubtful II the average
citizen Of the present generation could
mention 10 simple facts with regard TO
his career: and yet we pay him from
day to day q far greater homage than
mere remembrance, for we commonly
think In respect to many matters OF
public policy as he taught us to think.
we repeat without being conscious OF
the source axioms of democracy which
he evolved or to which he gave ofhcial
sanction. OF course, the most notable
of these conceptions Is that which still
bears his name-the celebrated Monroe
Doctrine.
James Monroe came OF Scottish cav
alier stock. His immediate parentage
was Virginian on both sides. His IA
ther was Spence Monroe. his mother
Eliza Jones of King George County.
He was born on April 20, 1853, at the
head of Monroes Greek, Westmoreland
County, Va, not far from the birth
place Of George Washington, nor very
distant from that Of James Madison.
Entered Army In 1875.
When the boy was 8 or Q years OF
age his fathers household and those
of his neighbors were stirred by the
passage of the stamp act; and James
received some valuable instruction in
politics from the discussions In which
his father his maternal uncle, Joseph
Jones; various friends and occasional
strangers participated In the lads
hsuring.
In 1774 the boy was sent to the Col
legs Of William and Mary, then the
richest school in North America. There
again he had an excellent opportunity
to study current politics-aS we'll as
matters less dramatic. In 1776, when
the final die was cast, young Monroe
was ready; he was one OF the 80 stu
dents who followed three Of the fac
ulty into the fray-John Marshall was
another.
Monroe was 10 when he Joined the
Continental Army at Washingtons
headquarters near New York. He was
received into the service as a lieuten-
ant in the Sd Virginia Regiment under
Col. Hugh Mercer In September he
was with the troops at Harlem, in 0e-
tober he was at White Plains. in De-
cember he was wounded at Trenton
and he carried the ball in his shoulder
as long as he lived. In the campaigns
Of 1777-l778 he was a volunteer aide on
the staff of the Earl of Stirling: he
took part In the battles Of Brandywine,
Germantown and Monmouth But dur
ing the latter period of the war he was
less active. We hear of him as a mill
tary commissioner after the fall Of
Charleston, s. O.. 1880. and we know
that he attained to the rank of lieuten-
ant colonel. but in the last phases of
the struggle he was not privileged to
participate in much actual fighting.
At the suggestion of jefferson he re-
turned to the study Of law, and in Sep
TENDER, 1780. he was studying under
Jefferson's personal direction. One of
his biographers says: 1T is clear that
his intimacy with Jefferson
was the key to Monroes political career.
The support and counsel OF the older
statesman had marked influence upon
the life of the younger. Their friend
ship continued till it was broken by JEFF
ferson's death"
In 1882 Monroe was chosen a dele
gate to the Virginia Assembly and made
a member of the Executive Council. In
1882 and again in 1784-178e he was q
member of the Continental Congress,
meeting In Annapolis. Trenton and
New York. In the latter city he met
and married Miss Eliza Kortright In
1856.
Was Minister 10 France.
The young couple settled at Freder-
icksburg Va, where Monroe intended
to practice law. But in 1887 he was re-
turned to the Virginia Assembly and
IN 1888 he was a member of the Viz
ginta convention to ratify the Federal
Constitution. Politics. once entered, had
claims upon him which he could not
deny: his dream of life as a country
lawyer vanished. From 1870 to 1894 he
was a United States Senator. In 17g1
he was a member of the commission for
revising the laws Of the State of Vir-
ginia. On May 90, 1894, he was COM
missioned Minister to France He arr
rived in Paris on August 2. four or Ave
DAYS after the fall of Robespierre.
With regard to his career abroad,
there has been considerable controversy
The facts seem to be that he was q
radical in the service of a very con-
sentative administration; that he had
great personal affection for the