James Monroe

5th President of the United States

### Children

Eliza Monroe Hay (daughter)James Spence Monroe (son)Maria Hester Monroe (daughter)

### Parents

Spence Monroe (father)Elizabeth Jones (mother)

### Siblings

Elizabeth Monroe Buckner (sister), Spence Monroe Jr. (brother), Andrew Monroe (brother), Joseph Jones Monroe (brother)

### Hair color

Brown

**James Monroe** was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825) and the last President from the Founding Fathers.

*The Presidency of James Monroe spanned the period in United States history that encompasses the events of the Evolution Era and also the Era of Good Feelings. President James Monroe represented the Democratic-Republican political party which influenced the domestic and foreign policies of his presidency that was known as the "Era of Good Feelings".*

## Biography

On New Year’s Day, 1825, at the last of his annual White House receptions, President James Monroe made a pleasing impression upon a Virginia lady who shook his hand:

“He is tall and well formed. His dress plain and in the old style…. His manner was quiet and dignified. From the frank, honest expression of his eye … I think he well deserves the encomium passed upon him by the great Jefferson, who said, ‘Monroe was so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.’ ”

Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1758, Monroe attended the College of William and Mary, fought with distinction in the Continental Army, and practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

As a youthful politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, an advocate of Jeffersonian policies, was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794-1796, he displayed strong sympathies for the French cause; later, with Robert R. Livingston, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.

His ambition and energy, together with the backing of President Madison, made him the Republican choice for the Presidency in 1816. With little Federalist opposition, he easily won re-election in 1820.

Monroe made unusually strong 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 kept Monroe from adding an outstanding Westerner.

Early in his administration, Monroe undertook a goodwill tour. At Boston, his visit was hailed as the beginning of an “Era of Good Feelings.” Unfortunately these “good feelings” did not endure, although Monroe, his popularity undiminished, followed nationalist policies.

Across the facade of nationalism, ugly sectional cracks appeared. A painful economic depression undoubtedly increased the dismay of the people of the Missouri Territory in 1819 when their application for admission to the Union 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 and west of Missouri forever.

In foreign affairs Monroe proclaimed the fundamental policy that bears his name, responding to the threat that the more conservative governments in Europe might try to aid Spain in winning back her former Latin American colonies. Monroe did not begin formally to recognize the young sister republics until 1822, after ascertaining that Congress would vote appropriations for diplomatic missions. He and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams wished to avoid trouble with Spain until it had ceded the Floridas, as was done in 1821.

Great Britain, with its powerful navy, also opposed reconquest of Latin America and suggested that the United States join in proclaiming “hands off.” Ex-Presidents Jefferson and Madison counseled Monroe to accept the offer, but Secretary 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’s 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.” Some 20 years later, this became known as the Monroe Doctrine.

Deeply plagued by debt, Monroe died on July 4, 1831 in New York City.

## Personality

The character traits of President James Monroe can be described as outgoing, charming, warm, sensitive and courteous. It has been speculated that the Myers-Briggs personality type for James Monroe is an ESTJ (Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judgment). An outgoing, practical, realistic and civic-minded character with a strong belief in rules and procedures, placing a high value on competence and efficiency. James Monroe Personality type: Decisive, hardworking, methodical and orderly.

## Nicknames

* "The Era of Good Feelings President"
* "The Last of Crooked Hats"
* "The Last Cocked Hat"
* "The Last Founding Father"

*Meaning: The nickname of President James Monroe provides an insight into how the man was viewed by the American public during his presidency. The meaning of the nickname "Era of Good Feelings President" refers to the euphoric feeling in the nation following America's performance in the War of 1812, aka the "Second War of independence" and its ability to be viewed as a strong and unified new nation. The meaning of his other nickname, "Last of the Cocked Hats", refers to his taste in clothes. He wore expensive clothing but was not influenced by fashion preferring to wear old-fashioned style hats that dated back years to the 1700's.*

## Inaugurations

### First Inauguration

The **first inauguration of James Monroe** as the fifth president of the United States was held on Tuesday, March 4, 1817, in front of the Old Brick Capitol, where the Supreme Court building now stands. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of James Monroe as president and Daniel D. Tompkins as vice president. The Chief Justice, John Marshall administered the oath of office.

### Second Inauguration

The **second inauguration of James Monroe** as president of the United States was held on Monday, March 5, 1821, in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term of James Monroe as president and Daniel D. Tompkins as vice president. Monroe had almost unanimously won the election of 1820 for a second term. He was sworn in by John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the United States. Because of a snowstorm, the inauguration was held indoors; also, because March 4, 1821, was a Sunday, James Monroe moved the inauguration to the following day after talking with justices of the Supreme Court

## Presidents born during his Presidency

* Ulysses S. Grant
* Rutherford B. Hayes

## Accomplishments and major events

*The major accomplishments and the famous, main events that occurred when James Monroe was president included the First Seminole War (1817-1818), the Missouri Compromise, the 49th parallel was set (1818), the Panic of 1819, the Santa Fe Trail was opened, the Rush-Bagot Treaty was signed, the Purchase of Florida was made via the Adams Onis Treaty and the President announced his famous 1823 Monroe Doctrine.*

**The Era of Good Feelings (1815-1824)**

Summary: James Monroe was president during the Era of Good Feelings that began with the jubilant end to the War of 1812. The Era of Good Feelings saw the emergence of National pride as the new nation began cultivating vast regions of the West due to the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.New transport systems were being built and great manufacturing industries were emerging in the East.

**The 'American System'**

Summary: James Monroe was president when Henry Clay introduced the economic plan called the 'American System' to help build the new nation. The 'American System' was designed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the acquisition of the new lands in the west and to ensure that US money benefited US Citizens.

**The Rush-Bagot Treaty**

Summary: James Monroe was president during the signing of the Rush-Bagot Treaty or "Rush-Bagot Disarmament" on April 16, 1818. It was an agreement between the US and Great Britain to substantially reduce their naval vessels to patrol boats on the Great Lakes  following the end of the War of 1812.

**The 1818 Convention, setting the 49th parallel**

Summary of the 1818 Convention - 49th parallel: James Monroe was president during the Convention of 1818 when the 49th parallel was set as the border with Canada.

**The Panic of 1819**

Summary: James Monroe was president during the Panic of 1819, the first Important financial crisis in the United States. The Second Bank of America extended far too much credit, then quickly restricted it, leading to runs on state banks, bank closures, and bankruptcies.

**The Adams Onis Treaty - the Purchase of Florida**

Summary: The Adams Onis Treaty was signed on ‎February 22, 1819 between the United States and Spain that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the US and New Spain (now Mexico).

**The Santa Fe Trail**

Summary: James Monroe was president when the Santa Fe Trail was opened, that covered the 900 mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe.

**The Missouri Compromise**

Summary: James Monroe was president during the settlement called the 1820 Missouri Compromise was reached between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions on the extension of slavery into new territories. Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, retaining the balance between slave and free states.

**The Monroe Doctrine, 1823**

Summary: The doctrine was delivered to Congress by President Monroe on December 2, 1823. The Monroe doctrine declared against foreign colonization, or intervention in the Americas, and the intention of the US to remain neutral in European wars.

## Post Presidency

When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, James Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is now included in the grounds of the University of Virginia. He served on the university's Board of Visitors under Jefferson and under the second rector James Madison, both former presidents, almost until his death. He and his wife lived at Oak Hill in Aldie, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death at age 62 on September 23, 1830. In August 1825, the Monroes had received the Marquis de Lafayette and President John Quincy Adams as guests there.

Monroe incurred many unliquidated debts during his years of public life. He sold off his Highland Plantation. It is now owned by his *alma mater*, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public as a historic site. Throughout his life, he was financially insolvent, which was exacerbated by his wife's poor health.

Monroe was elected as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830. He was one of four delegates elected from the senatorial district made up of his home district of Loudoun and Fairfax County. In October 1829, he was elected by the convention to serve as the presiding officer, until his failing health required him to withdraw on December 8, after which Philip P. Barbour of Orange County was elected presiding officer.

## Death

Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to 63 Prince Street at Lafayette Place in New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur, who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur. Monroe's health began to slowly fail by the end of the 1820s. On July 4, 1831, Monroe died at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day. His death came 55 years after the United States Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and five years after the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. 27 years later, in 1858, his body was re-interred at the President's Circle in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

## Facts and trivia

* James Monroe was the last Founding Father to serve as President.
* Monroe's paternal great-great-grandfather Patrick Andrew Monroe emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century, and was part of an ancient Scottish clan known as Clan Munro. In 1650 he patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Monroe's mother was the daughter of James Jones, who immigrated from Wales and settled in nearby King George County, Virginia. Also among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700.
* At age 11, Monroe was enrolled in Campbelltown Academy, the lone school in the county. He attended this school only 11 weeks a year, as his labor was needed on the farm. During this time, Monroe formed a lifelong friendship with an older classmate, John Marshall, who later served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
* Monroe's mother died in 1772, and his father two years later. Though he inherited property, including slaves, from both of his parents, the 16-year-old Monroe was forced to withdraw from school to support his younger brothers. His childless maternal uncle, Joseph Jones, became a surrogate father to Monroe and his siblings. A member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Jones took Monroe to the capital of Williamsburg, Virginia, and enrolled him in the College of William and Mary. Jones also introduced Monroe to important Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington.
* During the Revolutionary War, Monroe served under General Washington, fought in several major battles in the northeast, was wounded at the Battle of Trenton — from which he carried shrapnel in his shoulder for the rest of his life — and wintered at Valley Forge, eventually reaching the rank of Colonel in the Virginia service.
* Monroe is featured in the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River.
* After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, Monroe opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution.
* On February 16, 1786, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830) in New York City. She was the daughter of Hannah Aspinwall Kortright and Laurence Kortright, a wealthy trader and former British officer. Monroe met her while serving in the Continental Congress. The Monroe's had three children, Eliza, James Spence, and Maria Hester. Their warm family life is illustrated by his wife and two daughters, Eliza and Maria, accompanying Monroe on nearly all his official travel, including diplomatic assignments in France and Great Britain. During their time in France, the couple attended Napoleon I’s Coronation in Notre Dame Cathedral.
* Monroe's farm Highland in Charlottesville, Virginia actually shared a border with Jefferson’s Monticello. With the addition of their colleague James Madison — whose home in Orange County, Virginia was situated on their way to and from Washington — three of the first five United States presidents hailed from Central Virginia. In addition, Monroe lived in a large plantation house named Oak Hill, in Aldie, Virginia.
* In 1790, Monroe won election to the Senate, where he became a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. He left the Senate in 1794 to serve as President George Washington's ambassador to France but was recalled by Washington in 1796.
* Monroe won the election as Governor of Virginia in 1799 and strongly supported Jefferson's candidacy in the 1800 presidential election.
* As President Jefferson's special envoy, Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, through which the United States nearly doubled in size.
* Not widely known is his significant role in the negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase for the Jefferson administration. In 1803, Jefferson sent him to France to assist Robert Livingston with the negotiation for the port of New Orleans, telling Monroe “All eyes, all hopes, are now fixed on you.” Finding Napoleon strapped for cash and willing to sell the entirety of the Louisiana Territory, Monroe took advantage of a deal that would double the size of the nation.
* Monroe fell out with his longtime friend James Madison after Madison rejected the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty that Monroe negotiated with Britain. He unsuccessfully challenged Madison for the Democratic-Republican nomination in the 1808 presidential election, but in 1811 he joined Madison's administration as Secretary of State. During the later stages of the War of 1812, Monroe simultaneously served as Madison's Secretary of State and Secretary of War.
* Monroe decided to seek the presidency in the 1816 election, and his war-time leadership had established him as Madison's heir apparent. Monroe had strong support from many in the party, but his candidacy was challenged at the 1816 Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus. He easily defeated Federalist candidate Rufus King in the overall election, winning over 80% of the vote.
* On March 4, 1817, Monroe arrived at the Capitol at noon in front of a large crowd of around 8000 people, the largest crowd to gather in the city to that point. The ceremony, unlike previous inaugurations, took place outside on a platform because Congress could not agree on protocols for an indoor occasion. He was administered the Oath of Office by Chief Justice John Marshall.
* Monroe largely ignored old party lines in making federal appointments, which reduced political tensions and augmented the sense of "oneness" that pervaded the United States. He made two long national tours to build national trust.
* Monroe was the last American president to wear a powdered wig and knee breeches.
* Monroe owned dozens of slaves. He took several slaves with him to Washington to serve at the White House from 1817 to 1825. This was typical of other slaveholders, as Congress did not provide for domestic staff of the presidents at that time.
* During the course of his presidency, Monroe remained convinced that slavery was wrong and supported private manumission, but at the same time he insisted that any attempt to promote emancipation would cause more problems. Monroe believed that slavery had become a permanent part of southern life, and that it could only be removed on providential terms.
* Domestically, Monroe faced the Panic of 1819, the first major recession in the American history. He supported many federally-funded infrastructure projects, but vetoed other projects due to constitutional concerns.
* Monroe supported the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state but excluded slavery in the remaining territories north of the parallel 36°30′ north.
* In foreign policy, Monroe and Secretary of State Adams acquired East Florida from Spain with the Adams–Onís Treaty, realizing a long-term goal of Monroe and his predecessors. Reached after the First Seminole War, the Adams–Onís Treaty also solidified U.S. control over West Florida, established the western border of the United States, and included the cession of Spain's claims on Oregon Country.
* The Monroe administration also reached two treaties with Britain, marking a rapprochement between the two countries after the War of 1812. The Rush–Bagot Treaty demilitarized the U.S. border with British North America, while the Treaty of 1818 settled some boundary disputes and provided for the joint settlement of Oregon Country.
* Monroe is perhaps best known for proclaiming the Monroe Doctrine, which declared that the U.S. would remain neutral in European affairs, but would not accept new colonization of Latin America by European powers.
* The capitol city of the West African country of Liberia, Monrovia, is named after Monroe.
* Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia before the Revolution. As an adult, he attended Episcopal churches. Some historians see "deistic tendencies" in his few references to an impersonal God. Unlike Jefferson, Monroe was rarely attacked as an atheist or infidel.
* Monroe was the last president who was not photographed.
* During Monroe's tenure, five new states were admitted to the Union: Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri.
* When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is now included in the grounds of the University of Virginia. He served on the university's Board of Visitors under Thomas Jefferson and under the second rector James Madison, both former presidents, almost until his death.
* Monroe has been generally ranked as an above-average president by historians. He presided over a period in which the United States began to turn away from European affairs and towards domestic issues. His presidency saw the United States settle many of its longstanding boundary issues through an accommodation with Britain and the acquisition of Florida.
* Monroe also helped resolve sectional tensions through his support of the Missouri Compromise and by seeking support from all regions of the country.
* Political scientist Fred Greenstein argues that Monroe was a more effective executive than some of his better-known predecessors, including Madison and John Adams.
* Monroe incurred many unliquidated debts during his years of public life. He sold off his Highland Plantation. It is now owned by his *alma mater*, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public as a historic site. Throughout his life, he was financially insolvent, which was exacerbated by his wife's poor health.
* Monroe and his wife lived at Oak Hill in Aldie, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death at age 62 on September 23, 1830. In August 1825, the Monroes had received Marquis de Lafayette and President John Quincy Adams as guests there.
* Like Washington, Jefferson, and Madison before him, Monroe was a plantation owner, but his profit was often unsuccessful, so he never maintained a study ownership. Later in life, he was deeply in debt, and was forced to sell his Oak Hill Plantation in Aldie, Virginia in 1828.
* Monroe was elected as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830. He was one of four delegates elected from the senatorial district made up of his home district of Loudoun and Fairfax County. In October 1829, he was elected by the convention to serve as the presiding officer, until his failing health required him to withdraw on December 8, after which Philip P. Barbour of Orange County was elected presiding officer.
* Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to 63 Prince Street at Lafayette Place in New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur, who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur.
* On July 4, 1831, Monroe died at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day.
* His death came 55 years after the United States Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and five years after the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
* Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. 27 years later, in 1858, his body was re-interred at the President's Circle in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
* Monroe is the namesake of seventeen Monroe counties. Monroe, Maine, Monroe, Michigan, Monroe, Georgia, Monroe, Connecticut, both Monroe Townships in New Jersey, and Fort Monroe are all named for him. Monroe has been depicted on U.S. currency and stamps, including a 1954 United States Postal Service 5¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp.

## References

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James\_Monroe
* https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/james-monroe/
* https://www.american-historama.org/presidents-united-states/james-monroe.htm
* https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Monroe-17