James Monroe

James Monroe (1758-1831) was the fifth president of the United States, (1817-1825) best known for sponsoring the Monroe Doctrine, and for presiding over a lessening of partisan tensions known as the "Era of Good Feelings."

Early career

Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Va., on Apr. 28, 1758 to Spence Monroe and Eliza Jones Monroe, of Scottish and Welsh ancestry respectively, They were moderately wealthy Virginia tobacco planters who relied on slave labor. The young Monroe attended a local school and at age 16, matriculated at William and Mary College. His education was interrupted by the outbreak of the American Revolution. At 18 he became a lieutenant in a Virginia regiment of the Continental line. Rising to the rank of major, he participated in the New Jersey campaign and was wounded at Trenton. He was an aide to George Washington at the "crossing of the Delaware" in December 1776. Monroe served during the operations around Philadelphia and at Monmouth but resigned from the army in 1778. From 1780 to 1783 Monroe studied law under Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia. This proved the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Political career

In 1782 Monroe was elected to the Virginia Assembly. The following year he was elected as one of Virginia's representatives to the Confederation Congress, where he served from 1783 to 1786. Although a staunch defender of states' rights, Monroe proposed and supported a measure to give the Congress the right to control interstate commerce. Returning to Virginia, he married Eliza Kortright, of early Dutch stock, by whom he had two daughters, plus a son who died in infancy. He attended the Annapolis Convention in 1786 but was not selected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention which followed. He considered the proposed Constitution would be dangerous to the sovereignty of Virginia, and joined the "anti-Federalist" opposition. Like most opponents he wanted a Bill of Rights, and once that was promised he supported the new government. In 1788 he ran against James Madison for the new national Congress, but was overwhelmingly defeated. Two years later he was chosen by the legislature to fill an unexpired term in the U.S. Senate. There he joined the Jeffersonian faction, later to become the Democratic-Republican Party, which opposed the Federalist policies of Alexander Hamilton

Diplomacy

President Washington appointed Monroe as minister to France in 1794, charged with removing the serious tension between the two countries, at a time the treaty of alliance of 1778 was still in effect. France was at war with Britain. The appointment kept a prominent Jeffersonian in office after Jefferson himself went into retirement. Monroe made little progress because Alexander Hamilton had shaped a pro-British foreign policy by means of the Jay Treaty of 1794. Monroe was too obvious in his sympathy for the Terror stage of the French Revolution, and he was recalled in 1796. Monroe published a lengthy defense, which Washington considered as a personal attack. Monroe was elected governor of Virginia in 1799-1802. He proved himself a popular executive and an able administrator. His effective handling of the abortive slave uprising known as Gabriel's Rebellion was highly praised by the planter class.

President Jefferson sent to France to help Robert R. Livingston, the U.S. minister, negotiate for the purchase of the mouth of the Mississippi River. They instead purchased the entire Louisiana Territory in a spectacular diplomatic triumph. Monroe became minister to the Court of St. James (Britain) but Jefferson rejected the treaty Monroe negotiated because it did not end the impressment (seizure) of American sailors. Relations spiraled toward war. Monroe went to Spain, which rejected the American offer to purchase the Spanish Floridas. Monroe returned home in 1807, expecting Jefferson's support for the presidency, and insisted upon being a candidate for the Democratic-Republican nomination even when Jefferson and most party leaders wanted James Madison.

War of 1812

Returning to Virginia politics, Monroe was elected to the legislature in 1810 and was chosen governor for the second time in 1811. Meanwhile, the Madison administration, confronted by a possible war, needed strengthening. Monroe accepted the position of secretary of state in 1811. For a time he believed that the difficulties between the United States and Britain could be solved peacefully, but after long and fruitless negotiations he came to the conclusion that the War of 1812 was inevitable. In 1814, largely at his insistence, John Armstrong, the incumbent secretary of war, was forced to resign and Monroe took over the office, simultaneous with the State department, in which he displayed his usual energy and administrative ability. He held it until March 1815. The American victories at the end of the war dramatically changed the national mood from despair to joyous celebration of independence and Monroe was almost unanimously made the choice of the Republican caucus in Congress (which selected the party candidate) in 1816. He easily defeated Federalist Rufus King.

Presidency

Once in office, Monroe dropped his strict states' rights views to a more moderate position that better reflected the spirit of the country. Although he vetoed an internal improvements bill, he clearly indicated a willingness to approve an alternative, the result of which was the extensive internal improvements planning measure of 1824. Moreover, Monroe approved the tariff act of the same year. His appointments of John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, and William Wirt to the Cabinet were strong selections; all were staunch nationalists with a vision of a strong nation state. Monroe refused to engage personally in the debate over the controversal Missouri Compromise question.

Monroe dfeliberately downplayed party politics. With the death of the old Federalist party, old animosities faded away and few new ones emerged. Indeed, the Republican party itself faded away, as Monroe avoided using patronage to strengthen partisanship. It was called "the era of good feeling." Despite the economic downturn that came in 1819, Monroe remained popular and was reelected in 1820 almost unanimously.

Foreign affairs

Perhaps the most brilliant achievements of Monroe's administration were in the sphere of foreign affairs. In succession the outstanding questions with Britain were resolved. The issue over Oregon Territory was settled on the basis of joint occupation, the Rush-Bagot agreement of 1817 imposed a limitation of armaments on the Great Lakes, and a mutually satisfactory fisheries treaty was negotiated in 1818. 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.

Retirement and Legacy

Turning the presidency over to Adams on March 4, 1825, Monroe retired to his plantation, operated by slaves and an overseer, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Tobacco farming was unprofitable and he struggled to get out of debt. Elected to Virginia's constitutional convention in 1829, he opposed the widening of the franchise but took little part in the debates over other questions. Still in financial difficulties, he moved to New York City in 1830, where he died on July 4, 1831.

Monroe lacked the charisma of Washington, and the brilliance of Jefferson and Madison. He was an extremely able administrator and a harmonizer of conflicting viewpoints. His great achievement was to calm the political waters. He lived a simple but energetic life devoted almost entirely to the public affairs of his nation and his state. He kept his religious beliefs very strictly private, and historians do not know what they were.

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
• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism (1995). most advanced analysis of the politics of the 1790s. online edition
• Gilman, Daniel Coit. James Monroe (1911) 312 pages; old barely adequate biography. online edition
• Hart, Gary. James Monroe (2005) superficial short popular biography
• Morgan, George. The Life of James Monroe (1921) 484 pages old 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)
• Peterson, Merrill D. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography (1975) online edition
• Renehan Edward J., Jr. The Monroe Doctrine: The Cornerstone of American Foreign Policy (2007)
• Skeen, Carl Edward. 1816: America Rising (1993) popular history
• White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801-1829 (1951), explains the operation and organization of federal administration

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

See also

• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison
• Monroe Doctrine
• Era of Good Feelings
• First Party System