James Monroe
| James Monroe | |
|---|---|
| File:James Monroe Presidential Portrait.jpg | |
| Order | 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 |
| Born | April 28, 1758 Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States |
| Political Party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Kortright Monroe (m. 1786–1830) |
| Children | Eliza, Maria (and one son who died in infancy) |
| Profession | Lawyer, diplomat, statesman |
| Alma mater | College of William & Mary (attended) |
| Signature | File:James Monroe Signature.svg |
James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the 5th president of the United States (1817–1825). His administration presided over the post-War of 1812 calm known as the Era of Good Feelings and articulated the Monroe Doctrine, a landmark statement of U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere.
Early Life and Revolutionary Service
Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe enrolled at the College of William & Mary but left in 1776 to join the Continental Army. He was wounded at the Battle of Trenton and later studied law under Thomas Jefferson, entering Virginia politics in the 1780s.
Diplomatic and Political Career
Monroe served as a U.S. senator, governor of Virginia, and diplomat in France and Britain. As Jefferson’s minister to France, he helped negotiate the release of American prisoners and later co-negotiated (with Robert R. Livingston) aspects linked to the Louisiana Purchase period. Under James Madison, Monroe served as Secretary of State and concurrently (briefly) Secretary of War during the War of 1812, helping steady national defense after the burning of Washington.
Presidency (1817–1825)
Monroe’s two terms featured broad, if shallow, political harmony as the Federalist Party faded.
- Florida and boundaries: The Adams–Onís Treaty (1819) secured Florida from Spain and defined the U.S.–Spanish (later Mexican) boundary to the Pacific.
- Panic of 1819: The first major U.S. peacetime financial crisis tested the young national economy and spurred debate over banking and credit.
- Missouri Compromise (1820): Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, drawing a latitude line for future territories—an uneasy truce over slavery’s expansion.
- Monroe Doctrine (1823): Declared the Americas closed to future European colonization and warned against European interference, while pledging U.S. non-involvement in European wars. It became a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.
Later Life and Death
Monroe retired to Virginia but struggled financially. After his wife’s death, he lived with family in New York, where he died on July 4, 1831 — the third president to die on Independence Day (after John Adams and Thomas Jefferson).
Legacy
Monroe is remembered for steady leadership, successful diplomacy, and the doctrine that bears his name. Although the Era of Good Feelings masked rising sectional tensions, his administration expanded U.S. territory and clarified American interests in the hemisphere.