James Monroe

During Monroe’s 7th State of the Union address he stated the following “… as a principal in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, 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 powers.”  With this statement buried in the middle of a document, Monroe put forth a doctrine that would define American policies to this day.  JFK made a reference to the Monroe Doctrine during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961.  The doctrine carrying his name is likely Monroe’s most lasting legacy.  As I read my way through the Presidents, there is debate about who wrote the Monroe Doctrine; James Monroe or his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.  I don’t think its writer truly matters, as Monroe clearly believed that the doctrine was in the best interests of the United States.

Monroe is the last of the generation we call the Founding Fathers.  He studied law with Thomas Jefferson, served in the Revolutionary War with George Washington and served as Secretary of State under James Madison. In the War For Independence, Monroe was with George Washington when he crossed the Delaware River to surprise the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton.  What many don’t know is that Monroe is featured prominently in two famous paintings of the event.  He is holding the flag in the painting Washington Crossing the Delaware and he is lying wounded in John Trumbull's painting Capture of the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton.

Believing that the Constitution gave the national government too much power, and didn’t guarantee enough protection of individual liberties, Patrick Henry and George Mason aligned with Monroe in their opposition.  Due to others with this same concern, there was a commitment created to add a Bill of Rights.  Once the Constitution was ratified, Monroe was very active in the new government.  He lost an election for a seat in the House of Representatives to James Madison, but was elected to the Senate from Virginia in 1790.

Madison’s Secretary of State in the War of 1812, was Monroe.  The fighting wasn’t going much in their favor, so Madison asked Monroe to become the Secretary of War (a much more menacing title than Secretary of Defense) as well.  No one was selected to replace him as Secretary of State thus he essentially served both roles, the only time in US history that the same person has had both jobs.

Monroe won all but 3 states in the presidential election of 1816, and in 1820 he won them all.  The period that Monroe served as President is often referred to as the “Era of Good Feelings,” largely due to him ignoring party affiliation in making appointments to his cabinet and his non-partisan approach to issues.

Controversy was sparked in 1817 when Monroe sent Andrew Jackson to chase down the Seminole Indians in Spanish-held Florida.  News of Jackson’s exploits (including the execution of 2 British agents) led to congressional investigations.  In part, the debate was over the president’s authority to make war.  Monroe was vindicated, partially due to the weakness of the opposition.  Many in Congress wanted to censure Jackson, but they couldn’t get the votes.  Additionally, he was pressured to apologize to Great Britain and Spain, but refused and simply offered an explanation.

The issue of slavery was beginning to heat up.  Missouri applied for statehood in 1819 as a slave state, but their attempt failed. Northerners would not accept the extension of slavery into new territories.  The Missouri Compromise paired Missouri (a slave state) with Maine (a free state) and barred slavery north of latitude 36/30’ forever.  This worked until the Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in 1857 as part of the Dred Scott decision.  Monroe was against slavery and supported a law that would send Africans that were illegally captured and sold into slavery back to Africa.  A group purchased some land on the west coast of Africa to formed the country of Liberia where the returned slaves could live.

At that time, the President did not receive any form of pension.  When he left the office he found himself deep in debt.  After his wife Elizabeth died in 1830, he was forced to sell his estate, Ash Lawn, and move in with his daughter Maria in New York City.

Trivia:

• Monroe is the only President to have been wounded during the American Revolution.  He was shot in the shoulder at the Battle of Trenton.
• The election for the House of Representatives in 1788 was the only time (with the exception of a Presidential election) that two future Presidents squared off against each other in an election.
• Monroe’s daughter Maria was the first person to get married in the White House.
• Monroe was the last President to serve while having pretty unified support within Congress.  It got pretty ugly during the election of 1824 (John Q. Adams vs. Andrew Jackson).  After that the partisan politics set in.
• During the Presidential election of 1820 a single elector from New Hampshire cast a vote for John Q. Adams to ensure that Monroe did not win a unanimous vote in the Electoral College, so Washington would still be the only President to accomplish that.
• Monroe was so popular in 1820 and the opposition so weak that he ran essentially unopposed in the 1820 election.  He is the only President besides Washington to have run unopposed.
• Monroe died on the 4th of July in 1831 becoming the 3rd President to die on the 4th of July.
• He is the only President to have a foreign capital named in his honor; Monrovia, Liberia.
• He was the last President to wear a powdered wig and knee breeches.