135 Facts About James Monroe

James Monroe was an American Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.

James Monroe was the last Founding Father to serve as president as well as the last president of the Virginia dynasty.

James Monroe was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and his presidency coincided with the Era of Good Feelings, concluding the First Party System era of American politics.

James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of limiting European colonialism in the Americas.

James Monroe studied law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783 and subsequently served as a delegate to the Continental Congress as well as a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention.

James Monroe opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution.

In 1790, James Monroe won election to the Senate where he became a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party.

James Monroe left the Senate in 1794 to serve as President George Washington's ambassador to France but was recalled by Washington in 1796.

James Monroe won the election as Governor of Virginia in 1799 and strongly supported Jefferson's candidacy in the 1800 presidential election.

James Monroe unsuccessfully challenged Madison for the Democratic-Republican nomination in the 1808 presidential election, but he joined Madison's administration as Secretary of State in 1811.

In 1823, James Monroe announced the United States' opposition to any European intervention in the recently independent countries of the Americas with the James Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy.

James Monroe was a member of the American Colonization Society which supported the colonization of Africa by freed slaves, and Liberia's capital of Monrovia is named in his honor.

James Monroe had one sister, Elizabeth and three younger brothers, Spence, Andrew and Joseph Jones.

James Monroe's father worked as a craftsman and was a patriot who was involved in protests against the Stamp Act.

James Monroe's mother was the daughter of a Welsh immigrant whose family was one of the wealthiest in King George County.

Also among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700.

At age 11, James Monroe was enrolled in Campbelltown Academy, the only school in the county.

James Monroe attended this school only 11 weeks a year, as his labor was needed on the farm.

In 1772, James Monroe's mother died after giving birth to her youngest child and his father died soon after, leaving him as the eldest son in charge of the family.

In early 1776, about a year and a half after his enrollment, James Monroe dropped out of college and joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment in the Continental Army, despite mourning the death of his brother Spence, who had died shortly before.

James Monroe was assigned to the staff of General William Alexander, Lord Stirling as an auxiliary officer.

On Jones's advice, James Monroe returned to Williamsburg to study law at the College of William and Mary, becoming a protege of Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson, with whom James Monroe soon formed a close and lifelong friendship, advised his protege to pursue a political career and made his library available to him, where the works of Epictetus in particular had a great influence on James Monroe.

James Monroe resumed studying law under Jefferson and continued until 1783.

James Monroe was not particularly interested in legal theory or practice, but chose to take it up because he thought it offered "the most immediate rewards" and could ease his path to wealth, social standing, and political influence.

In 1782, James Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

James Monroe had served a total of three years when he finally retired from that office by the rule of rotation.

In 1784, James Monroe undertook an extensive trip through Western New York and Pennsylvania to inspect the conditions in the Northwest.

In 1787, James Monroe won election to another term in the Virginia House of Delegates.

In 1788, James Monroe became a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, which voted on the adoption of the United States Constitution.

James Monroe called for the Constitution to include guarantees regarding free navigation on the Mississippi River and to give the federal government direct control over the militia in case of defense.

James Monroe opposed the Electoral College, which he viewed as too corruptible and susceptible to state interests, and favored direct election of the president.

James Monroe stood firmly with Jefferson in opposing Hamilton's strong central government and strong executive.

The Democratic-Republican Party coalesced around Jefferson and Madison, and James Monroe became one of the fledgling party's leaders in the Senate.

James Monroe helped organize opposition to John Adams in the 1792 election, though Adams defeated George Clinton to win re-election as vice president.

James Monroe took this position at a difficult time: America's negotiating position was made considerably more difficult by its lack of military strength.

James Monroe experienced several early diplomatic successes, including the protection of US trade from French attacks.

In 1796, James Monroe sent a dispatch summarizing his response to French complaints of the Jay Treaty, but it was incomplete and did not include the French note or James Monroe's written response.

Washington decided James Monroe was inefficient, disruptive, and failed to safeguard the national interest.

Jefferson and Madison urged James Monroe to run for Congress, but James Monroe chose to focus on state politics instead.

In 1797, James Monroe published A View of the Conduct of the Executive, in the Foreign Affairs of the United States: Connected with the Mission to the French Republic, During the Years 1794,5, and 6, which sharply attacked Washington's government and accused it of acting against America's interests.

James Monroe followed the advice of his friend Robert Livingston who cautioned him to "repress every harsh and acrimonious" comment about Washington.

The constitution of Virginia endowed the governor with very few powers aside from commanding the militia when the Assembly called it into action, but James Monroe used his stature to convince legislators to enhance state involvement in transportation and education and to increase training for the militia.

James Monroe began to give State of the Commonwealth addresses to the legislature, in which he highlighted areas in which he believed the legislature should act.

James Monroe led an effort to create the state's first penitentiary, and imprisonment replaced other, often harsher, punishments.

In 1800, James Monroe called out the state militia to suppress Gabriel's Rebellion, a slave rebellion originating on a plantation six miles from the capital of Richmond.

The executions sparked compassionate feelings among the people of Virginia, and James Monroe worked with the legislature to secure a location where free and enslaved African Americans suspected of "conspiracy, insurgency, Treason, and rebellion" would be permanently banished outside the United States.

Federalists were likewise suspicious of James Monroe, some viewing him at best as a French dupe and at worst a traitor.

James Monroe considered using the Virginia militia to force the outcome in favor of Jefferson.

Many of the sailors they impressed had never been British subjects, and James Monroe was tasked with persuading the British to stop their practice of impressment.

James Monroe found little success in this endeavor, partly due to Jefferson's alienation of the British minister to the United States, Anthony Merry.

On his return to Virginia in 1807, James Monroe received a warm reception, and many urged him to run in the 1808 presidential election.

Out of deference to Jefferson, James Monroe agreed to avoid actively campaigning for the presidency, but he did not rule out accepting a draft effort.

James Monroe decided to run against Madison in the 1808 presidential election in order to demonstrate the strength of his political position in Virginia.

James Monroe did not publicly criticize Jefferson or Madison during Madison's campaign against Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, but he refused to support Madison.

James Monroe won 3,400 votes in Virginia, but received little support elsewhere.

James Monroe, who had fallen out of favor with the majority of Republicans because of his candidacy, withdrew into private life for the next few years.

James Monroe devoted his attentions to farming at his Charlottesville estate, experimenting with new horticultural techniques in order to switch from tobacco, whose value was steadily declining, to wheat.

In 1810, James Monroe returned to the Virginia House of Delegates and was elected to another term as governor in 1811, but served only four months, as less than two months into his term, James Monroe was asked on Madison's behalf if he would be willing to succeed Robert Smith as Secretary of State.

Madison hoped that James Monroe, an experienced diplomat with whom he had once been close friends, would improve upon Smith's performance.

On taking office, James Monroe hoped to negotiate treaties with the British and French to end the attacks on American merchant ships.

James Monroe had long worked for peace with the British, but he came to favor war with Britain, joining with "war hawks" such as Speaker of the House Henry Clay.

The US Navy did experience several successes after James Monroe convinced Madison to allow the Navy's ships to set sail rather than remaining in port for the duration of the war.

When British warships appeared in the Potomac River estuary in the summer of the same year, James Monroe urged that defensive measures be taken for Washington, DC, and that a military intelligence service should be established to Chesapeake Bay, which Armstrong dismissed as unnecessary.

Since there was no functioning reconnaissance, James Monroe formed his own small cavalry unit and began scouting the bay until the British withdrew from it.

James Monroe allowed Adams leeway in setting terms, so long as he ended the hostilities and preserved American neutrality.

The British burned the US Capitol and the White House on August 24,1814, Madison removed Armstrong as Secretary of War and turned to James Monroe for help, appointing him Secretary of War on September 27.

James Monroe resigned as Secretary of State on October 1,1814, but no successor was ever appointed and thus from October 1814 to February 28,1815, James Monroe effectively held both Cabinet posts.

Now in command of the war effort, James Monroe ordered General Andrew Jackson to defend against a likely attack on New Orleans by the British, and he asked the governors of nearby states to send their militias to reinforce Jackson.

James Monroe called on Congress to draft an army of 100,000 men, increase compensation to soldiers, and establish a new national bank, the Second Bank of the United States, to ensure adequate funding for the war effort.

Months after James Monroe took office as Secretary of War, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

James Monroe resigned as Secretary of War in March 1815 and took over the leadership of the State Department again, emerging from the war politically strengthened and a promising presidential candidate.

James Monroe decided to seek the presidency in the 1816 election, and his war-time leadership had established him as Madison's heir apparent.

James Monroe had strong support from many in the party, but his candidacy was challenged at the 1816 Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus.

James Monroe received 183 of the 217 electoral votes, winning every state but Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware.

James 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.

James Monroe made two long national tours to build national trust, which included ceremonies of welcome and expressions of good-will.

James Monroe appointed a geographically balanced cabinet, through which he led the executive branch.

James Monroe chose to retain Benjamin Crowninshield of Massachusetts as Secretary of the Navy and Richard Rush of Pennsylvania as Attorney General.

An experienced diplomat, Adams had abandoned the Federalist Party in 1807 in support of Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy, and James Monroe hoped that the appointment would encourage the defection of more Federalists.

James Monroe expanded trade and pacified relations with Great Britain while expanding the United States at the expense of the Spanish Empire, from which he obtained Florida and the recognition of a border across the continent.

James Monroe later fixed the government's official position in a letter from Adams to Spanish Ambassador Luis de Onis, which he edited accordingly by removing all justifications for Jackson's actions.

James Monroe emphasized that although Jackson had exceeded his orders, he had come to a new assessment of the situation on the basis of previously unknown information at the scene of the war.

James Monroe was deeply sympathetic to the revolutionary movements against Spain, and was determined that the United States should never repeat the policies of the Washington administration during the French Revolution, when the nation had failed to demonstrate its sympathy for the aspirations of peoples seeking to establish republican governments.

James Monroe did not envisage military involvement in Latin American affairs, but only the provision of moral support, as he believed that a direct American intervention would provoke other European powers into assisting Spain.

James Monroe initially refused to recognize the Latin American governments due to ongoing negotiations with Spain over Florida.

In 1818, James Monroe assured a representative of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata that his attitude was "impartial neutrality," Although not diplomatically recognized, the young republics enjoyed the advantages of a sovereign nation in economic, trade, and diplomatic relations with the United States.

Secretary of State Adams, under James Monroe's supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers to these new countries.

James Monroe took pride as the United States was the first nation to extend recognition and to set an example to the rest of the world for its support of the "cause of liberty and humanity".

When James Monroe was presented with this correspondence, which had yielded no tangible results, in mid-October 1823, his first reaction was to accept the British offer.

James Monroe argued that the British were not committed to recognizing the Latin American republics and must have had imperial motivations themselves.

On December 2,1823, in his annual message to Congress, James Monroe articulated what became known as the James Monroe Doctrine.

James Monroe first reiterated the traditional US policy of neutrality with regard to European wars and conflicts.

James Monroe then declared that the United States would not accept the recolonization of any country by its former European master, though he avowed non-interference with existing European colonies in the Americas.

James Monroe viewed the issue of admission conditions more from a political perspective and did not convene a cabinet meeting on this matter.

James Monroe lacked the power to intervene directly in the economy, as banks were largely regulated by the states, and he could do little to stem the economic crisis.

When Congress finally reconvened in December 1819, James Monroe requested an increase in the tariff but declined to recommend specific rates.

James Monroe was the first president to visit the American West and entrusted Secretary of War Calhoun with departmental responsibility for this region.

James Monroe announced his candidacy for a second term early on.

James Monroe did so because he thought Monroe was incompetent.

When his presidency ended on March 4,1825, James Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is included in the grounds of the University of Virginia.

James Monroe spent the first five years of his retirement at his Oak Hill residence in Aldie, Virginia.

James Monroe devoted himself to reading, with his private library containing over 3,000 books, most of which he had acquired during his stays in Europe.

James Monroe began work on a book of political theory The People the Sovereigns, Being a Comparison of the Government of the United States with those of the Republics Which Have Existed Before, with the Causes of their Decadence and Fall.

In 1829, James Monroe abandoned work on The People the Sovereigns after hearing George Hay's unfavorable reaction to the manuscript.

Hay suggested that James Monroe write an autobiography, which would be more interesting and valuable to posterity.

James Monroe, delighted with the idea, began working on an autobiography, but died before it could be completed.

James Monroe sold off his Highland Plantation to the Second Bank of the United States out of financial necessity.

James Monroe had previously been a member of the original board of Central College however the demands of the Presidency prevented him from continuing as a board member.

James Monroe was one of four delegates elected from the senatorial district made up of his home district of Loudoun and Fairfax County.

Shortly before his death, James Monroe was dealt a severe blow when his son-in-law and close advisor George Hay died on September 21,1830, and his wife Elizabeth died just two days later.

On July 4,1831, James Monroe died at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day.

James Monroe's 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.

James Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery.

The James Monroe Tomb is a US National Historic Landmark.

James Monroe was active as a Freemason until at least 1786.

James Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia before the Revolution.

Unlike Jefferson, James Monroe was rarely attacked as an atheist or infidel.

James Monroe took several slaves with him to Washington to serve at the White House from 1817 to 1825.

James Monroe sold his small Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics.

James Monroe incurred debts by his lavish and expensive lifestyle and often sold property to pay them off.

When James Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, hundreds of slaves from Virginia planned to kidnap him, take Richmond, and negotiate for their freedom.

James Monroe called out the militia; the slave patrols soon captured some slaves accused of involvement.

James Monroe influenced the Executive Council to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.

James Monroe believed that slavery had become a permanent part of southern life, and that it could only be removed on providential terms.

James Monroe feared for public safety in the United States during the era of violent revolution on two fronts.

At the convention, James Monroe made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union".

James Monroe was active in the American Colonization Society, which supported the establishment of colonies outside of the United States for free African Americans.

James Monroe presided over a period in which the United States began to turn away from European affairs and towards domestic issues.

James Monroe's presidency saw the United States settle many of its longstanding boundary issues through an accommodation with Britain and the acquisition of Florida.

James Monroe 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 James Monroe was a more effective executive than some of his better-known predecessors, including Madison and John Adams.

The capital of Liberia is named Monrovia after James Monroe; it is the only national capital other than Washington, DC, named after a US president.

James Monroe was the last US president to wear a powdered wig tied in a queue, a tricorne hat and knee-breeches according to the style of the late 18th century.

James Monroe was the last president who was not photographed.