James Monroe served as the fifth President of the United States from 1817 to 1825. During his presidency, Monroe improved foreign policy through the Monroe Doctrine, and expanded the Union to include Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri through the Missouri Compromise.
Early Life
James Monroe was born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Son to prosperous planters, Monroe attended the College of William and Mary in 1774 at the age of 16. He left school in 1776 to join the army, in which he served in the 3rd Virginia Regiment as a Second Lieutenant.
During the Revolutionary War, Monroe fought in the Battle of Trenton and was severally injured when he was shot in the shoulder. He continued to serve under George and it was during this time that Monroe met Thomas Jefferson. This introduction led to a friendship that sparked Monroe’s political career.
When he returned from the war, Monroe studied law under Jefferson. The two had such a special relationship that Monroe bought a farm located next to Jefferson’s estate.
Political Career
Monroe began his political career in 1782 when he was elected as a delegate for the Virginia Assembly and became a Virginia Representative to the Congress of the Confederation.
Monroe opposed the newly created constitution. When the constitution was ratified in 1789, Monroe became a U.S. senator for Virginia. In this position, Monroe often sided with Jefferson and James Madison. The three men helped form the anti-federalist party, also known as the Democratic Republic Party, which believed in less government control and more individual rights.
Besides senator, Monroe was the Governor of Virginia and served in President Washington and President Madison’s administrations. Under Washington, Monroe was the Minister of France and Britain. Along with Robert R. Livingston, Monroe traveled to France to negotiate the purchase of the entire Louisiana territory with Napoleon Bonaparte. Known as the Louisiana Purchase, Monroe nearly doubled the size of the nation.
In 1808, Monroe ran for President and lost against Madison. Despite this loss, Madison appointed Monroe as his Secretary of State and during the War of 1812, Madison appointed Monroe as Secretary of War. He is the only President in history to have held two cabinet positions at once.
Presidency
In 1816, Monroe ran for President again, as a Democratic-Republican, and won against the Federalist candidate, Rufus King. His first term was known as the “Era of Good Feelings” because the nation was victorious in the War of 1812, and political parties were beginning to agree with one another on policy issues.
During both terms, Monroe was successful in cultivating foreign policy relationships. Monroe addressed conflicts with Spain when he negotiated the Adams-Otis Treaty in 1819. He purchased Florida for $5 million, thus continuing to grow the nation. Years later, Monroe created the “Monroe Policy”, which opposed colonialism in the Americas and decreased hostilities among westernized countries.
On the home front, Monroe negotiated the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory, except for Missouri. In exchange for Missouri entering the Union as a slave state, Maine entered as a free state. Following the completion of his second term, Monroe retired to Virginia with his family. He died on July 4, 1831, at the age of 73, exactly five years after the deaths of Jefferson and Madison.
