James Monroe and Slavery
James Monroe was one of the most popular presidents in history. The collapse of the Federalists left him with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed, the only president other than George Washington to do so. A single elector from New Hampshire cast a vote for John Quincy Adams, preventing a unanimous vote in the electoral college, more as a tribute to Washington than as an insult to Monroe.
Monroe's popularity seemed to withstand a number of difficult issues, not the least of which was slavery. In 1819 the Missouri Territory applied for statehood as a slave state, but that application failed largely due to opposition from the New England states.. An amended bill was put forth which proposed gradually eliminating slavery in Missouri, but that just led to two years of bitter debate in Congress. The Missouri Compromise bill resolved the issue, pairing Missouri as a slave state with Maine, a free state, and barring slavery north of latitude 36/30' N forever.
Earlier, as Governor of the slave state of Virginia, Monroe had to address the issue of slavery when, on October 15, 1799, some slave traders attempted to transport a group of slaves from Southampton, Virginia to Georgia. The slaves revolted and killed the slave traders. In response, the authorities killed ten slaves on the spot without the benefit of trial. Five other slaves were tried without the benefit of a jury. Four were convicted and the fifth entered a plea and was flogged and branded. As Governor, Monroe postponed their executions to check their identities, granting a pardon to one. Two of the slaves were allowed to be hung, while the other died in jail. Some historians argue that Monroe restored the requirement of civil protection for slaves sentenced to death for capital crimes.
When Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, a plot was discovered in which hundreds of slaves from Virginia intended to kidnap Monroe, capture Richmond, and negotiate for their freedom. Due to a storm on August 30, they were unable to attack. This event is known as Gabriel's slave conspiracy. Monroe called out the militia, and slave patrols captured some of the slaves, who were given trials (though some criticize those trials as lacking the same procedural fairness given to white accused.) Monroe used his authority to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.Despite this, between 26 and 35 slaves were executed.
Monroe himself was a slave owner and owned dozens of slaves. He took some of his slaves to serve him when he resided at the White House from 1817 to 1825; following the custom of other slave owning presidents. There was no domestic staff provided for the presidents at that time.
Like other Presidents, Monroe expressed the opinion that slavery was wrong, but did so after his term in office. As president of Virginia's constitutional convention in the fall of 1829, Monroe reiterated his belief that slavery was a blight. He said in a speech "What was the origin of our slave population? The evil commenced when we were in our Colonial state, but acts were passed by our Colonial Legislature, prohibiting the importation, of more slaves, into the Colony. These were rejected by the Crown." At the convention, Monroe made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."
Monroe was part of the African Colonization Society formed in 1816, which included members like Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. These men were not abolitionists, but they did find common ground with some abolitionists who supported the notion of colonization, i.e. relocating former slaves to other countries. This group helped send several thousand freed slaves to Africa between 1820 and 1840. The concern slave owners like Monroe and Jackson had was to prevent free blacks from influencing slaves to rebel in southern states. With about $100,000 in Federal grant money, the organization also bought land for those people in what is today Liberia. The capital of Liberia was named Monrovia after James Monroe. It is the only foreign capital to be named after an American President.
Monroe's popularity seemed to withstand a number of difficult issues, not the least of which was slavery. In 1819 the Missouri Territory applied for statehood as a slave state, but that application failed largely due to opposition from the New England states.. An amended bill was put forth which proposed gradually eliminating slavery in Missouri, but that just led to two years of bitter debate in Congress. The Missouri Compromise bill resolved the issue, pairing Missouri as a slave state with Maine, a free state, and barring slavery north of latitude 36/30' N forever.
Earlier, as Governor of the slave state of Virginia, Monroe had to address the issue of slavery when, on October 15, 1799, some slave traders attempted to transport a group of slaves from Southampton, Virginia to Georgia. The slaves revolted and killed the slave traders. In response, the authorities killed ten slaves on the spot without the benefit of trial. Five other slaves were tried without the benefit of a jury. Four were convicted and the fifth entered a plea and was flogged and branded. As Governor, Monroe postponed their executions to check their identities, granting a pardon to one. Two of the slaves were allowed to be hung, while the other died in jail. Some historians argue that Monroe restored the requirement of civil protection for slaves sentenced to death for capital crimes.
When Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, a plot was discovered in which hundreds of slaves from Virginia intended to kidnap Monroe, capture Richmond, and negotiate for their freedom. Due to a storm on August 30, they were unable to attack. This event is known as Gabriel's slave conspiracy. Monroe called out the militia, and slave patrols captured some of the slaves, who were given trials (though some criticize those trials as lacking the same procedural fairness given to white accused.) Monroe used his authority to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.Despite this, between 26 and 35 slaves were executed.
Monroe himself was a slave owner and owned dozens of slaves. He took some of his slaves to serve him when he resided at the White House from 1817 to 1825; following the custom of other slave owning presidents. There was no domestic staff provided for the presidents at that time.
Like other Presidents, Monroe expressed the opinion that slavery was wrong, but did so after his term in office. As president of Virginia's constitutional convention in the fall of 1829, Monroe reiterated his belief that slavery was a blight. He said in a speech "What was the origin of our slave population? The evil commenced when we were in our Colonial state, but acts were passed by our Colonial Legislature, prohibiting the importation, of more slaves, into the Colony. These were rejected by the Crown." At the convention, Monroe made his final public statement on slavery, proposing that Virginia emancipate and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."
Monroe was part of the African Colonization Society formed in 1816, which included members like Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. These men were not abolitionists, but they did find common ground with some abolitionists who supported the notion of colonization, i.e. relocating former slaves to other countries. This group helped send several thousand freed slaves to Africa between 1820 and 1840. The concern slave owners like Monroe and Jackson had was to prevent free blacks from influencing slaves to rebel in southern states. With about $100,000 in Federal grant money, the organization also bought land for those people in what is today Liberia. The capital of Liberia was named Monrovia after James Monroe. It is the only foreign capital to be named after an American President.