Happy Birthday James Monroe
James Monroe is one of my favourite Presidents, and it's his birthday today. The 5th President of the United States was born on April 28, 1758, so happy 255th James!
I like Monroe because he is probably one of the most under-rated of the Presidents. Monroe was one of those guys who could do it all and who did it all. He was born into a modest planting family and became the man of the house at age 16 when his father Spencer Monroe died. He dropped out of college to go fight in the Revolutionary War. He crossed the Delaware with George Washington (he's next to Washington holding the flag in the famous painting called Washington's Crossing) and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine (and is also shown in another famous painting of that event). As soon as his wounds healed he wanted to go back to fighting, but was told to go find some soldiers. Since most of the officers paid their soldiers and since Monroe wasn't rich, he was unable to raise an army.
Lack of wealth didn't prevent him from becoming an achiever. He studied law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, and then he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. He was opposed to ratification of the United States Constitution because he thought it gave too much power to the central government. A marvelous story is how he was on opposite sides of this issue with James Madison, but that didn't prevent the two men from remaining friends. Everyone in politics could learn a lesson from Monroe about how having a different political opinion from someone doesn't mean that you have to take that difference personally.
Even after the constitution was ratified, Monroe took an active part in the new government and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate of the first United States Congress, where he joined the Jeffersonians. He was later elected as Governor of Virginia and later became the Minister (Ambassador) to France where he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. He also helped in the freeing of the Marquis de Lafayette and his wife Adrienne from a French prison. That's an interesting story in itself.
Monroe became Secretary of State under President James Madison, and when the War of 1812, and it became clear that John Armstrong (Madison's Secretary of War) was incompetent, Monroe was asked to pull double duty by serving as Secretary of State and Secretary of War. He performed so well that he was easily elected president in 1816, winning over 80 percent of the electoral vote.
As president, Monroe tried to ease partisan tensions and to do this he went on a tour of the country. He was well received everywhere. As nationalism surged, partisan fury declined and the "Era of Good Feelings" began. Monroe hit a speed bump when the Panic of 1819 struck (panic was the 19th century word for recession) and a dispute over the admission of Missouri divided opinion in the country in 1820. Nonetheless, Monroe won near-unanimous reelection. (Out of respect for George Washington, one elector voted against Monroe so that Washington would be the only President to be elected to the office unopposed).
In 1823, Monroe announced the Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy. It told European nations to keep their mitts off of this hemisphere. If Monroe had one failing, it was in the fashion department: he continued to wear knee-britches long after they went out of fashion.
Following his retirement in 1825, Monroe had some severe financial problems, as many of the early Presidents did. He sold off his plantation to pay his debts and he and his wife Elizabeth eventually went to live with their daughter Marie Hester in New York City. Elizabeth died in April of 1830 and less than a year later James Monroe died from heart failure and tuberculosis on July 4, 1831, making him the third president in a row to pass away on Independence Day. It is said that Monroe's last words were not about his late wife, but about James Madison, when he said "I regret that I should leave this world without again beholding him." (That's probably much better than "I wish I could quit you.") Among his many legacies, the African nation of Liberia renamed it's capital city Monrovia in 1824 as a tribute to him because Monroe was part of a group that financed the return of freed slaves to Africa to live in a colony there.
In keeping with this month's theme, Monroe was also the subject of a 1939 movie called The Monroe Doctrine. He was played by actor Charles Waldron.
I like Monroe because he is probably one of the most under-rated of the Presidents. Monroe was one of those guys who could do it all and who did it all. He was born into a modest planting family and became the man of the house at age 16 when his father Spencer Monroe died. He dropped out of college to go fight in the Revolutionary War. He crossed the Delaware with George Washington (he's next to Washington holding the flag in the famous painting called Washington's Crossing) and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine (and is also shown in another famous painting of that event). As soon as his wounds healed he wanted to go back to fighting, but was told to go find some soldiers. Since most of the officers paid their soldiers and since Monroe wasn't rich, he was unable to raise an army.
Lack of wealth didn't prevent him from becoming an achiever. He studied law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, and then he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. He was opposed to ratification of the United States Constitution because he thought it gave too much power to the central government. A marvelous story is how he was on opposite sides of this issue with James Madison, but that didn't prevent the two men from remaining friends. Everyone in politics could learn a lesson from Monroe about how having a different political opinion from someone doesn't mean that you have to take that difference personally.
Even after the constitution was ratified, Monroe took an active part in the new government and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate of the first United States Congress, where he joined the Jeffersonians. He was later elected as Governor of Virginia and later became the Minister (Ambassador) to France where he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. He also helped in the freeing of the Marquis de Lafayette and his wife Adrienne from a French prison. That's an interesting story in itself.
Monroe became Secretary of State under President James Madison, and when the War of 1812, and it became clear that John Armstrong (Madison's Secretary of War) was incompetent, Monroe was asked to pull double duty by serving as Secretary of State and Secretary of War. He performed so well that he was easily elected president in 1816, winning over 80 percent of the electoral vote.
As president, Monroe tried to ease partisan tensions and to do this he went on a tour of the country. He was well received everywhere. As nationalism surged, partisan fury declined and the "Era of Good Feelings" began. Monroe hit a speed bump when the Panic of 1819 struck (panic was the 19th century word for recession) and a dispute over the admission of Missouri divided opinion in the country in 1820. Nonetheless, Monroe won near-unanimous reelection. (Out of respect for George Washington, one elector voted against Monroe so that Washington would be the only President to be elected to the office unopposed).
In 1823, Monroe announced the Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy. It told European nations to keep their mitts off of this hemisphere. If Monroe had one failing, it was in the fashion department: he continued to wear knee-britches long after they went out of fashion.
Following his retirement in 1825, Monroe had some severe financial problems, as many of the early Presidents did. He sold off his plantation to pay his debts and he and his wife Elizabeth eventually went to live with their daughter Marie Hester in New York City. Elizabeth died in April of 1830 and less than a year later James Monroe died from heart failure and tuberculosis on July 4, 1831, making him the third president in a row to pass away on Independence Day. It is said that Monroe's last words were not about his late wife, but about James Madison, when he said "I regret that I should leave this world without again beholding him." (That's probably much better than "I wish I could quit you.") Among his many legacies, the African nation of Liberia renamed it's capital city Monrovia in 1824 as a tribute to him because Monroe was part of a group that financed the return of freed slaves to Africa to live in a colony there.
In keeping with this month's theme, Monroe was also the subject of a 1939 movie called The Monroe Doctrine. He was played by actor Charles Waldron.