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https://thehistorymom.com/2023/05/31/booking-it-through-history-first-ladies-elizabeth-monroe/
|
en
|
Booking It Through History: First Ladies – Elizabeth Monroe
|
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[
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2023-05-31T00:00:00
|
Learn more about the elegant yet reserved Elizabeth Kortright Monroe in my new Booking It Through History: First Ladies post!
|
en
|
The History Mom
|
https://thehistorymom.com/2023/05/31/booking-it-through-history-first-ladies-elizabeth-monroe/
|
My Booking It Through History: First Ladies focus in May is Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, the accomplished yet relatively unknown wife of our country’s fifth president, James Monroe. While following Dolley Madison would be a tough job for anyone, it was particularly a challenge for Elizabeth as she struggled with health complications throughout her adult life. Once you learn more about her, though, you’ll grow to appreciate her place in American history as the woman who created the White House style that we still admire today!
Each month, I’ll detail the life of the first lady and their legacy. Then I’ll share what I learned while studying them, along with ways you can travel in their footsteps through historical sites and museums. I’ll also share books, podcasts, TV shows, and websites where you can learn even more about that first lady. Read all of the way through the blog post or click on the links below to go straight to those sections.
Life
Legacy
My Time with Elizabeth
Travels with Elizabeth
To Learn More
Life
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe was born on June 30, 1768 in New York City to Lawrence and Hannah Kortright, and she was well educated as the youngest daughter of a wealthy shipping merchant of Flemish descent. However, tragedy struck her life at the young age of nine when her mother died of childbirth complications in 1777. Her father never remarried and lost much of his fortune during the American Revolution when he remained loyal to the Crown.
She met the dashing former Continental Army colonel, James Monroe, at a theater when he served in Congress in New York City. One of Monroe’s friends with him that night said that Elizabeth and her sisters “made so lovely an appearance as to depopulate all the other boxes” (picture the Schuyler sisters from Hamilton: The Musical!). Elizabeth was just sixteen to Monroe’s late twenties, but it didn’t take long for them to fall in love and marry in 1786 at New York’s famous Trinity Church. Many in the city thought Monroe beneath Elizabeth as the Kortrights had been part of New York society for over one hundred years and Monroe was a penniless orphan with little land to his name. His education and time in the army did brighten his prospects, however, along with his famous mentors, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
The Monroes stayed in New York with Elizabeth’s family until the Congressional session was completed, and then they started the arduous two-week journey back to Virginia accompanied by Monroe’s good friend and fellow Virginian, James Madison. Elizabeth was seven months pregnant by the time they bounced over the rutted roads to their eventual home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, stopping to visit Washington’s Mount Vernon along the way. Monroe had been with Washington during key points of the Revolution, including Valley Forge, the crossing of the Delaware, and the Battle of Trenton where Monroe almost died.
Once they made it to Fredericksburg, Elizabeth established their home at 301 Caroline Street, less than a mile from James’ law office (now the James Monroe Museum). She gave birth to their daughter, Eliza, soon after their arrival, and she and the baby often traveled with James on the legal circuit in central Virginia. By 1789, the Monroes moved to be near their friend, Jefferson, in Charlottesville (their farm is now the site of the University of Virginia), and Elizabeth became sick upon their arrival, the beginning of a lifetime of health struggles.
Monroe soon became a senator, and Elizabeth and Eliza traveled back and forth with him to Philadelphia (and also to visit family in New York) during much of his tenure. It was during his time as senator that Monroe became aware of a former friend’s affair that threw shade on the finances of the federal government. He and Alexander Hamiton almost dueled over the Reynolds scandal with Aaron Burr serving as Monroe’s second. How different would Monroe’s legacy have been if he had been (rightfully) included in Hamilton: The Musical as one of the three people who confronted Hamilton about the scandal!
President Washington thought highly of his young protege and nominated Monroe to be the ambassador to France (Aaron Burr’s stepson served as his secretary!). James, Elizabeth, and Eliza arrived in Paris during the French Revolution in 1794, just weeks after Robespierre was guillotined. This is where Elizabeth shined as the “la Belle Américaine” – her French nickname. In fact, one of Monroe’s biographers estimates that “no other American First Lady would beguile France until Jackie Kennedy” like Elizabeth. Elizabeth and James hosted grand dinners and events at their home, including a July 4th celebration, charming both the French officials and the Americans in Paris. Elizabeth loved the French style and purchased many furnishings for their home in Paris that were eventually sent back to America. Eliza was put in a French school where she became lifelong friends with Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Josephine (soon-to-be Bonaparte). It was here in France that Elizabeth sat for one of the few portraits we still have of her beauty (see it on the cover of a book mentioned below).
It was in France that Elizabeth’s bravery withstood the executioner’s blade. She learned of Adrienne de Lafayette’s plight in a French prison, only days away from being guillotined. Her husband, the Marquis de Lafayette, was imprisoned in Austria and Adrienne’s own mother, grandmother, and sister had been executed already. Elizabeth rented a grand carriage and made sure to parade to the prison under the watchful eyes of the French revolutionaries. She visited Adrienne day after day until the authorities were shamed into releasing her. The Monroes gave her money and helped her and her daughters travel to Austria to be with Lafayette in prison. They also ensured her son’s safe passage to America to visit with his namesake, President Washington. The Monroes also saved Thomas Paine from French prison, and he lived with them as Elizabeth nursed him back to health.
After the political machinations surrounding the Jay treaty (instigated by Hamilton!) in the fall of 1796, Monroe was recalled as the ambassador, so James, Elizabeth, and Eliza made their way back to America and their new home adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello called Highland. They spent much time with the Madisons, with Elizabeth and Dolley becoming fast friends. In May of 1799, Elizabeth gave birth to a son named James Spence, and by the end of the year, James had been elected governor of Virginia.
During 1800-1801, James had to deal with the Gabriel slave rebellion, and during this trying time, little James Spence died of whooping cough with his funeral held at Richmond’s St. John’s Church. A heartbroken pregnant Elizabeth became sick after his death with the epilepsy that would plague her the rest of her life. The following year, Elizabeth gave birth to their last child, a daughter named Maria Hester.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson named James Monroe as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France where he finalized the Louisiana Purchase, and he and Elizabeth had a lovely reunion with Lafayette and Adrienne. Then the Monroes moved to London as James served as the minister to Great Britain and Spain. They were received warmly at first, even by King George III, but a diplomatic dustup in America chilled relations. It was in the foul air and dampness of London where Elizabeth’s health deteriorated more rapidly. She traveled to Bath hoping to restore her health and even went back to Paris while James traveled to Spain. It was during this time in Paris where she and James attended the coronation of Napoleon in the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
They finally came home in the fall of 1807 where financial, political, and family woes awaited them. Elizabeth must have been torn when James decided to run for president against their good friend, James Madison. Monroe lost the election but Madison didn’t hold a grudge for long, eventually nominating him for Secretary of State. The Monroes moved to Washington City, living in what is known as the Monroe House on I Street, NW.
Their daughter, Eliza, married George Hay (more than twenty years her senior and the prosecutor in the Burr treason trial) and had a daughter she named Hortensia for her French friend. Eliza lived with James and Elizabeth in Washington City on and off throughout the years, subbing in for the sick Elizabeth when necessary. Elizabeth was able to attend Dolley Madison’s famous parties (called squeezes) and partook of the ice cream and sumptuous food. She and Dolley resumed their friendship, and she must have enjoyed Dolley’s vivacious personality, in stark contrast with Elizabeth’s more refined, formal manner of being.
While in Washington City, the Monroes purchased a home in nearby Loudoun County, Oak Hill, where they would find refuge from politics (and where Elizabeth would flee when the British invaded during the War of 1812!). Monroe not only served as the Secretary of State but also jointly as the Secretary of War, so it was no surprise when he was elected the new president in 1816.
Elizabeth and James stayed in their I Street home for months until the recently rebuilt White House was ready. Then they had the herculean task of furnishing the entire home from scratch as nothing from the Madisons’ tenure survived the fire. Thankfully the Monroes had plenty of French furnishings from their time in France, and Elizabeth set out to acquire even more. It’s thanks to her impeccable taste that the White House is the beacon of American style today, a French-inspired formal style with thoroughly American accents. Many of the items you can see in today’s White House rooms were purchased by Elizabeth.
As First Lady, Elizabeth hosted in a formal, European style, much different than her predecessor. The Monroes hosted Wednesday night drawing rooms and several dinners a week that included diplomats and politicians where Elizabeth used lovely dishes and served good quality French-influenced food.
Presidential china at Highland
She didn’t visit other women like Dolley, but did invite them to the White House where she or Eliza served as hostess, receiving them for hours. She wore beautiful French fashions and future First Lady, Louisa Adams, commented on her beauty and poise, calling her a gracious hostess. Some thought her to be a snob but she was just reserved (however Eliza was a snob!). She became good friends with several Washington ladies, including Susan Decatur who lived just across the street in what’s now known as the Decatur house.
In March of 1820, Maria married her first cousin, Samuel Gouverneur, at the White House, the first child of a president to be married there. The Monroes hosted a small gathering for family only in keeping with their more formal entertaining style. Maria and her husband soon moved to New York (mainly to get away from the opinionated Eliza who didn’t like Maria’s husband!).
Monroe’s presidency is called the “Era of Good Feelings” for the peace and prosperity that it contained and is mostly known for the Monroe doctrine and the Missouri compromise. It’s also known for the grand tour of America by none other than Lafayette. James toured the country twice and was gone for months at a time, and during his absence, Elizabeth would escape back to Highland.
Elizabeth’s health continued to decline precipitously during James’ second term, and Eliza had to step in as the main hostess. In fact, his departure from the White House at the end of his term was delayed by several weeks because of Elizabeth’s condition. James told Jefferson that he wanted to “retire home in peace with my family, on whom, and especially Mrs. Monroe, the burden and cares of my long public service, have born [sic] too heavily.”
Elizabeth recovered enough to take a prolonged visit to Maria’s house in New York where she doted on her grandson who was born deaf. Upon her return to Oak Hill in 1826, however, Elizabeth suffered an epileptic seizure and fell into a fireplace, giving her severe burns. The last years of her life were spent in constant bad health and she finally succumbed on September 23, 1830 at Oak Hill. James was bereft, burning all of their correspondence and her journals, and died less than a year later (on July 4th!) at Maria’s home in New York. Rarely separated during life, it took over twenty-five years for them to be joined together at Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. Their daughter, Eliza, lost her husband just days before her mother, and once her father passed, she moved back to Paris and is buried in its famous Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
Legacy
Elizabeth Monroe’s legacy is hidden from history and is one that I think should get more prominence. Not many people are aware of her poise and elegance in setting the presidential style that we still use today. We think of style setters like Jackie Kennedy but Elizabeth Monroe was the original First Lady influencer. From her refined furnishings to her White House china that is still the standard bearer, we can see glimpses of her taste through the centuries today.
I also believe that James Monroe’s stature as the last of the founding generation to serve as president is a hard one to place in history (even though one podcast calls him the “Forrest Gump” of presidents!). He wasn’t old enough to be a signer of the Declaration and he was overshadowed by the other prominent Virginians at the time. Elizabeth suffered from this as well with Dolley being such a hard act to follow. However, Elizabeth didn’t try to replicate Dolley’s entertaining, she forged her own path which is very admirable especially in light of her health issues. In fact, one woman in Washington society said that Elizabeth’s style was more authentic, that her attention “wouldn’t have flattered her as much if it had been Dolley.”
Hamilton: The Musical could have made James (and by extension Elizabeth) more of a household name, especially with Monroe’s involvement in the Reynolds scandal. Read up on this to see just how close he and Hamilton came to a duel (“I will meet you like a gentleman” – Hamilton; “Get your pistols” – Monroe). It would be interesting to learn more about Elizabeth’s relationship with Hamilton’s wife, Eliza. While James and Alexander were complete opposites (James was cool and collected, Alexander was hot-headed and impulsive), I would imagine the wives had a lot in common! It is telling that late in life, James visited Eliza in hopes they could put their differences aside but she refused. She and her descendents continued to blame Monroe for Alexander’s death (and later the death of her grandson who died while transferring Monroe’s body to the Richmond cemetery).
As with most of the late 18th and early 19th century first ladies, Elizabeth’s legacy is tainted by the use of the enslaved. With little to no primary sources available, not much is known about her beliefs, and while she was raised in a New York home, it also included some enslaved. As a wife of a Virginia planter, it was expected that she serve as the mistress of the house, overseeing the enslaved. We do know that James grappled with the idea of slavery and worked to establish a colony of freed slaves in Africa (Liberia whose capital is Monrovia, named after James). He presided over the hangings of Gabriel and the others involved in the 1800 slave revolt but he also stayed the execution of other enslaved men caught in the roundup. One gets the idea that Monroe tried to find a logical way out of slavery but it was just beyond his grasp. Monroe also sued Jefferson’s nephew for beating one of his slaves, but when it came down to finances, Monroe sold the enslaved to pay his debts. It’s a difficult legacy to reconcile today.
Elizabeth’s legacy is mostly marred by her health. If she had been healthy, maybe she would be known for the renown of Dolley or the grace of Martha Washington. The wit of Abigail or the intellect of Louisa. We will never know as there are no surviving letters or journals in Elizabeth’s voice. We have to rely on the reports from her peers which were effusive in singing her praises.
My Time with Elizabeth
It was a challenge to learn about Elizabeth Monroe with so few primary sources or books written about her. I felt like I understood her though, her reserve, her wish to be private. In a world where that’s pretty much impossible today, especially as a First Lady, I am glad that she was able to live what seems like a full life while remaining herself. It would have been easy to feel “less than” after the gregarious Dolley, but it doesn’t seem Elizabeth thought like that. She knew her personality and her limitations, and instead of apologizing for them, she used them to her advantage. That’s a lesson I need to remember as this world constantly makes you feel like you have to be someone you’re not to be seen.
Elizabeth’s love for James really made me smile. They met and married at a young age (at least for her!) but it seemed like a true love match. They were rarely apart and had an unbreakable bond. James Monroe seems like an upstanding gentleman who was besotted by Elizabeth, evident in the one letter that remains from their correspondence which discusses how much he hates when they are separated. They were an intellectual and personality match, both gentle and understated with a reserve not seen in many politicians. Even John Quincy Adams remarked about their utter devotion to each other. A worthy life goal!
Travels with Elizabeth
She may have been born in New York, but Elizabeth was an adopted Virginian, spending much of her adult life in its rolling countryside. Unusual for women of her time, she spent a good part of her life in Europe, and its influence affected the rest of her life. It’s amazing how much some of these First Ladies traveled during war and with the difficulties of transportation. They were hardy women!
New York City:
Trinity Church Wall Street – Where James and Elizabeth were married according to some biographers; others say the Trinity rector married them at her childhood home
Sycamore – Elizabeth’s childhood home was located on today’s Pearl Street near the waterfront
Virginia:
Highland – The home near Monticello where James and Elizabeth spent much time between their posts in Europe. The home they lived in burned down after they sold it in 1826, but you can tour what was part of their guest house which contains many exhibits and items from the Monroe family.
Charlottesville farm – Now the site of the University of Virginia, you can see the historical marker about Monroe’s first farm on these rolling hills.
Fredericksburg – There are two sites to see in this small Virginia town. The Monroe home is located at 301 Caroline Street and the James Monroe Museum is located in his former law office. The museum has many exhibits with priceless items from James and Elizabeth, including a gown Elizabeth wore in France.
Oak Hill – The home near Washington that provided a respite for James and Elizabeth during his presidency and where Elizabeth died is privately owned. You cannot tour it but there is a historical marker.
James Monroe Birthplace – While Elizabeth didn’t live here, it’s a good place to visit to learn more about this amazing family.
Hollywood Cemetery – The final resting place for James and Elizabeth, this beautiful cemetery fittingly overlooks the James River in Richmond.
Washington, DC:
The Monroe House (2017 I Street, NW) – Now the home of the Arts Club of Washington, this is the actual home of James and Elizbeth while he served as Secretaries of State and War and also for the first six months of his presidency.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History – In its First Ladies exhibit, you can see Elizabeth’s beautiful china.
France:
The Monroes had two homes in Paris. Now demolished, you can see a rendering of their main home, La Folie, here. Their other home at 88 Rue de La Planche seems to now be a park.
To Learn More
Books to Read:
All links are Amazon affiliate links. You can also purchase the books through my affiliate link to Bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores.
Nonfiction:
James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath: A massive biography about James, this book is a must-read to learn about their life in politics and foreign policy. While long, it reads very fast!
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger: This smaller biography contains many references to Elizabeth. It’s a quick read!
Fiction:
With little to no real historical resources about Elizabeth, her life seems perfect for historical fiction! However there are not many books about her. Below I have listed several where she is a tangential character.
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray: Read this to learn more about Elizabeth’s role in saving Adrienne de Lafayette.
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie: Read this to learn more about Monroe’s role in the Hamilton/Reynolds scandal. I’ll never forget the first chapter about James visiting Eliza in his later years!
Dolley by Rita Mae Brown: Elizabeth is mentioned several times in this book about Dolley’s life in the White House.
Podcasts
Here’s Where It Gets Interesting: Episode 174: Elizabeth Monroe’s Journey from Parisian Prison to White House
Presidential
FLOTUS
The White House 1600 Sessions: Episode 4: British Invasion to French Restoration and Episode 21 Back in the Blue Room: Restoring the Bellangé Suite
History Unplugged: Lessons from James Monroe, Who Defeated a Pandemic and Overcame Partisanship
TV Shows
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Websites
The Papers of James Monroe
White House Historical Association
Also where you can purchase the official White House Christmas ornament in honor of the Monroes
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe is an enigma in history but is someone who still influences us today. Her elegant style and impeccable manners set the tone for American First Ladies that we still expect today. While reserved, she left a huge impact.
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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2
| 92 |
https://www.history.com/news/july-4-two-presidents-died-same-day-coincidence
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en
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Two Presidents Died on the Same July 4: Coincidence or Something More?
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2018-07-03T14:09:13+00:00
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On July 4, 1826, two prominent presidents, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, took their final breaths within hours of each other. Some have wondered if it was somehow planned.
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en
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HISTORY
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https://www.history.com/news/july-4-two-presidents-died-same-day-coincidence
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On July 4, 1826, America celebrated 50 years of independence as, just a few hours apart, two of its Presidents took their final breaths. At the time of his death, Thomas Jefferson was 83, while John Adams had turned 90 the year before. Though both were unwell, their deaths came as a surprise to many—particularly as they coincided with one another on this very striking date.
In the weeks that followed, Americans offered a variety of explanations for the sudden loss of these two presidents. Though some likely wrote it off as coincidence, many saw evidence of divine design at work. In a eulogy delivered the following month, for instance, Daniel Webster wondered what this “striking and extraordinary” coincidence might suggest. The men’s lives had been gifts from Providence to the United States, he said. So too were their length and “happy termination,” which he saw as “proofs that our country and its benefactors are objects of His care.”
But if it wasn’t a coincidence or divine intervention, what other explanations might there be? Modern scholars have sometimes attempted to pinpoint why such a statistically unlikely event might have taken place. After all, Jefferson and Adams didn’t only die on the same day, with an already low probability of 1 in 365. They died on the same significant date and historic anniversary. “When appeals to coincidence are insufficient,” writes Margaret P. Battin in a 2005 Bulletin of the Historic Society report, “we must look for explanations in common circumstance or common cause, or for causation from one case to the other.”
One possible explanation proposes that Jefferson and Adams deliberately “held on” for the anniversary. The phenomenon of people keeping themselves alive until they’ve said goodbye to a loved one or experienced a significant anniversary is well-documented: It’s entirely possible that Adams and Jefferson’s “will to live” kept them going through those final days ahead of July 4th—but wasn’t enough to keep them alive after that.
In fact, even contemporary observers thought this might have been a conscious decision. In a eulogy for Jefferson delivered in New York in mid-July, the businessman and politician Churchill C. Cambreleng observed: “The body had wasted away—but the energies of a powerful mind, struggling with expiring nature, kept the vital spark alive till the meridian sun shone on our 50th Anniversary—then content to die—the illustrious Jefferson gave to the world his last declaration.”
Jefferson is also said to have refused his usual laudanum on the night before he died, which might have affected his ability to cope with the pain. In a separate eulogy, in fact, John Tyler described Jefferson’s often-expressed desire to die on the Fourth of July, adding even more credence to the theory that their deaths on that providential date may not have been entirely accidental.
Conspiracy theories about their concurrent deaths have also circulated, both at the time and in the centuries since. Battin suggests a possible “silent conspiracy among physicians, family members and other caregivers to help their patient ‘make it’ to the 4th,” where the effort came to an end once the day had been reached. Adams’ granddaughter, she observed, reported their doctor giving her grandfather an experimental medicine which he said would either prolong his life by as much as two weeks, or bring it to a close before 24 hours were up. Even those quite unconnected to the deaths wondered if something more sinister, or planned, had been afoot.
In a letter, John Randolph, of Roanoke decried Adams’ death as “Euthenasia, indeed.” What’s more, he added, “They have killed Mr. Jefferson, too, on the same day, but I don’t believe it.”
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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1
| 90 |
https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/Century18th/GeorgeWashingtonJamesMonroe
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en
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George Washington and James Monroe
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[
"George Washington and James Monroe"
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George Washington and James Monroe
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The dominant figures in the painting are two gentlemen of Virginia who stand tall above the rest. One of them is Lieutenant James Monroe, holding a big American flag upright against the storm. The other is Washington…The artist invites each of these soldiers as an individual, but he also reminds us that they are all in the same boat, working desperately together against the wind and current. He has given them a common sense of mission, and in the stormy sky above he has painted a bright prophetic star, shining through a veil of cloud.[11]
My Dearest: I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern…It has been determined in Congress that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it…But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking is designed to answer some good purpose.
George Washington,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
18 June 1775,
Letter to Martha Washington[13]
I am called on a theatre to which I am a perfect stranger.
James Monroe,
Annapolis, Maryland,
16 June 1783
Letter to Richard Henry Lee[14]
Bunker Hill encouraged Washington to believe that as long as he maintained a similar tactical as well as strategic defensive, he might hope to resist successfully, the whole of any army the British were likely to mobilize against him, in spite of the obvious deficiencies of his troops in numbers, equipment, and training. Unfortunately, for Washington, even this modest optimism was to prove unfounded. The British had so badly bungled their opportunities at Bunker Hill , the battle gave the Americans excessive hopes of what they could accomplish in full-scale battle as long as they stood on the tactical defensive.[21]
Sir: I have stronger Reasons since I wrote to you last, to confirm me in my Opinion that the Army under General Howe is on its Departure. All their movements pronounce it…It is given out that they are bound to Halifax, but I am of the Opinion that New York is their Place of Destination. It is the Object worthy their Attention; and it is the Place that we must use every Endeavour to keep from them…I am, Sir, etc.[26]
The meeting debated Reed’s plan for crossing the Delaware and attacking one of the enemy’s posts in New Jersey. The council agreed very quickly, and a long discussion followed on how it might be done. Much of the conversation was about the weather, the river, and boats. Colonel John Glover, who had long experience of maritime affairs, was consulted about the feasibility of the crossing. Glover told Washington…‘that…his boys could manage it.’ The next day secret orders went out to senior officers in the army. The operation was on.[36]
Sir: That I should dwell upon the Subject of our distresses cannot be more disagreeable to Congress, than it is painful to my self. The alarming Situation to which our affairs are reduced impels me to the Measure…When I reflect upon these things, they fill me with much concern, knowing that General Howe has a Number of Troops cantoned in the Towns…near the Delaware, [with]…intentions to pass as soon as the ice is Sufficiently formed, to invade Pennsylvania, and to possess himself of [the City of] Philadelphia, if Possible. To guard against his designs, and the executions of them, shall employ my every exertion, but how is this to be done? As yet, but a few Militia have gone to Philadelphia…Had I entertained a doubt of General Howe’s intentions to pass the Delaware [up]on the dissolution of our Army and as soon as the ice is made, it would be now done away…P.S. If the public papers have been removed from Philadelphia, I hope those which I sent to Lieut. Colo. Reed before we left New York, have not been forgot[.] [37]
Their dress tells us that they are soldiers from many parts of America, and each of them has a story that is revealed by a few strokes of the artist’s brush. One man wears the short tarpaulin jacket of a New England seaman; we look again and discover that he is of African descent.[41] Another is a recent Scottish immigrant, still wearing his Balmoral bonnet. A third is an androgynous figure in a loose red shirt, maybe a woman in man’s clothing, pulling at an oar…At the bow and stern of the boat are hard faced western riflemen in hunting shirts and deerskin leggings. Huddled between the thwarts are farmers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in blanket coats and road-brimmed hats…[One] wears the blue coat and red facings of Haslet’s Delaware Regiment. Another figure wears a boat cloak and an oiled hat…his sleeve reveals the facing of Smallwood’s silk-stocking Maryland Regiment. Hidden behind him is a mysterious thirteenth man. Only his weapon is visible; one wonders who he might have been.[42]
George Washington rode up and down the column urging his men forward. Suddenly the general’s horse slipped and started to fall on a steep and icy slope. ‘While passing a Slanting Slippery bank,’ Lieutenant Bostwick remembered, ‘his excellency’s horse[‘s] hind feet both slip’d from under him.’ The animal began to go down. Elisha Bostwick watched in fascination as Washington locked his fingers in the animal’s mane and hauled up its heavy head by brute force. He shifted its balance backward just enough to allow the horse to regain its hind footing on the treacherous road…It was an extraordinary feat of strength, skill, and timing; and another reason why his soldiers stood in awe of this man.[45]
Lieutenant Monroe met a Jersey man who came out to see why his dogs were barking. Monroe remembered that the man thought ‘we were from the British army, and ordered us off…He was violent and determined in his manner, and very profane.’ Monroe told him to go back to his home or be taken prisoner. When the man realized that he was talking to American troops, his manner suddenly changed. He brought them food and offered to join them. ‘I’m a doctor,’ he explained, ‘and I may be of help to some poor fellow.’ The offer was accepted, and Doctor John Riker joined Monroe’s infantry as a surgeon-volunteer.’”[46]
‘Captain Washington rushed forward, attacked and put the troops around the cannon to flight and took possession of them.’ In the melee, William Washington went down, badly wounded in both hands. James Monroe took over ‘at the head of the corps’ and led it forward. He too was hit by a musket ball, which severed an artery. He was carried from the field, bleeding dangerously. His life was saved by Doctor Riker, who had joined Monroe’s company as a volunteer the night before. The New Jersey physician clamped Monroe’s artery just in time to keep him from bleeding to death.[51]
Sir—Upon not receiving any answer to my first information and observing the enemy inclining toward your right, I thought it advisable to hang as close on them as possible. I am at present within four hundred yrds. Of their right—I have only about 70 men who are fatigued much. I have taken three prisoners—If I had six horsemen…I sho’d in the course of the night procure good intelligence w’h I wo’d soon as possible convey you.
I am Sir your most ob’t Serv’t
Ja Monroe
Sir,---Some few days since I arrived here…I expected I should more effectually put in execution, your Excellency’s orders by coming immediately here, the source from which Governor Nash…or Baron de Kalb…get their Intelligence…We have it from authority we cannot doubt, that an embarkation has taken place at Charlestown and sailed some days since under the command of General Clinton consisting of about 6000 men. The remainder of their army supposed upwards of 4000, with their cavalry forming a corps of 600 under Col. Tarleton, are left behind under Lord Cornwallis…What plan General de Kalb may take to oppose them I cannot determine…At Gov’ Nash’s request I shall attend him tomorrow to where Baron de Kalb may be…in my next…shall…inform your Excellency of the plan Baron de Kalb may take for is future operations…I have the honor to be with the greatest respect and esteem yr. Excellencys.
Your Very humble Serv’
Ja, Monroe
Dear Sir:…I am glad to find that Congress [has] recommended to the States to appear in the Convention proposed to be [held] in Philadelphia in May…It is idle in my opinion to suppose that the Sovereign can be insensible to the inadequacy of the powers under which it acts…and…not recommend a revision of the [Federal] system, when it is considered by many as the only Constitutional mode by which the defects can be recommended…I am fully of opinion that those who lean to a Monarchial government, have…not consulted the public mind…I am also clear…that the period is not arrived for adopting the change without shaking the Peace of this Country to its foundation. That a thorough reform of the present system is indispensable, none…will deny, and with hand (and heart) I hope the business will be essayed in a full Convention.[66]
Dear Sir,--- I can scarcely venture an apology for my silence…Since I left N.Y…I was admitted to the Bar…In the course of the winter I mov’d my family to this town in [which] I have taken my residence with a view to my profession…But I consider my residence here as temporary merely to serve the purpose of the times…With the political world, I have had little to do since I left Congress…The affairs of the federal government are I believe in the utmost confusion. The convention is an expedient that will produce a decisive effect. It will either recover us from our ruin…But I trust that the presence of Gen’l Washington will have great weight in the body itself so as to overawe & keep under the demon of party & that the signature of his name…will secure its passage thro’ the union.[70]
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction…The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have perished…The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, they cannot be too much admired…It will be found, indeed,…that some of the distresses under which we labor…[are] a factious spirit [which] has tainted our public administrations.[72]
I like much the general idea of framing a government into Legislative, Judiciary and Executive…I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great and little states…I am much pleased too with…the method of voting by persons, instead of…states…I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies…Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no government should refuse…I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive…France with all its despotism and two or three hundred thousand men always in arms has had three insurrections in the three years I have been here…[I]t is my principle that the will of the Majority should always prevail. If they approve the proposed Convention in all its parts, I shall concur in it [cheerfully], in hopes that they will amend it whenever they shall find it [works] wrong.[74]
Mr. Chairman, whether the Constitution be good or bad, the present clause clearly discovers that it is a national government, and no longer a Confederation[.]…The very idea of converting what was formerly a confederation to a consolidated government is totally subversive of every principle which has hitherto governed us. This power is calculated to annihilate totally the state governments…I solemnly declare that no man is a greater friend to a firm union of the American States than I am; but, sir, if this great end can be obtained without hazarding the rights of the people, why should we recur to such dangerous principles?[75]
I rose yesterday to ask a question which arose in my own mind…The question turns, sir, on…the expression, We, the people, instead of the states, of America. I need not take…pains to show that the principles of this system are extremely…dangerous. Is this a monarchy like England—a compact between prince and people…to secure the liberty of the latter?...Here is a resolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. It is radical in this transition; our rights and principles are endangered…The Constitution is said to have beautiful features; but when I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to me horribly frightful…Your President may easily become king.[76]
Sir:…What is to be done in the case of the Little Sarah now at Chester? Is the Minister of the French Republic to set the Acts of this Government at defiance, with impunity? And then threaten the Executive with an appeal to the People. What must the world think of such conduct and the Government of the United States in submitting to it? These are serious questions. Circumstances press for decision and…I wish to know your opinion upon them, even before tomorrow for the vessel may be gone.[83]
Dear Sir:…[U]ntil a decision is had on the conduct of the Minister of the French Republic…[i]t is my wish, under these circumstances to enter upon the consideration of the Letters of that Minister tomorrow at Nine o’Clock. I therefore desire you will be here at that hour and bring with you all his letters, your answers, and all such papers as are connected therewith. As the consideration of this business may require some time, I should be glad if you and other gentlemen would take a family dinner with me at four o’Clock. No other company…will be invited. I am &c.[84]
As the present situation of…several nations of Europe…with which the U.S. have important relations,…I have thought it my duty to communicate to them certain correspondences which have taken place…It is with extreme concern I have to inform you that…the person whom [the French] have unfortunately appointed their Minister plenipotentiary, here, [has] breathed nothing of the friendly spirit of the nation which sent him; their tendency on the contrary has been to involve us in War abroad, and discord and anarchy at home. So far…his acts, or those of his agents, have threatened our immediate commitment in the war…In the meantime, I have respected and pursued the stipulations of our treaties according to what I have judged their true sense…The papers now communicated will…apprize you of these transactions.[86]
Dear Sir…I am now deliberating on the measure proper and necessary to be taken with respect to Mr. G…t and wish for aid in so doing. The critical State of Things [is] making me more than usually anxious to decide right in the present case. None but the heads of Departments are privy to these papers, which I pray may be returned this evening, or in the morning. With very sincere esteem &c.[87]
As the debate over the navy bill reached a climax,…the new secretary of state, Edmund Randolph…found several of the European belligerents—Britain, Spain, and Holland—reprehensible for seizing American merchantmen trafficking with French ports in the West Indies. He also enumerated complaints against France for interfering with the American merchant marine. But his most serious and extensive allegations fell upon the British, whose practice of maritime warfare violated all the rights of neutrals as the United States understood them.[90] Randolph’s report arrived in Congress on 5 March 1794.
I was presented yesterday by Mr. Randolph with the commission of Minister for the French Republic which you were pleased …to confer upon me…I have only now to request that you will consider me as ready to embark in the discharge of its duties as soon as…suitable passage can be secured for myself & my family to that country…Be assured however it will give me the highest gratification…to promote by mission the interest of my country & the honor & credit of your administration which I deem inseparably connected with it.[96]
Dear Sir:…Nothing important or new has been lately received from our Ministers…Nor does the fate of Robespierre seem to have been given more than a momentary stagnation to…[French] affairs. The Armies rejoice at it, and the people are congratulating one another on the occasion…Mr. Monroe is arrived in France and has had his reception in the midst of the Convention, at Paris, but no letter has been received from him.[99]
Gentlemen of the Senate: In pursuance of my nomination of John Jay, as Envoy Extraordinary to his Britannic majesty on the 16 day April 1794, and of the advice and consent of the Senate thereto on the 19th, a negotiation was opened in London. On the 7 of March 1795, the treaty resulting, therefore, was delivered to the Secrey. of State. I now transmit to the Senate that treaty, and other documents connected with it. They will therefore in their wisdom decide whether they will advise and consent that the said treaty be made between the United States and his Britannic majesty.[100]
Sir:…I have determined to recall the American Minister at Paris, and am taking measures to supply his place, but the more the latter is resolved, the greater the difficulties appear, to do it ably and unexceptionably. By this, I mean one who promote, not thwart the neutral policy of the Government, and at the same time will not be obnoxious to the people among whom he is sent…The transmitted copy of Mr. Monroe’s letter…must be erroneously dated ‘Paris, June 24, 1796…[101]
Dear Sir: Your private letter of the 21st instant has been received. Mr. Monroe in every letter he writes, relative to the discontents of the French government at the conduct of our own, always concludes without finishing his story, leaving great scope to the imagination to divine what the ulterior measures of it will be. There are some things in his correspondence…which I am unable to reconcile. In…[the] letter of the 25th of March…he related his demand of an audience of the French Directory, and his having had it, but that the conference which was promised him with the Minister of Foreign Affairs had not taken place[.]…If these recitals are founded in fact, they form an enigma which requires explanation.[102]
Sir: I have received and pray you to accept my thanks for Pinckney. It becomes necessary now to prepare instructions for him without delay, to bring him fully and perfectly acquainted with the conduct and policy of this government towards France &c. and the motives which have induced the [recall] of Mr. Monroe…It will be candid, proper and necessary to apprize Mr. Monroe…of his [recall]; and in proper terms, of the motives which have impelled it.[103]
My instructions enjoined it on me to…inspire the French government with perfect confidence in the solicitude, which the president felt for the success of the French revolution; of his own preference for France to all other nations as the friend and ally of the United States; of the greatest sense which we still retained for the important services that were rendered us by France in the course of our revolution[.] [111]
Dear Sir,--
I have received your favor of Sep. 7 from Paris, which gave us the only news we have had from you since your arrival there…Our comfort is that the public sense is coming right on the general principles of republicanism & that its success in France put it out of danger here. We are still uninformed what is Mr. Jay’s treaty; but we see that the British piracies have multiplied upon us lately more than ever.[122]
My dear Sir: I have…your letters of the 9th, accompanying your observations on the several articles of the Treaty with Great Britain…The most obnoxious article (the 12th) being suspended by the Senate, there is no occasion to express any sentiment thereon. I wish, however, it had appeared in a different form…I asked, or intended to ask in my letter of the 3rd, whether you conceived (admitting the suspension of the 12th Article should to by the B. Government) there would be a necessity for the treaty going before the Senate again for their advice and consent? This question takes its birth from a declaration of the minority of that body, to that effect. With much truth and sincerity &c.[123]
By June, 1796, it is not improbable that our situation, or that of Britain, may be changed; what security shall we then have for the performance of the treaty?... It is evident, before Mr. Jay left this country, that the British were so far from intending to evacuate the posts, that they had determined to extend their limits; this may not only be inferred from the encouragement they gave to the depredations of the Indians, but undeniably proved by Lord Dorchester’s speech…Surely, then the evacuation should have been insisted upon, while these circumstances operated with full force…Those who think with me, that decision of the part of our government, and firmness in our minister, could not have failed to effect an immediate restitution of our territory, will know of what account to charge this heavy loss of blood and treasure.[127]
Would to God, my fellow citizens, I could here find some source of consolation, some ray of light, to eradicate the sullen gloom!—But alas! Every step we take plunges us into thicker darkness…Even the coward advocates for peace…which this treaty imposes. And for what? Are we nearer peace…than when Mr. Jay left this country? And yet the advocates for the treaty are continually ringing in our ears, the blessings of peace, the horrors of war; and they have the effrontery to assure us, that we enjoy the first and have escaped the last, merely…through the instrumentality of the treaty…In a political view, the treaty is bad…and…like fawning spaniels, we can be beaten into love and submission.[131]
The British treaty has been formally laid before Congress. All America is a tip-toe to see what the H. of Representatives will decide on it…On the precedent now to be set will depend the future construction of our constitution and whether the powers of legislation shall be transferred from the…Senate & H. of R. to the…Senate & Piaringo or any other Indian, Algerine, or other chief. It is fortunate that the first decision is to be in case so palpably atrocious as to have been predetermined by all America…My friendly respects to Mrs. Monroe. Adieu. Affectionately.[132]
“Equally ungrateful and impolitic, the Congress hastens to encourage the English…in…their war of extermination against France…They sent to London a minister, Mr. Jay, known by his attachment to England, and his personal relations to Lord Grenville, and he concluded suddenly a treaty of Commerce which united them with Great Britain, more than a treaty of alliance…Such a treaty…is an act of hostility against France. The French government…has testified the resentment of the French nation, by breaking off communication with an ungrateful and faithless all…Justice and sound policy equally approve this measure of the French government. There is no doubt it will give rise in the United States, to discussions which may afford, a triumph to the party of good republicans, the friends of France. [135]
The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.[139]
My Lord: The sentiments which your Lordship has been pleased to express…[on] my public conduct, do me great honour; and I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgements…for having performed duties, …I claim no merit; but no man can feel more sensibly the reward of approbation for such services than I do…[T]he thanks of one’s country, and the esteem of good men, is the highest gratification my mind is susceptible of…I am now placed in the shade of my Vine and fig tree, and at the age of Sixty-five, am recommencing my Agricultural and Rural pursuits, which were always more congenial to my temper…than the noise and bustle of public employment…I reciprocate with great cordiality the good wishes you have been pleased to bestow upon me; and pray devoutly…[for] the return of Peace; for a more bloody, expensive, and eventful War, is not recorded in modern, if it be found in modern history. I have the honor, etc.[147]
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https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-monroe
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en
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James Monroe
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James Monroe, the last of the “Founding Father presidents,” was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Born to Spence Monroe and...
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American Battlefield Trust
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https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-monroe
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James Monroe, the last of the “Founding Father presidents,” was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Born to Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, his family was made up of patriots. His father joined the Northern Neck Farmers in 1766 in protest of the Stamp Act, his uncle Joseph Jones was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and was close friends with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Monroe looked up to his uncle a great deal and would later base his political identity on that of his uncle.
Monroe first attended school at the age of eleven. It was at Westmoreland County’s only school that he met his lifelong friend, and future chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall. By the age of sixteen, Monroe lost both of his parents, and Joseph Jones became his adopted father. Jones took an active role in his nephew’s life. In 1774, Jones took Monroe to Williamsburg and enrolled him in the College of William and Mary. A year and a half after his enrollment, the War for Independence erupted between colonial and British forces. The future president dropped out of college and joined the Continental Army. As Monroe was literate, healthy, and a good shot, he was made a lieutenant.
The lieutenant first saw action in the New York and New Jersey campaign. Along with several hundred Virginians, Monroe went to support Washington’s army in its nearly disastrous retreat from New York City. Monroe took part in the famous December 1776 crossing of the Delaware River and the surprise attack on the Hessians in Trenton. Monroe suffered a severe injury during the skirmish when a musket ball hit him in the shoulder. Monroe would have died, had it not been for a doctor, who tied his severed artery immediately after the wounding. For his bravery in the campaign, Washington made Monroe a captain. After the New York and New Jersey campaigns, Monroe returned home to recruit.
The 18-year-old captain returned to the continental army in August 1777 as an aide to Lord Stirling (William Alexander). He saw action at Brandywine Creek, where he tended to a wounded Marquis de Lafayette. Monroe was once again promoted to major and Stirling’s aide-de-camp. Monroe was present during the harsh winter at Valley Forge, where he shared a hut with his childhood friend John Marshall. Monroe was present at the Battle of Monmouth. He continued to serve under Washington through the summer and fall of 1778, but likely due to self-financing his service, he was forced to return home and resign. However, in the spring of 1779, after letters of recommendations from Washington and Alexander Hamilton, Monroe received a commission as a lieutenant colonel. With his position, the Virginia Assembly promised to provide troops for him to lead; however, the Assembly could not raise a militia resulting from inadequate resources. Instead, he received a position as an aide to then Governor of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, in charge of Virginia’s militia, promoted Monroe to the rank of colonel. Jefferson ordered him to establish communications between the southern army and the government of Virginia. Monroe continued to seek a command, but there was an abundance of commanders and Virginia had no excess of money, and as a result, Monroe could not participate in the Yorktown campaign.
After the war concluded, Monroe continued to study law under Jefferson. Monroe was not particularly interested in law; however, the young veteran knew law offered the most possibility for power and wealth within the budding nation. In 1782 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and in 1783 was elected to the Congress of the Confederation. Even during his early political career, Monroe advocated for western expansion and protection, the policy positions which would dominate his presidency. While a member of the congress Monroe toured the western American territories and used his experience to amend and enact the Northwest Ordinance, organizing the region of the United States. Monroe was opposed to the Constitution, as it gave the national government taxation power, and he voted against the final document. Despite Monroe’s opposition, the Virginia ratifying committee ratified the Constitution.
During the elections for the First Congress, Monroe ran for a senate seat against his close friend, James Madison. Madison and Monroe did not let political animosity destroy their friendship, and often traveled with each other. Madison prevailed, and Monroe lost the election, but after the death of Senator William Grayson, less than a year after the establishment of Congress, Monroe was elected to serve the remainder of Grayson’s term.
In 1792 Monroe came into conflict with Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. During an investigation into the misuse of federal funds, Monroe found evidence that a co-conspirator in the plot, James Reynolds, received payments from Hamilton. Monroe, believed that Hamilton had been involved in the plot and prepared a comprehensive report of the crime; however, before publishing the story, he brought the evidence to Hamilton. Hamilton then confessed to what became the “Reynolds Affair.” Hamilton had not been stealing money from the government but instead had been having an affair with Reynold’s wife, Maria. Monroe believed Hamilton and promised to keep the scandal under wraps. However, a secretary working for Monroe sent the investigation to a scandal writer, making the issue public. This publication nearly brought Monroe and Hamilton to a duel; however, the senator’s second, Aaron Burr, negotiated a truce. Burr called the dispute, “childish.”
As political tensions between Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and Hamiltonian Federalists exploded, Monroe stood with his friend and fellow Virginian, Jefferson. As the Democratic-Republicans had vigorously supported the French Revolution, in 1794 Washington, hoping to capitalize on Monroe’s French allegiance, sent Monroe to be the ambassador to France. As an ambassador, Monroe protected American trade, released Thomas Paine, whom French revolutionaries arrested during their own revolution because of French leadership’s unwillingness to acknowledge his American citizenship, and secured US navigation rights on the Mississippi River.
Monroe’s time as ambassador came quickly to an end after the US negotiated the Jay Treaty. No one in the Federal government provided Monroe with the details of the deal, and when it was published, the specifics outraged the French and Monroe. The ambassador was also angered by the fact that George Washington withheld the details from him; this division between old friends destroyed their relationship. In 1796, frustrated with Monroe’s opposition, Washington removed him from the position of ambassador for “incompetence.” Monroe later wrote a lengthy defense of his time in France and criticized the Washington government for growing closer with the British.
In 1799 Monroe was elected governor of Virginia. As governor Monroe increased state involvement in education and transportation, he also invested in the state militia. He supported the candidacy of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, by appointing election officials favorable to Jefferson to ensure his presidential victory. Jefferson capitalized on this support and Monroe’s ambassadorial past, by sending him to France to assist in the Louisiana Purchase. While negotiating, Jefferson made Monroe the ambassador to Britain. Jefferson gave orders to purchase only West Florida and New Orleans for at most nine million dollars, Monroe disobeyed Jefferson and bought all of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars. Monroe’s actions did not anger Jefferson; rather he was very pleased with the purchase, the president even offered Monroe the position of the first governor of the new territory, he declined and remained in Europe to continue as ambassador to the British. In 1806 Monroe negotiated the Monroe-Pickney treaty, which would extend the Jay Treaty, which ironically Monroe had opposed a decade earlier, Jefferson who strongly opposed the Jay Treaty also opposed the Monroe-Pickney deal, and it was as a result never ratified. This failure allowed tensions to grow over the following six years, leading to the War of 1812.
Though some members of the Democratic-Republican party wanted to run Monroe for president in 1808, Jefferson and Madison pressured Monroe to put his presidential aspirations on hold. This coercion deeply disappointed Monroe, and though he quickly reconciled with Jefferson, Monroe and Madison would not even speak, again, until 1810. In 1811 Monroe was once again elected the governor of Virginia, however, in April of that year, Madison appointed him Secretary of State forcing him to leave the gubernatorial position. By selecting Monroe, Madison sought to quell instability within the party, along with reconciling with his former friend. As Secretary of State Monroe worked diligently to prevent the practice of impressment, he found progress with the French, however; the British would not negotiate and in 1812 Monroe joined Henry Clay and the “War Hawks” and called for war. Madison followed Monroe’s advice, and the War of 1812 began.
The War of 1812 cemented Monroe into the public eye as a leader. Monroe served as Secretary of State, where he sent John Quincy Adams to negotiations in Ghent. In 1814 Madison made Monroe Secretary of War, and Monroe resigned from his position as Secretary of State, but Madison never appointed a new Secretary of State, and as a result, for a brief time, Monroe served a joint role as both Secretary of State and Secretary of War.
After the war concluded in 1815, Monroe decided to run for president in 1816. Monroe had become a hero through his leadership in the war. Monroe won the presidency with an electoral vote of 183 to 34.
Monroe, as president broke with tradition and built his cabinet, not through hard party lines but instead based on whom he believed would execute each role successfully. Which partly resulted in the Federalist Party falling into obscurity while Democratic-Republicans did not act in lockstep. The adjournment of national political identities created what is often known as “the era of good feelings.” Many “good feelings” did characterize Monroe’s presidency, especially regarding land acquisition, the president acquired Florida through the Adams-Onis Treaty, along with settling border disputes in the north and the Oregon territory. However, it was not all good feelings in the era of Monroe; in 1819, America had its first economic crisis, “The Panic of 1819.” Monroe used infrastructure projects to bolster the economy while also remaining within the structure of the Constitution.
Along with economic panic, Monroe’s presidency saw the beginnings of sectional divisions over the expansion of slavery as the new lands acquired in the years since the signing of the Constitution were formed into territories, which were now eligible for statehood. When Missouri sought statehood as a slave state, many believed the balance of power between free and slave states would shift in favor of slave states. The solution to the issue was the Missouri Compromise. The compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to continue the balance of power, while also dividing unorganized territories between north and south.
Monroe’s most lasting legacy is his “Monroe Doctrine.” Monroe and his secretary of state John Quincy Adams had grown increasingly frustrated with European intervention in Latin America as many former colonies in Latin America became independent states, Monroe and Adams prepared a speech for the State of Union espousing a new ideology for America, the “Monroe Doctrine” as it came to be known by the 1850s. The Doctrine decreed that if European powers sought colonization within the American continents, that it would be perceived and not only an attack on the free independent peoples of that state, but on America as well. This Doctrine had little to no effect on the world during Monroe’s time. America did not yield much political or war powers and as a result, it extensively ignored by European powers and minorly appreciated by Latin American states. However, Monroe’s Doctrine would be repeated by US president long into the future. President James K. Polk used the Doctrine to justify Manifest Destiny, and the proliferation of a war with Mexico. Ulysses S. Grant used the Doctrine to replace European influence in Latin America, under President James Garfield, the Monroe Doctrine introduced the US as a “big brother” to Latin American countries. President Teddy Roosevelt added his “Roosevelt Corollary” to the Doctrine, to justify US imperialism into Latin America. Even President John F. Kennedy cited the Doctrine during the Cuban Revolution. The Monroe doctrine was not just Monroe’s personal foreign policy but became the prevailing American ideology regarding Latin America.
Monroe was the last president to serve in the War for American independence, and his presidency saw America truly becoming its own country. America began to consolidate its expansion, fight against future colonization, and even grapple with its issue of slavery. Monroe would be remembered three times fighting for independence—in the revolution, in the War for 1812, and in the Monroe Doctrine.
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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https://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/james-monroe.html
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President James Monroe Birthplace
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The President James Monroe Birthplace site will soon have more features!
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www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com
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https://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/james-monroe.html
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James Monroe Birthplace
at Colonial Beach
UPDATE January 2017: Replica of James Monroe childhood home to be constructed.
June 2016: VDOT approved a grant for construction at the James Monroe Birthplace site of an interpretive timeline.
Plans are underway to construct a half-mile long, scenic historical walk!
The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors, working in conjunction with the James Monroe Memorial Association, the Federal Government and the Commonwealth, has approved plans to complete the James Monroe Historic Project, at a cost of more than $700,000.
Soon to come are the scenic walk (complete with granite historical markers along the trail telling the story of Monroe’s career), a bicycle trail, a canoe launch, benches, an overlook and a picnic pavilion.
The Monroe Doctrine was a major point of study
in my American History class out on the west coast.
Little did I know that years later, I would be living
in a house located just five short miles from the birthplace
of the author of that program, former President of the United States, James Monroe.
He was born here in Westmoreland County on April 28, 1758, within eyeshot of what was later to become the Town of Colonial Beach. 500 acres of land and a 20-foot by 58-foot four-room dwelling is not only where Monroe was born, but where he spent the first sixteen years of his life working the farm until he left to pursue an education at The College of William & Mary. It was that college who in 1976 began the archaeological survey of the James Monroe Birthplace and uncovered the ruins of the Monroe family home, a rough-cut wooden farmhouse with a few outbuildings.
Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (great-great-grandson of James Monroe) and his wife, Ingrid Westesson Hoes, established the James Monroe Memorial Foundation back in 1928. Laurence had always hoped the Foundation would acquire the farm and reconstruct the Monroe family home, barn and outbuildings as an interpretive area to highlight the modest beginnings of a great United States President. On April 4th 2005, Westmoreland County signed a 99-year lease with the Foundation which will allow them to restore the Birthplace farmhouse, establish an educational visitor center, and remain the faithful steward of the Birthplace farm.
The site was done-up recently, just in time for the 250th anniversary of his birth. What used to be a driveway and a flagpole now consists of a parking area, historical markers, and an 18th-century garden planted by members of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs. The Boy Scouts even built a canoe launch on the creek.
So just who was James Monroe? A very underrated President who came from humble beginnings. He was one of five children of Virginia natives Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones.
At 16, Monroe entered the College of William and Mary. Shortly thereafter, his father died and his uncle, Judge Joseph Jones became his guardian and covered the cost of his education. In 1775, he left college to fight in the Revolutionary War.
1778 - He served with George Washington at Valley Forge, PA.
1779 - His military career came to an end after he achieved the rank of major and was commissioned to lead (as Lt. Colonel) a militia of Virginia regiment that was never formed. He became an aide to Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson, as well as a law student with Jefferson’s guidance.
1782 - Monroe was elected to the Virginia State Legislature. At 24, he was the youngest member of the Executive Council.
1783 - Elected to the United States Congress that was meeting in New York City, he served for three years during which he became interested in the settlement of the “western” lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River. He chaired two expansion committees – one dealing with travel on the Mississippi River and the other involving governing of the western lands.
1786 - Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright, whom he met while Congress was meeting in New York City. He resigned from Congress and they settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he was elected to the town council and again to the Virginia Legislature.
1789 - The Monroe’s moved to Albemarle County, Virginia. Their estate, Ash Lawn, was very near Jefferson’s estate, Monticello.
1790 - Monroe was elected to a recently vacated seat in the United States Senate and was named to a full six-year term the following year.
1794 - Monroe accepted the diplomatic position of Minister Plenipotentiary to France and worked to help maintain friendly relations with them despite efforts to remain on peaceful terms with their enemy, Great Britain.
1796 - Monroe was recalled and he was bitter, feeling he'd been betrayed by his opponents who used him to appease France as they made great concessions to Britain in Jay’s Treaty which the United States two years prior. On his return he published a book of 500 pages, entitled "A View of the conduct of the Executive" (Philadelphia, 1797) in which he printed his instructions, correspondence with the French and U. S. governments, speeches, and letters received from American residents in Paris.
1797 - Monroe returned home in June and took a break from public office
1799 - He was elected Governor of Virginia and served until 1802. The following year he was sent back to France to help Robert R. Livingston complete negotiations for the acquisition of New Orleans and West Florida. Emperor Napoleon I offered instead to sell the whole Louisiana colony and although the Americans were not authorized to make such a large purchase, they began negotiations. The Louisiana Purchase was concluded in April of that year, which more than doubled the size of the nation.
1807 - Monroe returned to Virginia politics and once again served in the legislature.
1811 - Monroe was elected Governor for a second time.
1812 - War was declared, and he loyally supported Madison, serving as Secretary of State during the war and simultaneously serving as Secretary of War in 1814. He scouted the British advance toward Washington from Benedict, MD, and was present at Bladensburg, where he ordered the movement of two regiments which he thought were deployed incorrectly.
1815 - Monroe returned to the normal peacetime duties of Secretary of State. He was the logical presidential nominee at the end of Madison’s second term, and he won the election easily.
1817 - March 4th, James Monroe took his oath of office. Some of the notable events of this term were: - Congress fixed 13 as the number of stripes on the flag to honor the original 13 colonies - The boundary between the U.S. and Canada was fixed at the 49th parallel - Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the cancellation of five million dollars in Spanish debt - The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state, but forbade slavery in any states carved from the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes latitude. Monroe’s administration had been one of high idealism and integrity and his personal popularity was at an all-time high by the end of his first term in office. He was nearly unopposed for reelection, carrying every state and receiving every electoral vote cast - with the exception of one, cast by a New Hampshire elector for John Quincy Adams.
1824 - At 66 years old he had no intentions of seeking a third term. In 1825 he turned over the presidency to John Quincy Adams and retired to Oak Hill, his estate in Loudoun County. Plagued by financial worries, he was forced to sell his Ash Lawn estate.
1830 - Monroe's wife died, and he sold Oak Hill and moved to New York City to live with his youngest daughter, Maria and her husband.
1831 - Monroe died on July 4th in New York City on the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He was originally buried in Marble Cemetery in New York, but on April 28, 1858 he was re-interred to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. So, now, back to the Monroe Doctrine. This happened during Monroe's second term as president. The two principles of the Doctrine were noncolonization and nonintervention, which were not new or original, but it was Monroe who explicitly proclaimed them as policy and it was a keystone of foreign policy for many years. I'm glad that we studied it in school and I'm glad that I live not far from where this remarkable person and former U.S. President was born and raised.
His wife, Elizabeth Kortright was born in New York city in 1768. She was the daughter of a British army captain Lawrence Kortright.
Their kids:
Eliza Kortright Monroe (1786-1835) married George Hay of Virginia
James Spence Monroe (1799-1800)
Maria Hester Monroe (1803-1850) married Samuel L. Gouverneur of New York
Read a more comprehensive history of James Monroe here.
Site Location: From Colonial Beach, take Rt. 205 east towards Oak Grove. It will be on your left after about a mile. Look for the "Road to Revolution" sign.
Return from James Monroe Birthplace to Things to Do & See
Return to the Home page
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City of Monroe, NC > Community > About Monroe > News
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4/15/2024 8:45:00 AM
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CITY OF MONROE
Proclamation Observing Black History Month
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1/16/2024 3:02:00 PM
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1/16/2024 2:00:00 PM
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1/12/2024 7:32:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department will conduct sewer system smoke testing on January 16 through mid-March.
This will impact approximately 52,000 feet of sewer main within the Sunset area between Hayne Street and Griffith Road, and along the Wolf...
1/11/2024 1:30:00 PM
CITY OF MONROE
Proclamation Observing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
January...
1/11/2024 6:00:00 AM
The City of Monroe is celebrating the first anniversary of the Monroe Science Center Honoring Dr. Christine Mann Darden on Thursday, January...
1/10/2024 9:03:00 AM
Due to inclement weather, Mayor Robert Burns of the City of Monroe has postponed the City Council...
1/9/2024 4:00:00 PM
Due to severe weather, City of Monroe Mayor Robert Burns has consented to the inclusion of the City of Monroe within...
1/9/2024 3:06:00 PM
City Manager Mark Watson has made the decision to close all City buildings, functions, and services to the...
1/3/2024 2:57:00 PM
The City of Monroe has partnered with Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA) to offer Exterior Water Service...
1/2/2024 3:59:00 PM
The Water Resources Construction Division will be replacing sanitary sewer mains in the street right-of-way on the following streets:
King Street from Cherry Street to Skyway Drive
Winchester Avenue from Beard Street to Hill Street
Winchester Avenue from Stafford...
12/18/2023 11:25:00 AM
The City of Monroe's administrative offices will be closed in observance of the Christmas holiday on Friday,...
12/14/2023 12:22:00 PM
The Mayor of Monroe, along with three new Council Members, took their oaths of office during the regular Council meeting...
12/7/2023 8:07:00 AM
Santa Claus is coming to town! Experience the magic of the holiday season right here in the City of Monroe as Santa prepares...
12/4/2023 2:38:00 PM
The City of Monroe honored Mayor Marion Holloway, Council Member Lynn Keziah,...
12/1/2023 9:56:00 AM
Christmas on Main has been postponed due to forecast...
11/27/2023 10:45:00 AM
Prevent Frozen Pipes
As cold weather sets in this winter, it's important to stay...
11/16/2023 11:01:00 AM
Santa Claus is coming to town! Experience the magic of the holiday season right...
11/13/2023 12:37:00 PM
The City of Monroe cordially invites members of the public to a drop-in...
11/8/2023 12:18:00 PM
The City of Monroe's administrative offices will be closed on Friday, November...
11/3/2023 1:14:00 PM
The City of Monroe is pleased to announce the 2023 Warbirds Over Monroe Air Show featuring...
11/3/2023 1:13:00 PM
The City of Monroe recently hosted 80 leaders in government, business...
11/2/2023 11:11:00 AM
The City of Monroe's Police Department held a “Swearing In, Promotion & Awards Ceremony”...
11/1/2023 12:00:00 PM
The City of Monroe’s four...
10/31/2023 3:00:00 PM
The City of Monroe's Parks and Recreation Department will host its annual Fall Festival on November 4 between 2 -6 p.m. at...
10/27/2023 7:30:00 AM
The City of Monroe Engineering Department in conjunction with North Carolina...
10/26/2023 12:28:00 PM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department is temporarily lowering Lake Lee levels to make repairs on the dam.
This is an annual repair to the flashboards. This does not impact the water supply. Residents who live along the lake may see lower...
10/24/2023 4:47:00 PM
The City of Monroe has been named a Good Jobs, Great Cities Destination City, only one of 16 nationwide, as part of a new program by...
10/24/2023 1:24:00 PM
The City of Monroe is excited to celebrate Halloween this year with...
10/24/2023 12:38:00 PM
The City of Monroe's Energy Services Department will be...
10/19/2023 10:03:00 AM
Join the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department...
10/17/2023 12:07:00 PM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department will...
10/3/2023 3:17:00 PM
City of Monroe residents are asked to be aware of the ongoing and upcoming installation of fiber optic lines in parts of the City.
A...
9/29/2023 10:50:00 AM
The City of Monroe will celebrate the value of our locally owned and operated electric...
9/29/2023 10:45:00 AM
The City of Monroe will observe National Public Natural Gas Week from October 1 - 7, 2023.
This...
9/25/2023 8:56:00 AM
The Monroe Fire Department graciously accepted...
9/18/2023 6:36:00 PM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department responded to a sanitary sewer spill on Monday, September 18, 2023.
There is no risk to the City water supply.
The spill was coming from a sewer force main located in the 4100 block of Secrest...
9/18/2023 1:39:00 PM
The City of Monroe’s Natural Gas Division is conducting its annual natural gas leak survey and atmospheric corrosion inspection on a portion of the distribution system.
The intended outcome is to provide safe, responsible, and reliable natural gas service to our customers.
This...
9/12/2023 3:00:00 PM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will conduct a water main replacement along W. Franklin Street between N. Charlotte Avenue to Stewart Street starting on or around Monday, September 18, and anticipated to conclude by Wednesday, October 25.
The improvement will be replacing approximately...
9/8/2023 11:33:00 AM
The City of Monroe has been awarded a $500,000 grant toward the development of two major Parks and Recreation...
8/30/2023 9:43:00 AM
The City of Monroe's administrative offices will be closed on Monday, September 4, in observance...
8/28/2023 1:41:00 PM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department has published its 2023 Annual Wastewater Performance Report.
This report provides an overview of our wastewater system performance as well as important information regarding what the City does to maintain sewer lines and what customers can do...
8/23/2023 11:24:00 AM
The Monroe Police Department proudly announced the Grand Opening of the Bobby G. Kilgore Law Enforcement Center (LEC) with a public ceremony and reception on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
The new LEC is approximately 33,000 square feet and is located at 450 W. Crowell St. across from...
8/21/2023 4:16:00 PM
The City of Monroe's Fire Chief Ron Fowler was recognized...
8/10/2023 10:15:00 AM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will conduct a water...
8/3/2023 3:18:00 PM
Every Summer the City welcomes a handful of college students seeking...
7/29/2023 7:59:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department announces the opening of Lake Twitty beginning on Saturday, July...
7/24/2023 11:05:00 AM
Downtown Monroe is...
7/20/2023 3:52:00 PM
The Monroe City Council has decided to implement the recording of video and audio for future planning board meetings in a proactive effort to provide residents with broader access to these important meetings.
These recordings will be promptly posted on the
7/20/2023 10:44:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Construction Division will conduct a water main replacement along
7/19/2023 2:36:00 PM
Five City of Monroe employees and one Council Member have been recognized as being among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women of Union County in 2023.
The employees were named in the Union County Weekly's article...
7/11/2023 9:48:00 AM
Monroe City Council approved the sale of the City of Monroe’s C-46 plane “The Tinker...
7/10/2023 2:30:00 PM
The City of Monroe has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.
This is the 30th consecutive year the City of Monroe has received this award.
The
7/7/2023 9:06:00 AM
The Dowd Center Theatre has announced...
7/3/2023 10:06:00 AM
The City of Monroe will host its annual fireworks show starting at dark on July...
7/3/2023 9:00:00 AM
The City of Monroe's administrative offices will be closed Tuesday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday.
There will be no solid waste collection on July 4. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday customers will be on a one-day delay.
Emergency services are...
6/30/2023 11:00:00 AM
The City of Monroe will host...
6/28/2023 2:11:00 PM
The Parks and Recreation...
6/28/2023 12:58:00 PM
City Council approved Rocko’s Italian Deli for two Downtown Economic Development...
6/27/2023 4:50:00 PM
The City of Monroe is pleased to present its annual...
6/21/2023 5:38:00 PM
The Parks and Recreation Department hosted a ribbon cutting for the Philip E. Bazemore Active Adult Center on Wednesday, June 21 at 8:30 a.m.
The Active Adult Center is a 21,440 square foot facility that includes state of the art audio/visual equipment, a small cardio room, a...
6/20/2023 9:50:00 AM
The Philp E. Bazemore Active Adult...
6/16/2023 2:56:00 PM
Monroe City Council and City Manager Mark Watson recognized nine staff members and one resident for their efforts to improve the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport during its regular meeting on June 13.
City staff from a number of departments gave their time and resources to providing much-needed...
5/25/2023 2:47:00 PM
The City of Monroe's administrative...
5/25/2023 12:33:00 PM
Monroe Police Department detectives successfully identified the suspects responsible for calling in a bomb threat to officials at the Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport on May 24, 2023.
Officers identified two juvenile subjects located in Harnett County, North Carolina with assistance from...
5/23/2023 9:25:00 AM
Seven City schools...
5/16/2023 2:56:00 PM
The City of Monroe has...
5/15/2023 12:52:00 PM
The City of Monroe's
5/10/2023 1:49:00 PM
The City of Monroe will conduct a water main replacement project...
5/8/2023 2:35:00 PM
The City of Monroe is proud to announce that its Downtown has maintained its Main Street...
5/8/2023 1:06:00 PM
The City of Monroe was recognized for winning an award at the North...
5/2/2023 11:04:00 AM
The City...
4/28/2023 10:51:00 AM
The Monroe Aquatics and Fitness Center is celebrating...
4/21/2023 9:15:00 AM
Monroe City Council voted to approve an agreement to appoint Richard G. Long, Jr. of Plyler, Long, Corigliano, LLP as City Attorney.
Richard G. Long, Jr. received his J.D. from Wake Forest School of Law and was admitted to the North Carolina Bar Association in 1982. In 1995, Richard...
4/17/2023 2:05:00 PM
City Council approved High Octane Coffee Creamery & Eatery for two Downtown Economic...
4/17/2023 1:54:00 PM
The City of Monroe is celebrating National Lineworker Appreciation Day, held on April 18, to honor and celebrate lineworkers and the difficult and important work they do to power our lives.
“These unsung heroes, who brave dangerous conditions and work long hours in all kinds of weather,...
4/14/2023 11:27:00 AM
The City of Monroe has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2022. The recognition...
4/13/2023 9:33:00 AM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will be replacing approximately 1,690 linear feet of existing 12-inch steel water main along W. Crowell Street between N. Charlotte Avenue and N. Johnson Street. Crews will also add a new 2-inch FPVC approximately 263 linear feet along N. College Street between...
4/6/2023 1:25:00 PM
The City of Monroe’s Parks and Recreation Department is proud to announce the completion...
4/3/2023 2:08:00 PM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will be replacing approximately 1040 linear feet of existing 2-inch steel water main along Leewood Drive between Club Drive and Fuller Drive, approximately 1330 linear feet of existing 2-inch steel water main along Leewood Drive from Old NC 20 to Fuller Drive...
4/1/2023 2:13:00 PM
April marks National Safe Digging Month, reminding North Carolina residents to always call...
3/28/2023 10:20:00 AM
The City of Monroe Engineering Department in conjunction with North Carolina Department of Transportation will be sweeping US Highway 74 (Roosevelt Boulevard) during the weeks of April 17 and April 24.
During street sweeping operations, temporary lane closures will occur during the hours...
3/27/2023 8:10:00 AM
The City of Monroe will complete the annual drinking water treatment process change using chlorine on March 31.
The City of Monroe will convert back to the practice of “chloramination” to disinfect the drinking water. Some customers may have noticed a slightly different taste...
3/24/2023 9:45:00 AM
Construction on the City of Monroe’s...
3/23/2023 4:36:00 PM
City Council voted to appoint Ken Honeycutt as Interim City Attorney with immediate effect during its special meeting on March 22.
Mayor Pro Tem Gary Anderson moved to appoint Ken Honeycutt as Interim City Attorney. Council Member Lynn Keziah seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
City...
3/15/2023 1:35:00 PM
City Council voted to appoint Mark Watson as City Manager with immediate effect during its regular meeting...
3/3/2023 4:38:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the Interim City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click...
3/2/2023 11:43:00 AM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will be replacing approximately 471 linear feet of existing 2-inch steel water main along Icemorlee Street between N. Charlotte Ave. to 906 Icemorlee Street beginning on or around Tuesday and anticipated to conclude by March 28.
The improvement will...
3/2/2023 11:41:00 AM
The City of Monroe’s Engineering Department will launch a project to resurface and repair several streets beginning on March 15 through June 15, starting on Concord Ave and Breckonridge Center Dr. The roadway repairs will include various types of work including milling, full depth patching,...
2/28/2023 4:53:00 PM
From...
2/21/2023 8:53:00 AM
In a continuing effort to distribute high-quality water, water utilities serving five regional counties will coordinate and conduct their annual Water Quality Preventative Maintenance Program throughout the month of March. This routine effort involves temporarily switching water disinfectants from...
2/17/2023 3:29:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click here for the Feb. 17 City...
2/17/2023 9:49:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources...
2/15/2023 3:51:00 PM
The cause of death has been released for K9 Kilo. Griffin Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has determined the cause of death was Mesenteric Volvulus. The examiner provided the following explanation:
“A mesenteric volvulus occurs when the intestines twist around the root of the...
2/15/2023 12:25:00 PM
The City of Monroe is advising the public to be aware of a potential door to door scam in which individuals posing as salespersons attempt to collect money.
The...
2/15/2023 10:49:00 AM
The City of Monroe Construction Division will be installing approximately 111 linear feet of new 2-inch PVC water main along Dover Street between 1513 Dover Street to near 1507 Dover Street.
The improvement will enhance water service to customers in this area.
Construction activities...
2/7/2023 9:13:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click...
2/3/2023 4:56:00 PM
Effective Feb. 6, 2023 City utilities will be operating on a new software system. The utility account numbers will be changed. This will affect payments made by credit card & electronic check. The new account numbers will be on the Feburary bill. If you would like to make a payment by phone or...
1/26/2023 11:38:00 AM
City of Monroe Water Resources Department responded to a sanitary sewer spill on Jan. 25, after heavy rains occurred across the region. The overflows entered Richardson Creek at the locations shown below. The impact to Richardson...
1/23/2023 8:25:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click here for the Jan. 20 City Manager's...
1/12/2023 10:59:00 AM
Please see the adopted Proclamation recognizing Black History Month.
1/10/2023 8:04:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click here for the Jan. 6 City...
12/20/2022 7:45:00 AM
Prevent Frozen Pipes
As cold weather sets in this winter, it's important to stay informed and prepared to...
12/15/2022 6:38:00 PM
The City of Monroe has started the process of crafting a new vision for the future of Downtown.
We want to hear your ideas for the heart of the community. What would make our DOWNTOWN better? What is your “Dream Downtown”?
12/12/2022 9:05:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and projects.
Click here for the Dec. 9 City Manager's...
12/2/2022 4:23:00 PM
On Nov. 23, approximately 20 Monroe firefighters responded to an apartment fire in the 1400 block of Fairley Avenue. Crews were met with heavy smoke and fire coming out of the middle apartment of the three-unit building. Firefighters received reports that there may have been occupants trapped...
11/29/2022 12:06:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's biweekly report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects.
Click here for the Nov. 25 City...
11/28/2022 4:10:00 PM
On December 1, 2022, the General Services Committee will consider a proposal for a planning study update of the conversion of Franklin Street and Jefferson Street from one-way to two-way streets.
The Committee will also consider recommending Budget Ordinance (BO-2022-13)...
11/15/2022 11:04:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
11/9/2022 9:29:00 AM
The 2022 Citizens Academy graduates were recognized for completion of the program during the regular City Council meeting on Nov. 8.
The graduates are Narissa Blackwell, Phillip Bowers, Ellen Dowling, Deanna Gambino, Lisa Kerner, Barbara Mills, Brian Reedy, Jennifer...
10/31/2022 10:48:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
10/25/2022 3:54:00 PM
The City of Monroe proudly hosted seven members of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship program today, Oct. 25, at Monroe City Hall. The seven European fellows included Anna Ingrisch Krasnik (Denmark), Dumitru Svinarenco (Moldova), Kalli Giannelos (France), Mihnea Samoila (Romania), Nikos Kakavoulis (Greece),...
10/18/2022 1:47:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
10/6/2022 3:05:00 PM
Please see the adopted Proclamation recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
10/4/2022 5:22:00 PM
CITY OF MONROE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 11, 2022
NOTICE OF PUBLIC INPUT FOR NAMING OF CERAMICS AND POTTERY ROOM AT
PHIL BAZEMORE ACTIVE ADULT CENTER TO ROSA BELL...
10/3/2022 11:51:00 AM
Please see below or click on this link to see the termination of the State of Emergency for Monroe.
9/29/2022 4:47:00 PM
Please follow this link to find the full State of Emergency Declaration for the City of Monroe.
9/28/2022 4:28:00 PM
City of Monroe Officials have been monitoring the path of Hurricane Ian. As of now, it looks like Monroe and Union County may see some heavy rain and strong winds later this week into the weekend. Strong winds could lead to power outages.
Police and Fire will...
9/14/2022 9:15:00 AM
RESOLUTION CONCERNING DRAG QUEEN STORY TIME EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2022
R-2022-64
WHEREAS, the Union County Pride Festival...
9/6/2022 10:07:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
8/31/2022 2:14:00 PM
Protecting the environment is a top priority for the City of Monroe Water Resources Department. We are pleased to announce our Annual Wastewater Performance Report. This report provides an overview of our wastewater system performance as well as important information regarding what the City does to...
8/22/2022 1:57:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
8/15/2022 3:14:00 PM
Please click on this link to see the full proclamation of the Recission of Declaration of A State of Emergency.
8/12/2022 1:03:00 PM
On Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, the City of Monroe received notification that District Court Judge Robert J. Conrad denied former City Councilwoman Angelia James’ motion for a preliminary injunction regarding her removal from...
8/8/2022 1:05:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
7/25/2022 8:05:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
7/11/2022 9:10:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
7/8/2022 10:26:00 AM
Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Monroe for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year endined June 30, 2021.
The report has been judged...
7/2/2022 12:38:00 PM
City of Monroe lakes placed on the NCDEQ Impaired Waters 303d list.
City of Monroe lakes (Twitty, Lee, and Monroe) are listed on the 2018 North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Impaired Water 303(d) List. This means that the raw water quality in the lakes does not...
6/28/2022 3:14:00 PM
The City of Monroe is experiencing mild discoloration of the drinking water in the central and eastern parts of the City. The water has been and is continuing to be tested to confirm there is no health risk at this time. The testing indicates slightly elevated levels of manganese in the drinking water....
6/27/2022 12:24:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
6/24/2022 11:27:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department has completed the annual Water Quality Report as required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and the State of North Carolina.
The report provides an overview of the City’s drinking water...
6/13/2022 4:28:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
5/31/2022 2:49:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
5/20/2022 11:15:00 AM
Union County is seeking public input from residents regarding the future of public transportation services along the Monroe Road and U.S. 74 corridor.
Residents currently have access to public transportation options, including Union County Transportation's "dial-a-ride"...
5/16/2022 10:44:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
5/9/2022 10:54:00 AM
The City of Monroe Water Resources Department offers a bulk water sales program to provide service to individuals and contractors while ensuring protection of water quality in the City’s water system. The “self-service” bulk water fill station is located at the City Operations Center,...
5/2/2022 10:56:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
4/21/2022 3:15:00 PM
Good afternoon all, please see the information below into continued claims and accusations that are just not true. We hate we have to take time to address these issues, but we feel they are important enough to take the time and provide accurate facts to the misleading allegations being shared.
In...
4/20/2022 11:19:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
4/13/2022 2:25:00 PM
4/10/2022 2:24:00 PM
Language regarding City Boards and Commissions related to Planning functions is located in two areas of the City’s Ordinance. Chapter 32 titled “Boards, Commissions and Departments” of the City’s Code of Ordinances (City-wide ordinance) provides ordinance language for...
4/6/2022 9:51:00 AM
Mayor Marion Holloway, on behalf of the City of Monroe, submitted a letter of support of S. 2981 and H.R. 3172, the Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder (HELPER) Act.
Click here to view the support letter.
4/5/2022 2:06:00 PM
Please click the link below to find the timeline and actions City staff and council have taken with regards to the proposed Unified Development Ordinance and Zoning Map that would replace the current ordinance that dates back to 2003. This timeline shows the City’s efforts to educate, inform...
4/4/2022 2:35:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
3/29/2022 12:33:00 PM
The City of Monroe will complete the annual drinking water treatment process change using chlorine on March 31 and will convert back to the practice of “chloramination” to disinfect the drinking water. Because of the change to chlorine during the month of March, customers may have noticed...
3/25/2022 7:25:00 PM
This is the report of the hearing officer in the amotion hearing involving Council Member Angelia James. The final phase of the hearing process will be held before City Council at 4:30 p.m. on April 7, 2022.
3/21/2022 12:52:00 PM
3/21/2022 12:42:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
3/14/2022 2:36:00 PM
At its March 8 meeting, the Monroe City Council unanimously agreed to name the new police headquarters building the “Bobby G. Kilgore Law Enforcement Center.” Currently under construction, the facility, located at 450 W. Crowell St. in Monroe, is anticipated to open in 2023 and will centralize...
3/9/2022 2:30:00 PM
Please click here for a PDF of the notice below.
3/8/2022 3:56:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
2/28/2022 1:10:00 PM
Please click here for a PDF of the notice below.
Annual Drinking Water Treatment Change and Fire Hydrant Flushing Schedule
In order to meet stricter Federal and State drinking water regulations, the City of Monroe operates its water treatment plant located on Lake Twitty using the practice of...
2/22/2022 8:22:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
2/18/2022 12:47:00 PM
City Mask Mandate lifted as of Monday (Feb. 21)
With the decreasing COVID numbers, and in line with Governor Cooper’s recommendation, the City of Monroe will move to “Mask Optional” starting Monday (Feb. 21) for staff and visitors to city facilities. Staff and visitors...
2/17/2022 11:02:00 AM
As a follow up to Hearing Officer Valecia McDowell's February 15, 2022 Order, the parties to the Angelia James amotion proceeding provided an email and a letter to the Hearing Officer. At Hearing Officer McDowell's request, the email and the letter are being posted for public access...
2/15/2022 2:00:00 PM
This is the Order of the Hearing Officer in the Amotion Hearing involving Councilmember Angelia James on allegations of bias by members of the City Council raised during the hearing.
Please click...
2/7/2022 9:43:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding City departments and City projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
2/3/2022 1:47:00 PM
Please follow the links below to the City of Monroe Amotion Hearing from Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.
Day 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njZ7SDhbYI0
Day 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3UB7a6Tlgo
1/24/2022 11:51:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
1/10/2022 7:46:00 PM
12/15/2021 3:58:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
11/23/2021 1:02:00 PM
Homeowners in Foreclosure? You may be eligible for assistance. Contact the Community Development Division: Teresa Campo at tcampo@monroenc.org or (704) 282-4526. For more information, please visit
11/23/2021 12:57:00 PM
Does your home need urgent repairs? You may be eligible for assistance. Contact the Community Development Division: Teresa Campo at tcampo@monroenc.org or (704) 282-4526. For more information please visit
11/1/2021 9:53:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
10/18/2021 4:33:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
10/4/2021 10:58:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
9/22/2021 11:59:00 AM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
9/16/2021 9:40:00 AM
The City of Monroe is releasing police body camera video at 4:15 p.m. today, Thursday, September 16. The video will be released on the City’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzrGKOKR72fmCEn7D0f9mlg) and...
9/14/2021 5:51:00 PM
At the request of the Union County Health Department, The Monroe City Council meeting for tonight at 6 p.m. has been canceled.
9/13/2021 7:19:00 PM
On behalf of the City Manager, in response to requests from media, staff and the public, a statement has been prepared regarding what occurred the evening of Sept. 9 involving Monroe Police Officers and Council Member Angelia James.
On the evening of Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021 staff at the...
9/7/2021 1:14:00 PM
Please follow the link below to the City Manager's report to City Council with new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing message sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
8/10/2021 8:58:00 AM
Please follow the like below to the City Manager's report to City Council regarding new and relevant information regarding city departments and city projects. This will be an ongoing messaging sent out every other week as a means to keep City Council updated.
3/16/2021 2:47:00 PM
A new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee has been established, and applications are currently being accepted.
Interested applicants can click on the following link for more information: https://www.monroenc.org/City-Council/Committees/Committee-Vacancies....
3/8/2021 9:44:00 AM
Union County Critical Intersection Program Information
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/.../a375971cb47b41e4a8080f12...
Poplin...
3/5/2021 2:40:00 PM
The Monroe City Council will have their regularly scheduled Regular Council Meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
The meeting will be conducted virtually with council following their adopted electronic meeting rules. The meeting will also be live-streamed on the city...
2/2/2021 3:30:00 PM
Well, here we are; nearly a year after we had to stand up and take notice of a new overseas viral threat, we are still fighting a battle that has caused nothing but mayhem in our personal and professional lives. COVID has made many of us sick and has taken too many of the lives of friends, family,...
9/22/2020 12:55:00 PM
We can no longer MASK our excitement!
The Monroe Aquatics and Fitness Center is happy to announce our reopening on Monday, September 28, contingent upon adequate staff being secured and trained. We will operate at limited capacity following guidelines set forth by Executive Order #163,...
5/30/2020 4:37:00 PM
Joint Press Release:
5/29/2020 8:34:00 AM
While these past few months have been difficult to say the least, the leadership and staff at the City of Monroe have continued to provide the high level of service our businesses and residents have grown accustomed to. We trust that you, your friends, neighbors, and family members are well.
While...
4/18/2020 1:59:00 PM
In an effort to consolidate all information about City closings, cancellations, modifications, and other actions in response to COVID-19, we have created a dedicated Web page. Please click...
4/1/2020 12:11:00 PM
In accordance with Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 124, the City of Monroe will do the following with respect to our residential utilities customers (water, sewer, gas and electric) from March 31, 2020 to May 30, 2020 (unless otherwise extended by Governor Cooper):
• The...
3/31/2020 7:46:00 AM
The City of Monroe would like to inform all residents that there may a delay in yard waste pickup over the next few weeks. With the number of residents staying home at this time, there is a larger than normal quantity of yard waste on each service day. Waste Pro will continue collection and will work...
3/16/2020 3:12:00 PM
Please click here for a PDF of the images below.
Please click here for helpful information and tips.
9/18/2018 2:07:00 PM
Yard Waste and Debris Collection Information
Due to the debris resulting from Hurricane Florence, the City of Monroe would like to remind its residents of the general guidelines for yard waste collection.
Residents should not place any debris...
9/17/2018 8:32:00 AM
To report damage sustained to your property, please follow the link below to the Union County Damage Assessment Self-Reporting Webpage.
https://www.crisistrack.com/public/unionNC/citizenRequest.html
4/4/2018 7:19:00 AM
If you are interested in being a food vendor for a City of Monroe event, please click on the link below for rules, regulations, selection criteria, and application.
Special Event Food Vendor Information
11/1/2017 7:33:00 PM
Please follow this link to the City of Monroe's You Tube Channel for City Council Meetings:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzrGKOKR72fmCEn7D0f9mlg/feed?view_as=subscriber
In City Hall you’ll see your local goverment in action. Stop by duriing our open house to tour the building, meet City employees and learn more about what your City is doing for you, and what you can do for your community.
In City Hall you’ll see your local goverment in action. Stop by duriing our open house to tour the building, meet City employees and learn more about what your City is doing for you, and what you can do for your community.
In City Hall you’ll see your local goverment in action. Stop by duriing our open house to tour the building, meet City employees and learn more about what your City is doing for you, and what you can do for your community.
In City Hall you’ll see your local goverment in action. Stop by duriing our open house to tour the building, meet City employees and learn more about what your City is doing for you, and what you can do for your community.
In City Hall you’ll see your local goverment in action. Stop by duriing our open house to tour the building, meet City employees and learn more about what your City is doing for you, and what you can do for your community.
|
|||||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 69 |
https://shop.whitehousehistory.org/products/the-white-house-and-new-york-69
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en
|
The White House and New York (#69)
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Before there was a 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or even a City of Washington, some of the earliest chapters of White House history were written in New York City. George Washington took the first presidential Oath of Office at Federal Hall on Wall Street in 1789 and lived in the first presidential mansions on Cherry Street
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White House Historical Association
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https://shop.whitehousehistory.org/products/the-white-house-and-new-york-69
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Before there was a 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or even a City of Washington, some of the earliest chapters of White House history were written in New York City. George Washington took the first presidential Oath of Office at Federal Hall on Wall Street in 1789 and lived in the first presidential mansions on Cherry Street and on Broadway before the young federal government was moved to Philadelphia in 1790. For more than two centuries, New York City has welcomed, accommodated, celebrated, and mourned Washington’s successors. Though all of these later presidents would reside in the White House in Washington, D.C., the lives of many included consequential years in New York. With this issue, White House History Quarterly explores the historical connections between New York City and the White House from the first Oath of Office to the present day.
Our visit to New York opens with a journey expertly led by Matt Green, who since 2011 has walked more than 9,000 miles of the city, block by block, embracing countless chance encounters with presidential history along the way. Through Green’s expedition we, too, discover such easily overlooked places as the site where Chester A. Arthur took the Oath of Office and bodegas named for Barack Obama.
With his article “Before the White House: New York’s Capital Legacy,” presidential historian Thomas J. Balcerski takes us back to the New York that President Washington knew and traces the legacy of the sites where he was inaugurated, served, and lived. “After traveling far and wide in life, James Monroe continued his odyssey in death,” explains historian Scott Harris with his article, which traces a series of temporary entombments that ultimately took the fifth president’s remains from New York to Virginia.
Former White House Curator William G. Allman presents the many New York manufacturers whose works are among the most treasured objects in the White House Collection of decorative arts today. Included are furniture by Duncan Phyfe, pianos by Steinway & Sons, and silver by Tiffany and Sons. One of the most legendary of these New York businesses is the focus of Kayli Rene Rideout’s article “A Tiffany White House Interlude.”
Reminding us that America’s first ladies have long been connected to New York, author Joy Ferro recounts the story of future first lady Nancy Reagan who, in the late 1940s, pursued her early dreams on the stage while living at the Barbizon, a safe and respectable residential hotel for women on the Upper East Side. Author Margaret Strolle takes us to a display on the seventh floor of Bergdorf Goodman to study a letter written by Jacqueline Kennedy, one of many first ladies who turned to New York for fashion.
For our presidential sites feature in this issue, historian Dean Kotlowski takes us to the Waldorf-Astoria, which has welcomed the presidents and first ladies at political and social events for nearly a century. His article “Herbert Hoover, Apt. 31A, and U.S. Presidents at the Waldorf-Astoria” recounts the retirement of President Hoover, who was comfortable there for more than twenty years.
We close the issue with a favorite New York pastime, a crossword puzzle—the first ever for White House History Quarterly
|
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correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 25 |
https://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/james-monroe.html
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en
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President James Monroe Birthplace
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The President James Monroe Birthplace site will soon have more features!
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www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com
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https://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/james-monroe.html
|
James Monroe Birthplace
at Colonial Beach
UPDATE January 2017: Replica of James Monroe childhood home to be constructed.
June 2016: VDOT approved a grant for construction at the James Monroe Birthplace site of an interpretive timeline.
Plans are underway to construct a half-mile long, scenic historical walk!
The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors, working in conjunction with the James Monroe Memorial Association, the Federal Government and the Commonwealth, has approved plans to complete the James Monroe Historic Project, at a cost of more than $700,000.
Soon to come are the scenic walk (complete with granite historical markers along the trail telling the story of Monroe’s career), a bicycle trail, a canoe launch, benches, an overlook and a picnic pavilion.
The Monroe Doctrine was a major point of study
in my American History class out on the west coast.
Little did I know that years later, I would be living
in a house located just five short miles from the birthplace
of the author of that program, former President of the United States, James Monroe.
He was born here in Westmoreland County on April 28, 1758, within eyeshot of what was later to become the Town of Colonial Beach. 500 acres of land and a 20-foot by 58-foot four-room dwelling is not only where Monroe was born, but where he spent the first sixteen years of his life working the farm until he left to pursue an education at The College of William & Mary. It was that college who in 1976 began the archaeological survey of the James Monroe Birthplace and uncovered the ruins of the Monroe family home, a rough-cut wooden farmhouse with a few outbuildings.
Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (great-great-grandson of James Monroe) and his wife, Ingrid Westesson Hoes, established the James Monroe Memorial Foundation back in 1928. Laurence had always hoped the Foundation would acquire the farm and reconstruct the Monroe family home, barn and outbuildings as an interpretive area to highlight the modest beginnings of a great United States President. On April 4th 2005, Westmoreland County signed a 99-year lease with the Foundation which will allow them to restore the Birthplace farmhouse, establish an educational visitor center, and remain the faithful steward of the Birthplace farm.
The site was done-up recently, just in time for the 250th anniversary of his birth. What used to be a driveway and a flagpole now consists of a parking area, historical markers, and an 18th-century garden planted by members of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs. The Boy Scouts even built a canoe launch on the creek.
So just who was James Monroe? A very underrated President who came from humble beginnings. He was one of five children of Virginia natives Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones.
At 16, Monroe entered the College of William and Mary. Shortly thereafter, his father died and his uncle, Judge Joseph Jones became his guardian and covered the cost of his education. In 1775, he left college to fight in the Revolutionary War.
1778 - He served with George Washington at Valley Forge, PA.
1779 - His military career came to an end after he achieved the rank of major and was commissioned to lead (as Lt. Colonel) a militia of Virginia regiment that was never formed. He became an aide to Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson, as well as a law student with Jefferson’s guidance.
1782 - Monroe was elected to the Virginia State Legislature. At 24, he was the youngest member of the Executive Council.
1783 - Elected to the United States Congress that was meeting in New York City, he served for three years during which he became interested in the settlement of the “western” lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River. He chaired two expansion committees – one dealing with travel on the Mississippi River and the other involving governing of the western lands.
1786 - Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright, whom he met while Congress was meeting in New York City. He resigned from Congress and they settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he was elected to the town council and again to the Virginia Legislature.
1789 - The Monroe’s moved to Albemarle County, Virginia. Their estate, Ash Lawn, was very near Jefferson’s estate, Monticello.
1790 - Monroe was elected to a recently vacated seat in the United States Senate and was named to a full six-year term the following year.
1794 - Monroe accepted the diplomatic position of Minister Plenipotentiary to France and worked to help maintain friendly relations with them despite efforts to remain on peaceful terms with their enemy, Great Britain.
1796 - Monroe was recalled and he was bitter, feeling he'd been betrayed by his opponents who used him to appease France as they made great concessions to Britain in Jay’s Treaty which the United States two years prior. On his return he published a book of 500 pages, entitled "A View of the conduct of the Executive" (Philadelphia, 1797) in which he printed his instructions, correspondence with the French and U. S. governments, speeches, and letters received from American residents in Paris.
1797 - Monroe returned home in June and took a break from public office
1799 - He was elected Governor of Virginia and served until 1802. The following year he was sent back to France to help Robert R. Livingston complete negotiations for the acquisition of New Orleans and West Florida. Emperor Napoleon I offered instead to sell the whole Louisiana colony and although the Americans were not authorized to make such a large purchase, they began negotiations. The Louisiana Purchase was concluded in April of that year, which more than doubled the size of the nation.
1807 - Monroe returned to Virginia politics and once again served in the legislature.
1811 - Monroe was elected Governor for a second time.
1812 - War was declared, and he loyally supported Madison, serving as Secretary of State during the war and simultaneously serving as Secretary of War in 1814. He scouted the British advance toward Washington from Benedict, MD, and was present at Bladensburg, where he ordered the movement of two regiments which he thought were deployed incorrectly.
1815 - Monroe returned to the normal peacetime duties of Secretary of State. He was the logical presidential nominee at the end of Madison’s second term, and he won the election easily.
1817 - March 4th, James Monroe took his oath of office. Some of the notable events of this term were: - Congress fixed 13 as the number of stripes on the flag to honor the original 13 colonies - The boundary between the U.S. and Canada was fixed at the 49th parallel - Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the cancellation of five million dollars in Spanish debt - The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state, but forbade slavery in any states carved from the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes latitude. Monroe’s administration had been one of high idealism and integrity and his personal popularity was at an all-time high by the end of his first term in office. He was nearly unopposed for reelection, carrying every state and receiving every electoral vote cast - with the exception of one, cast by a New Hampshire elector for John Quincy Adams.
1824 - At 66 years old he had no intentions of seeking a third term. In 1825 he turned over the presidency to John Quincy Adams and retired to Oak Hill, his estate in Loudoun County. Plagued by financial worries, he was forced to sell his Ash Lawn estate.
1830 - Monroe's wife died, and he sold Oak Hill and moved to New York City to live with his youngest daughter, Maria and her husband.
1831 - Monroe died on July 4th in New York City on the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He was originally buried in Marble Cemetery in New York, but on April 28, 1858 he was re-interred to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. So, now, back to the Monroe Doctrine. This happened during Monroe's second term as president. The two principles of the Doctrine were noncolonization and nonintervention, which were not new or original, but it was Monroe who explicitly proclaimed them as policy and it was a keystone of foreign policy for many years. I'm glad that we studied it in school and I'm glad that I live not far from where this remarkable person and former U.S. President was born and raised.
His wife, Elizabeth Kortright was born in New York city in 1768. She was the daughter of a British army captain Lawrence Kortright.
Their kids:
Eliza Kortright Monroe (1786-1835) married George Hay of Virginia
James Spence Monroe (1799-1800)
Maria Hester Monroe (1803-1850) married Samuel L. Gouverneur of New York
Read a more comprehensive history of James Monroe here.
Site Location: From Colonial Beach, take Rt. 205 east towards Oak Grove. It will be on your left after about a mile. Look for the "Road to Revolution" sign.
Return from James Monroe Birthplace to Things to Do & See
Return to the Home page
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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2
| 84 |
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/bf6841e0-9a1e-41ea-8c1f-e9003e0fe217/three-presidents-monroe-madison-jefferson/
|
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Three Presidents - Monroe, Madison, Jefferson
|
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2017-12-16T00:00:00
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Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, the third, fourth, and fifth presidents of the United States, collectively led the country for 24 consecutive years. They also lived within 30 miles of each other in Virginia and were best friends. Interviews, as well as archival material, document the lives, homes, politics, and friendships of three presidents.
|
en
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PBS LearningMedia
|
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/bf6841e0-9a1e-41ea-8c1f-e9003e0fe217/three-presidents-monroe-madison-jefferson/
| ||||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
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1
| 45 |
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-monroe
|
en
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James Monroe
|
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Considered the last “Founding Father” president, James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 into an affluent, slave-owning family in Westmoreland County, Virginia....
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WHHA (en-US)
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https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-monroe
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Considered the last “Founding Father” president, James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 into an affluent, slave-owning family in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Spence and Elizabeth Monroe, had aspirations for their eldest son, sending him to nearby Campbelltown Academy. James’ childhood changed dramatically when both of his parents passed away within two years of each other. Joseph Jones, who became a paternal surrogate for the Monroe children, encouraged James to continue his education by attending the College of William & Mary. Monroe enrolled but later left to enlist in the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment. After the war, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright in 1786; the couple had three children together.
In terms of military, political, administrative, and diplomatic experience, James Monroe was one of the most qualified individuals to ascend to the presidency during the nineteenth century. He fought in the American Revolution and was wounded at the Battle of Trenton; served in the legislative bodies of the Virginia General Assembly and the United States Senate, as well as Governor of Virginia; held diplomatic posts across Europe for different administrations; and served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War (briefly acting in both capacities) during the James Madison administration. He also studied law with Thomas Jefferson—in fact, because of his relationship with Jefferson, Monroe purchased land adjacent to Monticello in Albemarle County, calling it Highland. This plantation was one of several properties that Monroe owned during his lifetime—along with over 200 enslaved people who provided the labor to sustain the family, their guests, and the comforts they enjoyed. Some of these individuals accompanied the Monroes to Washington as well, and later the White House. Click here to learn more about the enslaved households of President James Monroe.
In 1803, President Jefferson entrusted Monroe and Robert Livingston to acquire territory from France and secure access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. The men exceeded all expectations, acquiring New Orleans and some 828,000 square miles west of the Mississippi for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase opened up new opportunities for white settlers—often at the expense of Native Americans—and it also created a volatile mix of expansionism and slavery. As the country expanded westward, the issue of permitting slavery in new territories would continue to threaten a fragile Union. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, signed by President Monroe, temporarily defused the situation.
After the War of 1812, the United States experienced the “Era of Good Feelings”—relative political peace, economic growth, and nationalist fervor. President Monroe invigorated this spirit with goodwill tours throughout the country and ensuring that the public buildings at Washington—including the President’s House—were restored after they were destroyed by the British. Working with Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Monroe professed American sovereignty from European nations while asserting a national right of influence over the western hemisphere. This idea, later called the “Monroe Doctrine,” shaped the next century of international relations between the United States and the world, influencing American presidents and policymakers who sought to make the country a global power.
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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/james-monroe
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James Monroe facts and photos
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Learn about the life and achievements of the fifth president of the United States.
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History
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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/james-monroe
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EARLY LIFE
James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, to a wealthy, slave-owning family in Virginia just as people were starting to speak out against Great Britain’s rule over the 13 North American colonies. Both of his parents died when he was a teenager.
At age 17, Monroe raided the local armory, or weapons supply shop, and stole hundreds of weapons to donate to the Virginia military in their fight for independence against Great Britain. He dropped out of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the following year to join the Continental Army and fight in the Revolutionary War.
YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY
Monroe served under the command of General George Washington, rising in rank to major. He crossed the Delaware River with Washington’s troops, was severely wounded during a heroic capture of British cannons in the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey, and spent a bitter winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where thousands of soldiers died because of disease or freezing temperatures.
Near the end of the war Monroe left the army to study law in Thomas Jefferson’s law practice, and later opened his own. He also began his lifelong career of public service. Before being elected president, Monroe served in the Continental Congress, or the group of representatives from the 13 colonies that would eventually become the United States; as a U.S. senator representing Virginia; and as that state’s governor. He also served three of the first four presidents: as Washington’s minister to France, Jefferson’s minister to Great Britain, and secretary of state and secretary of war for James Madison.
ANOTHER VIRGINIAN PRESIDENT
Both Jefferson—the third U.S. president—and his successor, Madison, supported Monroe’s election as the fifth president. Some politicians disagreed and wanted to end the “Virginia Dynasty” of presidents. (Three of the first four presidents had come from Virginia. Eventually seven of the first 12 would be Virginians.) But Monroe’s abilities and experience were more important than where he was born, and he was easily elected in 1816.
THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
The United States underwent major geographic changes during Monroe’s leadership. Five new states joined the nation. (The only other administration to add more—six—was Benjamin Harrison’s single term in office.)
Most important, Monroe and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, came up with a bold strategy for keeping other governments from meddling in the young country. While giving a speech to Congress, Monroe said that the American continents were off-limits for further colonizing by European nations. This declaration came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine. It set the stage for the expansion of the United States westward to the Pacific Ocean during the next 20 years.
Monroe added to his popularity by taking two “goodwill tours” during his time in office. In 1817 he traveled north and west as far as Maine and Michigan. Two years later he headed south to Georgia, went as far west as the Missouri Territory, and traveled back to Washington, D.C., through Kentucky. Thousands of people showed up to hear him speak during both of these tours.
During his first term, a newspaper credited Monroe with bringing the nation an “era of good feelings.” The phrase stuck and Monroe came to be known as the “Era of Good Feelings president.” He ran for reelection for a second term in 1820 and once again won with an overwhelming number of votes.
CRISIS AND COMPROMISE
Monroe’s presidency did have some controversy, though. The greatest debate of his administration was whether Missouri should join the Union as a state that permitted slavery. Politicians argued along their regional lines—the South was for slavery, the North against.
The debate threatened to divide the nation. If Missouri became a slave state, then more states would allow slavery than didn’t. If Missouri were free, then the free states would gain a majority.
In the end, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Since each side in the debate gained one state, lawmakers felt the country’s balance on slavery had been maintained. They also agreed to prohibit slavery north and west of Missouri’s border—for the time being. The “Missouri Crisis” was the first of many fights among the states that would eventually lead to the Civil War.
LASTING LEGACY
After his second term ended in 1825, Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth, retired to Virginia. Their home, called Highland, was located near Jefferson’s home, Monticello, in Albemarle County and was run by some 200 enslaved people. When Elizabeth died in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter Maria and her family. Within the year he died, too on July 4, 1831. It was exactly five years after the death of both Jefferson and President John Adams.
Monroe’s biggest legacy is said to be the Monroe Doctrine, which shaped the next century of international relations between the United States and other nations and helped the United States become one of the most powerful countries in the world.
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http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lost-james-monroe-house-prince-and.html
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Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost James Monroe House
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[
""
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[
"Tom Miller",
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] | null |
63 Prince Street as it appeared in the 1820s. Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, June 1877 (copyright expired) In 1820 Maria Heste...
|
http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/favicon.ico
|
http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lost-james-monroe-house-prince-and.html
| |||||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
2
| 47 |
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/shooter-found-guilty-in-stray-bullet-death-of-college-bound-nyc-teen-basketball-star/5088996/
|
en
|
Shooter found guilty in stray bullet death of college-bound NYC teen basketball star
|
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[] |
[
"Bronx",
"Crime and Courts",
"Gun violence"
] | null |
[
"Myles Miller, NBC New York Staff",
"Myles Miller",
"NBC New York Staff"
] |
2024-01-30T13:30:00
|
Nahjim Luke was convicted on first-degree manslaughter and second-degree weapon possession, the Bronx district attorney's office said. Prosecutors alleged Luke...
|
en
|
NBC New York
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/shooter-found-guilty-in-stray-bullet-death-of-college-bound-nyc-teen-basketball-star/5088996/
|
A Bronx man was found guilty in the shooting death of a 17-year-old high school basketball star and academic standout who was killed after he was shot with a stray bullet at a barbecue.
Nahjim Luke was convicted on first-degree manslaughter and second-degree weapon possession, the Bronx district attorney's office said Monday. The 26-year-old was found guilty of firing the shots that killed Brandon Hendricks, who was killed just days after he graduated from high school and had been set to play college basketball for St. John's University.
Prosecutors alleged Luke fired shots at a group of people who had gathered for a barbecue on Davidson Avenue the evening of June 28, with one of the bullets striking Hendricks in the back. He was pronounced dead at a hospital less than an hour later.
Luke immediately fled the scene and was taken into custody about a week later, authorities previously said. He faces up to 25 years in prison.
Attorney information for Luke was not immediately clear.
Hendricks had graduated from James Monroe High School earlier in the month. He was a point guard for the Eagles, helping them make the playoffs his final season before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted athletics programs. His social media accounts showed a deep love for the game, full of highlight videos and reports of peers going on to college offers.
A senior NYPD official said Hendricks had never had any interactions with the police in his young life. His family and friends were left reeling after his death -- and wondering for whom the deadly bullet had been intended in the first place.
|
|||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 48 |
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-james-monroe/3767612.html
|
en
|
James Monroe: Likeable
|
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[
"Lessons of the Day",
"U.S. History",
"America's Presidents"
] | null |
[
"VOA Learning English"
] |
2023-03-25T21:58:10+00:00
|
James Monroe easily won election in 1816. He had a relaxed, likeable personality and was popular with voters. In addition, many saw him as a last connection to the country’s founding generation.
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en
|
/Content/responsive/VOA/img/webApp/favicon.svg
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Voice of America
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https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-james-monroe/3767612.html
|
VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.
James Monroe easily won election in 1816. He had a relaxed, likeable personality and was popular with voters. In addition, many saw him as a last connection to the country’s founding generation.
Monroe had fought in George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War against British rule.
He was a diplomat during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency and helped complete the Louisiana Purchase.
Monroe served as James Madison’s secretary of state — and briefly as his secretary of war, as well – during the War of 1812.
Voters’ positive feelings carried Monroe into office and defined his presidency.
Era of Good Feelings
When Monroe became president, the United States had just declared victory against British forces in the War of 1812. The American economy also was doing well, at least at first. And the government was mostly united under a single party.
But Monroe did have one immediate problem: He and his wife, Elizabeth, could not move into the president’s house right away. The British had burned it badly in an attack on Washington, D.C. Workers were busy making repairs.
So, Monroe decided to go on a trip. He spent the first weeks of his presidency traveling.
He went north into New England, visiting important places from the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Everywhere he went he reminded Americans of their shared, proud history. He even wore clothes in the old colonial style. One of Monroe’s nicknames is “the last of the cocked hats.”
Then President Monroe turned west, toward lands that white migrants were increasingly settling. They were able to move west in part because American soldiers had defeated a powerful alliance of Native American tribes.
What had been a victory for the U.S. government was a crushing loss for Native Americans. Many tribes moved farther west. Others began to lose their languages and their customs as white settlers took control.
For Monroe, however, the visit west was a positive sign of the country’s expansion.
By the time he returned to Washington, Monroe had met many Americans. He had learned for himself the geography of the country. And he had demonstrated that all parts of the U.S. could be connected by patriotism and a common federal government.
One newspaper called Monroe’s presidency the beginning of an “Era of Good Feelings.”
Four years later, Monroe won a second term even more easily than his first.
The Missouri Compromise
Yet James Monroe’s presidency had several crises.
One was the country’s first economic depression in more than 30 years.
Another was over slavery. The country had been divided over the issue since its founding. By the end of 1819, eleven states, all in the South, permitted slavery. Eleven states, all in the North, did not.
The question became: Would the new states in the West permit it?
Monroe had to face the question when settlers asked Congress permission for Missouri Territory to become a state. Many enslaved people already lived there. White settlers expected to bring more.
But a member of Congress from a Northern state proposed that Missouri could become a state only if it banned slavery. That proposal started a debate that lasted more than a year.
For the most part, the debate was not based on the moral problems with people owning other people. Instead, it involved economic and political concerns.
Northerners argued that slave-holding states had an unfair economic advantage. In addition, if Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, its lawmakers would move the balance of power toward the South.
The debate continued so long that another area asked to enter the Union. People in northern Massachusetts wanted to organize into an independent state called Maine.
After some time, lawmakers offered a compromise. They said Maine could be admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. But they also made a line across a map of the country. They said Congress would not admit another slave state north of that line.
James Monroe signed into law what became known as the Missouri Compromise. It settled the issue of slavery, at least officially, in the U.S. for more than 20 years. But everyone knew that the peace between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups was only temporary.
The Monroe Doctrine
In 1823, Monroe made one of the most important foreign policy decisions in American history. It became known as the Monroe Doctrine. It related to Spain’s colonies in Latin America.
Monroe had dealt with Spain before. In his first term, he and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, successfully negotiated with Spain to buy Florida for the United States.
By Monroe’s second term, Spain had also lost control of some of its former colonies in Latin America. The president became concerned that Spain’s European allies would try to help the country re-gain power. He did not want European powers interfering in areas so close to U.S. territory and so important to U.S. trade.
So Monroe gave a speech to Congress. He said the U.S. would stay out of Europe’s affairs. But he said Europe should also stay out of Latin America’s affairs.
And, Monroe declared that European powers would not be permitted to begin colonizing any area in the Western Hemisphere.
In other words, Monroe declared that the U.S. considered the entire Western Hemisphere its sphere of influence.
Historians note that Monroe did not aim for the declaration to be a major statement. But it became a base of American foreign policy and supported U.S. expansion throughout the 19th century.
Final years
James Monroe was the fourth and last president in the “Virginia Dynasty.” Except for John Adams, four of the first five American presidents were from Virginia.
Monroe and his wife returned to their home there after he left office. They had a close relationship with each other, as well as with their two surviving children, both daughters.
Unlike many politicians of his time, Monroe had brought his family with him on his travels. He also believed strongly in education for girls. When the Monroes lived in France, young Eliza Monroe attended the best school for girls in Paris.
This loving family spent as much time together as possible. So, when Elizabeth Monroe died, James Monroe was filled with sorrow. His health also began to fail.
He moved to the house of his younger daughter, Maria, in New York City. James Monroe died there one year later, at age 73.
Like two other former presidents, Monroe died on the 4th of July – America’s birthday.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
See how well you understand the story of the fifth president by taking this listening quiz. Play each video and then choose the best answer.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
relaxed - adj. informal and comfortable
positive - adj. hopeful and optimistic
remind - v. make someone think about something again
geography - n. the natural features of a place
advantage - n. a condition that helps to make something better or more likely to succeed than others
affair - n. a matter that concerns or involves someone
sphere of influence - n. an area of control or activity
|
||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 7 |
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-monroe-hollywood-cemetery-july-4-2024
|
en
|
How James Monroe's body ended up buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery
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"Chesterfield County",
"Virginia",
"Henrico County",
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"Virginia",
"Richmond",
"Richmond",
"Virginia"
] | null |
[
"WTVR CBS 6 Web Staff"
] |
2024-07-04T12:53:07-04:00
|
Tucked inside of the rolling hills and views of the James River lies a tomb that holds the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR
|
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-monroe-hollywood-cemetery-july-4-2024
|
RICHMOND, Va. -- When you think of a cemetery, the word "beautiful" might not be the first that comes to mind. But that's exactly what describes the Hollywood Cemetery.
And tucked inside of the rolling hills and views of the James River lies a tomb that holds the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.
But how he ended up in the heart of Richmond is a tale worthy of knowing.
Born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, James Monroe was one of the founding fathers of the United States as well as a two term Governor of the Commonwealth.
However, following his time at the White House, Monroe fell on hard times financially and would be forced to sell his Virginia home.
Then in 1830, Monroe's wife, Elizabeth, would die leaving the former president a widower.
Monroe would then move to his daughter's home in New York City prior to his death on July 4, 1831. (He is the third and final president to die on the fourth of July)
But his body would only remain in its New York resting place for 27 years.
In 1858, Virginia's General Assembly would approve $2,000 in appropriations to exhume Monroe's body and move it to a final resting place in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
Virginia's Governor at the time, Henry Alexander Wise, would launch the plan of "bring Monroe home."
Wise, who would lead Virginia through secession in 1861 was driven by Virginia pride to have bodies of Virginia presidents buried in Richmond.
Wise at the time had hoped to have Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all buried side by side in Hollywood Cemetery. But the Jefferson and Madison families would decline.
It was on July 2, 1858 that Monroe's body would be exhumed and put on viewing in front of an estimated crowd of ten thousand spectators.
His body would then be loaded onto a steamboat named 'Jamestown' and shipped to Richmond.
Once here in the River City, Monroe's body was once again buried this time surrounded by a cast iron tomb made in Philadelphia.
While Governor Wise's dream of Hollywood Cemetery recognizing Virginia's contributions to the nation may not have come to fruition his mark on its history remains.
In 1876, Governor Wise would die and be buried in Hollywood Cemetery about 100 yards away from Monroe's grave.
|
||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
2
| 51 |
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/adams-v-jackson-election-1824
|
en
|
Adams v. Jackson: The Election of 1824
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[
"Adams v. Jackson: The Election of 1824 | | James Monroe’s two terms in office as president of the United States (1817–1825) are often called the \"Era of Good Feelings.\" The country appeared to have entered a period of strength",
"unity of purpose",
"and one-party government with the end of the War of 1812 and the decay and eventual disappearance of Federalism in the wake of Alexander Hamilton’s death. Thomas Jefferson",
"living his final years in retirement at Monticello",
"might well have taken satisfaction in 1824 at the total dominance of Republicanism",
"or the Democratic-Republican Party",
"in American political life. Every major candidate for public office designated himself a Republican and derided factionalism. But the \"good feelings\" were illusory. Beneath the veneer of unity seethed a bubbling cauldron of factionalism and political rivalry that",
"in the upcoming presidential election",
"would put the less-than-fifty-year-old United States to a severe test. This was a transitional period in American politics",
"made evident in the selection of presidential candidates in 1824. No system for nominating candidates had developed. The caucus system was in decline as the electorate grew",
"and essentially any party or group could nominate a candidate for the presidency. Some candidates",
"such as Andrew Jackson",
"were nominated almost simultaneously by different groups in different places. Nor was there anything like today’s presidential campaigns. Candidates did not tramp the countryside giving speeches or offer well-defined platforms. More often they sparred through the press or through local supporters. Campaigning by press and proxy encouraged the politics of insinuation and slander. Journalists and political cronies could trumpet the most scurrilous accusations against their opponents while the candidates themselves stood serenely above the dirty fray. Forged documents and outrageous rumors were disseminated to destroy reputations; reports even hit the press in 1824 that John Quincy Adams",
"one of the major candidates",
"didn’t wear underclothes and went to church barefoot![1] The focus on personalities did not",
"however",
"wholly obscure issues of substance. Candidates",
"voters",
"and electors all had serious views on issues such as government spending and corruption in public life. As politicians and their supporters jockeyed for position in 1824",
"four major candidates for the presidency came to the fore. Of them",
"none craved victory more than Henry Clay (1777–1852). Born in Virginia but now hailing from Kentucky",
"where he rivaled Andrew Jackson for the role of \"candidate of the West",
"\" Clay had served since 1811 as Speaker of the House of Representatives. But he had no intention of stopping there. Though Clay had failed to displace his rival John Quincy Adams as Monroe’s secretary of state",
"the office that was traditionally regarded as the last step before the presidency",
"he determined to run for president in 1824. Clay advocated what he called the \"American System",
"\" an economic policy of internal improvements for transportation and agriculture funded by taxation; a protectionist tariff on behalf of American industry; and preservation of a national bank. Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) competed with Clay for support in the West",
"but lacked his opponent’s political experience. Jackson had served briefly as a judge",
"governor of the Florida Territory",
"and member of the House of Representatives",
"and was in 1824 a US senator; but his public service had been undistinguished on the whole. Feisty and charismatic",
"he attracted supporters as a military hero and supposed advocate of the common man",
"but repelled others who regarded him as an ignorant frontiersman and opportunist who sought dictatorial power. Both supporters and detractors could agree on one thing: Jackson had a vicious temper",
"and woe to the man who crossed him. Although he lacked a well-defined political platform—he supported a somewhat more moderate version of Clay’s American System—Jackson garnered wide support in Pennsylvania and in the South and West. William H. Crawford of Georgia (1772–1834) represented a small group known as Old Republicans or Radicals. Passionate advocates of states’ rights who considered themselves true Jeffersonians",
"the Radicals strongly distrusted the central government and argued for limited budgets and against protective tariffs. They were therefore violently opposed to Clay’s American System. Despite his hardline platform",
"Crawford usually was affable and easygoing enough",
"although he sometimes betrayed a temper every bit as violent as Jackson’s. While secretary of the Treasury under Monroe",
"Crawford had reputedly brandished his cane angrily at the President",
"who had responded by snatching up a pair of fire tongs and driving Crawford out of the White House. He was popular in Congress despite his reputation for being politically unscrupulous. Unfortunately",
"Crawford had suffered a debilitating stroke in September 1823",
"and his attending physicians then brought him to death’s door by bleeding him mercilessly. Despite his physical weakness",
"Crawford refused to abandon his candidacy. On paper",
"no candidate was more qualified for the presidency than John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts (1767–1848). Son of the second president of the United States",
"Adams had studied at Harvard and served under James Madison as US minister to Russia. After his recall in 1814",
"he played a major role in crafting and negotiating the Treaty of Ghent",
"which ended the War of 1812. Adams had reached his political pinnacle as secretary of state under Monroe",
"helping to shape the Monroe Doctrine",
"and he seemed destined for the presidency. Adams lacked only one ingredient for success: charisma. Bald",
"short",
"and rotund (despite being an avid swimmer)",
"he felt most comfortable among books and struck others as dour and stand-offish. Among intellectuals or when inspired by a topic of interest—such as slavery",
"which he firmly opposed—Adams sometimes let down his guard; and when he had imbibed enough wine",
"he became positively loquacious. A part of him always yearned to leave politics and become a professor or professional man of letters",
"but his strong sense of duty held him back. A workaholic",
"Adams took pride in devoting himself thoroughly to his public duties. The Adams platform closely approximated Clay’s American System",
"with its spending on internal improvements and a tariff. Adams tried to stay aloof from partisan politics",
"though",
"believing that his record of service should be sufficient inducement for votes. Above all",
"Adams loathed the gutter tactics employed by his opponents and their supporters. Like George Washington",
"he felt it beneath him to angle openly for office. Adams responded to frustrated supporters of his candidacy by quoting a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: \"If chance will have me king",
"why",
"chance may crown me",
"/ Without my stir.\"[2] All of which is not to say that Adams lacked ambition: his pursuit of the presidency was driven by his desire to live up to the family name; a semi-Messianic feeling that he was a man of destiny who could benefit mankind; and a genuine fear of what would happen to the country if any of his detested opponents won the presidency. There was no single election day in 1824. Instead",
"votes accumulated through the autumn as voters cast ballots for individuals or slates of electors who typically pledged to support a certain candidate in the Electoral College. In six states—Delaware",
"Georgia",
"Louisiana",
"New York",
"South Carolina",
"and Vermont—legislatures chose the electors",
"while elsewhere they were chosen by popular vote. Some electors were not even pledged to a specific candidate",
"while others were pledged but subsequently changed their minds. The results of the voting exposed the fragmented nature of American politics despite the appearance of unity and heralded a full-fledged political crisis. Among the four major candidates",
"Jackson won 99 electoral and 152",
"901 popular votes; Adams won 84 electoral and 114",
"023 popular votes; Crawford won 41 electoral and 46",
"979 popular votes; and poor Henry Clay trailed the field with 37 electoral votes even though he had received 47",
"217 popular votes. Since none of the four held an actual majority",
"by the terms of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution",
"the House of Representatives would have to choose among the three candidates with the most electoral votes: Jackson",
"Adams",
"and Crawford. The results were especially galling to Clay",
"since by a narrow margin he had missed having a chance at election through the House of Representatives",
"where his enormous influence as Speaker might have made the difference. Even so",
"he remained in an important position—not quite as kingmaker",
"but still having a critical role in swaying the balance of power. Another man in a position of influence was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina (1782–1850)",
"who served as secretary of war under Monroe. Calhoun had originally sought the presidency",
"but when his candidacy failed to gain traction he entered the race for vice president and won easily (unlike today",
"that office was filled by separate election). Calhoun hesitated. He did not feel entirely comfortable with either Jackson or Adams; but on the other hand",
"he and Crawford absolutely loathed each other. Crawford’s Radicals suspected that Calhoun was a secret Jackson man",
"however; and that alone was sufficient to convince them not to support the colorful Tennessean and guarantee his victory as they might otherwise have done. Instead",
"the Radicals decided to hold out against both Jackson and Adams in what they expected to be a protracted balloting process in the House of Representatives. In preventing either of the two main candidates from winning",
"they hoped to force the House to choose Crawford as a third option. A period of furious lobbying and canvassing for votes gripped the House during the autumn and early winter of 1824–1825 as state representatives measured the candidates. Meanwhile the Marquis de Lafayette",
"hero of the Revolutionary War",
"embarked on his tour of the United States and brought a nostalgic tone to Washington politics. Lafayette and Jackson entered into a genial and public correspondence that benefited the Tennessean’s standing. In the public eye",
"Jackson absorbed some of the Frenchman’s aura of Revolutionary heroism",
"setting him further apart from the cynical Crawford and the dyspeptic Adams. On January 8",
"1825",
"Clay",
"as a member of the House",
"transformed the character of the debate by officially throwing his support behind Adams despite nonbinding instructions from the Kentucky legislature to back Jackson. Clay announced his decision publicly two weeks later. The declaration was not unexpected and was easily justifiable in terms of policy. Adams and Clay agreed on the fundamentals of the American System",
"to which Crawford was unalterably opposed. Clay also thought Crawford’s physical debility should preclude him from the presidency. And while Clay did not lack regard for Jackson",
"he thought Old Hickory insufficiently experienced for such high public office. Moreover",
"since Clay and Jackson competed for support in the West",
"a combination with Adams seemed more calculated to vault Clay",
"in 1828 or 1832",
"into the presidential office he craved. Rumors flew",
"however",
"that Adams had made some underhanded deal to secure Clay’s support. If Adams won",
"his subsequent treatment of Clay would be closely watched. Snow blanketed Washington on February 9",
"1825",
"as the House of Representatives convened to choose the president for the first time since 1801. Up to the last moment delegates scurried back and forth across the chambers for hurried conferences",
"and Clay had to call for order as the polling began. Each state then cast a ballot that was determined by its delegation",
"with a majority of ballots being required for election. There were several important \"battleground states.\" Daniel Webster of Massachusetts (1782–1852) played a vital role in bringing Maryland over to Adams; and Clay helped to entice Kentucky",
"Ohio",
"and Louisiana away from Jackson and to the secretary of state. Missouri’s vote",
"determined by a single delegate",
"was essentially bought for Adams",
"who promised to maintain the delegate’s brother in judicial office. No state was more important than New York",
"however",
"where the delegates remained deadlocked between Adams and Crawford. One man",
"Stephen Van Rensselaer",
"held the balance that would turn the vote either way",
"and he nearly broke down under the pressure of making his decision. Deeply religious",
"Van Rensselaer bowed his head to pray and",
"upon looking up",
"saw a ballot for Adams lying on the floor before him. That evidently made up his mind—or so the story went—and with New York in the Adams camp the final piece fell into place. On the first and only ballot",
"Adams won a clear majority of thirteen states against seven for Jackson and four for Crawford. The Radicals’ hopes of preventing a quick decision thus failed disastrously while Jackson",
"who had seemed to hold the inside track after winning the popular majority",
"found himself empty-handed. Learning of his son’s election",
"old John Adams sent him a note invoking \"the blessing of God Almighty\" on his presidency.[3] Jackson at first accepted the news of John Quincy Adams’s election with good grace",
"and even greeted the incoming president cordially at a reception given by Monroe on the night of the election. Unfortunately for Adams",
"it all went downhill from there. His decision to appoint Clay secretary of state seemed to confirm rumors that the two men had struck a deal",
"and cries of a \"corrupt bargain\" flew around the country. Jackson",
"meanwhile",
"returned to Tennessee but grew increasingly convinced that he had been cheated. Proclaiming that \"the Judas of the West [Clay] has closed the contract and will receive the thirty pieces of silver",
"\" Jackson declared his undying enmity to the new regime.[4] Instead of seeking allies",
"the stubborn Adams only incited the growing political combination against him by refusing to conciliate Crawford and his Radicals",
"pushing immediately for an aggressive program of public works that drove them into the Jackson camp. Calhoun and his followers likewise aligned themselves with Jackson. In a twinkling",
"Adams found himself surrounded by an increasingly well-organized political party determined to obstruct his policies and make him a one-term president. Clay would later rue his decision to accept the secretary of state’s office as political suicide",
"for he never again came within a sniff of the presidency. John Quincy Adams’s victory in the election of 1824 would turn to bitter gall. Subject to savage political attacks and blocked at every turn by an obstructionist Congress and vindictive political enemies",
"he grew increasingly bitter as his presidency stagnated. He sought reelection in 1828 out of sheer stubbornness",
"but fully expected and even looked forward to losing to Jackson—which he did. Adams’s subsequent career as a Massachusetts delegate in the House of Representatives would be serene compared to the ordeal of the election of 1824 and its aftermath. [1] Samuel Flagg Bemis",
"John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf",
"1965)",
"25. [2] Bemis",
"John Quincy Adams",
"20. [3] Paul C. Nagel",
"John Quincy Adams: A Public Life",
"a Private Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf",
"1997)",
"297. [4] Robert V. Remini",
"The Life of Andrew Jackson (New York: Harper & Row",
"1988)",
"155. Edward G. Lengel is Professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Papers of George Washington project at the University of Virginia. His books include Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder in Myth and Memory (2011); This Glorious Struggle: George Washington’s Revolutionary War Letters (2008); and General George Washington: A Military Life (2005). Suggested Resources Professor Lengel recommends the following books to learn more about the election of 1824 and the main players: Bemis",
"Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Union. New York: Alfred A. Knopf",
"1965. Heidler",
"David S.",
"and Jeanne T. Heidler. Henry Clay: The Essential American. New York: Random House",
"2010. Mooney",
"Chase C. William H. Crawford",
"1772–1834. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky",
"1974. Nagel",
"Paul C. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life",
"a Private Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf",
"1997. Remini",
"Robert V. The Life of Andrew Jackson. New York: Harper & Row",
"1988."
] | null |
[
"Edward G. Lengel"
] | null |
Adams v. Jackson: The Election of 1824 | | James Monroe’s two terms in office as president of the United States (1817–1825) are often called the "Era of Good Feelings." The country appeared to have entered a period of strength, unity of purpose, and one-party government with the end of the War of 1812 and the decay and eventual disappearance of Federalism in the wake of Alexander Hamilton’s death. Thomas Jefferson, living his final years in retirement at Monticello, might well have taken satisfaction in 1824 at the total dominance of Republicanism, or the Democratic-Republican Party, in American political life. Every major candidate for public office designated himself a Republican and derided factionalism. But the "good feelings" were illusory. Beneath the veneer of unity seethed a bubbling cauldron of factionalism and political rivalry that, in the upcoming presidential election, would put the less-than-fifty-year-old United States to a severe test. This was a transitional period in American politics, made evident in the selection of presidential candidates in 1824. No system for nominating candidates had developed. The caucus system was in decline as the electorate grew, and essentially any party or group could nominate a candidate for the presidency. Some candidates, such as Andrew Jackson, were nominated almost simultaneously by different groups in different places. Nor was there anything like today’s presidential campaigns. Candidates did not tramp the countryside giving speeches or offer well-defined platforms. More often they sparred through the press or through local supporters. Campaigning by press and proxy encouraged the politics of insinuation and slander. Journalists and political cronies could trumpet the most scurrilous accusations against their opponents while the candidates themselves stood serenely above the dirty fray. Forged documents and outrageous rumors were disseminated to destroy reputations; reports even hit the press in 1824 that John Quincy Adams, one of the major candidates, didn’t wear underclothes and went to church barefoot![1] The focus on personalities did not, however, wholly obscure issues of substance. Candidates, voters, and electors all had serious views on issues such as government spending and corruption in public life. As politicians and their supporters jockeyed for position in 1824, four major candidates for the presidency came to the fore. Of them, none craved victory more than Henry Clay (1777–1852). Born in Virginia but now hailing from Kentucky, where he rivaled Andrew Jackson for the role of "candidate of the West," Clay had served since 1811 as Speaker of the House of Representatives. But he had no intention of stopping there. Though Clay had failed to displace his rival John Quincy Adams as Monroe’s secretary of state, the office that was traditionally regarded as the last step before the presidency, he determined to run for president in 1824. Clay advocated what he called the "American System," an economic policy of internal improvements for transportation and agriculture funded by taxation; a protectionist tariff on behalf of American industry; and preservation of a national bank. Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) competed with Clay for support in the West, but lacked his opponent’s political experience. Jackson had served briefly as a judge, governor of the Florida Territory, and member of the House of Representatives, and was in 1824 a US senator; but his public service had been undistinguished on the whole. Feisty and charismatic, he attracted supporters as a military hero and supposed advocate of the common man, but repelled others who regarded him as an ignorant frontiersman and opportunist who sought dictatorial power. Both supporters and detractors could agree on one thing: Jackson had a vicious temper, and woe to the man who crossed him. Although he lacked a well-defined political platform—he supported a somewhat more moderate version of Clay’s American System—Jackson garnered wide support in Pennsylvania and in the South and West. William H. Crawford of Georgia (1772–1834) represented a small group known as Old Republicans or Radicals. Passionate advocates of states’ rights who considered themselves true Jeffersonians, the Radicals strongly distrusted the central government and argued for limited budgets and against protective tariffs. They were therefore violently opposed to Clay’s American System. Despite his hardline platform, Crawford usually was affable and easygoing enough, although he sometimes betrayed a temper every bit as violent as Jackson’s. While secretary of the Treasury under Monroe, Crawford had reputedly brandished his cane angrily at the President, who had responded by snatching up a pair of fire tongs and driving Crawford out of the White House. He was popular in Congress despite his reputation for being politically unscrupulous. Unfortunately, Crawford had suffered a debilitating stroke in September 1823, and his attending physicians then brought him to death’s door by bleeding him mercilessly. Despite his physical weakness, Crawford refused to abandon his candidacy. On paper, no candidate was more qualified for the presidency than John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts (1767–1848). Son of the second president of the United States, Adams had studied at Harvard and served under James Madison as US minister to Russia. After his recall in 1814, he played a major role in crafting and negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. Adams had reached his political pinnacle as secretary of state under Monroe, helping to shape the Monroe Doctrine, and he seemed destined for the presidency. Adams lacked only one ingredient for success: charisma. Bald, short, and rotund (despite being an avid swimmer), he felt most comfortable among books and struck others as dour and stand-offish. Among intellectuals or when inspired by a topic of interest—such as slavery, which he firmly opposed—Adams sometimes let down his guard; and when he had imbibed enough wine, he became positively loquacious. A part of him always yearned to leave politics and become a professor or professional man of letters, but his strong sense of duty held him back. A workaholic, Adams took pride in devoting himself thoroughly to his public duties. The Adams platform closely approximated Clay’s American System, with its spending on internal improvements and a tariff. Adams tried to stay aloof from partisan politics, though, believing that his record of service should be sufficient inducement for votes. Above all, Adams loathed the gutter tactics employed by his opponents and their supporters. Like George Washington, he felt it beneath him to angle openly for office. Adams responded to frustrated supporters of his candidacy by quoting a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, / Without my stir."[2] All of which is not to say that Adams lacked ambition: his pursuit of the presidency was driven by his desire to live up to the family name; a semi-Messianic feeling that he was a man of destiny who could benefit mankind; and a genuine fear of what would happen to the country if any of his detested opponents won the presidency. There was no single election day in 1824. Instead, votes accumulated through the autumn as voters cast ballots for individuals or slates of electors who typically pledged to support a certain candidate in the Electoral College. In six states—Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, South Carolina, and Vermont—legislatures chose the electors, while elsewhere they were chosen by popular vote. Some electors were not even pledged to a specific candidate, while others were pledged but subsequently changed their minds. The results of the voting exposed the fragmented nature of American politics despite the appearance of unity and heralded a full-fledged political crisis. Among the four major candidates, Jackson won 99 electoral and 152,901 popular votes; Adams won 84 electoral and 114,023 popular votes; Crawford won 41 electoral and 46,979 popular votes; and poor Henry Clay trailed the field with 37 electoral votes even though he had received 47,217 popular votes. Since none of the four held an actual majority, by the terms of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, the House of Representatives would have to choose among the three candidates with the most electoral votes: Jackson, Adams, and Crawford. The results were especially galling to Clay, since by a narrow margin he had missed having a chance at election through the House of Representatives, where his enormous influence as Speaker might have made the difference. Even so, he remained in an important position—not quite as kingmaker, but still having a critical role in swaying the balance of power. Another man in a position of influence was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina (1782–1850), who served as secretary of war under Monroe. Calhoun had originally sought the presidency, but when his candidacy failed to gain traction he entered the race for vice president and won easily (unlike today, that office was filled by separate election). Calhoun hesitated. He did not feel entirely comfortable with either Jackson or Adams; but on the other hand, he and Crawford absolutely loathed each other. Crawford’s Radicals suspected that Calhoun was a secret Jackson man, however; and that alone was sufficient to convince them not to support the colorful Tennessean and guarantee his victory as they might otherwise have done. Instead, the Radicals decided to hold out against both Jackson and Adams in what they expected to be a protracted balloting process in the House of Representatives. In preventing either of the two main candidates from winning, they hoped to force the House to choose Crawford as a third option. A period of furious lobbying and canvassing for votes gripped the House during the autumn and early winter of 1824–1825 as state representatives measured the candidates. Meanwhile the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the Revolutionary War, embarked on his tour of the United States and brought a nostalgic tone to Washington politics. Lafayette and Jackson entered into a genial and public correspondence that benefited the Tennessean’s standing. In the public eye, Jackson absorbed some of the Frenchman’s aura of Revolutionary heroism, setting him further apart from the cynical Crawford and the dyspeptic Adams. On January 8, 1825, Clay, as a member of the House, transformed the character of the debate by officially throwing his support behind Adams despite nonbinding instructions from the Kentucky legislature to back Jackson. Clay announced his decision publicly two weeks later. The declaration was not unexpected and was easily justifiable in terms of policy. Adams and Clay agreed on the fundamentals of the American System, to which Crawford was unalterably opposed. Clay also thought Crawford’s physical debility should preclude him from the presidency. And while Clay did not lack regard for Jackson, he thought Old Hickory insufficiently experienced for such high public office. Moreover, since Clay and Jackson competed for support in the West, a combination with Adams seemed more calculated to vault Clay, in 1828 or 1832, into the presidential office he craved. Rumors flew, however, that Adams had made some underhanded deal to secure Clay’s support. If Adams won, his subsequent treatment of Clay would be closely watched. Snow blanketed Washington on February 9, 1825, as the House of Representatives convened to choose the president for the first time since 1801. Up to the last moment delegates scurried back and forth across the chambers for hurried conferences, and Clay had to call for order as the polling began. Each state then cast a ballot that was determined by its delegation, with a majority of ballots being required for election. There were several important "battleground states." Daniel Webster of Massachusetts (1782–1852) played a vital role in bringing Maryland over to Adams; and Clay helped to entice Kentucky, Ohio, and Louisiana away from Jackson and to the secretary of state. Missouri’s vote, determined by a single delegate, was essentially bought for Adams, who promised to maintain the delegate’s brother in judicial office. No state was more important than New York, however, where the delegates remained deadlocked between Adams and Crawford. One man, Stephen Van Rensselaer, held the balance that would turn the vote either way, and he nearly broke down under the pressure of making his decision. Deeply religious, Van Rensselaer bowed his head to pray and, upon looking up, saw a ballot for Adams lying on the floor before him. That evidently made up his mind—or so the story went—and with New York in the Adams camp the final piece fell into place. On the first and only ballot, Adams won a clear majority of thirteen states against seven for Jackson and four for Crawford. The Radicals’ hopes of preventing a quick decision thus failed disastrously while Jackson, who had seemed to hold the inside track after winning the popular majority, found himself empty-handed. Learning of his son’s election, old John Adams sent him a note invoking "the blessing of God Almighty" on his presidency.[3] Jackson at first accepted the news of John Quincy Adams’s election with good grace, and even greeted the incoming president cordially at a reception given by Monroe on the night of the election. Unfortunately for Adams, it all went downhill from there. His decision to appoint Clay secretary of state seemed to confirm rumors that the two men had struck a deal, and cries of a "corrupt bargain" flew around the country. Jackson, meanwhile, returned to Tennessee but grew increasingly convinced that he had been cheated. Proclaiming that "the Judas of the West [Clay] has closed the contract and will receive the thirty pieces of silver," Jackson declared his undying enmity to the new regime.[4] Instead of seeking allies, the stubborn Adams only incited the growing political combination against him by refusing to conciliate Crawford and his Radicals, pushing immediately for an aggressive program of public works that drove them into the Jackson camp. Calhoun and his followers likewise aligned themselves with Jackson. In a twinkling, Adams found himself surrounded by an increasingly well-organized political party determined to obstruct his policies and make him a one-term president. Clay would later rue his decision to accept the secretary of state’s office as political suicide, for he never again came within a sniff of the presidency. John Quincy Adams’s victory in the election of 1824 would turn to bitter gall. Subject to savage political attacks and blocked at every turn by an obstructionist Congress and vindictive political enemies, he grew increasingly bitter as his presidency stagnated. He sought reelection in 1828 out of sheer stubbornness, but fully expected and even looked forward to losing to Jackson—which he did. Adams’s subsequent career as a Massachusetts delegate in the House of Representatives would be serene compared to the ordeal of the election of 1824 and its aftermath. [1] Samuel Flagg Bemis, John Quincy Adams and the Union (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965), 25. [2] Bemis, John Quincy Adams, 20. [3] Paul C. Nagel, John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997), 297. [4] Robert V. Remini, The Life of Andrew Jackson (New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 155. Edward G. Lengel is Professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Papers of George Washington project at the University of Virginia. His books include Inventing George Washington: America’s Founder in Myth and Memory (2011); This Glorious Struggle: George Washington’s Revolutionary War Letters (2008); and General George Washington: A Military Life (2005). Suggested Resources Professor Lengel recommends the following books to learn more about the election of 1824 and the main players: Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Union. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965. Heidler, David S., and Jeanne T. Heidler. Henry Clay: The Essential American. New York: Random House, 2010. Mooney, Chase C. William H. Crawford, 1772–1834. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1974. Nagel, Paul C. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. Remini, Robert V. The Life of Andrew Jackson. New York: Harper & Row, 1988.
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James Monroe’s two terms in office as president of the United States (1817–1825) are often called the "Era of Good Feelings." The country appeared to have entered a period of strength, unity of purpose, and one-party government with the end of the War of 1812 and the decay and eventual disappearance of Federalism in the wake of Alexander Hamilton’s death.
Thomas Jefferson, living his final years in retirement at Monticello, might well have taken satisfaction in 1824 at the total dominance of Republicanism, or the Democratic-Republican Party, in American political life. Every major candidate for public office designated himself a Republican and derided factionalism. But the "good feelings" were illusory. Beneath the veneer of unity seethed a bubbling cauldron of factionalism and political rivalry that, in the upcoming presidential election, would put the less-than-fifty-year-old United States to a severe test.
This was a transitional period in American politics, made evident in the selection of presidential candidates in 1824. No system for nominating candidates had developed. The caucus system was in decline as the electorate grew, and essentially any party or group could nominate a candidate for the presidency. Some candidates, such as Andrew Jackson, were nominated almost simultaneously by different groups in different places. Nor was there anything like today’s presidential campaigns. Candidates did not tramp the countryside giving speeches or offer well-defined platforms. More often they sparred through the press or through local supporters.
Campaigning by press and proxy encouraged the politics of insinuation and slander. Journalists and political cronies could trumpet the most scurrilous accusations against their opponents while the candidates themselves stood serenely above the dirty fray. Forged documents and outrageous rumors were disseminated to destroy reputations; reports even hit the press in 1824 that John Quincy Adams, one of the major candidates, didn’t wear underclothes and went to church barefoot![1] The focus on personalities did not, however, wholly obscure issues of substance. Candidates, voters, and electors all had serious views on issues such as government spending and corruption in public life.
As politicians and their supporters jockeyed for position in 1824, four major candidates for the presidency came to the fore. Of them, none craved victory more than Henry Clay (1777–1852). Born in Virginia but now hailing from Kentucky, where he rivaled Andrew Jackson for the role of "candidate of the West," Clay had served since 1811 as Speaker of the House of Representatives. But he had no intention of stopping there. Though Clay had failed to displace his rival John Quincy Adams as Monroe’s secretary of state, the office that was traditionally regarded as the last step before the presidency, he determined to run for president in 1824. Clay advocated what he called the "American System," an economic policy of internal improvements for transportation and agriculture funded by taxation; a protectionist tariff on behalf of American industry; and preservation of a national bank.
Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) competed with Clay for support in the West, but lacked his opponent’s political experience. Jackson had served briefly as a judge, governor of the Florida Territory, and member of the House of Representatives, and was in 1824 a US senator; but his public service had been undistinguished on the whole. Feisty and charismatic, he attracted supporters as a military hero and supposed advocate of the common man, but repelled others who regarded him as an ignorant frontiersman and opportunist who sought dictatorial power. Both supporters and detractors could agree on one thing: Jackson had a vicious temper, and woe to the man who crossed him. Although he lacked a well-defined political platform—he supported a somewhat more moderate version of Clay’s American System—Jackson garnered wide support in Pennsylvania and in the South and West.
William H. Crawford of Georgia (1772–1834) represented a small group known as Old Republicans or Radicals. Passionate advocates of states’ rights who considered themselves true Jeffersonians, the Radicals strongly distrusted the central government and argued for limited budgets and against protective tariffs. They were therefore violently opposed to Clay’s American System. Despite his hardline platform, Crawford usually was affable and easygoing enough, although he sometimes betrayed a temper every bit as violent as Jackson’s. While secretary of the Treasury under Monroe, Crawford had reputedly brandished his cane angrily at the President, who had responded by snatching up a pair of fire tongs and driving Crawford out of the White House. He was popular in Congress despite his reputation for being politically unscrupulous. Unfortunately, Crawford had suffered a debilitating stroke in September 1823, and his attending physicians then brought him to death’s door by bleeding him mercilessly. Despite his physical weakness, Crawford refused to abandon his candidacy.
On paper, no candidate was more qualified for the presidency than John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts (1767–1848). Son of the second president of the United States, Adams had studied at Harvard and served under James Madison as US minister to Russia. After his recall in 1814, he played a major role in crafting and negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. Adams had reached his political pinnacle as secretary of state under Monroe, helping to shape the Monroe Doctrine, and he seemed destined for the presidency.
Adams lacked only one ingredient for success: charisma. Bald, short, and rotund (despite being an avid swimmer), he felt most comfortable among books and struck others as dour and stand-offish. Among intellectuals or when inspired by a topic of interest—such as slavery, which he firmly opposed—Adams sometimes let down his guard; and when he had imbibed enough wine, he became positively loquacious. A part of him always yearned to leave politics and become a professor or professional man of letters, but his strong sense of duty held him back. A workaholic, Adams took pride in devoting himself thoroughly to his public duties.
The Adams platform closely approximated Clay’s American System, with its spending on internal improvements and a tariff. Adams tried to stay aloof from partisan politics, though, believing that his record of service should be sufficient inducement for votes. Above all, Adams loathed the gutter tactics employed by his opponents and their supporters. Like George Washington, he felt it beneath him to angle openly for office. Adams responded to frustrated supporters of his candidacy by quoting a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, / Without my stir."[2] All of which is not to say that Adams lacked ambition: his pursuit of the presidency was driven by his desire to live up to the family name; a semi-Messianic feeling that he was a man of destiny who could benefit mankind; and a genuine fear of what would happen to the country if any of his detested opponents won the presidency.
There was no single election day in 1824. Instead, votes accumulated through the autumn as voters cast ballots for individuals or slates of electors who typically pledged to support a certain candidate in the Electoral College. In six states—Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, South Carolina, and Vermont—legislatures chose the electors, while elsewhere they were chosen by popular vote. Some electors were not even pledged to a specific candidate, while others were pledged but subsequently changed their minds.
The results of the voting exposed the fragmented nature of American politics despite the appearance of unity and heralded a full-fledged political crisis. Among the four major candidates, Jackson won 99 electoral and 152,901 popular votes; Adams won 84 electoral and 114,023 popular votes; Crawford won 41 electoral and 46,979 popular votes; and poor Henry Clay trailed the field with 37 electoral votes even though he had received 47,217 popular votes. Since none of the four held an actual majority, by the terms of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, the House of Representatives would have to choose among the three candidates with the most electoral votes: Jackson, Adams, and Crawford.
The results were especially galling to Clay, since by a narrow margin he had missed having a chance at election through the House of Representatives, where his enormous influence as Speaker might have made the difference. Even so, he remained in an important position—not quite as kingmaker, but still having a critical role in swaying the balance of power. Another man in a position of influence was John C. Calhoun of South Carolina (1782–1850), who served as secretary of war under Monroe. Calhoun had originally sought the presidency, but when his candidacy failed to gain traction he entered the race for vice president and won easily (unlike today, that office was filled by separate election).
Calhoun hesitated. He did not feel entirely comfortable with either Jackson or Adams; but on the other hand, he and Crawford absolutely loathed each other. Crawford’s Radicals suspected that Calhoun was a secret Jackson man, however; and that alone was sufficient to convince them not to support the colorful Tennessean and guarantee his victory as they might otherwise have done. Instead, the Radicals decided to hold out against both Jackson and Adams in what they expected to be a protracted balloting process in the House of Representatives. In preventing either of the two main candidates from winning, they hoped to force the House to choose Crawford as a third option.
A period of furious lobbying and canvassing for votes gripped the House during the autumn and early winter of 1824–1825 as state representatives measured the candidates. Meanwhile the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the Revolutionary War, embarked on his tour of the United States and brought a nostalgic tone to Washington politics. Lafayette and Jackson entered into a genial and public correspondence that benefited the Tennessean’s standing. In the public eye, Jackson absorbed some of the Frenchman’s aura of Revolutionary heroism, setting him further apart from the cynical Crawford and the dyspeptic Adams.
On January 8, 1825, Clay, as a member of the House, transformed the character of the debate by officially throwing his support behind Adams despite nonbinding instructions from the Kentucky legislature to back Jackson. Clay announced his decision publicly two weeks later. The declaration was not unexpected and was easily justifiable in terms of policy. Adams and Clay agreed on the fundamentals of the American System, to which Crawford was unalterably opposed. Clay also thought Crawford’s physical debility should preclude him from the presidency. And while Clay did not lack regard for Jackson, he thought Old Hickory insufficiently experienced for such high public office. Moreover, since Clay and Jackson competed for support in the West, a combination with Adams seemed more calculated to vault Clay, in 1828 or 1832, into the presidential office he craved. Rumors flew, however, that Adams had made some underhanded deal to secure Clay’s support. If Adams won, his subsequent treatment of Clay would be closely watched.
Snow blanketed Washington on February 9, 1825, as the House of Representatives convened to choose the president for the first time since 1801. Up to the last moment delegates scurried back and forth across the chambers for hurried conferences, and Clay had to call for order as the polling began. Each state then cast a ballot that was determined by its delegation, with a majority of ballots being required for election.
There were several important "battleground states." Daniel Webster of Massachusetts (1782–1852) played a vital role in bringing Maryland over to Adams; and Clay helped to entice Kentucky, Ohio, and Louisiana away from Jackson and to the secretary of state. Missouri’s vote, determined by a single delegate, was essentially bought for Adams, who promised to maintain the delegate’s brother in judicial office. No state was more important than New York, however, where the delegates remained deadlocked between Adams and Crawford. One man, Stephen Van Rensselaer, held the balance that would turn the vote either way, and he nearly broke down under the pressure of making his decision. Deeply religious, Van Rensselaer bowed his head to pray and, upon looking up, saw a ballot for Adams lying on the floor before him. That evidently made up his mind—or so the story went—and with New York in the Adams camp the final piece fell into place.
On the first and only ballot, Adams won a clear majority of thirteen states against seven for Jackson and four for Crawford. The Radicals’ hopes of preventing a quick decision thus failed disastrously while Jackson, who had seemed to hold the inside track after winning the popular majority, found himself empty-handed. Learning of his son’s election, old John Adams sent him a note invoking "the blessing of God Almighty" on his presidency.[3]
Jackson at first accepted the news of John Quincy Adams’s election with good grace, and even greeted the incoming president cordially at a reception given by Monroe on the night of the election. Unfortunately for Adams, it all went downhill from there. His decision to appoint Clay secretary of state seemed to confirm rumors that the two men had struck a deal, and cries of a "corrupt bargain" flew around the country. Jackson, meanwhile, returned to Tennessee but grew increasingly convinced that he had been cheated. Proclaiming that "the Judas of the West [Clay] has closed the contract and will receive the thirty pieces of silver," Jackson declared his undying enmity to the new regime.[4]
Instead of seeking allies, the stubborn Adams only incited the growing political combination against him by refusing to conciliate Crawford and his Radicals, pushing immediately for an aggressive program of public works that drove them into the Jackson camp. Calhoun and his followers likewise aligned themselves with Jackson. In a twinkling, Adams found himself surrounded by an increasingly well-organized political party determined to obstruct his policies and make him a one-term president. Clay would later rue his decision to accept the secretary of state’s office as political suicide, for he never again came within a sniff of the presidency.
John Quincy Adams’s victory in the election of 1824 would turn to bitter gall. Subject to savage political attacks and blocked at every turn by an obstructionist Congress and vindictive political enemies, he grew increasingly bitter as his presidency stagnated. He sought reelection in 1828 out of sheer stubbornness, but fully expected and even looked forward to losing to Jackson—which he did. Adams’s subsequent career as a Massachusetts delegate in the House of Representatives would be serene compared to the ordeal of the election of 1824 and its aftermath.
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White House Christmas Cards & Messages of the Presidents of the United States
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Term: March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825 Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins Home State: Virginia Wife: Elizabeth Kortright Children: Eliza Kortright & Maria Hester Based on the fact that Christmas cards were not offered for sale in the United States until 1875 or that White House Christmas cards were not officially sent out until
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White House Christmas Cards & Messages of the Presidents of the United States - Informative Resource for Christmas Cards and Messages sent by United States Presidents and other Biographical Information
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https://www.whitehousechristmascards.com/james-monroe-1817-1825/james-monroe/
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Term: March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins
Home State: Virginia
Wife: Elizabeth Kortright
Children: Eliza Kortright & Maria Hester
Based on the fact that Christmas cards were not offered for sale in the United States until 1875 or that White House Christmas cards were not officially sent out until the Eisenhower administration almost 80 years later, it is highly unlikely that James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, even thought of practicing what we now do almost subconsciously – sending Christmas cards to friends and loved ones during the holiday season.
Monroe, a Virginian who is considered the last of the United States’ Founding Fathers, was, however, one of the participants in what may be the most famous Christmas in our nation’s history. It was on Christmas in 1776 that Monroe, a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was wounded in the shoulder serving with General George Washington in the surprise attack against the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey. In fact, in the famous 1851 painting by German-American artist Emanuel Leutze, it is the young James Monroe who is shown holding the flag as Washington leads his men into battle as their boat crosses the Delaware River from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. Had the exchanging of Christmas cards been a custom back in Colonial times, certainly none would have been exchanged between the pro-British Hessians and the revolution-minded colonists!
James Monroe’s endeavors during the early history of our country compare favorably with other Founding Fathers like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. His intellect, courage, and common sense helped propel the new nation onto the world’s stage. Before he became president in 1817, Monroe served in the Continental Congress, as a Virginia Senator, as a minister to France under President Washington, as the Governor of Virginia, as a minister to Great Britain under President Jefferson, as the Secretary of War, and as Secretary of State.
Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Following the end of his military career and working as a lawyer in the mid-1780s, he met and married 17-year-old Elizabeth Kortright, a member of a prominent New York City family. His interest in politics and his ascension into public service eventually gave him the opportunity under President Jefferson in 1803 to be one of the negotiators in the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the size of the United States. A decade or so later, in August of 1814, while serving as Secretary of State under James Madison, Monroe exhibited the same bravery shown on that long-ago Christmas Eve in 1776 by leading a scouting party to verify an impending attack from British troops stationed near Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. This gave President Madison ample time to evacuate the government, and for Monroe to personally save two precious documents – the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution – before they could be destroyed by the invading British soldiers.
By November of that year, Secretary Monroe had situated five American peace commissioners in Ghent, Belgium, who were responsible for negotiating a treaty with British and Irish leaders to end the war. With the countries agreeing to revert back to the way things were prior to the outbreak of war, the Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve. A letter to the future President Monroe from one of the commissioners, Albert Gallatin, was undoubtedly a most welcome “Christmas card.” It stated that the treaty of peace had been signed the day before.
With President Madison’s two terms over in 1816, Monroe ran as his successor, earning an easy victory. A strong, non-partisan leader, Monroe’s first term was known as “The Era of Good Feelings” since Americans were relieved that the War of 1812 was finally over. Despite an economic depression, dubbed the Panic of 1819, Monroe’s popularity remained high. His major accomplishment as president was the issuance of the Monroe Doctrine; delivered to Congress a few weeks before Christmas of 1823, Monroe warned European powers to give no thought to expanding into the Western Hemisphere and stated the United States’ intention to remain a neutral power regarding European conflicts. Any interference by a foreign power would be regarded as an unfriendly act against the U.S., a policy which became the standard for the remaining part of the 19th Century.
James and Elizabeth Monroe and their two daughters, Eliza and Maria, were modest people who enjoyed their privacy. Occasionally, Eliza took on the duties as the official White House hostess when the First Lady was ailing. In 1820, history was made when Maria married her second cousin; it was the first wedding ever performed in the White House. Christmas of 1824 was the last one the Monroe family spent in the White House. Since there is very little known about Monroe’s religious beliefs, it is unknown how the family may have celebrated the Christmas holiday.
In modern times, at the James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, not only is there an annual exhibition showcasing what the Monroe home would have looked like at Christmastime, but other festivities include fireworks, a display of Christmas dishes such as candied fruits and plum pudding, and decorations which include mistletoe, ivy, and holly.
After the end of his presidency, Monroe and Elizabeth resided in Oak Hill, Virginia until her death in 1830. Then the former president moved to New York City to live with his daughter, Maria, and her husband. James Monroe died from tuberculosis and heart failure one year later on the 4th of July – the third president of the first five in our country’s history to pass away on the date of the birth of our nation. Originally buried in New York, Monroe’s body was re-interred in 1858 to the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, where he lays near our 10th president, John Tyler.
Tags: Christmas cards, James Monroe, President Monroe, White House Christmas Cards
|
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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3
| 32 |
https://www.britannica.com/place/Monroe-Louisiana
|
en
|
Monroe | Louisiana Capital, Delta Region, Plantation City
|
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[
"Monroe",
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"article"
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[
"The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica"
] |
1998-07-20T00:00:00+00:00
|
Monroe, city, seat (1807) of Ouachita parish, northeastern Louisiana, U.S., on the Ouachita River, opposite West Monroe. It was founded in 1785, when a group of French pioneers from southern Louisiana under Don Juan (later John) Filhiol, a Frenchman in the Spanish service, established Fort Miro
|
en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/place/Monroe-Louisiana
|
Monroe, city, seat (1807) of Ouachita parish, northeastern Louisiana, U.S., on the Ouachita River, opposite West Monroe. It was founded in 1785, when a group of French pioneers from southern Louisiana under Don Juan (later John) Filhiol, a Frenchman in the Spanish service, established Fort Miro (1791) as a trading post on a land grant obtained from King Charles X of Spain. Originally called Prairie de Canots, or “Prairie of the Canoes,” it was renamed in 1819 to honour the arrival of the James Monroe, the first steamboat to ascend the river. In August and September 1863, the city was the site of two minor conflicts during the American Civil War.
Monroe and West Monroe are the focus of manufacturing and commerce for the surrounding rural parishes, where cattle raising predominates. Paper products are the mainstay of the city’s lumber industry, and the large Monroe gas field nearby (discovered 1916) supports chemical and carbon-black industries. The city is the seat of the University of Louisiana at Monroe (1931). Several recreational areas are in the vicinity, notably D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge to the northwest and Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area to the east. Inc. 1820. Pop. (2000) 53,107; Monroe Metro Area, 170,053; (2010) 48,815; Monroe Metro Area, 176,441.
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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0
| 67 |
https://www.louispicone.com/james-monroe
|
en
|
Louis L. Picone
|
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en
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Louis L. Picone
|
https://www.louispicone.com/james-monroe
|
Where Monroe's coffin line-in-state for the 1858 re-interment. At the time it was the Church of the Annunciation
95 Crosby Street in Manhattan. Monroe's home was moved here in a desperate attempt to save it. But the slot was too small, and the home was damaged in the move. It was later destroyed. Pretty cool that you can still see the slot it was moved into
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FactBench
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0
| 88 |
http://www.mountolivethistory.com/stories-in-stone-blog/the-gouverneur-doctrine
|
en
|
The "Gouverneur" Doctrine
|
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As some of our readers of this blog know, I’ve been known to switch gears abruptly with these historical forays into those buried here in Mount Olivet. In this “Story in Stone,” I’m prepared...
|
en
|
Mount Olivet Cemetery
|
http://www.mountolivethistory.com/4/post/2021/03/the-gouverneur-doctrine.html
|
As some of our readers of this blog know, I’ve been known to switch gears abruptly with these historical forays into those buried here in Mount Olivet. In this “Story in Stone,” I’m prepared to connect the dots between one of our country’s first presidents, a handful of his descendants and a very unique, first-generation immigrant laid to rest here in our fair “garden cemetery.” On this latter point, I can attest that we have immigrants galore buried here, but this particular individual really made an impression on me as I just “discovered” her here this past week after receiving a lead from my friend Theresa “Treta” Mathias Michel.
Many are able to rattle off the names of our first three presidents in Washington, Adams and Jefferson—two having known relatives and/or “in-laws” here, and in one case, the other has a potential (and extremely interesting descendant) buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. I haven’t made a direct connection to fourth president James Madison quite yet, but have documented a handful of descendants of James Monroe, our fifth president and veteran of the Revolutionary War.
As for Mr. Monroe, many confuse him with James Madison because of the same first name and a last name starting with “M.” There’s also, of course, that Virginia connection. In fact, Monroe served as President Madison’s Secretary of War during the War of 1812, the conflict that helped Francis Scott Key’s resume exponentially.
James Monroe left college in 1776 to participate in the American Revolution. In late December, 1776, Monroe crossed the Delaware River with Gen. George Washington and took part in a surprise attack on a Hessian encampment at the Battle of Trenton (New Jersey). Though the attack was successful, Monroe suffered a severed artery in the battle and nearly died. In the aftermath, Washington cited Monroe for his bravery, and promoted him to captain.
An 18 year-old James Monroe is pictured holding the flag behind Washington in Emanuel Leutze's immortal "Washington Crossing the Delaware" painted in 1851.
On February 16th, 1786, Monroe married a woman he had first met while serving in the Continental Congress, Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830) of New York City. They moved to Virginia, eventually settling in Charlottesville in 1789, after buying an estate known as Ash Lawn–Highland. The Monroes had three children, the first of whom was Eliza Monroe Hay (1786-1840). In 1808, she married George Hay, a prominent Virginia attorney who had served as prosecutor in the trial of Aaron Burr and later as a US District judge.
The second Monroe child, James Spence Monroe, was born in 1799 and died sixteen months later in 1800. The third product of this union was Maria Hester Monroe (1804–1850) and she is of particular interest to our story. Maria married her first-cousin, Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, on March 8th, 1820, in the East Room of the White House, the first president's child to marry here.
Maria Hester Monroe
Samuel L. Gouverneur, Sr
Gouverneur served as a member of the New York State Legislature and also as a private secretary to his uncle/father-in-law President James Monroe who would serve two consecutive terms as president from March 4th, 1817 until March 4th, 1825. The Gouverneurs eventually moved from Washington, DC back to New York, specifically Manhattan. Together, Samuel and Maria were the parents of three children: James Monroe Gouverneur (1822–1885), a deaf-mute who died at the Spring Grove Asylum in Baltimore, Maryland; Elizabeth Kortright Gouverneur (1824–1868), who married three times (Dr. Henry Lee Heishell, James M. Bibby, and Colonel G. D. Sparrier); and Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, Jr. (1826–1880)—more on him in a moment.
Oak Hill Plantation
President Monroe’s wife (Elizabeth) died in 1830 at Monroe’s plantation called Oak Hill, located roughly nine miles south of Leesburg, VA near present-day Aldie. James Monroe would then head to New York and live with the Gouverneurs until his own death in 1831 a year later.
New York Post obituary (July 5, 1831)
James Monroe's gravesite in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond (VA)
Both Samuel L. Gouverneur, Sr. and Samuel, Jr. would move to Frederick County, where they lived out their lives and are buried here. On June 20th, 1850, Monroe’s daughter Maria Gouverneur died at the same Oak Hill estate where her mother had passed two decades earlier. In September, 1851, widower Samuel Gouverneur, Sr. married Mary Digges Lee (1810–1898), a granddaughter of former Maryland governor Thomas Sim Lee (1745–1819). They retired to the Lee estate called "Needwood Forrest", located just south of Burkittsville. Mr. Gouverneur died in 1865 and is buried in Petersville's St. Mark's Episcopal Cemetery
Needwood, one-time home of S. L. Gouverneur, Sr
St. Mark's, Petersville (MD)
President Monroe’s grandson, Samuel Jr., would eventually move to Frederick where he lived in a recognizable former estate west of town in the early 1860s. The property has operated as a modern-day apartment complex for nearly 40 years now. As for Mr. Gouverneur, Jr., he is buried here in Mount Olivet in Area G/Lot 118.
Samuel Gouverneur, Jr. was born in New York City and eventually served as a Lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery Regiment during the Mexican War and was present at the capture of Mexico City and the National Palace. In 1847, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant for his bravery at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco.
Marian (Campbell) Gouverneur
After the war, Gouverneur married Miss Marian Campbell of New York in 1855, and fathered three daughters. His first two children, Maud (b. 1857) and Ruth (b. 1858), were born in Washington, DC. Mr. Gouverneur soon became the first United States consul in Fuzhou (pronounced and once spelled as Foo Chow), China, during the administration of President Franklin Buchanan.
Chinese port at Fuzhou (ca. 1860)
US Consulate in Fuzhou (late 1880s)
Fuzhou, China
While abroad, a third daughter, named Rose de Chine Gouverneur, was born in 1860. Her name would forever bear witness to her foreign birthplace. The family would be here until 1863, at which point Mr. Gouverneur requested a return to the US because the semi-tropical climate of Fuzhou did not agree with his health. He supposedly was in a weakened state as a result of time spent during the Mexican War. Mrs. Gouverneur and her daughters returned to the United States first, and Samuel came a few months later. Special care had to be taken because the American Civil War was in full tilt, and the family had to return on ships sailing under British flags so as not to be harassed by Confederate ships.
The family would reside back in Washington, DC, but the story goes that the couple became particularly impressed with Frederick County while visiting Phillip F. Thomas, a friend of Mr. Gouverneur who lived about two miles west of Frederick City. This was late 1863, and the family soon took up residence at a plantation named Waverley, featuring a spacious Georgian manor house that had been constructed in 1776. Of course, you may know this structure now as the community center and namesake of the development known as “The Residences at the Manor,” located at the intersection of today’s Key Parkway and Willowdale Drive. The former outlying grounds to the west of the house comprise Waverley Gardens, developed in the 1970s.
The former home of the Gouverneur family west of Frederick (courtesy of "The Residences at the Manor" website)
Marian Gouverneur published a book in 1911, and wrote of her time at “the Manor,” especially interesting during the Civil War. I found a clipping in the Frederick Post written by social column author Elsie Haines White (also a Mount Olivet resident) from February 7th, 1964 which adds a bit of color to the habitation of the Gouverneurs here at that time.
Frederick Post (Feb 7, 1964)
I found Mrs. Gouverneur’s chapter on China very interesting as well in which she talks about the Chinese culture and, in addition, the opium and slave trades, religious missionary work and typhoons including one that destroyed a portion of the consulate. Here is a link to Marian Gouverneur’s book (entitled As I Remember) found on the Library of Congress’s website: https://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbcb.24385/?sp=1
As I said, of particular interest are chapters on the family’s time in China (pg. 314-338) and in Frederick (pg. 339-362).
The Gouverneurs perhaps may have wished at times that they had stayed in China a little longer as Frederick was not the best place to be in 1864. That summer, Gen. Jubal Early and his rebels would ransom Frederick for $200,000, and the Battle of Monocacy would be fought just south of town and within earshot of the Gouverneur’s farm. Closer to home for the family and their Po-ne-sang plantation at this time (July, 1864), the Union Army camped nearby and made visits before retreating as the larger Confederate Army passed right by the Gouverneur’s place, with various visits from officers. The concern over looting and absconding with either farm servants or horses or both was a chief threat, and a documented skirmish was fought a short distance away near Linden Hills. The family made a hasty retreat to their basement after hiding said servants and horses in advance of the Confederate Army’s arrival in early July, leaving the plantation dependent upon the services of one, lone, Chinese maid.
A page from Marian Gouverneur's memoirs "As I Remember"
I had heard a bit about this family servant, but had no name. Mrs. Treta Michel said that there was an interesting story pertaining to this young woman brought back to the United States by the Gouverneur family. Mrs. Michel went on to tell me that she recalled someone telling her that this Chinese domestic was buried in Mount Olivet. This truly piqued my interest, but I had no name. I checked the Gouverneur family lot in Area G within our computer records, but she wasn’t there.
To my amazement, luck was soon on my side, as I truly found this proverbial “needle in the haystack” while on a walk in the cemetery last week. In Area T, my eye miraculously caught a prominent gravestone with the name Sara Leleng on its face. The verbiage carved along with a death date of October 18th, 1917 said that the decedent was a native of Amoy, China. Once back in the office, I found census records with Miss Leleng living with the family.
1870 US Census showing Gouverneur family living in Frederick with their domestic "Lelenge"
More on Sarah Leleng in a moment as I want to wrap up the Gouverneur family here in Frederick. After the war, a decision was made to simply use "Po-ne-sang” as a summer residence to escape the oppressive heat of Washington, DC. This lasted one year before the family decided to move into Frederick City because in Mrs. Gouverneur’s words: “He (her husband) knew nothing of farming, and I knew nothing of cooking.” She proclaimed her desire to live in a more civil and social setting for her talents, and was glad to have the assistance of her Chinese maid to assist with cooking and caring for her daughters. The society life better fit the Gouverneurs, and believe it or not, Frederick had a definitive social scene at that time.
Gouverneur sisters (L-R Maud, Rose and Ruth)
Apparently, the Gouverneur children attended the Frederick Female Seminary, site of Winchester Hall, today’s seat of county government. In 1870, Samuel Gouverneur, Jr. decided to publish his own newspaper, having been inspired by the presidential campaign of Horace Greeley, who would visit him here in town in October of 1871. Mr. Greeley had been invited to give the agricultural address at the annual Frederick Fair that year. The Maryland Herald newspaper had been started as an independent offering with the catchphrase: ”Independent in all things-neutral in nothing.” Gouverneur’s paper endorsed the Liberal Republican movement in 1872 and supported Mr. Greeley in his bid for the presidency. After Greeley’s defeat to incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, Mr. Gouverneur ceased publishing his paper.
The following year, the family returned to Washington, DC permanently, taking up residence on Corcoran Street near 14th Street.
1414 Corcoran St, home to the Gouverneur family in NW Washington, DC
Mr. Gouverneur does not appear in the 1880 census as he died on April 5th, 1880 in Washington. His body would be brought to his former adopted home of Frederick, and laid to rest in Mount Olivet not far from soldiers lost during the late war.
1880 US Census showing Marian Gouverneur and family living in Washington, DC
Mrs. Gouverneur played a role in Washington Society with her daughters. She also lived with Maud and Rose up through her death.
New York Times (March 14, 1914)
The New York native and author would die on March 12th, 1914 and was brought back to Frederick to be buried next to her husband in Area G.
Rose Gouverneur Hoes is worthy of a separate article which I have planned to write. She died on May 26th, 1933 and is buried here with her parents and her son, Roswell Randall Hoes, Jr. (1891-1901), who died in childhood.
Maud Campbell Gouverneur never married and lived to the ripe old age of 90, passing on March 29th, 1947.
Frederick News (April 1, 1947)
The final daughter of Samuel and Marian Gouverneur, Ruth Monroe, married a local Frederick gentleman with deep roots here, Dr. Thomas Crawford Johnson (1856-1943). Dr. Johnson served as a physician to the School for the Deaf, the Home for the Aged and the All Saints’ Orphanage. The family lived at 111 Record Street, the former home of Dr. William Tyler. Ruth was a founding member of the Frederick Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in September, 1892. She died here in this house on February 28th, 1949.
Frederick Post (Feb 28, 1949)
The graves of Dr. and Ruth G. Crawford in Area E/Lot 64
Of all these individuals, I am uniquely interested in the earlier mentioned Sarah Leleng, I told you about. Sarah was a domestic servant brought back to the United States by the Gouverneurs. Her name is somewhat of a mystery as she is referred to as Le Leng in the 1880 census and Sarah Gouverneur a decade earlier. I could not find her in the 1900 and 1910 census records, but I did find a laundress named Lee Leng in 1900 in Washington, however the record says this is a male. I wonder about this as the profession of laundress denotes a female and the date of birth seems reasonable at 1849? Regardless, I wish I had been able to find Sarah in the 1910 census, but she appears not to be living with any Gouverneur family members.
As I said earlier, I found Sarah’s gravesite and date of death of October 18th, 1917. She is buried here in Area T/Lot 44. Our records confirmed that she was unmarried and passed at age 73, making her birthday around 1844 showing that some of the census records have her age incorrect, a common mistake of the time.
Sarah Leleng died of carcinoma and our records show that she was working as a domestic at the time of death. Her gravesite was purchased by her estate at the time of death. Most interesting are the obituaries that appeared in the Washington and Frederick papers. Of special note, she is proclaimed as being the first Chinese woman to come to the US. Secondly, she had amassed a good fortune over her lifetime.
Washington Evening Herald (Oct 20, 1917)
Frederick Post (Oct 22, 1917)
Washington Herald (Oct 20, 1917)
In her will, Sarah had made provisions to send most of her fortune back to her hometown in China in order to construct a mission chapel under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Of greater connection to Frederick is the fact that Sarah wanted this to be done to honor former Frederick native James Addison Ingle.
Rev. Ingle was a friend of the family, the son of the beloved Osborn Ingle (1837-1909), longtime minister of Frederick’s All Saints’ Protestant Episcopal Church. I wrote a piece a few years back chronicling the tragedy the reverend suffered as he would lose his wife and seven children between 1881-1883. His residence at the time was the All Saints Rectory located at 113 Record Street and next door to Dr. William Crawford Johnson and wife Ruth Gouverneur Johnson. The reverend would live here for more than four decades.
111 and 113 Record Street in Frederick
Bishop Ingle (center)
Sadly, Rev. Ingle died less than a year later on December 7th, 1903, and was buried in the Old International Cemetery in Hankow. This was the original foreign cemetery used by the cities of Hankow (west bank of Yangtze north of Hanshui River), Wuchang (east bank), and Hanyang (south of Hanshui River). The three cities were later merged and renamed Wuhan. The cemetery was removed in the early 20th century but the whereabouts of Rev. Ingle's remains are unknown.
Rt. Rev. Logan Herbert Roots succeeded Ingle as bishop of Hankow. A memorial service was held in his honor at Emmanuel Church, Baltimore, during which Rev. Arthur M. Sherman mentioned Rev. Ingles' dedication to building a native church, and his efforts after the Boxer Rebellion. His Frederick, Maryland parish donated funds to establish a scholarship at the Boone Divinity School in China in his memory, which was mentioned at the All Saints’ Day services in both his parishes.
Last will and testament of Sarah Leleng
Washington Post (May 8, 1918)
Did Miss Sarah Leleng’s gift make possible a new chapel which stands today? Or did it go towards something at Boone College as did the contribution from All Saints' Church here in Frederick? I have searched quite a bit but can't find anything definitive. However, an Episcopal mission church was erected in Wuhan in 1918 and named St. Michael's. Could Miss Leleng's money gone toward this project?
I found this reference online within a volume of reports pertaining to the Board of Missions.
The Spirit of Missions (Vol. 85 Jan 1920) by the Board of Missions
Whatever the case, I have another interesting piece of Mount Olivet trivia in the fact that we are the final resting place of the first Chinese woman to be admitted to the United States. I am also very confident in theorizing that she is also the first Asian-American buried in Frederick, definitively Mount Olivet. Who would have known— thanks for the tip Ms. Michel.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/394208428928
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1921 Bowery 63 Prince St SOHO NOLITA James Monroe Died NYC New York City Photo
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Modern Reprint.
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eBay
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/394208428928
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$1.00 shipping for each additional eligible item you buy from bk.sales.US $17.59GermanyeBay International ShippingUS $0.00
Estimated between Thu, Aug 1 and Mon, Aug 12 to 60323
Seller ships within 1 day after receiving cleared payment.
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FactBench
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https://www.cvillepedia.org/James_Monroe
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James Monroe
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https://www.cvillepedia.org/favicon.ico
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James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) lived in Charlottesville after serving in the Revolutionary War. Monroe was the fifth president of the United States of America from 1817 to 1825.[1]
Friends with Thomas Jefferson, Monroe had moved to Charlottesville to study law under Jefferson (1780 to 1783). Following his presidency, Monroe lived at Monroe Hill, which is now Brown College at Monroe Hill, on the grounds of the University of Virginia.[2]
In 2016, the nonprofit organization that operates his estate changed the name back to Highland, its name when Monroe lived there (a subsequent owner had at one point renamed it to Ash Lawn-Highland). Monroe had lived there from 1799 to 1823, selling the house as he exited the presidency.[3]
Dr. Charles Everett served as a physician and private secretary for Monroe.
Time in Charlottesville and Albemarle County
Monroe's first purchase of real estate in the area was made in 1790, when he bought Lots 17 and 18 (as well as the accompanying Stone House situated thereupon) from George Nicholas. At the same time, Monroe purchased from Nicholas (who already owned over 2,000 acres in different sections across Albemarle County) the farm on which the university now stands. Monroe made Stone House his first residence until he was ready to move into the farm with his furniture and family. It was not until nearly 20 years after Nicholas' death that James Morrison, his executor, gave title to the heirs of his vendees. Perhaps due to Monroe's nationwide fame or to the property already having changed hands several times, no deed was ever recorded for the land purchased by Monroe.
While on the site that would become the University of Virginia, Monroe lived at what is now Monroe Hill. In 1793, he purchased land on the east side of Carter Mountain, in the process becoming a closer neighbor of Thomas Jefferson (Monroe did not receive the deed for this property until 1827). Part of this land Monroe had bought from Jefferson and the other part from William C. Carter, with the house Monroe built upon the property being named Highland. There he lived until the end of his presidency, when all of his lands within the county (amounting to between 4,000 and 5,000 acres in total) were transferred to the United States Bank in payment of his debts.
At the expiration of his second term, Monroe moved to Oak Hill, a farm he had purchased in Loudoun County. The College of William and Mary manages his Highland property today.
Family and descendants
Monroe was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of a captain in the British army named Lawrence Kortright, and had two children with her named Eliza and Maria. Eliza was married to George Hay, the United States Attorney for the district of Virginia, at Monroe's Highland property in 1808. Maria married Samuel L. Governeur of New York in Washington, D.C. while Monroe was president.
Monroe had an elder brother named Andrew who, in 1781, purchased a farm near Batesville, where he lived for the next four years. In 1816, he was residing on a farm which Monroe had purchased on Limestone, below Milton. Andrew died in 1828. One of his sons, Augustine G. was admitted to the Albemarle bar in 1815. Another son, James, born within the county, served as an officer in the United States army, acting as Monroe's private secretary. James married a daughter of James Douglass (an adopted son of Reverend William Douglass) of Ducking Hole, Louisa County and settled in New York City, where he became active in political affairs and was appointed a member of the Peace Convention in 1861.
Joseph Jones, another brother of Monroe, became a member of the Albemarle bar and married Elizabeth, the daughter of James Kerr. In 1811, Joseph was appointed the Commonwealth's Attorney as successor to Judge Dabney Carr, being succeeded himself by William F. Gordon the following year. In 1812, Joseph's daughter Harriet was married to Edward Blair Cabell in Charlottesville, with the couple then moving to Keytesville, Missouri. Joseph lated moved to Missouri himself, where he died in Franklin County in 1824.[4]
Community History Series
In 1973, the Jefferson Cable Corporation filmed a brief documentary narrated by Bernard Chamberlain describing the history of James Monroe.
<vimeo>52416526</vimeo>
In 1974, Bernard Chamberlain hosted Jane Ikenberry in this conversation about Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States.
<vimeo>65089858</vimeo>
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_memorials_to_James_Monroe
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List of memorials to James Monroe
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_memorials_to_James_Monroe
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This is a list of memorials to James Monroe, a Founding Father and the 5th president of the United States.
There are academic buildings named after him at the University of Mary Washington, College of William and Mary, George Mason University, and George Washington University. In addition, a statue of Monroe was dedicated in front of Tucker Hall on the campus of the College of William & Mary in 2015.[1]
Monroe, Connecticut
Monroe, Georgia
Monroe, Adams County, Indiana
Monroe, Iowa
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe, Maine
Monroe, Massachusetts
Monroe, Michigan
Monroe, Nebraska
Monroe, New Hampshire
Monroe, New York
Monroe, North Carolina
Monroe, Ohio
Monroe, Oregon
Monroe, Pennsylvania
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroe, South Dakota
Monroe, Utah
Monroe, Washington
Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe City, Indiana
Monroe City, Missouri
Monroeville, Alabama
Monrovia, California
Old Monroe, Missouri
South Monroe, Michigan
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe, Michigan
West Monroe, New York
Monroe County, Alabama
Monroe County, Arkansas
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County, Georgia
Monroe County, Illinois
Monroe County, Indiana
Monroe County, Iowa
Monroe County, Kentucky
Monroe County, Michigan
Monroe County, Mississippi
Monroe County, Missouri
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County, Ohio
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Monroe County, Tennessee
Monroe County, West Virginia
Monroe County, Wisconsin
Monroe Town, Adams County, Wisconsin
Monroe Town, Green County, Wisconsin
Monroe Township, Sevier County, Arkansas
Monroe Township, Mississippi County, Arkansas
Monroe Township, Ogle County, Illinois
Monroe Township, Adams County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Allen County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Carroll County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Clark County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Delaware County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Grant County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Howard County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Jefferson County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Morgan County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Pike County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Pulaski County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Putnam County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Randolph County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Washington County, Indiana
Monroe Township, Benton County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Butler County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Fremont County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Johnson County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Linn County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Madison County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Mahaska County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Monrow County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Ringold County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Shelby County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Wayne County, Iowa
Monroe Township, Anderson County, Kansas
Monroe Charter Township, Michigan
Monroe Township, Michigan
Monroe Township, Minnesota
Monroe Township, Andrew County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Daviess County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Lincoln County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Livingston County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Monroe County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Nodaway County, Missouri
Monroe Township, Platte County, Nebraska
Monroe Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township, Guilford County, North Carolina
Monroe Township, Union County, North Carolina
Monroe Township, Towner County, North Dakota
Monroe Township, Adams County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Allen County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Carroll County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Clermont County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Coshocton County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Darke County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Guernsey County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Harrison County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Henry County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Holmes County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Knox County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Licking County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Logan County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Miami County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Madison County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Muskingum County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Perry County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Pickaway County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Preble County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Putnam County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Richland County, Ohio
Monroe Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Snyder County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania
Monroe Township, Turner County, South Dakota
Monroe City, Illinois
Monrovia, Maryland
Fort Monroe, Virginia
Lake Monroe, Florida
Lake Monroe, Indiana
Monroe College, New York
James Monroe High School, Bronx New York
James Monroe Middle School, Ridgecrest CA
Monroe Avenue and Monroe Center Street, two major thoroughfares in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan[2]
Monroe North, a neighborhood and business district in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Monroe Street, New Haven, Connecticut
Monroe Street, Trenton, New Jersey[3]
Mount Monroe, one of a number of mountains named for presidents of the United States in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
North Monroe Avenue, Lindenhurst, New York
Monrovia, Liberia
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William Henry Harrison
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William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), the oldest President to be elected at the time. On his 32nd day, he became the first to die in office, serving the shortest tenure in U.S. Presidential history.
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The biography for President Harrison and past presidents is courtesy of the White House Historical Association.
William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), the oldest President to be elected at the time. On his 32nd day, he became the first to die in office, serving the shortest tenure in U.S. Presidential history.
“Give him a barrel of hard cider and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and my word for it,” a Democratic newspaper foolishly gibed, “he will sit … by the side of a ‘sea coal’ fire, and study moral philosophy. ” The Whigs, seizing on this political misstep, in 1840 presented their candidate William Henry Harrison as a simple frontier Indian fighter, living in a log cabin and drinking cider, in sharp contrast to an aristocratic champagne-sipping Van Buren.
Harrison was in fact a scion of the Virginia planter aristocracy. He was born at Berkeley in 1773. He studied classics and history at Hampden-Sydney College, then began the study of medicine in Richmond.
Suddenly, that same year, 1791, Harrison switched interests. He obtained a commission as ensign in the First Infantry of the Regular Army, and headed to the Northwest, where he spent much of his life.
In the campaign against the Indians, Harrison served as aide-de-camp to General “Mad Anthony” Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, which opened most of the Ohio area to settlement. After resigning from the Army in 1798, he became Secretary of the Northwest Territory, was its first delegate to Congress, and helped obtain legislation dividing the Territory into the Northwest and Indiana Territories. In 1801 he became Governor of the Indiana Territory, serving 12 years.
His prime task as governor was to obtain title to Indian lands so settlers could press forward into the wilderness. When the Indians retaliated, Harrison was responsible for defending the settlements.
The threat against settlers became serious in 1809. An eloquent and energetic chieftain, Tecumseh, with his religious brother, the Prophet, began to strengthen an Indian confederation to prevent further encroachment. In 1811 Harrison received permission to attack the confederacy.
While Tecumseh was away seeking more allies, Harrison led about a thousand men toward the Prophet’s town. Suddenly, before dawn on November 7, the Indians attacked his camp on Tippecanoe River. After heavy fighting, Harrison repulsed them, but suffered 190 dead and wounded.
The Battle of Tippecanoe, upon which Harrison’s fame was to rest, disrupted Tecumseh’s confederacy but failed to diminish Indian raids. By the spring of 1812, they were again terrorizing the frontier.
In the War of 1812 Harrison won more military laurels when he was given the command of the Army in the Northwest with the rank of brigadier general. At the Battle of the Thames, north of Lake Erie, on October 5, 1813, he defeated the combined British and Indian forces, and killed Tecumseh. The Indians scattered, never again to offer serious resistance in what was then called the Northwest.
Thereafter Harrison returned to civilian life; the Whigs, in need of a national hero, nominated him for President in 1840. He won by a majority of less than 150,000, but swept the Electoral College, 234 to 60.
When he arrived in Washington in February 1841, Harrison let Daniel Webster edit his Inaugural Address, ornate with classical allusions. Webster obtained some deletions, boasting in a jolly fashion that he had killed “seventeen Roman proconsuls as dead as smelts, every one of them.”
Webster had reason to be pleased, for while Harrison was nationalistic in his outlook, he emphasized in his Inaugural that he would be obedient to the will of the people as expressed through Congress.
But before he had been in office a month, he caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. On April 4, 1841, he died — the first President to die in office — and with him died the Whig program.
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FactBench
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
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en
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James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy
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"Samuel Flagg Bemis"
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1999-07-28T00:00:00+00:00
|
James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy: On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more
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en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
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On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more money. Congress paid him another $30,000 in 1831, but he still did not feel satisfied. After his death Congress appropriated a small amount for the purchase of his papers from his heirs. Monroe died in 1831—like Jefferson and Adams before him on the Fourth of July—in New York City at the home of his daughter, Maria, with whom he was living after the death of his wife the year before. In 1858, the centennial year of his birth, his remains were reinterred with impressive ceremonies at Richmond, Virginia. After Liberia was created in 1821 as a haven for freed slaves, its capital city was named Monrovia in honour of the American president, who had supported the repatriation of blacks to Africa.
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, and many other prominent statesmen of Monroe’s time all spoke loudly in his praise, but he suffers by comparison with the greater men of his time. Possessing none of their brilliance, he had, nevertheless, to use the words of John Quincy Adams, “a mind…sound in its ultimate judgments, and firm in its final conclusions.” Some of Monroe’s popularity undoubtedly stemmed from the fact that he was the last of the Revolutionary War generation, and he reminded people of those heady times when the struggle for independence was in the balance. Tall and stately in appearance, he still wore the knee britches, silk stockings, and cocked hat of those days, and many of his admirers said that he resembled George Washington.
Samuel Flagg Bemis
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https://www.facebook.com/jmonroebirthplace/
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Bei Facebook anmelden
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https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico
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https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yv/r/B8BxsscfVBr.ico
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Melde dich bei Facebook an, um dich mit deinen Freunden, deiner Familie und Personen, die du kennst, zu verbinden und Inhalte zu teilen.
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Facebook
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https://www.facebook.com/login/web/
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FactBench
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https://www.bartleby.com/essay/President-James-Monroes-Life-FCZC4BJTUJB
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en
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President James Monroe's Life - 350 Words
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Free Essay: James Monroe President James Monroe once said, “National honor is the national property of the highest value.” Monroe strongly believed in those...
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https://www.bartleby.com/essay/President-James-Monroes-Life-FCZC4BJTUJB
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Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, the family farm in Goochland (now Albemarle) County, Virginia. (The date was April 2 by the calendar then in use.) He was the third child in the family and grew up with six sisters and one brother. Two other brothers died in infancy. His father, Peter Jefferson, had served as surveyor, sheriff, colonel of militia, and member of the House of Burgesses. Thomas's mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, came from one of the oldest families in Virginia. Thomas developed the normal interests of a country boy—hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and canoeing. He also learned to play the violin and to love music. Jefferson was 14 years old when his father died. As the oldest son, he became head of the family. He inherited more than 2,500 acres (1,010 hectares) of land and at least 20 slaves. His guardian, John Harvie, managed the estate until Jefferson was 21. Thomas began his studies under a tutor. At age 9, he went to live with a Scottish clergyman, who taught him Latin, Greek, and French. After his father died, Thomas entered the school of James Maury, an Anglican clergyman, near Charlottesville. (Thomas Jefferson : a life / Willard Sterne Randall. Published: New
On the day of May 29, 1736 Patrick Henry was born. He was born in Studley, Virginia. Patrick Henry was born on a plantation that his family had owned. When Patrick was a young kid he had persuasive speeches, he help start the American revolution. He was the second oldest out of the nine children in his family. By the time that Henry was 15 he was responsible for working a store for his father. When the business started to fall apart Henry received his first taste of failure.
To begin with, John Tyler was born in Charles City, Virginia on March 29, 1790. His particular birthplace was on a big plantation called Greenway where he spent his first years. As a child, John was gentle and polite, but could be strong and stubborn when he desired to. His parents, John Tyler Sr. and Mary Marot Armistead Tyler both took care of John and his siblings until they were old enough to care for themselves. As a child, John enjoyed writing poetry and playing the violin in his spare time in order to keep himself occupied.
The early years of Martin Van Buren were ordinary. He was born on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook New York. His father was Abraham Van Buren, and his mother was Maria Hoes Van Buren, both of his parents were Dutch immigrants. His Religion was Dutch Reformed Church. He completed his formal schooling at the Kinderhook Academy before his fourteenth birthday. He didn't attend college, but he took up the study of law, and by the age of twenty-one, he was a practicing attorney.
Jesse James was born September 5th, 1847 in Kearney, Missouri. He grew up on a Hemp farm and his parents owned a few slaves. This upbringing led to him serving in the confederate army alongside his brother Frank during the Civil war, as a Quantrill, or someone who raided towns for cash. Frank was old enough to serve previous terms, which also inspired Jesse to join a part of the army. When his work as a Quantrill was done, he spiraled into a criminal state, desperate not to be a farmer.
The early life for Nathan Hale showed how much he liked school and school related things. Nathan Hale was born in June 6, 1775 in Coventry, Connecticut. When Nathan was growing up he had one brother named Enoch and his parents were Richard and Elizabeth Hale. He went to a school called Yale University for his education. He aced in literature and debate and graduated in at the age of 18. His family were Puritans. His parents sent him off to a religious school with his brother Enoch. He became a school teacher.
James Monroe was born in the quiet town of Westmoreland County, Virginia on April 28, 1758. His father, Spencer Monroe, was married to Elizabeth Jones in 1752. Spencer Monroe was a circuit judge and a farmer for the town (Kane 40). Monroe was the oldest of five. There were four other children; Andrew, Joseph, and Elizabeth. His third brother had died in his early childhood. He attended grammar school at a small academy for boys. This school had a reputation for serving the best of men, like George Washington and John Marshall (Kane 40), which is unique because he later followed George Washington as president. George Washington was a family friend of the Monroe’s. He admired Washington and was influenced by him at a young age. At age 16
From 1817 to 1825, James Monroe was the fifth the President of America and served two terms. From the Founding Fathers from before, he was the last one. When Monroe was president, the Era of Good Feelings had begun. Then, he declared the Monroe Doctrine, that stated that the U.S was in charge of the Western Hemisphere, which the Europe should stay away from.
James Monroe was one of the most qualified men to assume the presidential office. James Monroe took office from 1817 to 1825. As the fifth president of the United States, Monroe helped the country transition away from European affairs and focus more on domestic issues. James Monroe was homeschooled by his mother then attended Campbell Town Academy. Monroe attended College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in the year of 1774. However, James Monroe never finished two years late in order to join the Continental Army and fight for our country’s independence in the American Revolutionary War. Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright in 1786. Unfortunately, Monroe became a widow in 1830. However, he was not a widow for long. James Monroe died one year later at the age of 73 due to heart failure and Tuberculosis. James Monroe was first elected president in 1816 and won against Rufus King. President James Monroe continued his second term after victory against nobody in the election of 1820. During his two terms, President James Monroe was a great president since three legendary negotiations occurred under his presidency. Within his eight years in office, the Monroe Doctrine was declared, the Missouri Compromise was signed, and the Adams-Onís Treaty was negotiated with Spain. With his important contributions to history, the United States was able to survive the Cuban Missile Crisis, come to an agreement among the states, and a new state was ceded to the United States.
James A. Garfield was born in Orange, Ohio on November 19, 1831. He grew up with two brothers and two sisters. When he was almost 2 when his dad died. James would have liked to become a sailor. He went to the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute for 3 years. Then he had gone to Williams College for 2 years. James became a teacher at Eclectic Institute a year after graduating. He met his wife Lucretia Rudolph in 1858 After being elected for Ohio state senate in 1859, he began to promote for forcing Southern states to reunite with the union.
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https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/robert-r-livingston/
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Robert R. Livingston
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2018-11-06T15:56:25+00:00
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1746-1813 Chancellor of New York, 1777-1801 Robert R. Livingston was born on November 27, 1746, the son of colonial Supreme Court of Judicature Justice … More Robert R. Livingston »
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en
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Historical Society of the New York Courts
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https://history.nycourts.gov/figure/robert-r-livingston/
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1746-1813
Chancellor of New York, 1777-1801
Robert R. Livingston was born on November 27, 1746, the son of colonial Supreme Court of Judicature Justice Robert Livingston. Upon graduating from King’s College (now Columbia University) in 1765, Livingston studied law, first in the law office of William Smith, a prominent New York attorney, and later in the law office of Governor William Livingston of New Jersey. Admitted to the bar in 1773, he practiced law in partnership with John Jay for a short time. He then set up his own law office in New York City, built an extensive practice and became eminent in his profession.
In 1773, Livingston’s public service career began when he was appointed Recorder of New York City. He went on to become a member of the second, third and fourth Provincial Congresses of New York (1775-1777). As a delegate from New York to the Continental Congress in 1775-1777 and again in 1779-1780, Livingston was a member of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Participating in the fourth New York Provincial Congress which became the Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York on July 10, 1776, he was a member of the committee that drafted the New York Constitution of 1777. The Convention of Representatives of the State of New York appointed him the first Chancellor of New York, and his appointment was confirmed following the Hadden case. While serving as Chancellor, he administered the presidential oath of office to George Washington in New York City on April 30, 1789.
President Thomas Jefferson appointed Livingston as Minister to France in 1801. Together with James Monroe, he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase on behalf of the United States government and in his honor, New York State contributed to the Hall of Statutes in the United States Capitol a bronze statue of Livingston holding the Louisiana purchase deed. A dual cast was commissioned for the New York Capitol, and it now stands in the courtroom of the New York Court of Appeals in Albany.
In 1804, Robert Livingston withdrew from public life and pursued his interest in steam navigation. Livingston and the inventor Robert Fulton had met in Paris in 1802, and they now joined forces to design and build the first successful steamboat in New York. It was launched on the Hudson River in 1807, and a jubilant Legislature granted Livingston an extension of his monopoly for steamboat transportation in New York waters.
In 1812, Livingston brought an action against Albany attorney James Van Ingen, the owner of competing steamboats, seeking to enforce his steamboat monopoly. Although he was successful in the case of Livingston v. Van Ingen, that decision did not put the issue of the Livingston & Fulton monopoly to rest. It came before the courts again in 1820, in the landmark case of Gibbons v. Ogden.
Chancellor Robert R. Livingston died at Clermont on February 26, 1813.
Source
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-monroe-papers/articles-and-essays/provenance-of-the-james-monroe-papers/
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en
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Provenance of the James Monroe Papers
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How did the James Monroe papers come to the Library of Congress? This essay by Dorothy S. Eaton, a former curator in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, tells the story. The essay is included in the Index to the James Monroe Papers (1963).
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The Library of Congress
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How did the James Monroe papers come to the Library of Congress? This essay by Dorothy S. Eaton, a former curator in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, tells the story. The essay is included in the Index to the James Monroe Papers (1963).
When James Monroe retired from the Presidency on March 4, 1825, he returned to Oak Hill, his estate in Loudoun County,Va.1 In the years that followed, his attempts to pay his debts and to better his financial condition must have required the steady use of a great many of the papers he had accumulated during his long years of public service, particularly those which could further the investigation of his accounts that he had asked Congress to make. Annotations on many of the papers give evidence that Monroe made some attempt to organize them; this was doubtless done during the years of his retirement.
To stimulate action by Congress he wrote a long paper on his "unsettled claims" in the summer of 1826 and sent it to Gales and Seaton in Washington for publication.2 The following year he undertook the preparation of two additional papers which he hoped would raise money through sales. The first of these was a comparison of the Government of the United States with other, older, republics;3 the second was his autobiography.4
Another means of raising money was suggested to him in correspondence with Nicholas P. Trist, who wrote him on January 27, 1828, from Monticello:
I suppose you have kept copies of all yr. letters to Mr. J[efferson] — There are among them numerous evid[en]ces of the pure disinterestedness of yr. course, & of the fact that in taking those steps wh. launched you irrevocably on the sea of public life, you were actuated solely by devotion to yr. country, to the well understood disparagemt. of yr. individual interests. That you may reap a reward somewhat commensurate with these sacrifices is with me more a wish than a hope. Will you permit me to ask however whether you cd. not at once avail yourself of the value of yr. papers, by pledging the proceeds of their future public[atio]n, in consid[eratio]n of a loan? If I mistake not, such a measure would be far from unexampled; wd. it be impracticable?
In Monroe's reply, on February 8, he wrote: "I have examined my papers, and find that I have, as I believe, all the letters, that were ever written to me by Mr. Jefferson. The first bears date in 1780, while I was reading the law under him. . . . I have copies, but I am satisfied, that I have not, of a fifth, of them I wrote him." He offered to send Jefferson's letters to Thomas Jefferson Randolph if he would be gratified to possess them, an offer that was apparently not accepted, and he added: "Your suggestion as to the sale of my papers, or pledge of them, merits attention."5
Monroe's study of republics and his autobiography were incomplete, and his claims before Congress were still unresolved, when Mrs. Monroe died in September 1830. Two months later financial difficulties and ill health forced him to leave Oak Hill and to make his home with his younger daughter, Maria, and her husband, Samuel L. Gouverneur, in New York City. The latter was acting as Monroe's agent in dealing with the several committees of Congress investigating his claims, and for this purpose Monroe had supplied his son-in-law with selections from his papers from time to time, as shown in letters exchanged by the two men. In addition to papers that might already have been in New York, it is reasonable to suppose that Monroe took with him when he left Virginia such papers as he would need to continue work on his autobiography. Nevertheless, an undetermined number of his papers were at Oak Hill when Monroe died in New York City on July 4, 1831.6
In his will, Samuel L. Gouverneur was named "sole and exclusive executor" and was asked to care for Monroe's older daughter Elizabeth, whose husband, Judge George Hay, had died the previous autumn. The Monroe papers were mentioned somewhat obliquely in the following provision: "... with respect to the works in which I am engaged and leave behind, I commit the care and publication of them to my son in law Samuel L. Gouvernieur [sic], giving to him one third of the profits arising therefrom for his trouble in preparing them for publication, one third to my daughter Maria and one third to my daughter Elizabeth."7
In the first month of Gouverneur's proprietorship of the papers, he lent a small number to John Quincy Adams, who was to deliver a eulogy to Monroe in Boston at the invitation of the city government. On July 19, Gouverneur wrote: "As a means of affording you all the interesting details of Mr. Monroe's early life, in the most ample form, and with the greatest precision, I have taken the liberty to enclose you the first 60 or 70 sheets of a sketch prepared by himself, & which together with all his other interesting papers, he entrusted to my special charge. . . . With the history of his life for the later years, you are well acquainted. He has left copious notes & a most extensive correspondence but he was prevented by death, from completing that portion of his career, even in the shape, which the present has assumed." Apparently he sent additional papers a week later, because Adams, in a letter of August 30, wrote that he was returning "the papers transmitted to me with your letter of the 26th. ulto." and added that "The manuscript of Mr. Monroe shall be returned in the course of a few days — By a private hand if an opportunity should present itself. Before the end of the week I hope to forward a printed Copy of the Eulogy."
Early the following year Richard Rush, writing from York, Pa., asked Gouverneur to return the personal letters he had written to Monroe while he was minister to England: "I wrote often to him, and with a freedom that would not have been justifiable in my public despatches. . . . It is on this account that I should be glad to have them in my possession, lest by any chances hereafter any portion of them should come to be mixed up with his manuscripts . . . and in that way run the risk of publicity." The nature of Gouverneur's reply is suggested by the next letter he received from Rush: "Its obliging sentiments . . . leave me no anxiety on the score of the private and confidential letters alluded to. . . . if any parts of them can, in the judgement of others, be made subsidiary to the better understanding of any of Mr. Monroe's services, there is no scruple even that I would not forego on my part; so much did I honor him as a statesman, revere him as a patriot, and love him as a man. At the same time the promise you are so good as to give that no use will be made of any paper from me without my approbation . . . is a relief."
Gouverneur was again reminded of his responsibilities as custodian of the Monroe papers three years later, when he received an anonymous letter written by "A Virginian" in "Alexandria, District of Columbia," on June 11, 1835: ". . . the character of your illustrious kinsman is already marked a victim for the sacrifice.
Let me implore you as you revere his name and reverence his memory — let me intreat you as patriot and an honorable man — let me caution you as you value your own reputation hold on to every scrap of writing that may be in your possession in any manner connected with his private or public life — preserve every paper that concerns him, for as you life [sic], if you respect his memory you will have use for them.
Apparently Gouverneur did some work toward preparing the papers for publication during the 1830's and a manuscript relating to Monroe, which he started to, write, is said to have survived.8 He was busy with other pursuits, however — he was Postmaster of New York City from 1828 to 1836 and part owner of the Bowery Theatre there — and he seems not to have found work on the Monroe papers a congenial occupation. Nevertheless there is no evidence that he was ready to accept the offer of help he received from Barnabus Bates of New York City, who, in a letter of February 13, 1839, agreed to prepare and publish a memoir on Monroe "upon terms which shall be mutually advantageous and satisfactory." Bates had heard through Commodore Charles Goodwin Ridgely, then in charge of the Navy Yard at New York, that Gouverneur possessed "a very interesting correspondence between Presdts. Jefferson and Monroe in relation to the Gun Boat system recommended by the former," and he suggested that Gouverneur "procure while in Virginia any papers necessary to accomplish the object."
In contrast Gouverneur took positive action in regard to the papers during the following decade.
Elizabeth Kortright Hay, Monroe's older daughter, died in 1840 and in the same year Samuel and Maria Gouverneur moved from New York City to Washington, where they lived in the De Menou buildings on H Street.9 They also spent periods of each year at Oak Hill. Gouverneur worked in the Consular Bureau of the Department of State from 1844 to 1849, when he resigned because of the "afflicted state" of his family and because a promised advancement had not materialized.10
It must have been about the time he entered Government service that Gouverneur became acquainted with Henry O'Reilly (or O'Rielly, as he later spelled his name), a vigorous young man who had been editor of the Rochester Daily Advertiser in Rochester, N.Y., and who was active in many causes. According to a long, rather rambling memorandum O'Reilly wrote many years later, Gouverneur first tried to persuade him to occupy the farm at Oak Hill and to assist in disposing of the property, and later Gouverneur sought his help in connection with the Monroe papers: "In the course of our acquaintance Mr. Gouverneur suggested to me, without any solicitation on my part, that he & others wished me to take charge & control of the Ex-President's records & other Papers with a view to the Publication of A Selection from those papers along with a memoir of Mr. Monroe &c in case it should be found that a sale of the whole mass could not be made to the Government. . . ."11
Gouverneur did indeed turn over to O'Reilly what appears to have been in the major part of the Monroe papers, probably in 1844 or 1845. In the latter year O'Reilly also entered into a contract with Samuel F. B. Morse and Amos Kendall to raise capital for telegraph lines from Eastern Pennsylvania to St. Louis and the Great Lakes, and his work in this connection must have left him little time to give to the Monroe papers. Even their exact location during the mid-1840's is uncertain although glancing references in some of his letters make it likely that O'Reilly deposited them somewhere in New York City while his work of erecting telegraph lines took him from place to place. Samuel L. Gouverneur himself seems not to have known where they were being stored. His concern is evident in a letter he wrote to O'Reilly on May 17, 1847, in which he also outlined terms for the treatment of the papers:
I should have written you before — but from the uncertainty where a letter would find you — I see by the papers (notices of arrivals, etc.) that you are in New York [actually this letter was forwarded to Philadelphia].
I propose in reply to yours that we should divide the proceeds — first deducting 1/8 to be allowed to the Estate of Mr. Monroe. This is on the supposition that the Heirs at law might expect something, & I should agree to fix the sum at that. I also wish it stipulated that the entire control of published matter in reference to Mr. Monroe should be vested in me — I mean that no papers should be published without my assent first had. This I consider just & right, especially as some matter might refer to questions of a personal or delicate nature. Let me have your reply to the above.
I hope you have the papers all in a place of perfect security as I value them very highly, & would be unwilling to run the risk of loss or accident to them when will you be this way — I should be glad to have a talk with you. . . .
Not having heard from O'Reilly, Gouverneur wrote again nearly five months later, on October 14, asking him to drop a line and Aassure me respecting which, I feel some anxiety, that all my papers, are safely deposited, where no accident can befall them." This letter apparently reached O'Reilly in Cincinnati, Ohio.12
The first and apparently only substantial use that was made of the Monroe Papers while they were in Gouverneur's custody occurred the following year. Gouverneur requested O'Reilly to make transcripts of a number of papers for Senator James D. Westcott, Jr., of Florida, and he himself lent the Senator a parcel of original manuscripts he had retained. The texts or references to these were incorporated in Westcott's speech of July 25, 1848, on the territorial government
of Oregon.13
The stalemate on making effective arrangements to publish or sell the Monroe papers seems finally to have been broken in 1848. Doubtless an important factor in this matter was the purchase made by the Government that year of papers of James Madison (a second segment), of Alexander Hamilton, and of Thomas Jefferson. On December 14, Richard Smith, the executor of Elizabeth K. Hay's estate, agreed to accept one-eighth of the proceeds of any publication or sale (rather than the one-third share specified in James Monroe's will) provided the estate was exonerated from any costs connected with the transactions.14 This was followed on December 28 by a formal agreement between Samuel L. Gouverneur and Henry O'Reilly, by which any profits resulting from publication of the papers would be divided so as to give three-eighths to O'Reilly, one-eighth to the estate of President Monroe, and four-eighths to Gouverneur. If, however, the papers were sold for not less than $20,000, O'Reilly was to get thirty percent of the proceeds and to pay one-third of this amount to Eliab Kingman and others assisting in the sale, while Gouverneur was to get the other seventy percent and to pay from this sum one-eighth of the entire proceeds to the estate of James Monroe.15
Upon completion of these arrangements Gouverneur addressed a petition to Congress on January 1, 1849, asking aid from the Government in publishing the manuscript papers of James Monroe.16 Presented by Senator John A. Dix of New York on January 3, the petition was ordered to be printed and referred to the Committee on the Library.17 Gouverneur apparently learned later that month that the Congress preferred to purchase the manuscripts rather than subscribe to their publication, and at this point O'Reilly, through an agent, formally relinquished his rights under the contract with Gouverneur so that the purchase could proceed without complication.18 On February 28 the Senate, by a vote of 28 to 20, approved the purchase of the Monroe papers for $20,000. On March 2 the House concurred in an amendment proposed by the Committee of Ways and Means that the purchase be limited to papers not of a private character;19 and on the following day it was enacted, as part of the act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of Government for the year ending June 30, 1850, that "the manuscript books and papers of the late James Monroe" be purchased for the above amount and be deposited in the Department of State.20 On March 13 Gouverneur signed an indenture of bargain and sale of "all the said Manuscript Books & Papers of the said James Monroe together with all copyright, title, interest, property, claim & demand whatsoever of, in, and to the same," and on the same day the transaction was completed when Secretary of State John M. Clayton signed a receipt for the material and First Auditor William Collins signed a certificate that the sum of $20,000 was payable to Samuel L. Gouverneur as executor of the estate of James Monroe.21
Historian James Schouler was perhaps the first person to use the Monroe papers for historical research while they were in the Department of State. In 1882 he described them as "a huge mass of interesting matter relative to our earlier national history, which lies unassorted in the Department of State and for whose editorial supervision and publication it is to be fervently hoped that Congress will some day make suitable provision."22
This situation was rectified when Congress, by acts approved March 2, 1889, and August 30, 1890, appropriated money for the repair, mounting, and binding of the papers.23 They were arranged in two chronological series (one comprising manuscripts by Monroe, the other manuscripts addressed or referred to him) and were bound in 22 volumes. A calendar of the papers, which reflected the two series but with entries arranged alphabetically by writer of each manuscript, was prepared and published by the Department of State in preliminary form in 1889 and in a corrected edition in 1893.24 Seven years later the Librarian of the Department of State prepared a seven-volume unofficial edition of the writings of Monroe.25
As a result of an Executive Order of March 9, 1903, the Monroe Papers were transferred to the Library of Congress. The 22 volumes were received in the Manuscript Division on November 5, 1903, and were associated with two letterbooks (now designated as Series 3 of the papers), which had been acquired by the Library from an undetermined source some time before 1898.26 Less than a year after their receipt, the Library published a chronological list of the papers which had been received by transfer (slightly more than 2,650 manuscripts), the items included in the letterbooks, and a few Monroe manuscripts located in other collections in the Library.27
At this point in the story it is necessary to consider the papers which were deemed to be of a "private character," and which were therefore retained by Samuel L. Gouverneur. Maria Monroe Gouverneur died on June 20, 1850, at Oak Hill. She was survived by her husband and three children, a daughter Elizabeth and two sons, Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., and James Monroe Gouverneur. In 1852 Oak Hill, the former Monroe estate, was sold28 and at some time during the following year Samuel L. Gouverneur married Mary Digges Lee, a granddaughter of Governor Thomas Sim Lee. The couple made their home at the Lee estate of Needwood, near Petersville, Md., and Gouverneur, who was presumably custodian of the remaining Monroe papers, died there on September 29, 1865.29 His will, filed among records of the Orphan's Court of Frederick County, Md., shows that he bequeathed his entire estate to the second Mrs. Gouverneur.
Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., brought an action of replevin against Mrs. Mary Digges Lee Gouverneur in the Circuit Court of Frederick County in 1866 to recover his mothers' patrimony. The record of this case, which was decided in his favor in October 1868, shows that he sought the return of furniture, paintings, and other household ornaments. The Monroe papers were not mentioned.30 One may assume, moreover, from the preface to his edition of Monroe's The People the Sovereigns (1867) that he had only this one manuscript from his grandfather's papers and that it had been in his possession for some years. Nevertheless, three years after his death in 1880, there appeared a published reference to an important segment of Monroe papers which were then in the possession of his widow, Mrs. Marian Campbell Gouverneur.31 This lends credence to the family tradition that several hundred Monroe papers were found in secret compartments of the desk on which the address that incorporated the Monroe Doctrine was signed.32
Some time before 1889 these papers were deposited in the Department of State, where a calendar of them was prepared.33 They had evidently been returned to Mrs. Gouverneur by 1892; Acting Secretary of State William F. Wharton referred to the "Gouverneur collection" as having been in her possession when he complied with a Senate request of February 3, 1892, for information about unpublished Monroe papers.34
Former President Rutherford B. Hayes called the attention of the Librarian of Congress to Mrs. Gouverneur's manuscripts in 188835 and on two occasions (in 1902 and from 1922 to 1927) the entire group was deposited in the Library with a view to purchase and for safekeeping.36 Purchase was not effected.37
Prior to the death of Mrs. Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., the "Gouverneur collection" of Monroe papers was given to her three daughters, Maud Campbell Gouverneur, Mrs. Rose Gouverneur Hoes, and Mrs. Ruth Monroe Johnson. It was kept as a unit until the death of Mrs. Hoes, after which a division was made. Mrs. Hoes' share was divided between her two sons, Gouverneur and Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, and the latter also was given' the share inherited by his aunt, Maud C. Gouverneur. Mrs. Johnson gave her share to her son, Monroe Johnson.38
That portion of the "Gouverneur collection" which came into the possession of Laurence G. Hoes is now in the James Monroe Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Va. He has generously allowed the Library to make photocopies of this group and these now comprise Series 2 of the Library's Monroe papers. The portion which had belonged to Major Gouverneur Hoes (205 manuscripts) was purchased by the Library from his widow, Mrs. Gourley Edwards Hoes, in 1950; these papers have been interfiled in the chronologically arranged Series 1, where they can be identified by the legend "Ac. 9405" on the lower left corner of the first page of each document. Of the one-third share of the original "Gouverneur collection" given to Monroe Johnson the Library purchased a total of 184 pieces from him in 1931 ("Ac. 4167A" appears on the first page of each of these manuscripts, filed in Series 1 ), and in 1932 Mr. Johnson deposited what was presumably the remainder of his holding of Monroe papers — 95 manuscripts — in the Library of the College of William and Mary.
The Monroe papers that remained at Needwood when Samuel L. Gouverneur, Sr., died in 1865 became the property of his widow, Mrs. Mary Digges Lee Gouverneur. It has not been possible to determine the exact number of manuscripts that composed this segment, although there is evidence that it was considerably larger than the segment that formed the "Governeur collection."
Three months after Mrs. Gouverneur died at Needwood on October 4, 189839 a part of the Monroe papers she owned was mentioned in correspondence between her nephew, John Lambert Cadwalader of New York, and the executor of her estate, Charles O'Donnell Lee of Baltimore,40 Mrs. Gouverneur's nephew. On January 11, 1899, the former wrote:
. . . When the papers to which I referred in a previous letter, were received by me, now two or three years ago, I intended to have them examined by an expert, and there was some sort of an understanding that something should be done with them in so far as they were of a public character. One or two documents were given away with Mrs. Gouverneur's consent, not of any particular value, and I had it in mind to suggest to her some distribution of the papers in one or two public places, leaving, as she expressed it to me, some considerable part for yourself.
However nothing was done, nor were the papers during her lifetime ever entirely examined by any experts. I have since had the papers examined, through Dr. Billings, the Director of the New York Public Library, and I enclose his memorandum [in which the papers were valued at $750]. . . .
Of course, these papers, although a part of the papers of my uncle, Mr. Gouverneur, and which he received from Mr. Monroe, are, nevertheless, a part of Mrs. Gouverneur's estate, and I do not know what disposition you propose to make of them. Should you desire on behalf of Mrs. Gouverneur's estate to sell all of the papers, I would be glad to take them, so that Mr. Monroe's papers would find a proper resting place. . . .
Lee decided that as executor he should first examine the papers "in their relation to many more I have here," and they were returned to him for that purpose. After going over them, however, he decided to accept Cadwalader's offer and wrote on January 24 that he was returning the package "contents exactly as rec'd!" The latter presented them that year to the New York Public Library, of which he was a trustee. The manuscripts in the gift were estimated to number about 1,200.41
The "many more" papers Charles O'Donnell Lee retained are reported to have been divided into five portions, one going to each of the five Lee children who survived their parents. Two of the portions have since been acquired by Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, and the originals, like the other Monroe papers that he received, are now in the James Monroe Memorial Library and reproductions are in Series 2 of the Monroe Papers in the Library of Congress.
A number of important manuscripts that once were part of the Monroe Papers have at some time or times been separated from the segment retained by the family. Among these are Monroe's diary notes dating from March 1804 to May 1805 and his letterbook for the period from November 1804 to May 1805, which are now in the New York Public Library.42 In addition to the two letterbooks mentioned above, the Library of Congress has acquired from various sources during this century, by purchase and gift, a volume containing Monroe's diary notes dating from June 1794 to July 1796 (with additional notes for 1801-2) and an account of his expenses from 1794 to 1802, as well as the recipients' copies of eighteen letters to Monroe and four brief memoranda in his hand.
The Library modified the arrangement of the Monroe Papers made by the Department of State by combining the two chronological series into one chronology (which included the segment acquired from Monroe Johnson in 1931) and the correspondence was rebound, in 37 volumes, in 1941.
As part of the Library's program to ensure safety of its most valuable manuscript holdings during World War II, the entire body of Monroe Papers was removed from Washington in December 1941 and stored in the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia until 1944, when the group was returned to Washington under the direction of Alvin W. Kremer, then Keeper of the Collections.43
During 1958-60 the arrangement of the manuscripts-which now number 3,821-was studied and perfected and a microfilm of the Monroe Papers in this arrangement was released in November 1960, so that greater accessibility of the material would be ensured.
Since the James Monroe papers were microfilmed and indexed additional material has been added to the collection. These items are classified as Series 4, Addenda. For a detailed description of the contents of Series 4 see the Scope and Contents section of the Finding Aid. Series 4 was not microfilmed or indexed, but the original items are being digitized and will be viewable on this website.
Written by Dorothy S. Eaton*
*Reprinted from the Index to the James Monroe Papers (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1963). Lightly edited by Julie Miller, 2014.
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President James Monroe Birthplace
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The President James Monroe Birthplace site will soon have more features!
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www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com
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https://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/james-monroe.html
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James Monroe Birthplace
at Colonial Beach
UPDATE January 2017: Replica of James Monroe childhood home to be constructed.
June 2016: VDOT approved a grant for construction at the James Monroe Birthplace site of an interpretive timeline.
Plans are underway to construct a half-mile long, scenic historical walk!
The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors, working in conjunction with the James Monroe Memorial Association, the Federal Government and the Commonwealth, has approved plans to complete the James Monroe Historic Project, at a cost of more than $700,000.
Soon to come are the scenic walk (complete with granite historical markers along the trail telling the story of Monroe’s career), a bicycle trail, a canoe launch, benches, an overlook and a picnic pavilion.
The Monroe Doctrine was a major point of study
in my American History class out on the west coast.
Little did I know that years later, I would be living
in a house located just five short miles from the birthplace
of the author of that program, former President of the United States, James Monroe.
He was born here in Westmoreland County on April 28, 1758, within eyeshot of what was later to become the Town of Colonial Beach. 500 acres of land and a 20-foot by 58-foot four-room dwelling is not only where Monroe was born, but where he spent the first sixteen years of his life working the farm until he left to pursue an education at The College of William & Mary. It was that college who in 1976 began the archaeological survey of the James Monroe Birthplace and uncovered the ruins of the Monroe family home, a rough-cut wooden farmhouse with a few outbuildings.
Laurence Gouverneur Hoes (great-great-grandson of James Monroe) and his wife, Ingrid Westesson Hoes, established the James Monroe Memorial Foundation back in 1928. Laurence had always hoped the Foundation would acquire the farm and reconstruct the Monroe family home, barn and outbuildings as an interpretive area to highlight the modest beginnings of a great United States President. On April 4th 2005, Westmoreland County signed a 99-year lease with the Foundation which will allow them to restore the Birthplace farmhouse, establish an educational visitor center, and remain the faithful steward of the Birthplace farm.
The site was done-up recently, just in time for the 250th anniversary of his birth. What used to be a driveway and a flagpole now consists of a parking area, historical markers, and an 18th-century garden planted by members of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs. The Boy Scouts even built a canoe launch on the creek.
So just who was James Monroe? A very underrated President who came from humble beginnings. He was one of five children of Virginia natives Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones.
At 16, Monroe entered the College of William and Mary. Shortly thereafter, his father died and his uncle, Judge Joseph Jones became his guardian and covered the cost of his education. In 1775, he left college to fight in the Revolutionary War.
1778 - He served with George Washington at Valley Forge, PA.
1779 - His military career came to an end after he achieved the rank of major and was commissioned to lead (as Lt. Colonel) a militia of Virginia regiment that was never formed. He became an aide to Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson, as well as a law student with Jefferson’s guidance.
1782 - Monroe was elected to the Virginia State Legislature. At 24, he was the youngest member of the Executive Council.
1783 - Elected to the United States Congress that was meeting in New York City, he served for three years during which he became interested in the settlement of the “western” lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River. He chaired two expansion committees – one dealing with travel on the Mississippi River and the other involving governing of the western lands.
1786 - Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright, whom he met while Congress was meeting in New York City. He resigned from Congress and they settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia where he was elected to the town council and again to the Virginia Legislature.
1789 - The Monroe’s moved to Albemarle County, Virginia. Their estate, Ash Lawn, was very near Jefferson’s estate, Monticello.
1790 - Monroe was elected to a recently vacated seat in the United States Senate and was named to a full six-year term the following year.
1794 - Monroe accepted the diplomatic position of Minister Plenipotentiary to France and worked to help maintain friendly relations with them despite efforts to remain on peaceful terms with their enemy, Great Britain.
1796 - Monroe was recalled and he was bitter, feeling he'd been betrayed by his opponents who used him to appease France as they made great concessions to Britain in Jay’s Treaty which the United States two years prior. On his return he published a book of 500 pages, entitled "A View of the conduct of the Executive" (Philadelphia, 1797) in which he printed his instructions, correspondence with the French and U. S. governments, speeches, and letters received from American residents in Paris.
1797 - Monroe returned home in June and took a break from public office
1799 - He was elected Governor of Virginia and served until 1802. The following year he was sent back to France to help Robert R. Livingston complete negotiations for the acquisition of New Orleans and West Florida. Emperor Napoleon I offered instead to sell the whole Louisiana colony and although the Americans were not authorized to make such a large purchase, they began negotiations. The Louisiana Purchase was concluded in April of that year, which more than doubled the size of the nation.
1807 - Monroe returned to Virginia politics and once again served in the legislature.
1811 - Monroe was elected Governor for a second time.
1812 - War was declared, and he loyally supported Madison, serving as Secretary of State during the war and simultaneously serving as Secretary of War in 1814. He scouted the British advance toward Washington from Benedict, MD, and was present at Bladensburg, where he ordered the movement of two regiments which he thought were deployed incorrectly.
1815 - Monroe returned to the normal peacetime duties of Secretary of State. He was the logical presidential nominee at the end of Madison’s second term, and he won the election easily.
1817 - March 4th, James Monroe took his oath of office. Some of the notable events of this term were: - Congress fixed 13 as the number of stripes on the flag to honor the original 13 colonies - The boundary between the U.S. and Canada was fixed at the 49th parallel - Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the cancellation of five million dollars in Spanish debt - The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state, but forbade slavery in any states carved from the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes latitude. Monroe’s administration had been one of high idealism and integrity and his personal popularity was at an all-time high by the end of his first term in office. He was nearly unopposed for reelection, carrying every state and receiving every electoral vote cast - with the exception of one, cast by a New Hampshire elector for John Quincy Adams.
1824 - At 66 years old he had no intentions of seeking a third term. In 1825 he turned over the presidency to John Quincy Adams and retired to Oak Hill, his estate in Loudoun County. Plagued by financial worries, he was forced to sell his Ash Lawn estate.
1830 - Monroe's wife died, and he sold Oak Hill and moved to New York City to live with his youngest daughter, Maria and her husband.
1831 - Monroe died on July 4th in New York City on the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He was originally buried in Marble Cemetery in New York, but on April 28, 1858 he was re-interred to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. So, now, back to the Monroe Doctrine. This happened during Monroe's second term as president. The two principles of the Doctrine were noncolonization and nonintervention, which were not new or original, but it was Monroe who explicitly proclaimed them as policy and it was a keystone of foreign policy for many years. I'm glad that we studied it in school and I'm glad that I live not far from where this remarkable person and former U.S. President was born and raised.
His wife, Elizabeth Kortright was born in New York city in 1768. She was the daughter of a British army captain Lawrence Kortright.
Their kids:
Eliza Kortright Monroe (1786-1835) married George Hay of Virginia
James Spence Monroe (1799-1800)
Maria Hester Monroe (1803-1850) married Samuel L. Gouverneur of New York
Read a more comprehensive history of James Monroe here.
Site Location: From Colonial Beach, take Rt. 205 east towards Oak Grove. It will be on your left after about a mile. Look for the "Road to Revolution" sign.
Return from James Monroe Birthplace to Things to Do & See
Return to the Home page
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2
| 44 |
https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/scandocs/nysgovernors.htm
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en
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Public Papers of New York State Governors: Digital Collections Research Library: NYS Library
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Clinton, George
1777 (July)-1795 (April) Clinton was also the third governor of NY, serving from 1801-04. His public papers are in 10 volumes, encompassing all terms served; eight volumes (all but 4 and 7) are currently available online.
Volumes 3 to 6 contain illustrations of prominent figures of the Revolutionary War, including John Jay, the Marquis de Lafayette, Morgan Lewis, Count de Grasse, Anthony Wayne, Robert R. Livingston, John Stark, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, and Benedict Arnold.
Volume 8 includes letters from the Governor's office for the years 1782 to 1785, in addition to illustrations of taverns and other establishments in New York.
Volumes 9 and 10 include an analytical index to the papers. Volume 10 also provides an account of the exhumation and reinterment of Governor Clinton's remains in 1908.
The NYS Library also holds a collection of items with George Clinton's signature and the seal of New York (SC23299).
Jay, John
1795 (April)-1801 (April) Portrait from George Clinton's papers. Clinton, George
1801 (April)-1804 (April) Clinton was also the first governor of NY, serving from 1777-95. Lewis, Morgan
1804 (April)-1807 (April) Tompkins, Daniel D.
1807 (April)-1817 (Feb.)
There are three volumes; Volume 2 is currently available online.
Volume 2 contains letters relating primarily to the War of 1812. Other subjects addressed are the New York and New Jersey boundary line dispute, and the adjustment of the border line between Canada and New York.
Tompkins resigned as Governor in order to serve as Vice President in James Monroe's administration.
The NYS Library also holds a small collection of NYS Militia Officer Commissions (1809-1816) signed by Governor Tompkins (X9682).
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
Tayler, John
1817 (Feb. 24-July 1)
Upon Tompkin's resignation, Lieutenant-Governor Tayler became Governor and served the remainder of the term.
The NYS Library has a collection of John Tayler's papers(SC20183).
Clinton, De Witt
1817 (July 1)-1822 DeWitt Clinton also served as the ninth governor of NY.
Image from A popular history of the origins of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. Yates, Joseph C.
1823-1824 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Clinton, De Witt
1825-1828 (Feb. 11) DeWitt Clinton also served as the seventh governor of NY.
Pitcher, Nathaniel
1828 (Feb. 11-Dec. 31) When Clinton died while in office, Lieutenant-Governor Pitcher became Governor and served the remainder of the term.
Van Buren, Martin
1829 (Jan. 1-March 12) Van Buren resigned in order to serve as Secretary of State in Andrew Jackson's administration.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Throop, Enos T.
1829 (March 12)-1832 Lieutenant-Governor Throop became Governor upon Van Buren's resignation and served the remainder of the term; he was subsequently re-elected for a full term.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Marcy, William L.
1833-1838 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Seward, William H.
1839-1842
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
The NYS Library has a small collection of William Seward's papers (SC21153).
Bouck, William C.
1843-1844 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Wright, Silas
1845-1846 Portrait from Messages from the Governors...(1843-1856) Young, John
1847-1848 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Fish, Hamilton
1849-1850 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Hunt, Washington
1851-1852 Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Seymour, Horatio
1853-1854 Seymour also served as the 24th governor of NY.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Clark, Myron H.
1855-1856
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
The NYS Library also holds a collection of Myron Holley Clark's Papers.
King, John A.
1857-1858
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
The NYS Library has a small collection of John Alsop King's papers (21674).
Morgan, Edwin D.
1859-1862
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
The NYS Library has a collection of Edwin Morgan's papers (SC11818).
Seymour, Horatio
1863-1864 Seymour also served as the 20th governor of NY.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1). Fenton, Reuben E.
1865-1868 Portrait from the Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York, in 1868.
The NYS Library has a collection of Reuben Eaton Fenton's Papers (SC10722). Hoffman, John T.
1869-1872 One volume.
Before being elected governor, Hoffman was the mayor of New York City. Dix, John Adams
1873-1874 Tilden, Samuel J.
1875-1876
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
Robinson, Lucius
1877-1879
Three volumes.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
Cornell, Alonzo B.
1880-1882
Three volumes.
Portrait from the Red Book (volume 1, virtual part 1).
Cleveland, Grover
1883-1884
Cleveland served as governor for only one year before resigning upon being elected President of the U.S. in 1884. Two volumes.
The NYS Library has a small collection of Grover Cleveland's papers (VC19810).
Hill, David B.
1885-1891
Lieutenant-Governor Hill became Governor upon Cleveland's resignation; he was subsequently re-elected twice. There are seven volumes; volumes 1-3 and 7 are available online.
Volume 1 (1885) includes an address on the occasion of the opening of the State Park at Niagara.
Portrait from the Red Book, (volume 1, virtual part 1).
Flower, Roswell P.
1892-1894 Three volumes.
Volume 1 (1892) includes correspondence regarding the purchase of property on Fire Island for quarantining passengers aboard cholera-infected vessels.
Volume 2 (1893) includes an annual message that describes the railroad switchmen strike that occurred in Buffalo the year before. Other topics include the passage of the Factory Act, which imposed stricter regulations on factory conditions, and remarks given at the World's Fair in Chicago.
Morton, Levi P.
1895-1896 There are two volumes; volume 2 (1896) is available online.
Volume 2 (1896) includes an annual message that addressed the successful implementation of the Compulsory Education Law, which went into effect in 1895, and the Raines Bill, a law designed to tax and regulate alcohol. Black, Frank S.
1897-1898
Two volumes in one digital file.
Volume 1 (1897) includes Governor Black's veto of the Dudley Inheritance Tax Bill.
Volume 2 (1898) contains a message regarding the need to meet the expense of providing troops for the Spanish-American War.
Roosevelt, Theodore
1899-1900 Two volumes. Public papers include messages to the legislature, proclamations, addresses, vetoes, pardons and commutations, and miscellaneous items.
Volume 1 (1899) contains public addresses, including Roosevelt's "Strenuous Life" speech.
Volume 2 (1900) includes an annual message in which Roosevelt argues in favor of additional anti-trust legislation, noting that current legislation has been ineffective.
The NYS Library also has the Lyall D. Squair Theodore Roosevelt Collection (SC22110) and Teddy Roosevelt Postcard Collection (PRI5399).
Image from Messages from the Governors...(1899-1906) Odell, Benjamin B.
1901-1904 Four volumes Frank W. Higgins
1905-1906 Two volumes. Hughes, Charles E.
1907-1910 (Oct. 6) Hughes resigned to become an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme court. Four volumes. White, Horace
1910 (Oct. 6-Dec. 31) Lieutenant-Governor White became Governor upon Hughes' resignation and served the remainder of the term. Sulzer, William
1913 (Jan. 1-Oct. 17) Sulzer was impeached by the Assembly on October 13, 1913, found guilty by the Court for Trial of Impeachments, and removed from office.
One volume. Includes proclamations; messages to the Legislature; veto messages and memoranda; memoranda on legislative bills approved; emergency messages; appointments; designations; special terms of court, removal proceedings and investigations; and pardons, commutations, reprieves and requisitions.
The NYS Library has a collection of scrapbooks about William Sulzer (SC14320).
Portrait from the NYS Library's online exhibit about Sulzer's impeachment. Miller, Nathan L.
1921-1922 two volumes; Volume 2 (1922) is currently online. Smith, Alfred E.
1923-1928 Smith was also New York's 45th governor (1919-20). There are six volumes for this period; volumes 1-2 and 4-6 are available online. Roosevelt, Franklin D.
1929-1932
Four volumes; volumes 3 and 4 currently online.
The NYS Library has a small collection of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's papers (VC21154).
Lehman, Herbert H.
1933 - Dec. 3, 1942 Lehman resigned shortly before the end of his term in order to take the position of Director of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations.
Ten volumes (13 digital files). Poletti, Charles
1942 (Dec. 3-31) Lieutenant-Governor Poletti became Governor upon Lehman's resignation and served the remainder of the term. Dewey, Thomas E.
1943-1954 Twelve volumes. Harriman, W. Averell
1955-1958 Four volumes. Rockefeller, Nelson A.
1959-1973 Rockefeller resigned in order to serve as Chair of the National Commission on Critical Choices for America and of the National Commission on Water Quality.
Fifteen volumes. Wilson, Malcolm
1973-1974
Lieutenant-Governor Wilson became governor upon Rockefeller's resignation and served the remainder of the term.
One volume.
Carey, Hugh L.
1975-1982 Public papers are comprised of documents from the Governor's Press Office and materials from the files of the Executive Chamber, such as memoranda on legislative bills approved and vetoed, messages to the legislature, executive orders, addresses, appointments, pardons and commutations, and miscellaneous items.
There are eight volumes. Cuomo, Mario M.
1983-1994 Public papers are comprised of documents released by the Governor's Press Office and supplemental material from the Executive Chamber files, such as messages to the legislature, memoranda on legislative bills approved and vetoed, executive orders, appointments, pardons and commutations, and miscellaneous items.
There are nine volumes of Papers. Pataki, George E. 1995-2006 Not published. Spitzer, Eliot 2007-2008 (March 17) Not published. Paterson, David A. 2008 (March 17)-2010 Lieutenant Governor Paterson became governor in March 2008, upon Governor Spitzer's resignation, and served the rest of the term.
Not published. Cuomo, Andrew 2011- August 23, 2021 Not published.
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https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/presidential-dollar-coin/james-monroe
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James Monroe Presidential $1 Coin
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2016-06-23T13:19:45+00:00
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Welcome to the U.S. Mint, America's manufacturer of legal tender coinage. Your source for tours, online games, breaking news, and our product catalog.
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https://www.usmint.gov/wordpress/wp-content/themes/us-mint/favicon.ico
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United States Mint
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https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/presidential-dollar-coin/james-monroe
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Virginia native James Monroe was exceptionally qualified to serve as the United States’ fifth president. Not only was he a Revolutionary War soldier, he was champion of the Bill of Rights, U.S. diplomat in Europe, governor of Virginia, senator, secretary of state, secretary of war, and negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase, before being overwhelmingly elected president in 1816.
His time in office is known as the “Era of Good Feelings” for the peace and booming economy the country enjoyed.
The Monroe Doctrine, a foundation of American foreign policy introduced in an 1823 message to Congress, warned European powers against expansionism in the Western Hemisphere.
Monroe’s presidency was also marked by the Missouri Compromise, which preserved a balance of free states and slave states in the United States and prohibited slavery in western territories above the 36/30′ north latitude line.
Coinage Legislation under President James Monroe
Act of January 14, 1818 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for another term of five years, beginning March 4, 1818.
Act of March 3, 1819 — This Act continues the authorization of certain gold and silver coinage from foreign countries as current and legal tender for the payment of debts within the United States. Specific rates of exchange are enumerated for the coins of Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Spain.
Act of March 3, 1821 — This Act continues the provisions of the Act of April 29, 1816, relating to the legal-tender value of French coins.
Act of March 3, 1823 — This Act authorizes certain gold coinage from foreign countries as current and legal tender in all payments on account of public lands within the United States. Specific rates of exchange are enumerated for the coins of Great Britain, Portugal, France, and Spain. The Act also calls for an annual assay of such coins, and for a report to the Congress detailing the results.
Act of March 3, 1823 — This Act directs the location of the United States Mint to remain in Philadelphia for another term of five years, beginning March 4, 1823.
United States Mint Directors appointed by President Monroe
1824 Samuel Moore — Fifth Director of the United States Mint
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https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/james-monroe-buried-in-nyc-marble-cemetery/
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Ephemeral New York
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Posts about James Monroe Buried in NYC Marble Cemetery written by ephemeralnewyork
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Ephemeral New York
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https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/james-monroe-buried-in-nyc-marble-cemetery/
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President James Monroe’s life was centered in Virginia. The Continental Army veteran, born and educated in the state, assumed the roles of Virginia senator and governor before becoming the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
With his roots firmly in Virginia, how did this esteemed statesman known for the Monroe Doctrine and the Missouri Compromise end up buried in a cemetery that still exists in the East Village?
It has to do with the passing of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, who died in 1830 (below, with her husband) at the couple’s Loudon County estate. The Kortrights were a wealthy New York City merchant family. One of their daughters, Maria, had married into the equally posh Gouverneur clan, also part of Gotham’s old money elite.
Maria and her husband, postmaster general of New York City Samuel Gouverneur, lived in a lovely Federal-style home at 63 Prince Street on the corner of what was then called Lafayette Place. After becoming a widower and in failing health, 72-year-old Monroe decided to move to New York City to live with his daughter and son-in-law.
Monroe’s time in Manhattan was short. On July 4, 1831, he passed away from heart failure (some sources say tuberculosis as well) inside the Prince Street home (below, in 1877).
In response to the ex-President’s death, grieving New York officials held an elaborate funeral procession. With businesses closed for the day, his casket traveled to City Hall (below). There, thousands of New Yorkers paid their respects before the procession continued to St. Paul’s Church.
After leaving St. Paul’s, a hearse pulled by four black horses traveled two miles up Broadway to the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street, where the Gouverneurs chose to inter Monroe in their family vault. He was one of the first to be interred in this new burial ground, states the cemetery website.
The Marble Cemetery, not to be confused with the other Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue, still exists on Second Street between First and Second Avenues. In 1831, however, its borders were beyond city limits and was “well into the suburbs,” according to George Morgan in his 1921 book The Life of James Monroe.
“Monroe was the third of the first five Presidents to die on the Fourth of July; John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had died on that day five years earlier,” wrote historian Daniel Preston on the website of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “Thousands of mourners followed his hearse up Broadway in Manhattan to the Gouverneur family vault in Marble Cemetery, while church bells tolled and guns fired at Fort Columbus [on Governors Island].”
For almost three decades, Monroe’s remains lay in the Gouverneur vault at the New York City Marble Cemetery, which was soon surrounded by buildings in the booming city. In 1857, a group of Virginians living in Gotham decided to erect a monument over the vault, per the cemetery website.
A year later, the state of Virginia decided Monroe should be brought home.
“In 1858, the 100th anniversary of [Monroe’s] birth, municipal officials and representatives of the State of Virginia decided that the remains should be returned to his home State for reburial,” wrote the National Park Service (NPS). “The Virginia legislature appropriated funds for this purpose.”
New York City officials relented, exhuming Monroe’s body from the Marble Cemetery (above, today) and sending it by steamboat to Richmond. On July 5 of that year, Monroe’s remains were interred “on a high bluff overlooking the James River, in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery,” stated the NPS.
That leaves just one ex-President laid to rest in New York City: Ulysses S. Grant, whose body was sealed inside the tomb named in his honor in Riverside Park in 1897.
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https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/Century18th/GeorgeWashingtonJamesMonroe
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George Washington and James Monroe
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George Washington and James Monroe
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The dominant figures in the painting are two gentlemen of Virginia who stand tall above the rest. One of them is Lieutenant James Monroe, holding a big American flag upright against the storm. The other is Washington…The artist invites each of these soldiers as an individual, but he also reminds us that they are all in the same boat, working desperately together against the wind and current. He has given them a common sense of mission, and in the stormy sky above he has painted a bright prophetic star, shining through a veil of cloud.[11]
My Dearest: I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern…It has been determined in Congress that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it…But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking is designed to answer some good purpose.
George Washington,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
18 June 1775,
Letter to Martha Washington[13]
I am called on a theatre to which I am a perfect stranger.
James Monroe,
Annapolis, Maryland,
16 June 1783
Letter to Richard Henry Lee[14]
Bunker Hill encouraged Washington to believe that as long as he maintained a similar tactical as well as strategic defensive, he might hope to resist successfully, the whole of any army the British were likely to mobilize against him, in spite of the obvious deficiencies of his troops in numbers, equipment, and training. Unfortunately, for Washington, even this modest optimism was to prove unfounded. The British had so badly bungled their opportunities at Bunker Hill , the battle gave the Americans excessive hopes of what they could accomplish in full-scale battle as long as they stood on the tactical defensive.[21]
Sir: I have stronger Reasons since I wrote to you last, to confirm me in my Opinion that the Army under General Howe is on its Departure. All their movements pronounce it…It is given out that they are bound to Halifax, but I am of the Opinion that New York is their Place of Destination. It is the Object worthy their Attention; and it is the Place that we must use every Endeavour to keep from them…I am, Sir, etc.[26]
The meeting debated Reed’s plan for crossing the Delaware and attacking one of the enemy’s posts in New Jersey. The council agreed very quickly, and a long discussion followed on how it might be done. Much of the conversation was about the weather, the river, and boats. Colonel John Glover, who had long experience of maritime affairs, was consulted about the feasibility of the crossing. Glover told Washington…‘that…his boys could manage it.’ The next day secret orders went out to senior officers in the army. The operation was on.[36]
Sir: That I should dwell upon the Subject of our distresses cannot be more disagreeable to Congress, than it is painful to my self. The alarming Situation to which our affairs are reduced impels me to the Measure…When I reflect upon these things, they fill me with much concern, knowing that General Howe has a Number of Troops cantoned in the Towns…near the Delaware, [with]…intentions to pass as soon as the ice is Sufficiently formed, to invade Pennsylvania, and to possess himself of [the City of] Philadelphia, if Possible. To guard against his designs, and the executions of them, shall employ my every exertion, but how is this to be done? As yet, but a few Militia have gone to Philadelphia…Had I entertained a doubt of General Howe’s intentions to pass the Delaware [up]on the dissolution of our Army and as soon as the ice is made, it would be now done away…P.S. If the public papers have been removed from Philadelphia, I hope those which I sent to Lieut. Colo. Reed before we left New York, have not been forgot[.] [37]
Their dress tells us that they are soldiers from many parts of America, and each of them has a story that is revealed by a few strokes of the artist’s brush. One man wears the short tarpaulin jacket of a New England seaman; we look again and discover that he is of African descent.[41] Another is a recent Scottish immigrant, still wearing his Balmoral bonnet. A third is an androgynous figure in a loose red shirt, maybe a woman in man’s clothing, pulling at an oar…At the bow and stern of the boat are hard faced western riflemen in hunting shirts and deerskin leggings. Huddled between the thwarts are farmers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in blanket coats and road-brimmed hats…[One] wears the blue coat and red facings of Haslet’s Delaware Regiment. Another figure wears a boat cloak and an oiled hat…his sleeve reveals the facing of Smallwood’s silk-stocking Maryland Regiment. Hidden behind him is a mysterious thirteenth man. Only his weapon is visible; one wonders who he might have been.[42]
George Washington rode up and down the column urging his men forward. Suddenly the general’s horse slipped and started to fall on a steep and icy slope. ‘While passing a Slanting Slippery bank,’ Lieutenant Bostwick remembered, ‘his excellency’s horse[‘s] hind feet both slip’d from under him.’ The animal began to go down. Elisha Bostwick watched in fascination as Washington locked his fingers in the animal’s mane and hauled up its heavy head by brute force. He shifted its balance backward just enough to allow the horse to regain its hind footing on the treacherous road…It was an extraordinary feat of strength, skill, and timing; and another reason why his soldiers stood in awe of this man.[45]
Lieutenant Monroe met a Jersey man who came out to see why his dogs were barking. Monroe remembered that the man thought ‘we were from the British army, and ordered us off…He was violent and determined in his manner, and very profane.’ Monroe told him to go back to his home or be taken prisoner. When the man realized that he was talking to American troops, his manner suddenly changed. He brought them food and offered to join them. ‘I’m a doctor,’ he explained, ‘and I may be of help to some poor fellow.’ The offer was accepted, and Doctor John Riker joined Monroe’s infantry as a surgeon-volunteer.’”[46]
‘Captain Washington rushed forward, attacked and put the troops around the cannon to flight and took possession of them.’ In the melee, William Washington went down, badly wounded in both hands. James Monroe took over ‘at the head of the corps’ and led it forward. He too was hit by a musket ball, which severed an artery. He was carried from the field, bleeding dangerously. His life was saved by Doctor Riker, who had joined Monroe’s company as a volunteer the night before. The New Jersey physician clamped Monroe’s artery just in time to keep him from bleeding to death.[51]
Sir—Upon not receiving any answer to my first information and observing the enemy inclining toward your right, I thought it advisable to hang as close on them as possible. I am at present within four hundred yrds. Of their right—I have only about 70 men who are fatigued much. I have taken three prisoners—If I had six horsemen…I sho’d in the course of the night procure good intelligence w’h I wo’d soon as possible convey you.
I am Sir your most ob’t Serv’t
Ja Monroe
Sir,---Some few days since I arrived here…I expected I should more effectually put in execution, your Excellency’s orders by coming immediately here, the source from which Governor Nash…or Baron de Kalb…get their Intelligence…We have it from authority we cannot doubt, that an embarkation has taken place at Charlestown and sailed some days since under the command of General Clinton consisting of about 6000 men. The remainder of their army supposed upwards of 4000, with their cavalry forming a corps of 600 under Col. Tarleton, are left behind under Lord Cornwallis…What plan General de Kalb may take to oppose them I cannot determine…At Gov’ Nash’s request I shall attend him tomorrow to where Baron de Kalb may be…in my next…shall…inform your Excellency of the plan Baron de Kalb may take for is future operations…I have the honor to be with the greatest respect and esteem yr. Excellencys.
Your Very humble Serv’
Ja, Monroe
Dear Sir:…I am glad to find that Congress [has] recommended to the States to appear in the Convention proposed to be [held] in Philadelphia in May…It is idle in my opinion to suppose that the Sovereign can be insensible to the inadequacy of the powers under which it acts…and…not recommend a revision of the [Federal] system, when it is considered by many as the only Constitutional mode by which the defects can be recommended…I am fully of opinion that those who lean to a Monarchial government, have…not consulted the public mind…I am also clear…that the period is not arrived for adopting the change without shaking the Peace of this Country to its foundation. That a thorough reform of the present system is indispensable, none…will deny, and with hand (and heart) I hope the business will be essayed in a full Convention.[66]
Dear Sir,--- I can scarcely venture an apology for my silence…Since I left N.Y…I was admitted to the Bar…In the course of the winter I mov’d my family to this town in [which] I have taken my residence with a view to my profession…But I consider my residence here as temporary merely to serve the purpose of the times…With the political world, I have had little to do since I left Congress…The affairs of the federal government are I believe in the utmost confusion. The convention is an expedient that will produce a decisive effect. It will either recover us from our ruin…But I trust that the presence of Gen’l Washington will have great weight in the body itself so as to overawe & keep under the demon of party & that the signature of his name…will secure its passage thro’ the union.[70]
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction…The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have perished…The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, they cannot be too much admired…It will be found, indeed,…that some of the distresses under which we labor…[are] a factious spirit [which] has tainted our public administrations.[72]
I like much the general idea of framing a government into Legislative, Judiciary and Executive…I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great and little states…I am much pleased too with…the method of voting by persons, instead of…states…I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies…Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no government should refuse…I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive…France with all its despotism and two or three hundred thousand men always in arms has had three insurrections in the three years I have been here…[I]t is my principle that the will of the Majority should always prevail. If they approve the proposed Convention in all its parts, I shall concur in it [cheerfully], in hopes that they will amend it whenever they shall find it [works] wrong.[74]
Mr. Chairman, whether the Constitution be good or bad, the present clause clearly discovers that it is a national government, and no longer a Confederation[.]…The very idea of converting what was formerly a confederation to a consolidated government is totally subversive of every principle which has hitherto governed us. This power is calculated to annihilate totally the state governments…I solemnly declare that no man is a greater friend to a firm union of the American States than I am; but, sir, if this great end can be obtained without hazarding the rights of the people, why should we recur to such dangerous principles?[75]
I rose yesterday to ask a question which arose in my own mind…The question turns, sir, on…the expression, We, the people, instead of the states, of America. I need not take…pains to show that the principles of this system are extremely…dangerous. Is this a monarchy like England—a compact between prince and people…to secure the liberty of the latter?...Here is a resolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. It is radical in this transition; our rights and principles are endangered…The Constitution is said to have beautiful features; but when I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to me horribly frightful…Your President may easily become king.[76]
Sir:…What is to be done in the case of the Little Sarah now at Chester? Is the Minister of the French Republic to set the Acts of this Government at defiance, with impunity? And then threaten the Executive with an appeal to the People. What must the world think of such conduct and the Government of the United States in submitting to it? These are serious questions. Circumstances press for decision and…I wish to know your opinion upon them, even before tomorrow for the vessel may be gone.[83]
Dear Sir:…[U]ntil a decision is had on the conduct of the Minister of the French Republic…[i]t is my wish, under these circumstances to enter upon the consideration of the Letters of that Minister tomorrow at Nine o’Clock. I therefore desire you will be here at that hour and bring with you all his letters, your answers, and all such papers as are connected therewith. As the consideration of this business may require some time, I should be glad if you and other gentlemen would take a family dinner with me at four o’Clock. No other company…will be invited. I am &c.[84]
As the present situation of…several nations of Europe…with which the U.S. have important relations,…I have thought it my duty to communicate to them certain correspondences which have taken place…It is with extreme concern I have to inform you that…the person whom [the French] have unfortunately appointed their Minister plenipotentiary, here, [has] breathed nothing of the friendly spirit of the nation which sent him; their tendency on the contrary has been to involve us in War abroad, and discord and anarchy at home. So far…his acts, or those of his agents, have threatened our immediate commitment in the war…In the meantime, I have respected and pursued the stipulations of our treaties according to what I have judged their true sense…The papers now communicated will…apprize you of these transactions.[86]
Dear Sir…I am now deliberating on the measure proper and necessary to be taken with respect to Mr. G…t and wish for aid in so doing. The critical State of Things [is] making me more than usually anxious to decide right in the present case. None but the heads of Departments are privy to these papers, which I pray may be returned this evening, or in the morning. With very sincere esteem &c.[87]
As the debate over the navy bill reached a climax,…the new secretary of state, Edmund Randolph…found several of the European belligerents—Britain, Spain, and Holland—reprehensible for seizing American merchantmen trafficking with French ports in the West Indies. He also enumerated complaints against France for interfering with the American merchant marine. But his most serious and extensive allegations fell upon the British, whose practice of maritime warfare violated all the rights of neutrals as the United States understood them.[90] Randolph’s report arrived in Congress on 5 March 1794.
I was presented yesterday by Mr. Randolph with the commission of Minister for the French Republic which you were pleased …to confer upon me…I have only now to request that you will consider me as ready to embark in the discharge of its duties as soon as…suitable passage can be secured for myself & my family to that country…Be assured however it will give me the highest gratification…to promote by mission the interest of my country & the honor & credit of your administration which I deem inseparably connected with it.[96]
Dear Sir:…Nothing important or new has been lately received from our Ministers…Nor does the fate of Robespierre seem to have been given more than a momentary stagnation to…[French] affairs. The Armies rejoice at it, and the people are congratulating one another on the occasion…Mr. Monroe is arrived in France and has had his reception in the midst of the Convention, at Paris, but no letter has been received from him.[99]
Gentlemen of the Senate: In pursuance of my nomination of John Jay, as Envoy Extraordinary to his Britannic majesty on the 16 day April 1794, and of the advice and consent of the Senate thereto on the 19th, a negotiation was opened in London. On the 7 of March 1795, the treaty resulting, therefore, was delivered to the Secrey. of State. I now transmit to the Senate that treaty, and other documents connected with it. They will therefore in their wisdom decide whether they will advise and consent that the said treaty be made between the United States and his Britannic majesty.[100]
Sir:…I have determined to recall the American Minister at Paris, and am taking measures to supply his place, but the more the latter is resolved, the greater the difficulties appear, to do it ably and unexceptionably. By this, I mean one who promote, not thwart the neutral policy of the Government, and at the same time will not be obnoxious to the people among whom he is sent…The transmitted copy of Mr. Monroe’s letter…must be erroneously dated ‘Paris, June 24, 1796…[101]
Dear Sir: Your private letter of the 21st instant has been received. Mr. Monroe in every letter he writes, relative to the discontents of the French government at the conduct of our own, always concludes without finishing his story, leaving great scope to the imagination to divine what the ulterior measures of it will be. There are some things in his correspondence…which I am unable to reconcile. In…[the] letter of the 25th of March…he related his demand of an audience of the French Directory, and his having had it, but that the conference which was promised him with the Minister of Foreign Affairs had not taken place[.]…If these recitals are founded in fact, they form an enigma which requires explanation.[102]
Sir: I have received and pray you to accept my thanks for Pinckney. It becomes necessary now to prepare instructions for him without delay, to bring him fully and perfectly acquainted with the conduct and policy of this government towards France &c. and the motives which have induced the [recall] of Mr. Monroe…It will be candid, proper and necessary to apprize Mr. Monroe…of his [recall]; and in proper terms, of the motives which have impelled it.[103]
My instructions enjoined it on me to…inspire the French government with perfect confidence in the solicitude, which the president felt for the success of the French revolution; of his own preference for France to all other nations as the friend and ally of the United States; of the greatest sense which we still retained for the important services that were rendered us by France in the course of our revolution[.] [111]
Dear Sir,--
I have received your favor of Sep. 7 from Paris, which gave us the only news we have had from you since your arrival there…Our comfort is that the public sense is coming right on the general principles of republicanism & that its success in France put it out of danger here. We are still uninformed what is Mr. Jay’s treaty; but we see that the British piracies have multiplied upon us lately more than ever.[122]
My dear Sir: I have…your letters of the 9th, accompanying your observations on the several articles of the Treaty with Great Britain…The most obnoxious article (the 12th) being suspended by the Senate, there is no occasion to express any sentiment thereon. I wish, however, it had appeared in a different form…I asked, or intended to ask in my letter of the 3rd, whether you conceived (admitting the suspension of the 12th Article should to by the B. Government) there would be a necessity for the treaty going before the Senate again for their advice and consent? This question takes its birth from a declaration of the minority of that body, to that effect. With much truth and sincerity &c.[123]
By June, 1796, it is not improbable that our situation, or that of Britain, may be changed; what security shall we then have for the performance of the treaty?... It is evident, before Mr. Jay left this country, that the British were so far from intending to evacuate the posts, that they had determined to extend their limits; this may not only be inferred from the encouragement they gave to the depredations of the Indians, but undeniably proved by Lord Dorchester’s speech…Surely, then the evacuation should have been insisted upon, while these circumstances operated with full force…Those who think with me, that decision of the part of our government, and firmness in our minister, could not have failed to effect an immediate restitution of our territory, will know of what account to charge this heavy loss of blood and treasure.[127]
Would to God, my fellow citizens, I could here find some source of consolation, some ray of light, to eradicate the sullen gloom!—But alas! Every step we take plunges us into thicker darkness…Even the coward advocates for peace…which this treaty imposes. And for what? Are we nearer peace…than when Mr. Jay left this country? And yet the advocates for the treaty are continually ringing in our ears, the blessings of peace, the horrors of war; and they have the effrontery to assure us, that we enjoy the first and have escaped the last, merely…through the instrumentality of the treaty…In a political view, the treaty is bad…and…like fawning spaniels, we can be beaten into love and submission.[131]
The British treaty has been formally laid before Congress. All America is a tip-toe to see what the H. of Representatives will decide on it…On the precedent now to be set will depend the future construction of our constitution and whether the powers of legislation shall be transferred from the…Senate & H. of R. to the…Senate & Piaringo or any other Indian, Algerine, or other chief. It is fortunate that the first decision is to be in case so palpably atrocious as to have been predetermined by all America…My friendly respects to Mrs. Monroe. Adieu. Affectionately.[132]
“Equally ungrateful and impolitic, the Congress hastens to encourage the English…in…their war of extermination against France…They sent to London a minister, Mr. Jay, known by his attachment to England, and his personal relations to Lord Grenville, and he concluded suddenly a treaty of Commerce which united them with Great Britain, more than a treaty of alliance…Such a treaty…is an act of hostility against France. The French government…has testified the resentment of the French nation, by breaking off communication with an ungrateful and faithless all…Justice and sound policy equally approve this measure of the French government. There is no doubt it will give rise in the United States, to discussions which may afford, a triumph to the party of good republicans, the friends of France. [135]
The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.[139]
My Lord: The sentiments which your Lordship has been pleased to express…[on] my public conduct, do me great honour; and I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgements…for having performed duties, …I claim no merit; but no man can feel more sensibly the reward of approbation for such services than I do…[T]he thanks of one’s country, and the esteem of good men, is the highest gratification my mind is susceptible of…I am now placed in the shade of my Vine and fig tree, and at the age of Sixty-five, am recommencing my Agricultural and Rural pursuits, which were always more congenial to my temper…than the noise and bustle of public employment…I reciprocate with great cordiality the good wishes you have been pleased to bestow upon me; and pray devoutly…[for] the return of Peace; for a more bloody, expensive, and eventful War, is not recorded in modern, if it be found in modern history. I have the honor, etc.[147]
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https://united-states-government.fandom.com/wiki/James_Spence_Monroe
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James Spence Monroe
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James Spence Monroe (April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831) was the 5th President of the United States, 8th Secretary of War, 7th Secretary of State, 4th U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom, 5th U.S. Minister to France, the 12th and 16th Governor of Virginia and a Senator of Virginia. He ran for...
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United States Government Wiki
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https://united-states-government.fandom.com/wiki/James_Spence_Monroe
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James Spence Monroe (April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831) was the 5th President of the United States, 8th Secretary of War, 7th Secretary of State, 4th U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom, 5th U.S. Minister to France, the 12th and 16th Governor of Virginia and a Senator of Virginia. He ran for president in the Election of 1808, but lost the nomination to James Madison. He also ran in the Election of 1816 and the Election of 1820 and ended up winning both.
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https://www.cvillepedia.org/James_Monroe
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James Monroe
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James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) lived in Charlottesville after serving in the Revolutionary War. Monroe was the fifth president of the United States of America from 1817 to 1825.[1]
Friends with Thomas Jefferson, Monroe had moved to Charlottesville to study law under Jefferson (1780 to 1783). Following his presidency, Monroe lived at Monroe Hill, which is now Brown College at Monroe Hill, on the grounds of the University of Virginia.[2]
In 2016, the nonprofit organization that operates his estate changed the name back to Highland, its name when Monroe lived there (a subsequent owner had at one point renamed it to Ash Lawn-Highland). Monroe had lived there from 1799 to 1823, selling the house as he exited the presidency.[3]
Dr. Charles Everett served as a physician and private secretary for Monroe.
Time in Charlottesville and Albemarle County
Monroe's first purchase of real estate in the area was made in 1790, when he bought Lots 17 and 18 (as well as the accompanying Stone House situated thereupon) from George Nicholas. At the same time, Monroe purchased from Nicholas (who already owned over 2,000 acres in different sections across Albemarle County) the farm on which the university now stands. Monroe made Stone House his first residence until he was ready to move into the farm with his furniture and family. It was not until nearly 20 years after Nicholas' death that James Morrison, his executor, gave title to the heirs of his vendees. Perhaps due to Monroe's nationwide fame or to the property already having changed hands several times, no deed was ever recorded for the land purchased by Monroe.
While on the site that would become the University of Virginia, Monroe lived at what is now Monroe Hill. In 1793, he purchased land on the east side of Carter Mountain, in the process becoming a closer neighbor of Thomas Jefferson (Monroe did not receive the deed for this property until 1827). Part of this land Monroe had bought from Jefferson and the other part from William C. Carter, with the house Monroe built upon the property being named Highland. There he lived until the end of his presidency, when all of his lands within the county (amounting to between 4,000 and 5,000 acres in total) were transferred to the United States Bank in payment of his debts.
At the expiration of his second term, Monroe moved to Oak Hill, a farm he had purchased in Loudoun County. The College of William and Mary manages his Highland property today.
Family and descendants
Monroe was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of a captain in the British army named Lawrence Kortright, and had two children with her named Eliza and Maria. Eliza was married to George Hay, the United States Attorney for the district of Virginia, at Monroe's Highland property in 1808. Maria married Samuel L. Governeur of New York in Washington, D.C. while Monroe was president.
Monroe had an elder brother named Andrew who, in 1781, purchased a farm near Batesville, where he lived for the next four years. In 1816, he was residing on a farm which Monroe had purchased on Limestone, below Milton. Andrew died in 1828. One of his sons, Augustine G. was admitted to the Albemarle bar in 1815. Another son, James, born within the county, served as an officer in the United States army, acting as Monroe's private secretary. James married a daughter of James Douglass (an adopted son of Reverend William Douglass) of Ducking Hole, Louisa County and settled in New York City, where he became active in political affairs and was appointed a member of the Peace Convention in 1861.
Joseph Jones, another brother of Monroe, became a member of the Albemarle bar and married Elizabeth, the daughter of James Kerr. In 1811, Joseph was appointed the Commonwealth's Attorney as successor to Judge Dabney Carr, being succeeded himself by William F. Gordon the following year. In 1812, Joseph's daughter Harriet was married to Edward Blair Cabell in Charlottesville, with the couple then moving to Keytesville, Missouri. Joseph lated moved to Missouri himself, where he died in Franklin County in 1824.[4]
Community History Series
In 1973, the Jefferson Cable Corporation filmed a brief documentary narrated by Bernard Chamberlain describing the history of James Monroe.
<vimeo>52416526</vimeo>
In 1974, Bernard Chamberlain hosted Jane Ikenberry in this conversation about Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States.
<vimeo>65089858</vimeo>
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"Birth Month/Day: April 28",
"Birth City: Westmoreland County",
"Life Events/Experience: Were Injured in Combat",
"Group: American Revolution Figures",
"Group: Founding Fathers",
"Death Month/Day: July 4",
"Birth State: Virginia",
"Life Events/Experience: Held Political Office",
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"Life Events/Experience: Served in the Army",
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2014-04-02T14:26:00
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The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe is known for his "Monroe Doctrine," disallowing further European colonization in the Americas.
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en
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/_assets/design-tokens/biography/static/images/favicon.3635572.ico
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Biography
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https://www.biography.com/political-figures/james-monroe
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(1758-1831)
Who Was James Monroe?
James Monroe fought under George Washington and studied law with Thomas Jefferson. He was elected the fifth president of the United States in 1817. He is remembered for the Monroe Doctrine, as well as for expanding U.S territory via the acquisition of Florida from Spain. Monroe, who died in 1831, was the last of the Founding Fathers.
Early Life
Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones Monroe. Spence was a moderately prosperous planter and carpenter whose family emigrated from Scotland in the mid-1600s. First tutored by his mother at home, Monroe attended Campbelltown Academy between 1769 and 1774, and was an excellent student.
As the eldest of several children, Monroe was expected to inherit his father's estate, but the events of 1774 turned his life in new directions. His father died that year, and young Monroe soon enrolled at Virginia's College of William & Mary with intentions of studying law, but dropped out just months later to fight in the American Revolution. His first act of rebellion was to join several classmates and raid the arsenal of the British royal governor, escaping with weapons and supplies that they turned over to the Virginia militia. He soon joined the Continental Army, becoming an officer in 1776, and was part of General Washington's army at the Battle of Trenton, where he was severely wounded.
Political Career Beginnings
After the war, Monroe studied law under the tutorage of Jefferson, beginning a life-long personal and professional relationship. In 1782, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and from 1783 to 1786, he served in the Continental Congress, then meeting in New York. While there, he met and courted Elizabeth Kortright, the daughter of a prosperous New York merchant. The couple married on February 16, 1786, and moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. Monroe proved to not be as successful a farmer as his father and, in time, sold his property to practice law and enter politics.
After the 1787 Federal Convention, Monroe initially joined the anti-Federalists in opposing ratification of the new constitution because it lacked a bill of rights. However, he and several key figures withheld their reservations and vowed to push for changes after the new government was established. Virginia narrowly ratified the Constitution, paving the way for a new government.
In 1790, Monroe ran for a House seat but was defeated by James Madison. Monroe was quickly elected by the Virginia legislature as a United States senator, and soon joined the Democratic-Republican faction led by Jefferson and Madison opposing the Federalist policies of Vice President John Adams and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Within a year of his election, Monroe rose to become his party's leader in the Senate.
Virginia Governor and Cabinet Member
After serving as U.S. minister to France from 1794-96, Monroe returned home to spend three terms as Virginia governor. With Jefferson now occupying the Presidential Mansion, Monroe was tapped to aid negotiations for the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, before he took over as minister to Great Britain until 1807.
Following another brief stint as Virginia governor, Monroe was appointed President Madison's secretary of state in April 1811. Monroe assumed the additional responsibilities of secretary of war during the latter stages of the War of 1812, making him the only person in U.S. history hold two Cabinet positions at once.
U.S. Presidency
Following the custom set by President Washington of only serving two terms, Madison decided not to run for a third term in 1816, paving the way for Monroe to be the Democratic-Republican candidate. With little opposition from the now-fading Federalist Party, Monroe became the fifth president of the United States. He began his presidency with a tour of the northern states, during which time a Boston newspaper described Monroe's reception as an "Era of Good Feelings."
The declaration was more than media hype. The United States could claim a victory in the War of 1812 because of the favorable peace treaty. The nation's economy was booming and the only opposing political party, the Federalists, was on life support. During the first year of Monroe's administration, he continued his outreach to other parts of the country with successful tours in 1818 and 1819. He also made some smart choices to fill his cabinet, appointing a Southerner, John C. Calhoun, as secretary of war, and a Northerner, John Quincy Adams, as secretary of state.
The good feelings were beginning to dwindle by 1819 when the nation's first economic depression took root. Monroe faced another potentially messy situation with the dispute over Missouri's admission to the Union as a slave state, though this was resolved with the addition of Maine as a free state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Later that year, with the Federalists unable to put forth a presidential candidate, Monroe cruised to reelection by earning all but one of the electoral votes.
The 'Monroe Doctrine'
After the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in 1815, many of Spain's colonies in Latin America declared their independence. Americans welcomed this action as validation of their spirit of Republicanism. Behind the scenes, President Monroe and Secretary of State Adams informed these new countries that the United States would support their efforts and open up trade relations. Several European powers threatened to form an alliance to help Spain regain its territories, but pressure from Great Britain, who also saw merit in independent Latin American countries, stopped their efforts.
On December 2, 1823, Monroe formally announced to Congress what would become known as the "Monroe Doctrine." The policy stated that the Americas should be free from future European colonization and that any interference with independent countries in the Americas would be considered a hostile act toward the United States.
Later Years and Death
At the conclusion of his second term in March 1825, Monroe returned to his estates in the Old Dominion. He served on the University of Virginia's Board of Visitors, and was elected president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, before stepping down due to failing health.
Following the death of his wife in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter Maria. He died at her home in Manhattan on July 4, 1831, exactly five years after the passing of fellow Founding Fathers Jefferson and Adams.
Initially buried in the New York family vault of his son-in-law Samuel L. Gouverneur, Monroe was reinterred in Virginia's Hollywood Cemetery in 1858.
QUICK FACTS
Name: James Monroe
Birth Year: 1758
Birth date: April 28, 1758
Birth State: Virginia
Birth City: Westmoreland County
Birth Country: United States
Gender: Male
Best Known For: The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe is known for his "Monroe Doctrine," disallowing further European colonization in the Americas.
Industries
U.S. Politics
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Schools
Campbelltown Academy
College of William & Mary
Death Year: 1831
Death date: July 4, 1831
Death State: New York
Death City: New York
Death Country: United States
Fact Check
We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us!
CITATION INFORMATION
Article Title: James Monroe Biography
Author: Biography.com Editors
Website Name: The Biography.com website
Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/james-monroe
Access Date:
Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
Last Updated: October 27, 2021
Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
QUOTES
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3
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https://www.drinkwinemortuary.com/obituary/James-Williamson
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en
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Obituary for James Monroe Williamson
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James Monroe Williamson
On Saturday, March 15th, the town of Littleton lost...
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//s3.amazonaws.com/CFSV2/favicons/3530-favicon.ico
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Obituary for James Monroe Williamson
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https://www.drinkwinemortuary.com/obituary/James-Williamson
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James Monroe Williamson
On Saturday, March 15th, the town of Littleton lost one of our own, well loved and well respected retired police officer, Lieutenant James Williamson. Jim aka "Willy" to some of his many close friends and co-workers, was born on October 2, 1951 in the small town of Shenandoah Iowa. Jim's family relocated to Denver when Jim was just a toddler and finally to Littleton where he grew up, attending Eugene Field Elementary, Isaac Newton Junior High, and graduating from Arapahoe High school in 1969. A talented all around athlete Jim played and lettered in baseball, basketball and football. As a youth Jim was a very hard worker and while still a student often juggled two jobs at once, ultimately deciding to pursue a career in law enforcement. After graduating from high school he went on to attend nearby Arapahoe Community College where he was a star player on their basketball team. Jim then attended Metropolitan State College where he earned a degree in criminal justice and in December of 1984 received a Masters in Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado.
On August 17th,1974 Jim married his high school sweetheart, Cindy Calhoun, an elementary school teacher. Later the same year Jim was hired by the Littleton Police Dept, where he quickly ascended the career ladder, first to Sergeant and later to Lieutenant. He served for 34 years until retiring in December of 2008. Fellow Littleton officer and good friend Sean Dugan eloquently wrote...
" Jim's enthusiastic spirit, his great sense of humor, his positive attitude and friendship sustained me in some of the most difficult moments in my life and I will never forget that."
This sums Jim up perfectly, he was respected, appreciated and well liked by all throughout his life.
Earlier during his years with Littleton Jim received a Medal of Valor after risking his own life to save a fellow officer who had been disarmed during a pursuit. Jim sustained a badly broken leg during the incident yet was able to apprehend the culprit on one leg. Jim also had the prestigious honor of attending the F.B. I. academy in Quantico , Va. for specialized training. He was one of the first , Drug Recognition Experts in the state of Colorado, and later became a trainer traveling throughout the United States to educate fellow officers in drug recognition. Later in his career Jim became an expert in the important accreditation process. Even after retiring Jim's expertise and precision in the area of accreditation was further utilized by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Littleton's Police Dept. and finally with the Golden Police Dept. where just one year ago Jim returned to work full time to oversee and complete the time consuming accreditation process. Jim greatly enjoyed his many months in the beautiful city of Golden surrounded by wonderful people whom he enjoyed working with tremendously.
Though extremely hard working and dedicated to his work Jim balanced his professional and personal life well and he and his wife Cindy, of almost 40 years, enjoyed their life together surrounded by a long succession of lovable golden retrievers and feisty felines. Avid baseball fans and season ticket holders from day one, they frequently attended Rockies games together and with family. Jim also enjoyed traveling across the states with good friends Glenn, Russ and ....?? visiting major league baseball parks, and other popular attractions. Often seen riding on his beloved Harley Davidson. Anyone that knew Jim knew his passion for riding. Jim had a fun loving silly side as well, which was especially brought out in more recent years by his youngest niece Carly, six, whom he cherished. Always meticulous, always a serious and dedicated worker, yet what stands out the most is a caring and generous soul who laughed often and always wore a smile which will be missed forever by his loved ones.
Jim is survived by his mother Betty Williamson, and sister Sherry Sidell (Rick), of Missouri. His sister, Jan Hazelett of Centennial. Mother-in-law Sonja Calhoun, Susan and Marty Stuber, Michael and Sue Calhoun and Pamela Calhoun. Jim had numerous nieces and nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father Robert Williamson and father- in- law Wayne Calhoun and his older brother Dale, and sister-in-law Gail.
Service Information
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https://samplecontents.library.ph/wikipedia/wp/j/James_Monroe.htm
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James Monroe
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An article about James Monroe hand selected for the Wikipedia for Schools by SOS Children
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http://schools-wikipedia.org/wp/j/James_Monroe.htm
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James Monroe ( April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida (1819); the Missouri Compromise (1820), in which Missouri was declared a slave state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), declaring U.S. opposition to European interference in the Americas, as well as breaking all ties with France remaining from the War of 1812.
Early years
The president’s parents, father Spence Monroe (ca. 1727–1774), a woodworker and tobacco farmer, and mother Elizabeth Jones Monroe, had significant land holdings but little money. Like his parents, he was a slaveholder. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe went to school at Campbelltown Academy and then the College of William and Mary, both in Virginia. After graduating from William and Mary in 1776, Monroe fought in the Continental Army, serving with distinction at the Battle of Trenton, where he was shot in his left shoulder. He is depicted holding the flag in the famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware. Following his war service, he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. James Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright on February 16, 1786 at the Trinity Church in New York.
Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and served in the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786. As a youthful politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, was elected United States Senator.
After his term in the Senate, Monroe was appointed Minister to France from 1794 to 1796. His appointment there was made difficult as he had strong sympathies for the French Revolution, but dutifully maintained President Washington's strict policy of neutrality between Britain and France.
Out of office, Monroe returned to practicing law in Virginia until elected governor there, serving from 1799 to 1802.
Under the first Jefferson administration, Monroe was dispatched to France to assist Robert R. Livingston to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Monroe was then appointed Minister to the Court of St. James (Britain) from 1803 to 1807. In 1806 he negotiated a treaty with Britain to replace the Jay Treaty of 1794, but Jefferson rejected it as unsatisfactory, as the treaty contained no ban on the British practice of impressment of American sailors. As a result, the two nations moved closer toward the War of 1812.
Monroe returned to the Virginia House of Delegates and was elected to another term as governor of Virginia in 1811, but he resigned a few months into the term. He then served as Secretary of State from 1811 to 1814. When he was appointed to the post of Secretary of War in 1814, he stayed on as the Secretary of State ad interim. At the war's end in 1815, he was again commissioned as the permanent Secretary of State, and left his position as Secretary of War. Thus from October 1, 1814 to February 28, 1815, Monroe effectively held both cabinet posts. Monroe stayed on as Secretary of State until the end of the James Madison Presidency, and the following day Monroe began his term as the new President of the United States.
Presidency 1817–1825: The Era of Good Feelings
Policies
In both the presidential elections of 1816 and 1820 Monroe ran nearly unopposed. Attentive to detail, well prepared on most issues, non-partisan in spirit, and above all pragmatic, Monroe managed his presidential duties well. He made strong Cabinet choices, naming a southerner, John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, and a northerner, John Quincy Adams, as Secretary of State. Only Henry Clay's refusal to accept a position kept Monroe from adding an outstanding westerner. Most appointments went to deserving Democratic-Republicans, but he did not try to use them to build the party's base. Indeed, he allowed the base to decay, which reduced anxiety and led to the naming of his period as the " Era of Good Feelings". To build good will, he made two long tours in 1817. Frequent stops allowed innumerable ceremonies of welcome and good will. The Federalist Party dwindled and eventually died out, starting with the Hartford Convention. Practically every politician that held a Federal office belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party, but the party maintained its vitality and organizational integrity at the state and local level but dwindled at the federal level due to redistricting. The party's Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and there were no national conventions.
During his presidency, Congress demanded high subsidies for internal improvements, such as for the Cumberland Road. Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill, which provided for yearly improvements to the road, because he believed it to be "unconstitutional" for the government to pass such a bill.
These "good feelings" endured until 1824, when John Quincy Adams was elected President by the House of Representatives in what Andrew Jackson alleged was a "corrupt bargain." Monroe's popularity, however, was undiminished. Monroe followed nationalist policies. Across the commitment to nationalism, sectional cracks appeared. The Panic of 1819 caused a painful economic depression. The application for statehood by the Missouri Territory, in 1819, as a slave state failed. An amended bill for gradually eliminating slavery in Missouri precipitated two years of bitter debate in Congress. The Missouri Compromise bill resolved the struggle, pairing Missouri as a slave state with Maine, a free state, and barring slavery north and west of Missouri forever. [decades later, the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court].
Monroe began to formally recognize the young sister republics (the former Spanish colonies) in 1822. He and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had wished to avoid trouble with Spain until it had ceded the Floridas to the U.S., which was done in 1821.
Monroe is probably best known for the Monroe Doctrine, which he delivered in his message to Congress on December 2, 1823. In it, he proclaimed the Americas should be free from future European colonization and free from European interference in sovereign countries' affairs. It further stated the United States' intention to stay neutral in European wars and wars between European powers and their colonies, but to consider any new colonies or interference with independent countries in the Americas as hostile acts toward the United States.
Britain, with its powerful navy, also opposed re-conquest of Latin America and suggested that the United States join in proclaiming "hands off." Ex-Presidents Jefferson and Madison counseled Monroe to accept the offer, but Secretary Adams advised, "It would be more candid ... to avow our principles explicitly to Russia and France, than to come in as a cock-boat in the wake of the British man-of-war." Monroe accepted Adams' advice. Not only must Latin America be left alone, he warned, but also Russia must not encroach southward on the Pacific coast. "... the American continents," he stated, "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 Power." Some 20 years after Monroe died in 1831 this became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Administration and Cabinet
The Monroe Cabinet Office Name Term President James Monroe 1817–1825 Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins 1817–1825 Secretary of State John Quincy Adams 1817–1825 Secretary of Treasury William H. Crawford 1817–1825 Secretary of War John C. Calhoun 1817–1825 Attorney General Richard Rush 1817 William Wirt 1817–1825 Secretary of the Navy Benjamin W. Crowninshield 1817–1818 Smith Thompson 1819–1823 Samuel L. Southard 1823–1825
Supreme Court appointments
Monroe appointed Smith Thompson to the Supreme Court of the United States.
States admitted to the Union
Mississippi – December 10, 1817
Illinois – December 3, 1818
Alabama – December 14, 1819
Maine – March 15, 1820
Missouri – August 11, 1821
When his presidency was over on March 4, 1825, James Monroe lived at Monroe Hill on the grounds of the University of Virginia. This university's modern campus was Monroe's family farm from 1788 to 1817, but he had sold it in the first year of his presidency to the new college. He served on the college's Board of Visitors under Jefferson and then under the second rector and another former President James Madison, until his death.
Monroe had racked up many debts during his years of public life. As a result, he was forced to sell off his Highland Plantation (now called Ash Lawn-Highland; it is owned by his alma mater, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public). Throughout his life, he was not financially solvent, and his wife's poor health made matters worse. For these reasons, he and his wife lived in Oak Hill, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death on 23 September 1830.
Death
Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Governor who had married Samuel L. Governor in the first White House wedding. Monroe died there from heart failure and tuberculosis on 4 July 1831, becoming the third president to die on the 4th of July. His death came 55 years after the U.S. Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and 5 years after the death of the Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He was originally buried in New York at the Governor family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. Twenty-seven years later in 1858 he was re-interred to the President's Circle at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Religious beliefs
"When it comes to Monroe's ...thoughts on religion", Bliss Isely comments in his The Presidents: Men of Faith, "less is known than that of any other President." He burned much of his correspondence with his wife, and no letters survive in which he might have discussed his religious beliefs. Nor did his friends, family or associates write about his beliefs. Letters that do survive, such as ones written on the occasion of the death of his son, contain no discussion of religion.
Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia, and as an adult frequently attended Episcopalian churches, though there is no record he ever took communion. He has been classified by some historians as a Deist, and he did use deistic language to refer to God. Jefferson had been attacked as an atheist and infidel for his deistic views, but never Monroe. Unlike Jefferson, Monroe was not anticlerical.
Famous Quotes by James Monroe
"It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin."
"The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil."
"Never did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor ever was success so complete. If we look to the history of other nations, ancient or modern, we find no example of a growth so rapid, so gigantic, of a people so prosperous and happy."
"In this great nation there is but one order, that of the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy improvement of the representative principle, is transferred from them, without impairing in the slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies of their own creation, and to persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for the purposes of free, enlightened, and efficient government."
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James Monroe
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe
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Founding Father, 5th president of the United States
For other people named James Monroe, see James Monroe (disambiguation).
"Senator Monroe" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Monroe (disambiguation).
"President Monroe" redirects here. For the attack transport, see USS President Monroe.
James Monroe ( mən-ROH; April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was the last Founding Father to serve as president as well as the last president of the Virginia dynasty. His presidency coincided with the Era of Good Feelings, concluding the First Party System era of American politics. He issued the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of limiting European colonialism in the Americas. Monroe previously served as governor of Virginia, a member of the United States Senate, U.S. ambassador to France and Britain, the seventh secretary of state, and the eighth secretary of war.
During the American Revolutionary War, he served in the Continental Army. 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. He opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution. In 1790, Monroe won election to the Senate where he became a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. He left the Senate in 1794 to serve as President George Washington's ambassador to France but was recalled by Washington in 1796. Monroe won the election as Governor of Virginia in 1799 and strongly supported Jefferson's candidacy in the 1800 presidential election.
As President Jefferson's special envoy, Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, through which the United States nearly doubled in size. Monroe fell out with his longtime friend James Madison after Madison rejected the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty that Monroe negotiated with Britain. He 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. During the later stages of the War of 1812, Monroe simultaneously served as Madison's Secretary of State and Secretary of War. Monroe's wartime leadership established him as Madison's heir apparent, and he easily defeated Federalist candidate Rufus King in the 1816 presidential election.
During Monroe's tenure as president, the Federalist Party collapsed as a national political force and Monroe was re-elected, virtually unopposed, in 1820. As president, he signed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and banned slavery from territories north of the 36°30′ parallel. In foreign affairs, Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams favored a policy of conciliation with Britain and a policy of expansionism against the Spanish Empire. In the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty with Spain, the United States secured Florida and established its western border with New Spain. In 1823, Monroe announced the United States' opposition to any European intervention in the recently independent countries of the Americas with the Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy. 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.
Following his retirement in 1825, Monroe was plagued by financial difficulties and died on July 4, 1831, in New York City—sharing a distinction with Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson of dying on the anniversary of U.S. independence. Historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president.
Early life and education
James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in his parents' house in a wooded area of Westmoreland County in the Colony of Virginia, to (Andrew) Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones. The marked site is one mile (1.6 km) from the unincorporated community known today as Monroe Hall, Virginia. The James Monroe Family Home Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. He had one sister, Elizabeth and three younger brothers, Spence, Andrew and Joseph Jones. Monroe's father worked as a craftsman and was a patriot who was involved in protests against the Stamp Act. His mother was the daughter of a Welsh immigrant whose family was one of the wealthiest in King George County.[1][2]
His paternal great-great-grandfather Patrick Andrew Monroe emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century as a Royalist after the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War,[1] and was part of an ancient Scottish clan known as Clan Munro. In 1650, he patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Also among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700.[2]
At age 11, Monroe was enrolled in Campbelltown Academy, the only school in the county. This school was considered the best in the colony of Virginia, which is why Monroe was later able to immediately take advanced courses in Latin and mathematics at the College of William & Mary.[3] He attended this school only 11 weeks a year, as his labor was needed on the farm. During this time, Monroe formed a lifelong friendship with an older classmate, future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall. In 1772, 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. Though he inherited property, including slaves, from both of his parents, the 16-year-old Monroe was forced to withdraw from school to support his younger brothers. His childless maternal uncle, Joseph Jones, became a surrogate father to Monroe and his siblings and paid off his brother-in-law's debts. A member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Jones took Monroe to the capital of Williamsburg, Virginia, and enrolled him in the College of William and Mary in June 1774. Jones also introduced Monroe to important Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington.[4]
During this phase of the American Revolution, opposition to the British government grew in the Thirteen Colonies in reaction to the "Intolerable Acts", a series of harsh laws against the Colonies in response to the Boston Tea Party. In Williamsburg, British Governor John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, dissolved the Assembly after protests by the delegates, who then decided to send a delegation to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Dunmore wanted to take advantage of the absence of the Burgesses, who had convened to Richmond, and had soldiers of the Royal Navy confiscate the weapons of the Virginian militia, which alarmed militiamen and students of the College of William & Mary, including Monroe. They marched to the Governor's Palace and demanded that Dunmore return the confiscated gunpowder. When more militiamen arrived in Williamsburg under the leadership of Patrick Henry, Dunmore agreed to pay compensation for the confiscated goods. Monroe and his fellow students were so incensed by the governor's actions that they conducted daily military drills on campus afterward.[4] On June 24, 1775, Monroe and 24 militiamen stormed the Governor's Palace, capturing several hundred muskets and swords.[3]
Revolutionary War service
In early 1776, about a year and a half after his enrollment, 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.[3] As the fledgling army valued literacy in its officers, Monroe was commissioned with the rank of lieutenant, serving under Colonel George Weedon and later Captain William Washington. After months of training, Monroe and 700 Virginia infantrymen were called north to serve in the New York and New Jersey campaign. Monroe's regiment played a central role in the Continental Army's retreat across the Delaware River on December 7 in response to the loss of Fort Washington. In late December, Monroe took part in a surprise attack on a Hessian encampment at the Battle of Trenton. Though the attack was successful, Monroe suffered a severed artery in the battle and nearly died. In the aftermath, Washington cited Monroe and William Washington for their bravery, and promoted Monroe to captain.[5]
After recovering for two months, Monroe returned to Virginia to recruit his own company of soldiers. Lacking the wealth to induce soldiers to join his company, Monroe instead asked his uncle to return him to the front. Monroe was assigned to the staff of General William Alexander, Lord Stirling as an auxiliary officer. At the Battle of Brandywine, he formed a close friendship with the Marquis de Lafayette, a French volunteer who encouraged him to view the war as part of a wider struggle against religious and political tyranny. Monroe served in the Philadelphia campaign and spent the winter of 1777–78 at the encampment of Valley Forge, sharing a log hut with Marshall. By late 1777, he was promoted to major and served as Lord Stirling's aide-de-camp. After serving in the Battle of Monmouth, the destitute Monroe resigned his commission in December 1778 and joined his uncle in Philadelphia. After the British captured Savannah, the Virginia legislature decided to raise four regiments, and Monroe returned to his native state, hoping to receive his own command. With letters of recommendation from Washington, Stirling, and Alexander Hamilton, Monroe received a commission as a lieutenant colonel and was expected to lead one of the regiments, but recruitment again proved to be a problem. On Jones's advice, Monroe returned to Williamsburg to study law at the College of William and Mary, becoming a protégé of Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson.[6] Jefferson, with whom Monroe soon formed a close and lifelong friendship, advised his protégé to pursue a political career and made his library available to him, where the works of Epictetus in particular had a great influence on Monroe [7]
With the British increasingly focusing their operations in the Southern colonies, the Virginians moved the capital to the more defensible city of Richmond, and Monroe accompanied Jefferson to the new capital. Jefferson appointed Monroe as a military commissioner with the task of maintaining contact with the Southern Continental Army, under the command of General Johann von Kalb, and the Virginia Militia.[8][9] At the end of 1780, the British invaded Virginia and Monroe, who had become a colonel in the meantime, was given command of a regiment for the first time, but he was still unable to raise an army due to a lack of interested recruits, Monroe returned to his home in King George County, and was not present for the British raid on Richmond. As both the Continental Army and the Virginia militia had an abundance of officers, Monroe did not serve during the Yorktown campaign, and, much to his frustration, did not take part in the Siege of Yorktown.[9] Although Andrew Jackson served as a courier in a militia unit at age 13, Monroe is regarded as the last U.S. president who was a Revolutionary War veteran, since he served as an officer of the Continental Army and took part in combat.[10] As a result of his service, Monroe became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.[11][12]
Early political career
Member of Continental Congress
Monroe resumed studying law under Jefferson and continued until 1783.[13][14] He 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.[14] In 1782, Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. After serving on Virginia's Executive Council, he was elected to the Fourth Congress of the Confederation in November 1783 and served in Annapolis until Congress convened in Trenton, New Jersey in June 1784. He had served a total of three years when he finally retired from that office by the rule of rotation.[16] By that time, the government was meeting in the temporary capital of New York City. In 1784, Monroe undertook an extensive trip through Western New York and Pennsylvania to inspect the conditions in the Northwest. The tour convinced him that the United States had to pressure Britain to abandon its posts in the region and assert control of the Northwest.[17] While serving in Congress, Monroe became an advocate for western expansion, and played a key role in the writing and passage of the Northwest Ordinance. The ordinance created the Northwest Territory, providing for federal administration of the territories West of Pennsylvania and North of the Ohio River. Another of Monroe's goals in the Confederate Congress was to negotiate American rights to free navigation on the Mississippi River.[18] During this period, Jefferson continued to serve as a mentor to Monroe, and, at Jefferson's prompting, he befriended another prominent Virginian, James Madison.
Marriage and law practice
On February 16, 1786, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830), who came from New York City's high society, at Trinity Church in Manhattan.[20] The marriage produced three children, Eliza in 1786,[21] James in 1799[22] and Maria in 1802.[23] Although Monroe was raised in the Anglican faith, the children were educated according to the teachings of the Episcopal Church.[24] After a brief honeymoon on Long Island, New York, the Monroes returned to New York City to live with her father until Congress adjourned:[25]
In the fall of 1786, Monroe resigned from Congress and moved to his uncle Jones' house in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he successfully passed the bar exam and became an attorney for the state.[26] In 1787, Monroe won election to another term in the Virginia House of Delegates. Though he had become outspoken in his desire to reform the Articles, he was unable to attend the Philadelphia Convention due to his work obligations.[27] In 1788, Monroe became a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, which voted on the adoption of the United States Constitution.[21] In Virginia, the struggle over the ratification of the proposed Constitution involved more than a simple clash between federalists and anti-federalists. Virginians held a full spectrum of opinions about the merits of the proposed change in national government, and those who held the middle ground in the ideological struggle became the central figures. Led by Monroe and Edmund Pendleton, these "federalists who are for amendments" criticized the absence of a bill of rights and worried about surrendering taxation powers to the central government.[28] 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. In doing so, he wanted to prevent the creation of a standing army, which proved to be a critical point of contention between the federalists and the anti-federalists. Monroe also opposed the Electoral College, which he viewed as too corruptible and susceptible to state interests, and favored direct election of the president.[29] After Madison reversed his decision and promised to pass a bill of rights, the Virginia Convention ratified the Constitution by a narrow vote, though Monroe himself voted against it.[30]
Senator
In the 1789 election to the 1st United States Congress, anti-federalist Henry Monroe persuaded Monroe to run against Madison, and he had the Virginia legislature draw a congressional district designed to elect Monroe. During the campaign, Madison and Monroe often traveled together, and the election did nothing to diminish their friendship. In the election for Virginia's Fifth District, Madison prevailed over Monroe, taking 1,308 votes compared to Monroe's 972 votes. After this defeat, Monroe moved his family from Fredericksburg to Albemarle County, first to Charlottesville and later to the immediate neighborhood of Monticello, where he bought an estate and named it Highland.[31] After the death of Senator William Grayson in 1790, Virginia legislators elected Monroe to serve the remainder of Grayson's term.[32] Since the Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, met behind closed doors, the public paid little attention to it and focused on the House of Representatives. Monroe therefore requested in February 1791 that Senate sessions be held in public, but this was initially rejected and not implemented until February 1794.[33]
During the presidency of George Washington, U.S. politics became increasingly polarized between the Anti-Administration Party, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and the Federalists, led by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. 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 Monroe became one of the fledgling party's leaders in the Senate. He also helped organize opposition to John Adams in the 1792 election, though Adams defeated George Clinton to win re-election as vice president. When Monroe took part in congressional investigations into Hamilton's illegal transactions with James Reynolds in November 1792, this led to the uncovering of the first political sex scandal in the United States: The payments had been hush money to keep Hamilton's affair with Reynolds' wife secret. Hamilton never forgave Monroe for this public humiliation, which almost led to a duel between the two.[35] Throughout 1792 and 1793, Monroe and Madison responded to Hamilton's pamphlets accusing Jefferson of undermining Washington's authority with a series of six essays. These sharply worded replies were largely penned by Monroe. As leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Monroe soon became involved in matters of foreign relations. In 1794, he emerged as an opponent of Hamilton's appointment as ambassador to the United Kingdom and a supporter of the First French Republic. Since 1791 he had taken sides with the French Revolution in several essays under the pseudonym Aratus.[36]
Minister to France
As the 1790s progressed, the French Revolutionary Wars came to dominate U.S. foreign policy, with British and French raids both threatening U.S. trade with Europe. Like most other Jeffersonians, Monroe supported the French Revolution, but Hamilton's followers tended to sympathize more with Britain. In 1794, hoping to find a way to avoid war with both countries, Washington appointed Monroe as his minister (ambassador) to France, after Madison and Robert R. Livingston had declined the offer.[37] At the same time, he appointed the Anglophile Federalist John Jay as his minister to Britain.[38] Monroe took this position at a difficult time: America's negotiating position was made considerably more difficult by its lack of military strength. In addition, the conflict between Paris and London in America intensified the confrontation between the Anglophile Federalists and the Francophile Republicans. While the Federalists were basically only aiming for independence from Great Britain, the Republicans wanted a revolutionary new form of government, which is why they strongly sympathized with the First French Republic.[37]
After arriving in France, Monroe addressed the National Convention, receiving a standing ovation for his speech celebrating republicanism. Monroe's passionate and friendly message of greeting at the inaugural ceremony before the National Convention was later criticized by Jay for its sentimentality, and Washington viewed the speech as "not well devised" in terms of venue and in light of American neutrality in the First Coalition War.[39] Monroe experienced several early diplomatic successes, including the protection of U.S. trade from French attacks. In February 1795, Monroe used his influence to secure the release of all American citizens imprisoned since the French Revolution and Adrienne de La Fayette, the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette. He had already secured the release of Thomas Paine in July 1794 and took him in, but when Paine worked on a diatribe against Washington despite Monroe's objections, they parted ways in the spring of 1796.[40]
Months after Monroe arrived in France, the U.S. and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty, outraging both the French and Monroe—not fully informed about the treaty prior to its publication. Despite the undesirable effects of the Jay Treaty on Franco-American relations, Monroe won French support for U.S. navigational rights on the Mississippi River—the mouth of which was controlled by Spain—and in 1795 the U.S. and Spain signed Pinckney's Treaty. The treaty granted the U.S. limited rights to use the port of New Orleans.
Immediately after Timothy Pickering succeeded Secretary of State Edmund Randolph, who had been the only Francophile member of Washington's cabinet, in December 1795, he worked to dismiss Monroe. In 1796, 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 Monroe's written response. Pickering saw this as a sign of Monroe's unsuitability and, together with Hamilton, persuaded Washington to replace Monroe as ambassador.[42] Washington decided Monroe was inefficient, disruptive, and failed to safeguard the national interest. He recalled Monroe in November 1796, the letter of dismissal being deliberately delayed in order to prevent his return before the presidential election.[43] Returning to his home in Charlottesville, he resumed his dual careers as a farmer and lawyer.[44] Jefferson and Madison urged Monroe to run for Congress, but Monroe chose to focus on state politics instead.
In 1797, 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. He followed the advice of his friend Robert Livingston who cautioned him to "repress every harsh and acrimonious" comment about Washington. However, he did complain that too often the U.S. government had been too close to Britain, especially regarding the Jay Treaty. Washington made notes on this copy, writing, "The truth is, Mr. Monroe was cajoled, flattered, and made to believe strange things. In return he did, or was disposed to do, whatever was pleasing to that nation, reluctantly urging the rights of his own."[47]
Governor of Virginia and diplomat (1799–1802, 1811)
Governor of Virginia
On a party-line vote, the Virginia legislature elected Monroe as Governor of Virginia in 1799. He would serve as governor until 1802. The constitution of Virginia endowed the governor with very few powers aside from commanding the militia when the Assembly called it into action, but Monroe used his stature to convince legislators to enhance state involvement in transportation and education and to increase training for the militia. Monroe also began to give State of the Commonwealth addresses to the legislature, in which he highlighted areas in which he believed the legislature should act. Monroe also led an effort to create the state's first penitentiary, and imprisonment replaced other, often harsher, punishments. In 1800, 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. Gabriel and 27 other enslaved people who participated were all hanged for treason.[22] The executions sparked compassionate feelings among the people of Virginia, and 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.[49]
Monroe thought that foreign and Federalist elements had created the Quasi War of 1798–1800, and he strongly supported Thomas Jefferson's candidacy for president in 1800. Federalists were likewise suspicious of Monroe, some viewing him at best as a French dupe and at worst a traitor.[50] With the power to appoint election officials in Virginia, Monroe exercised his influence to help Jefferson win Virginia's presidential electors. He also considered using the Virginia militia to force the outcome in favor of Jefferson.[52] Jefferson won the 1800 election, and he appointed Madison as his Secretary of State. As a member of Jefferson's party and the leader of the largest state in the country, Monroe emerged as one of Jefferson's two most likely successors, alongside Madison.[53]
Louisiana Purchase and Minister to Great Britain
Shortly after the end of Monroe's gubernatorial tenure, President Jefferson sent Monroe back to France to assist Ambassador Robert Livingston in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase. In the 1800 Treaty of San Ildefonso, France had acquired the territory of Louisiana from Spain; at the time, many in the U.S. believed that France had also acquired West Florida in the same treaty. The American delegation originally sought to acquire West Florida and the city of New Orleans, which controlled the trade of the Mississippi River. Determined to acquire New Orleans even if it meant war with France, Jefferson also authorized Monroe to form an alliance with the British if the French refused to sell the city.[54]
Meeting with François Barbé-Marbois, the French foreign minister, Monroe and Livingston agreed to purchase the entire territory of Louisiana for $15 million; the purchase became known as the Louisiana Purchase. In agreeing to the purchase, Monroe violated his instructions, which had only allowed $9 million for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida. The French did not acknowledge that West Florida remained in Spanish possession, and the United States would claim that France had sold West Florida to the United States for several years to come. Though he had not ordered the purchase of the entire territory, Jefferson strongly supported Monroe's actions, which ensured that the United States would continue to expand to the West. Overcoming doubts about whether the Constitution authorized the purchase of foreign territory, Jefferson won congressional approval for the Louisiana Purchase, and the acquisition doubled the size of the United States. Monroe would travel to Spain in 1805 to try to win the cession of West Florida, but found that the American ambassador to Spain, Charles Pinckney, had alienated the Spanish government with crude threats of violence. In the negotiations on the outstanding territorial issues concerning New Orleans, West Florida and the Rio Grande, Monroe made no progress and was treated condescendingly, and with the support of France, Spain refused to consider relinquishing the territory.[55]
After the resignation of Rufus King, Monroe was appointed as the ambassador to Great Britain in 1803. The greatest issue of contention between the United States and Britain was that of the impressment of U.S. sailors. Many U.S. merchant ships employed British seamen who had deserted or dodged conscription, and the British frequently impressed sailors on U.S. ships in hopes of quelling their manpower issues. Many of the sailors they impressed had never been British subjects, and Monroe was tasked with persuading the British to stop their practice of impressment. Monroe found little success in this endeavor, partly due to Jefferson's alienation of the British minister to the United States, Anthony Merry. Rejecting Jefferson's offer to serve as the first governor of Louisiana Territory, Monroe continued to serve as ambassador to Britain until 1807.[56]
In 1806 he negotiated the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty with Great Britain. It would have extended the Jay Treaty of 1794 which had expired after ten years. Jefferson had fought the Jay Treaty intensely in 1794–95 because he felt it would allow the British to subvert American republicanism. The treaty had produced ten years of peace and highly lucrative trade for American merchants, but Jefferson was still opposed. When Monroe and the British signed the new treaty in December 1806, Jefferson refused to submit it to the Senate for ratification. Although the treaty called for ten more years of trade between the United States and the British Empire and gave American merchants guarantees that would have been good for business, Jefferson was unhappy that it did not end the hated British practice of impressment and refused to give up the potential weapon of commercial warfare against Britain. The president made no attempt to obtain another treaty, and as a result, the two nations drifted from peace toward the War of 1812.[57] Monroe was severely pained by the administration's repudiation of the treaty, and he fell out with Secretary of State James Madison.[58]
1808 election and the Quids
On his return to Virginia in 1807, Monroe received a warm reception, and many urged him to run in the 1808 presidential election.[59] After Jefferson refused to submit the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty, Monroe had come to believe that Jefferson had snubbed the treaty out of the desire to avoid elevating Monroe above Madison in 1808.[60] Out of deference to Jefferson, Monroe agreed to avoid actively campaigning for the presidency, but he did not rule out accepting a draft effort.[61] The Democratic-Republican Party was increasingly factionalized, with "Old Republicans" or "Quids" denouncing the Jefferson administration for abandoning what they considered to be true republican principles. The Quids, led by John Randolph of Roanoke, tried to enlist Monroe in their cause. The plan was to run Monroe for president in the 1808 election in cooperation with the Federalist Party, which had a strong base in New England. Monroe decided to run against Madison in the 1808 presidential election in order to demonstrate the strength of his political position in Virginia. The regular Democratic-Republicans overcame the Quids in the nominating caucus, kept control of the party in Virginia, and protected Madison's base.[62] Monroe did not publicly criticize Jefferson or Madison during Madison's campaign against Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, but he refused to support Madison. Madison defeated Pinckney by a large margin, carrying all but one state outside of New England. Monroe won 3,400 votes in Virginia, but received little support elsewhere.[61]
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. The plan to sell his second house in Loudon County, Oak Hill, in order to renovate and expand Highland with the proceeds, failed due to the low real estate prices.[64] After the election Monroe quickly reconciled with Jefferson, but their friendship endured further strains when Jefferson did not promote Monroe's candidacy to Congress in 1809.[65] Monroe did not speak with Madison until 1810.[58] 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.[66]
Secretary of State and Secretary of War (1811–1817)
Madison administration
Main article: Presidency of James Madison
In 1810, 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, Monroe was asked on Madison's behalf if he would be willing to succeed Robert Smith as Secretary of State.[64] In April 1811, Madison appointed Monroe to his cabinet as Secretary of State in hopes of shoring up the support of the more radical factions of the Democratic-Republicans.[58] Madison also hoped that Monroe, an experienced diplomat with whom he had once been close friends, would improve upon Smith's performance. Madison assured Monroe that their differences regarding the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty had been a misunderstanding, and the two resumed their friendship.[67] The Senate voted unanimously (30–0) to confirm him. On taking office, Monroe hoped to negotiate treaties with the British and French to end the attacks on American merchant ships. While the French agreed to reduce the attacks and release seized American ships, the British were less receptive to Monroe's demands.[68] 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. With the support of Monroe and Clay, Madison asked Congress to declare war upon the British, and Congress complied on June 18, 1812, thus beginning the War of 1812.[69]
The war went very badly, and the Madison administration quickly sought peace, but were rejected by the British.[70] The U.S. Navy did experience several successes after Monroe convinced Madison to allow the Navy's ships to set sail rather than remaining in port for the duration of the war.[71] After the resignation of Secretary of War William Eustis, Madison asked Monroe to serve in dual roles as Secretary of State and Secretary of War, but opposition from the Senate limited Monroe to serving as acting Secretary of War until Brigadier General John Armstrong won Senate confirmation.[72] Monroe and Armstrong clashed over war policy, and Armstrong blocked Monroe's hopes of being appointed to lead an invasion of Canada. When British warships appeared in the Potomac River estuary in the summer of the same year, Monroe urged that defensive measures be taken for Washington, D.C., and that a military intelligence service should be established to Chesapeake Bay, which Armstrong dismissed as unnecessary. Since there was no functioning reconnaissance, Monroe formed his own small cavalry unit and began scouting the bay until the British withdrew from it.[74] As the war dragged on, the British offered to begin negotiations in Ghent, and the United States sent a delegation led by John Quincy Adams to conduct negotiations. Monroe allowed Adams leeway in setting terms, so long as he ended the hostilities and preserved American neutrality.[75]
When a British fleet of 50 warships and 5,000 soldiers massed in the mouth of the Potomac, Monroe scouted the Chesapeake Bay with a troop and on August 21 sent the President a warning of the impending invasion so that Madison and his wife could flee in time and the state's assets and inhabitants could be evacuated.[76] The British burned the U.S. Capitol and the White House on August 24, 1814, Madison removed Armstrong as Secretary of War and turned to Monroe for help, appointing him Secretary of War on September 27. 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, Monroe effectively held both Cabinet posts. Now in command of the war effort, 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. He also 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.[79] Months after Monroe took office as Secretary of War, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty resulted in a return to the status quo ante bellum, and many outstanding issues between the United States and Britain remained. Americans celebrated the end of the war as a great victory, partly due to the news of the treaty reaching the United States shortly after Jackson's victory in the Battle of New Orleans. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British also ended the practice of impressment. After the war, Congress authorized the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.[80] 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.[81]
Election of 1816
Monroe decided to seek the presidency in the 1816 election, and his war-time leadership had established him as Madison's heir apparent. Monroe had strong support from many in the party, but his candidacy was challenged at the 1816 Democratic-Republican congressional nominating caucus. Since there was no longer a serious opposition party due to the decline of the Federalists, who were perceived as disloyal because of their pro-British stance and opposition to the War of 1812, the Democratic-Republican caucus in Congress was crucial to Monroe's victory.[82] Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford had the support of numerous Southern and Western Congressmen, while Governor Daniel D. Tompkins was backed by several Congressmen from New York. Crawford appealed especially to many Democratic-Republicans who were wary of Madison and Monroe's support for the establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Despite his substantial backing, Crawford decided to defer to Monroe on the belief that he could eventually run as Monroe's successor, and Monroe won his party's nomination. Tompkins won the party's vice presidential nomination. The moribund Federalists nominated Rufus King as their presidential nominee, but the party offered little opposition following the conclusion of a popular war that they had opposed. Monroe received 183 of the 217 electoral votes, winning every state but Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware.[84]
Since he previously served as an officer of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and as a delegate to the Continental Congress, he became the last president who was a Founding Father. Born in 1758, he was also the last president who belonged to the Republican generation.
Presidency (1817–1825)
Main article: Presidency of James Monroe
Inauguration and cabinet
Monroe's inauguration took place on March 4, 1817. As Monroe was the first president to take office during a period of peace and economic stability, the term "Era of Good Feelings" was soon coined. This period was characterized by the unchallenged dominance of the Republicans, who by the end of Madison's term had adopted some Federalist policies, such as the establishment of a central bank and protective tariffs.[85] 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. He made two long national tours to build national trust, which included ceremonies of welcome and expressions of good-will.[86] Monroe appointed a geographically balanced cabinet, through which he led the executive branch. At Monroe's request, Crawford continued to serve as Treasury Secretary. Monroe also chose to retain Benjamin Crowninshield of Massachusetts as Secretary of the Navy and Richard Rush of Pennsylvania as Attorney General. Recognizing Northern discontent at the continuation of the Virginia dynasty, Monroe chose John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts as Secretary of State, making Adams the early favorite to eventually succeed Monroe. An experienced diplomat, Adams had abandoned the Federalist Party in 1807 in support of Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy, and Monroe hoped that the appointment would encourage the defection of more Federalists. After General Andrew Jackson declined appointment as Secretary of War, Monroe turned to South Carolina Congressman John C. Calhoun, leaving the Cabinet without a prominent Westerner. In late 1817 Rush became the ambassador to Britain, and William Wirt succeeded him as Attorney General. With the exception of Crowninshield, the rest of Monroe's initial cabinet appointees remained in place for the remainder of his presidency.
Foreign policy
According to historian William Earl Weeks, "Monroe evolved a comprehensive strategy aimed at expanding the Union externally while solidifying it internally". He 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. Faced with the breakdown of the expansionist consensus over the question of slavery, the president tried to provide both North and South with guarantees that future expansion would not tip the balance of power between slave and free states, a system that, Weeks remarks, did indeed allow the continuation of American expansion for the best of four decades.[90]
Treaties with Britain and Russia
Upon taking office, Monroe pursued warmer relations with Britain in the aftermath of the War of 1812.[91] In 1817, the United States and Britain signed the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which regulated naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain and demilitarized the border between the U.S. and British North America.[92] The Treaty of 1818, also with Great Britain, was concluded October 20, 1818, and fixed the present Canada–United States border from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains at the 49th parallel. The accords also established a joint U.S.–British occupation of Oregon Country for the next ten years.[93] Though they did not solve every outstanding issue between the U.S. and Britain, the treaties allowed for greater trade between the United States and the British Empire and helped avoid an expensive naval arms race in the Great Lakes.[91] In the Pacific Northwest, American territorial claims clashed with those of Tsarist Russia, which had trading posts as far south as San Francisco Bay, and those of Great Britain. The situation intensified in the fall of 1821 when Saint Petersburg closed America's Pacific coastal sea north of 51° latitude to foreign ships within a 100-mile zone, thus shifting its territorial claim four degrees of latitude to the south.[94] Late in Monroe's second term, the U.S. concluded the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 with the Russian Empire, setting the southern limit of Russian sovereignty on the Pacific coast of North America at the 54°40′ parallel (the present southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle).[95]
Acquisition of Florida
Main articles: Adams–Onís Treaty and Seminole Wars
In October 1817, the United States cabinet held several lengthy meetings to address the declarations of independence by former Spanish colonies in South America and the increasing piracy, particularly from Amelia Island. Piracy on the southern border with the Floridas was intensified by smugglers, slave traders, and privateers who had fled from the Spanish colonies over which the mother country had lost control.[96] Spain had long rejected repeated American attempts to purchase Florida. However, by 1818, Spain's troubling colonial situation made the cession of Florida make sense. Spain had been exhausted by the Peninsular War in Europe and needed to rebuild its credibility and presence in its colonies. Revolutionaries in Central America and South America were beginning to demand independence. Spain was unwilling to invest further in Florida, encroached on by American settlers, and it worried about the border between New Spain and the United States. With only a minor military presence in Florida, Spain was not able to restrain the Seminole warriors who routinely crossed the border and raided American villages and farms, as well as protected southern slave refugees from slave owners and traders of the southern United States. The Seminole people were also providing sanctuary for runaway slaves, those of which the United States wanted back.[98]
In response to Seminole attacks and their provision of aid to escaped slaves, Monroe ordered a military expedition to cross into Spanish Florida and attack the Seminoles. In this expedition, led by Andrew Jackson, the US Army displaced numerous Seminole people from their houses along with burning their towns. Jackson also seized the Spanish territorial capital of Pensacola. With the capture of Pensacola, Jackson established de facto American control of the entire territory. While Monroe supported Jackson's actions, many in Congress harshly criticized what they saw as an undeclared war. With the support of Secretary of State Adams, Monroe defended Jackson against domestic and international criticism, and the United States began negotiations with Spain.[98][99][100] Monroe later fixed the government's official position in a letter from Adams to Spanish Ambassador Luis de Onís, which he edited accordingly by removing all justifications for Jackson's actions. He also 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.[101]
Spain faced revolt in all of its American colonies and could neither govern nor defend Florida. On February 22, 1819, Spain and the United States signed the Adams–Onís Treaty, which ceded the Floridas in return for the assumption by the United States of claims of American citizens against Spain to an amount not exceeding $5,000,000 (~$141 million in 2023). The treaty also contained a definition of the boundary between Spanish and American possessions on the North American continent. Beginning at the mouth of the Sabine River the line ran along that river to the 32nd parallel, then due north to the Red River, which it followed to the 100th meridian, due north to the Arkansas River, and along that river to its source, then north to the 42nd parallel, which it followed to the Pacific Ocean. The United States renounced all claims to the west and south of this boundary (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Nevada), so Spain surrendered any title she had to the Northwest (Oregon Country).
South American Wars of Independence
In 1810, South America's wars of independence began, inspired by the American and French Revolutionary Wars, but the Madison administration, as well as Monroe himself during his first term in office, treated the conflicts as civil wars and kept the United States neutral.[103] 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. He 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. Monroe initially refused to recognize the Latin American governments due to ongoing negotiations with Spain over Florida.
Following their respective declarations of independence, the South American republics quickly sent emissaries to Washington to ask for diplomatic recognition and economic and trade relations. In 1818, Monroe assured a representative of the United Provinces of the Río 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.[94] After Spain and America had fully ratified the Adams–Onís Treaty in February 1821 and a liberal government had come to power in Madrid, Monroe officially recognized the countries of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico, all of which had won independence from Spain.[93] Secretary of State Adams, under Monroe's supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers to these new countries. They declared that the policy of the United States was to uphold republican institutions and to seek treaties of commerce on a most-favored-nation basis. The United States would support inter-American congresses dedicated to the development of economic and political institutions fundamentally differing from those prevailing in Europe. 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".
Monroe Doctrine
Main article: Monroe Doctrine
In January 1821, Adams first expressed the idea that the American double continent should be closed to further colonization by foreign powers. The idea, which was later adopted by Monroe, was influenced by the Adams–Onís Treaty and the negotiations on border disputes in the Oregon Country. Adams emphasized that the further colonization of America, except for Canada, should be in the hands of the Americans themselves. This later became a principle in Monroe's administration. After the Spanish Revolution of 1820 was ended by France, Secretary of War Calhoun and British Foreign Secretary George Canning warned Monroe that European powers might intend to intervene in South America, increasing the pressure on him to speak out on the future of the Western Hemisphere.[106]
For their part, the British also had a strong interest in ensuring the demise of Spanish colonialism, with all the trade restrictions mercantilism imposed. In October 1823, Richard Rush, the American minister in London, corresponded with Canning to work out a common position on a potential French intervention in South America. When 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.[107] Adams vigorously opposed cooperation with Great Britain, contending that a statement of bilateral nature could limit United States expansion in the future. He also argued that the British were not committed to recognizing the Latin American republics and must have had imperial motivations themselves.[108]
Two months later, the bilateral statement proposed by the British became a unilateral declaration by the United States. While Monroe thought that Spain was unlikely to re-establish its colonial empire on its own, he feared that France or the Holy Alliance might seek to establish control over the former Spanish possessions.[103] On December 2, 1823, in his annual message to Congress, Monroe articulated what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. He first reiterated the traditional U.S. policy of neutrality with regard to European wars and conflicts. He then declared that the United States would not accept the recolonization of any country by its former European master, though he also avowed non-interference with existing European colonies in the Americas.[109] Finally, he stated that European countries should no longer consider the Western Hemisphere open to new colonization, a jab aimed primarily at Russia, which was attempting to expand its colony on the northern Pacific Coast.[93]
Domestic policy
Missouri Compromise
Main article: Missouri Compromise
In the period between 1817 and 1819, Mississippi,[110] Illinois,[111] and Alabama[111] were recognized as new states. This rapid expansion resulted in a growing economic divide between the regions and a change of power in Congress to the detriment of the southern states, which viewed their plantation economy, which was dependent on slavery, as increasingly threatened.[112] In February 1819, a bill to enable the people of the Missouri Territory to draft a constitution and form a government preliminary to admission into the Union came before the House of Representatives. During these proceedings, Congressman James Tallmadge, Jr. of New York "tossed a bombshell into the Era of Good Feelings"[113] by offering the Tallmadge Amendment, which prohibited the further introduction of slaves into Missouri and required that all future children of slave parents therein should be free at the age of twenty-five years. After three days of rancorous and sometimes bitter debate, the bill, with Tallmadge's amendments, passed. The measure then went to the Senate, which rejected both amendments.[114] A House–Senate conference committee proved unable to resolve the disagreements on the bill, and so the entire measure failed. The ensuing debates pitted the northern "restrictionists" (antislavery legislators who wished to bar slavery from the Louisiana territories and prohibit slavery's further expansion) against southern "anti-restrictionists" (proslavery legislators who rejected any interference by Congress inhibiting slavery expansion).
During the following session, the House passed a similar bill with an amendment, introduced on January 26, 1820, by John W. Taylor of New York, allowing Missouri into the union as a slave state. Initially, Monroe opposed any compromise that involved restrictions on slavery's expansion in federal territories. The question had been complicated by the admission in December of Alabama, a slave state, making the number of slave and free states equal. In addition, there was a bill in passage through the House (January 3, 1820) to admit Maine as a free state.[117][a] Southern congressmen sought to force northerners to accept slavery in Missouri by connecting Maine and Missouri statehood. In this plan, endorsed by Monroe, Maine statehood would be held hostage to slavery in Missouri. In February 1820 the Senate passed a bill for the admission of Maine with an amendment enabling the people of Missouri to form a state constitution. Before the bill was returned to the House, a second amendment was adopted on the motion of Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois, excluding slavery from the Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north (the southern boundary of Missouri), except within the limits of the proposed state of Missouri. The House then approved the bill as amended by the Senate.[118] Though Monroe remained firmly opposed to any compromise that restricted slavery anywhere, he reluctantly signed the Compromise into law (March 6, 1820) only because he believed it was the least bad alternative for southern slaveholders. The legislation passed, and became known as "the Missouri Compromise", which temporarily settled the issue of slavery in the territories. Monroe's presidential leadership role in drafting the Missouri Compromise is disputed. He viewed the issue of admission conditions more from a political perspective and did not convene a cabinet meeting on this matter.[120]
Internal improvements
As the United States continued to grow, many Americans advocated a system of internal improvements to help the country develop. Federal assistance for such projects evolved slowly and haphazardly—the product of contentious congressional factions and an executive branch generally concerned with avoiding unconstitutional federal intrusions into state affairs.[121] Monroe believed that the young nation needed an improved infrastructure, including a transportation network to grow and thrive economically, but did not think that the Constitution authorized Congress to build, maintain, and operate a national transportation system,[122] Monroe repeatedly urged Congress to pass an amendment allowing Congress the power to finance internal improvements, but Congress never acted on his proposal, in part because many congressmen believed that the Constitution did in fact authorize the federal financing of internal improvements. In 1822, Congress passed a bill authorizing the collection of tolls on the Cumberland Road, with the tolls being used to finance repairs on the road. Adhering to stated position regarding internal improvements, Monroe vetoed the bill. In an elaborate essay, Monroe set forth his constitutional views on the subject. Congress might appropriate money, he admitted, but it might not undertake the actual construction of national works nor assume jurisdiction over them.
In 1824, the Supreme Court ruled in Gibbons v. Ogden that the Constitution's Commerce Clause gave the federal government the authority to regulate interstate commerce. Shortly thereafter, Congress passed two important laws that, together, marked the beginning of the federal government's continuous involvement in civil works. The General Survey Act authorized the president to have surveys made of routes for roads and canals "of national importance, in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for the transportation of public mail". The president assigned responsibility for the surveys to the Army Corps of Engineers. The second act, passed a month later, appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other obstacles. Subsequently, the act was amended to include other rivers such as the Missouri. This work, too, was given to the Corps of Engineers—the only formally trained body of engineers in the new republic and, as part of the nation's small army, available to serve the wishes of Congress and the executive branch.[121]
Panic of 1819
At the end of his first term of office, Monroe faced an economic crisis known as the Panic of 1819, the first major depression to hit the country since the ratification of the Constitution in 1788. The panic stemmed from declining imports and exports, and sagging agricultural prices[122] as global markets readjusted to peacetime production and commerce in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars. The severity of the economic downturn in the U.S. was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands,[128] fueled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns. 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.[132] As a result, cuts had to be made to the state budget in the following years, primarily affecting the defense budget, whose growth to over 35% of the total budget in 1818 had already shocked the conservative republicans.[133] Monroe's fortification program survived the cutbacks unscathed for the time being, while the target size of the standing army was reduced from 12,656 to 6,000 in May 1819. The next year, the budget for reinforcing and expanding the forts was reduced by over 70%. By 1821, the defense budget had shrunk to $5 million, about half of what it had been in 1818.[134]
Before the onset of the Panic of 1819, some business leaders had called on Congress to increase tariff rates to address the negative balance of trade and help struggling industries. As the panic spread, Monroe declined to call a special session of Congress to address the economy. When Congress finally reconvened in December 1819, Monroe requested an increase in the tariff but declined to recommend specific rates. Congress would not raise tariff rates until the passage of the Tariff of 1824. The panic resulted in high unemployment and an increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures,[122] and provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprises.[140]
Native American policy
Monroe was the first president to visit the American West and entrusted Secretary of War Calhoun with departmental responsibility for this region. In order to prevent the relentless attacks on Native American settlements that accompanied the steadily advancing westward expansion, he advocated dividing up the areas between the federal territories and the Rocky Mountains and assigning them to different tribes for settlement. The districts were each to be given a civil government and a school system. In a speech to Congress on March 30, 1824, Monroe advocated the resettlement of Native Americans living within the territory of the United States to lands beyond the western frontier where they could continue their ancestral way of life.[141] Nonetheless, he shared Jackson and Calhoun's concerns about sovereign Indian nations, believing they were an obstacle to the West's future development. Like Washington and Jefferson, he wished to present the Natives with the benefits of American culture and Western civilization for their own good, as well as to save them from extinction.[142]
Election of 1820
Monroe announced his candidacy for a second term early on. At the Republican Caucus on April 8, 1820, the 40 members unanimously decided not to nominate an opposing candidate to Monroe. The collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed,[143] the only president other than Washington to do so. A single elector from New Hampshire, William Plumer, cast a vote for John Quincy Adams, preventing a unanimous vote in the Electoral College.[143] He did so because he thought Monroe was incompetent. Later in the century, the story arose that he had cast his dissenting vote so that only George Washington would have the honor of unanimous election. Plumer never mentioned Washington in his speech explaining his vote to the other New Hampshire electors.[144] Despite this broad support in the presidential election, Monroe had few loyal supporters and correspondingly little influence in the parallel elected 17th United States Congress.[134]
Post-presidency (1825–1831)
When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, James Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is now included in the grounds of the University of Virginia.[145] Monroe spent the first five years of his retirement at his Oak Hill residence in Aldie, Virginia. In August 1825, the Monroes had received the Marquis de Lafayette and President John Quincy Adams as guests there.[145] He devoted himself to reading, with his private library containing over 3,000 books, most of which he had acquired during his stays in Europe. 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. The work was designed to highlight the difference between governments and people of the United States and other countries, ancient and modern, to show that certain issues that produced disastrous effects in them were not present in America. In 1829, Monroe abandoned work on The People the Sovereigns after hearing George Hay's unfavorable reaction to the manuscript. Hay suggested that Monroe write an autobiography, which would be more interesting and valuable to posterity. Monroe, delighted with the idea, began working on an autobiography, but died before it could be completed.[146]
In retirement, he was plagued by pressing financial worries. As Minister to France during the 1790s, he had had to take out substantial private loans to fulfill representative duties and diplomatic protocol due to his moderate pay. As early as 1797, he had asked Congress for an expense allowance and had been waiting in vain for a payment ever since. In the last days before handing over to Adams, Monroe wrote to Jefferson and Madison asking them to support him in his claims against Congress if necessary. He sold off his Highland Plantation to the Second Bank of the United States out of financial necessity.[147] It is now owned by his alma mater, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public as a historic site. Throughout his life, he was financially insolvent, which was exacerbated by his wife's poor health.[148]
Monroe served on the Board of Visitors for the University of Virginia under Jefferson and the second rector, James Madison, both former presidents, nearly until his death. Monroe had previously been a member of the original board of Central College (the predecessor to the University of Virginia[149]) however the demands of the Presidency prevented him from continuing as a board member. At the annual examinations in July, he presided over the Board of Examiners. When there was considerable indiscipline among the students, Monroe suggested in a report in 1830 that military drill be added to the curriculum, but Madison refused.[150]
Although already clearly marked by age and severely impaired by a horse accident in 1828,[151] Monroe was elected as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830. He was one of four delegates elected from the senatorial district made up of his home district of Loudoun and Fairfax County.[152] In October 1829, he was elected by the convention to serve as the presiding officer, until his failing health required him to withdraw on December 8, after which Philip P. Barbour of Orange County was elected presiding officer.[153]
Shortly before his death, 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.[154] Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to 63 Prince Street at Lafayette Place[155] in New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur, who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur.[156] On July 4, 1831, Monroe died at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day. His 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. Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. 27 years later, in 1858, his body was re-interred at the President's Circle in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.[157]
Religious beliefs
"When it comes to Monroe's thoughts on religion," historian Bliss Isely notes, "less is known than that of any other President." No letters survive in which he discussed his religious beliefs. Nor did his friends, family or associates comment on his beliefs. Letters that do survive, such as ones written after the death of his son, contain no discussion of religion.[158]
Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia before the Revolution. As an adult, he attended Episcopal churches. Some historians see "deistic tendencies" in his few references to an impersonal God.[159] Unlike Jefferson, Monroe was rarely attacked as an atheist or infidel. In 1832, James Renwick Willson, a Reformed Presbyterian minister in Albany, New York, criticized Monroe for having "lived and died like a second-rate Athenian philosopher".[160]
Slavery
Monroe owned dozens of slaves. He took several slaves with him to Washington to serve at the White House from 1817 to 1825. This was typical of other slaveholding presidents.[161]
Monroe sold his small Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics. Although he owned multiple properties over the course of his lifetime, his plantations were never profitable. Although he owned much more land and many more slaves, and speculated in property, he was rarely on site to oversee the operations. Overseers treated the slaves harshly to force production, but the plantations barely broke even. Monroe incurred debts by his lavish and expensive lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off.[162] The labor of Monroe's many slaves were also used to support his daughter and son-in-law, along with a ne'er-do-well brother, Andrew, and his son, James.[163]
When Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, hundreds of slaves from Virginia planned to kidnap him, take Richmond, and negotiate for their freedom. Gabriel's slave conspiracy was discovered.[164] Monroe called out the militia; the slave patrols soon captured some slaves accused of involvement. Sidbury says some trials had a few measures to prevent abuses, such as an appointed attorney, but they were "hardly 'fair'". Slave codes prevented slaves from being treated like whites, and they were given quick trials without a jury.[165] Monroe influenced the Executive Council to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.[166] Historians say the Virginia courts executed between 26 and 35 slaves. None of the executed slaves had killed any whites because the uprising had been foiled before it began.[167] An additional 50 slaves charged for their role in the planned rebellion would be spared, as a result of pardons, acquittals, and commutations. One reason for this was influence of a letter Monroe received from Thomas Jefferson urging mercy, telling him "The other states & the world at large will for ever condemn us if we indulge a principle of revenge, or go one step beyond absolute necessity. They cannot lose sight of the rights of the two parties, & the object of the unsuccessful one." Only seven of the executions carried out against the rebels occurred after Monroe received Jefferson's letter.[168]
During the course of his presidency, Monroe remained convinced that slavery was wrong and supported private manumission, but at the same time he insisted that any attempt to promote emancipation would cause more problems. Monroe believed that slavery had become a permanent part of southern life, and that it could only be removed on providential terms. Like so many other Upper South slaveholders, Monroe believed that a central purpose of government was to ensure "domestic tranquility" for all. Like so many other Upper South planters, he also believed that the central purpose of government was to empower planters like himself. He feared for public safety in the United States during the era of violent revolution on two fronts. First, from potential class warfare of the French Revolution in which those of the propertied classes were summarily purged in mob violence and then preemptive trials, and second, from possible racial warfare similar to that of the Haitian Revolution in which blacks, whites, then mixed-race inhabitants were indiscriminately slaughtered as events there unfolded.[citation needed]
As president of Virginia's constitutional convention in the fall of 1829, Monroe reiterated his belief that slavery was a blight which, even as a British colony, Virginia had attempted to eradicate. "What was the origin of our slave population?" he rhetorically asked. "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." To the dismay of states' rights proponents, he was willing to accept the federal government's financial assistance to emancipate and transport freed slaves to other countries. 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 active in the American Colonization Society, which supported the establishment of colonies outside of the United States for free African Americans. The society helped send several thousand freed slaves to the new colony of Liberia in Africa from 1820 to 1840. Slave owners like Monroe and Andrew Jackson wanted to prevent free blacks from encouraging slaves in the South to rebel. Liberia's capital, Monrovia, was named after President Monroe.
Legacy
Historical reputation
Polls of historians and political scientists tend to rank Monroe as an above average president.[171][172] Monroe presided over a period in which the United States began to turn away from European affairs and towards domestic issues. His presidency saw the United States settle many of its longstanding boundary issues through an accommodation with Britain and the acquisition of Florida. Monroe also helped resolve sectional tensions through his support of the Missouri Compromise and by seeking support from all regions of the country.[173] Political scientist Fred Greenstein argues that Monroe was a more effective executive than some of his better-known predecessors, including Madison and John Adams.
Memorials
The capital of Liberia is named Monrovia after Monroe; it is the only national capital other than Washington, D.C., named after a U.S. president. Monroe is the namesake of seventeen Monroe counties.[175] Monroe, Maine, Monroe, Michigan, Monroe, Georgia, Monroe, Connecticut, both Monroe Townships in New Jersey, and Fort Monroe are all named for him. Monroe has been depicted on U.S. currency and stamps, including a 1954 United States Postal Service 5¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp.[176]
Monroe was the last U.S. 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.[177][178] That earned him the nickname "The Last Cocked Hat". He was also the last president who was not photographed.[179]
His participation in George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton was memorialized in Emanuel Leutze's 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware as well as John Trumbull's painting The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776.[180]
Notes
References
Bibliography
Main article: Bibliography of James Monroe
Secondary sources
Primary sources
Preston, Daniel, ed. The Papers of James Monroe: Selected Correspondence and Papers (6 vol, 2006 to 2017), the major scholarly edition; in progress, with coverage to 1814.
Writings of James Monroe, edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed., 7 vols. (1898–1903) online edition at Internet Archive
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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0
| 92 |
https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/gregory-james-monroe
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en
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GREGORY, James Monroe
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Database of Classical Scholars - The School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
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James Monroe Gregory was born to free persons of color. After his mother married Henry L. Gregory (c. 1819-1895), the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Among his secondary-school teachers was Laura Spelman (1839-1915), the future wife of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937). At the college preparatory department at Oberlin College in 1865, he was the only black student in his class. His Latin professor Giles W. Shurtleff (1831-1904), once Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops, was one of those who recommended him for appointment to West Point, but President Andrew Johnson refused approval. At one point, Gregory met General O. O. Howard (1830-1909) while Gregory was passing through Washington, DC. Several months later, General Howard sent him a letter inviting him to matriculate at the newly founded (1867) Howard University. Gregory graduated as valedictorian in a class of three and began his career in the college preparatory department. In the next year, he married one of his former students, Fannie Emma Hagan (1856-1928), with whom he had four children. In 1876, he was promoted to full professor and served as dean for two years. Throughout the 1880s he was a leading proponent of civil rights activity in the Washington, DC, area, particularly the integration of public schools. In 1885, William Sanders Scarborough (1852-1926) hoped to become Gregory’s colleague after Wiley Lane (1852-1885), the first African American professor of Greek at Howard, died unexpectedly, but the White administration under President William Weston Patton (1821-89) thought otherwise and chose a white man. An uproar ensued (see Grimké).
Gregory’s name is listed in the Proceedings of the APA for the year 1881 as one of the members elected that year, but for some reason, his name is not included with the bona fide members until 1883 (TAPA 12 (1881): 15 and TAPA 14 (1883): iv; xxxiv). In 1890, he founded the American Association of Educators of Colored Youth. In 1893, Gregory published one of the first biographies of Frederick Douglass, whom he had met as a child. Scarborough wrote the book’s introduction. In 1895 the same year that he became principal of the Manual and Industrial Training School in New Jersey he rejoined the APA (TAPA 27 (1896): iii). His son, T. Montgomery Gregory (1887-1971), a member of Harvard’s class of 1910, taught at Howard University from 1912 to 1924 and became a leading figure in the National Negro Theater Movement. Gregory is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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2
| 64 |
https://thehistorymom.com/2023/05/31/booking-it-through-history-first-ladies-elizabeth-monroe/
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en
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Booking It Through History: First Ladies – Elizabeth Monroe
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[
"Jayda Justus",
"The History Mom"
] |
2023-05-31T00:00:00
|
Learn more about the elegant yet reserved Elizabeth Kortright Monroe in my new Booking It Through History: First Ladies post!
|
en
|
The History Mom
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https://thehistorymom.com/2023/05/31/booking-it-through-history-first-ladies-elizabeth-monroe/
|
My Booking It Through History: First Ladies focus in May is Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, the accomplished yet relatively unknown wife of our country’s fifth president, James Monroe. While following Dolley Madison would be a tough job for anyone, it was particularly a challenge for Elizabeth as she struggled with health complications throughout her adult life. Once you learn more about her, though, you’ll grow to appreciate her place in American history as the woman who created the White House style that we still admire today!
Each month, I’ll detail the life of the first lady and their legacy. Then I’ll share what I learned while studying them, along with ways you can travel in their footsteps through historical sites and museums. I’ll also share books, podcasts, TV shows, and websites where you can learn even more about that first lady. Read all of the way through the blog post or click on the links below to go straight to those sections.
Life
Legacy
My Time with Elizabeth
Travels with Elizabeth
To Learn More
Life
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe was born on June 30, 1768 in New York City to Lawrence and Hannah Kortright, and she was well educated as the youngest daughter of a wealthy shipping merchant of Flemish descent. However, tragedy struck her life at the young age of nine when her mother died of childbirth complications in 1777. Her father never remarried and lost much of his fortune during the American Revolution when he remained loyal to the Crown.
She met the dashing former Continental Army colonel, James Monroe, at a theater when he served in Congress in New York City. One of Monroe’s friends with him that night said that Elizabeth and her sisters “made so lovely an appearance as to depopulate all the other boxes” (picture the Schuyler sisters from Hamilton: The Musical!). Elizabeth was just sixteen to Monroe’s late twenties, but it didn’t take long for them to fall in love and marry in 1786 at New York’s famous Trinity Church. Many in the city thought Monroe beneath Elizabeth as the Kortrights had been part of New York society for over one hundred years and Monroe was a penniless orphan with little land to his name. His education and time in the army did brighten his prospects, however, along with his famous mentors, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
The Monroes stayed in New York with Elizabeth’s family until the Congressional session was completed, and then they started the arduous two-week journey back to Virginia accompanied by Monroe’s good friend and fellow Virginian, James Madison. Elizabeth was seven months pregnant by the time they bounced over the rutted roads to their eventual home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, stopping to visit Washington’s Mount Vernon along the way. Monroe had been with Washington during key points of the Revolution, including Valley Forge, the crossing of the Delaware, and the Battle of Trenton where Monroe almost died.
Once they made it to Fredericksburg, Elizabeth established their home at 301 Caroline Street, less than a mile from James’ law office (now the James Monroe Museum). She gave birth to their daughter, Eliza, soon after their arrival, and she and the baby often traveled with James on the legal circuit in central Virginia. By 1789, the Monroes moved to be near their friend, Jefferson, in Charlottesville (their farm is now the site of the University of Virginia), and Elizabeth became sick upon their arrival, the beginning of a lifetime of health struggles.
Monroe soon became a senator, and Elizabeth and Eliza traveled back and forth with him to Philadelphia (and also to visit family in New York) during much of his tenure. It was during his time as senator that Monroe became aware of a former friend’s affair that threw shade on the finances of the federal government. He and Alexander Hamiton almost dueled over the Reynolds scandal with Aaron Burr serving as Monroe’s second. How different would Monroe’s legacy have been if he had been (rightfully) included in Hamilton: The Musical as one of the three people who confronted Hamilton about the scandal!
President Washington thought highly of his young protege and nominated Monroe to be the ambassador to France (Aaron Burr’s stepson served as his secretary!). James, Elizabeth, and Eliza arrived in Paris during the French Revolution in 1794, just weeks after Robespierre was guillotined. This is where Elizabeth shined as the “la Belle Américaine” – her French nickname. In fact, one of Monroe’s biographers estimates that “no other American First Lady would beguile France until Jackie Kennedy” like Elizabeth. Elizabeth and James hosted grand dinners and events at their home, including a July 4th celebration, charming both the French officials and the Americans in Paris. Elizabeth loved the French style and purchased many furnishings for their home in Paris that were eventually sent back to America. Eliza was put in a French school where she became lifelong friends with Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Josephine (soon-to-be Bonaparte). It was here in France that Elizabeth sat for one of the few portraits we still have of her beauty (see it on the cover of a book mentioned below).
It was in France that Elizabeth’s bravery withstood the executioner’s blade. She learned of Adrienne de Lafayette’s plight in a French prison, only days away from being guillotined. Her husband, the Marquis de Lafayette, was imprisoned in Austria and Adrienne’s own mother, grandmother, and sister had been executed already. Elizabeth rented a grand carriage and made sure to parade to the prison under the watchful eyes of the French revolutionaries. She visited Adrienne day after day until the authorities were shamed into releasing her. The Monroes gave her money and helped her and her daughters travel to Austria to be with Lafayette in prison. They also ensured her son’s safe passage to America to visit with his namesake, President Washington. The Monroes also saved Thomas Paine from French prison, and he lived with them as Elizabeth nursed him back to health.
After the political machinations surrounding the Jay treaty (instigated by Hamilton!) in the fall of 1796, Monroe was recalled as the ambassador, so James, Elizabeth, and Eliza made their way back to America and their new home adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello called Highland. They spent much time with the Madisons, with Elizabeth and Dolley becoming fast friends. In May of 1799, Elizabeth gave birth to a son named James Spence, and by the end of the year, James had been elected governor of Virginia.
During 1800-1801, James had to deal with the Gabriel slave rebellion, and during this trying time, little James Spence died of whooping cough with his funeral held at Richmond’s St. John’s Church. A heartbroken pregnant Elizabeth became sick after his death with the epilepsy that would plague her the rest of her life. The following year, Elizabeth gave birth to their last child, a daughter named Maria Hester.
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson named James Monroe as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France where he finalized the Louisiana Purchase, and he and Elizabeth had a lovely reunion with Lafayette and Adrienne. Then the Monroes moved to London as James served as the minister to Great Britain and Spain. They were received warmly at first, even by King George III, but a diplomatic dustup in America chilled relations. It was in the foul air and dampness of London where Elizabeth’s health deteriorated more rapidly. She traveled to Bath hoping to restore her health and even went back to Paris while James traveled to Spain. It was during this time in Paris where she and James attended the coronation of Napoleon in the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
They finally came home in the fall of 1807 where financial, political, and family woes awaited them. Elizabeth must have been torn when James decided to run for president against their good friend, James Madison. Monroe lost the election but Madison didn’t hold a grudge for long, eventually nominating him for Secretary of State. The Monroes moved to Washington City, living in what is known as the Monroe House on I Street, NW.
Their daughter, Eliza, married George Hay (more than twenty years her senior and the prosecutor in the Burr treason trial) and had a daughter she named Hortensia for her French friend. Eliza lived with James and Elizabeth in Washington City on and off throughout the years, subbing in for the sick Elizabeth when necessary. Elizabeth was able to attend Dolley Madison’s famous parties (called squeezes) and partook of the ice cream and sumptuous food. She and Dolley resumed their friendship, and she must have enjoyed Dolley’s vivacious personality, in stark contrast with Elizabeth’s more refined, formal manner of being.
While in Washington City, the Monroes purchased a home in nearby Loudoun County, Oak Hill, where they would find refuge from politics (and where Elizabeth would flee when the British invaded during the War of 1812!). Monroe not only served as the Secretary of State but also jointly as the Secretary of War, so it was no surprise when he was elected the new president in 1816.
Elizabeth and James stayed in their I Street home for months until the recently rebuilt White House was ready. Then they had the herculean task of furnishing the entire home from scratch as nothing from the Madisons’ tenure survived the fire. Thankfully the Monroes had plenty of French furnishings from their time in France, and Elizabeth set out to acquire even more. It’s thanks to her impeccable taste that the White House is the beacon of American style today, a French-inspired formal style with thoroughly American accents. Many of the items you can see in today’s White House rooms were purchased by Elizabeth.
As First Lady, Elizabeth hosted in a formal, European style, much different than her predecessor. The Monroes hosted Wednesday night drawing rooms and several dinners a week that included diplomats and politicians where Elizabeth used lovely dishes and served good quality French-influenced food.
Presidential china at Highland
She didn’t visit other women like Dolley, but did invite them to the White House where she or Eliza served as hostess, receiving them for hours. She wore beautiful French fashions and future First Lady, Louisa Adams, commented on her beauty and poise, calling her a gracious hostess. Some thought her to be a snob but she was just reserved (however Eliza was a snob!). She became good friends with several Washington ladies, including Susan Decatur who lived just across the street in what’s now known as the Decatur house.
In March of 1820, Maria married her first cousin, Samuel Gouverneur, at the White House, the first child of a president to be married there. The Monroes hosted a small gathering for family only in keeping with their more formal entertaining style. Maria and her husband soon moved to New York (mainly to get away from the opinionated Eliza who didn’t like Maria’s husband!).
Monroe’s presidency is called the “Era of Good Feelings” for the peace and prosperity that it contained and is mostly known for the Monroe doctrine and the Missouri compromise. It’s also known for the grand tour of America by none other than Lafayette. James toured the country twice and was gone for months at a time, and during his absence, Elizabeth would escape back to Highland.
Elizabeth’s health continued to decline precipitously during James’ second term, and Eliza had to step in as the main hostess. In fact, his departure from the White House at the end of his term was delayed by several weeks because of Elizabeth’s condition. James told Jefferson that he wanted to “retire home in peace with my family, on whom, and especially Mrs. Monroe, the burden and cares of my long public service, have born [sic] too heavily.”
Elizabeth recovered enough to take a prolonged visit to Maria’s house in New York where she doted on her grandson who was born deaf. Upon her return to Oak Hill in 1826, however, Elizabeth suffered an epileptic seizure and fell into a fireplace, giving her severe burns. The last years of her life were spent in constant bad health and she finally succumbed on September 23, 1830 at Oak Hill. James was bereft, burning all of their correspondence and her journals, and died less than a year later (on July 4th!) at Maria’s home in New York. Rarely separated during life, it took over twenty-five years for them to be joined together at Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. Their daughter, Eliza, lost her husband just days before her mother, and once her father passed, she moved back to Paris and is buried in its famous Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
Legacy
Elizabeth Monroe’s legacy is hidden from history and is one that I think should get more prominence. Not many people are aware of her poise and elegance in setting the presidential style that we still use today. We think of style setters like Jackie Kennedy but Elizabeth Monroe was the original First Lady influencer. From her refined furnishings to her White House china that is still the standard bearer, we can see glimpses of her taste through the centuries today.
I also believe that James Monroe’s stature as the last of the founding generation to serve as president is a hard one to place in history (even though one podcast calls him the “Forrest Gump” of presidents!). He wasn’t old enough to be a signer of the Declaration and he was overshadowed by the other prominent Virginians at the time. Elizabeth suffered from this as well with Dolley being such a hard act to follow. However, Elizabeth didn’t try to replicate Dolley’s entertaining, she forged her own path which is very admirable especially in light of her health issues. In fact, one woman in Washington society said that Elizabeth’s style was more authentic, that her attention “wouldn’t have flattered her as much if it had been Dolley.”
Hamilton: The Musical could have made James (and by extension Elizabeth) more of a household name, especially with Monroe’s involvement in the Reynolds scandal. Read up on this to see just how close he and Hamilton came to a duel (“I will meet you like a gentleman” – Hamilton; “Get your pistols” – Monroe). It would be interesting to learn more about Elizabeth’s relationship with Hamilton’s wife, Eliza. While James and Alexander were complete opposites (James was cool and collected, Alexander was hot-headed and impulsive), I would imagine the wives had a lot in common! It is telling that late in life, James visited Eliza in hopes they could put their differences aside but she refused. She and her descendents continued to blame Monroe for Alexander’s death (and later the death of her grandson who died while transferring Monroe’s body to the Richmond cemetery).
As with most of the late 18th and early 19th century first ladies, Elizabeth’s legacy is tainted by the use of the enslaved. With little to no primary sources available, not much is known about her beliefs, and while she was raised in a New York home, it also included some enslaved. As a wife of a Virginia planter, it was expected that she serve as the mistress of the house, overseeing the enslaved. We do know that James grappled with the idea of slavery and worked to establish a colony of freed slaves in Africa (Liberia whose capital is Monrovia, named after James). He presided over the hangings of Gabriel and the others involved in the 1800 slave revolt but he also stayed the execution of other enslaved men caught in the roundup. One gets the idea that Monroe tried to find a logical way out of slavery but it was just beyond his grasp. Monroe also sued Jefferson’s nephew for beating one of his slaves, but when it came down to finances, Monroe sold the enslaved to pay his debts. It’s a difficult legacy to reconcile today.
Elizabeth’s legacy is mostly marred by her health. If she had been healthy, maybe she would be known for the renown of Dolley or the grace of Martha Washington. The wit of Abigail or the intellect of Louisa. We will never know as there are no surviving letters or journals in Elizabeth’s voice. We have to rely on the reports from her peers which were effusive in singing her praises.
My Time with Elizabeth
It was a challenge to learn about Elizabeth Monroe with so few primary sources or books written about her. I felt like I understood her though, her reserve, her wish to be private. In a world where that’s pretty much impossible today, especially as a First Lady, I am glad that she was able to live what seems like a full life while remaining herself. It would have been easy to feel “less than” after the gregarious Dolley, but it doesn’t seem Elizabeth thought like that. She knew her personality and her limitations, and instead of apologizing for them, she used them to her advantage. That’s a lesson I need to remember as this world constantly makes you feel like you have to be someone you’re not to be seen.
Elizabeth’s love for James really made me smile. They met and married at a young age (at least for her!) but it seemed like a true love match. They were rarely apart and had an unbreakable bond. James Monroe seems like an upstanding gentleman who was besotted by Elizabeth, evident in the one letter that remains from their correspondence which discusses how much he hates when they are separated. They were an intellectual and personality match, both gentle and understated with a reserve not seen in many politicians. Even John Quincy Adams remarked about their utter devotion to each other. A worthy life goal!
Travels with Elizabeth
She may have been born in New York, but Elizabeth was an adopted Virginian, spending much of her adult life in its rolling countryside. Unusual for women of her time, she spent a good part of her life in Europe, and its influence affected the rest of her life. It’s amazing how much some of these First Ladies traveled during war and with the difficulties of transportation. They were hardy women!
New York City:
Trinity Church Wall Street – Where James and Elizabeth were married according to some biographers; others say the Trinity rector married them at her childhood home
Sycamore – Elizabeth’s childhood home was located on today’s Pearl Street near the waterfront
Virginia:
Highland – The home near Monticello where James and Elizabeth spent much time between their posts in Europe. The home they lived in burned down after they sold it in 1826, but you can tour what was part of their guest house which contains many exhibits and items from the Monroe family.
Charlottesville farm – Now the site of the University of Virginia, you can see the historical marker about Monroe’s first farm on these rolling hills.
Fredericksburg – There are two sites to see in this small Virginia town. The Monroe home is located at 301 Caroline Street and the James Monroe Museum is located in his former law office. The museum has many exhibits with priceless items from James and Elizabeth, including a gown Elizabeth wore in France.
Oak Hill – The home near Washington that provided a respite for James and Elizabeth during his presidency and where Elizabeth died is privately owned. You cannot tour it but there is a historical marker.
James Monroe Birthplace – While Elizabeth didn’t live here, it’s a good place to visit to learn more about this amazing family.
Hollywood Cemetery – The final resting place for James and Elizabeth, this beautiful cemetery fittingly overlooks the James River in Richmond.
Washington, DC:
The Monroe House (2017 I Street, NW) – Now the home of the Arts Club of Washington, this is the actual home of James and Elizbeth while he served as Secretaries of State and War and also for the first six months of his presidency.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History – In its First Ladies exhibit, you can see Elizabeth’s beautiful china.
France:
The Monroes had two homes in Paris. Now demolished, you can see a rendering of their main home, La Folie, here. Their other home at 88 Rue de La Planche seems to now be a park.
To Learn More
Books to Read:
All links are Amazon affiliate links. You can also purchase the books through my affiliate link to Bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores.
Nonfiction:
James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath: A massive biography about James, this book is a must-read to learn about their life in politics and foreign policy. While long, it reads very fast!
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger: This smaller biography contains many references to Elizabeth. It’s a quick read!
Fiction:
With little to no real historical resources about Elizabeth, her life seems perfect for historical fiction! However there are not many books about her. Below I have listed several where she is a tangential character.
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray: Read this to learn more about Elizabeth’s role in saving Adrienne de Lafayette.
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie: Read this to learn more about Monroe’s role in the Hamilton/Reynolds scandal. I’ll never forget the first chapter about James visiting Eliza in his later years!
Dolley by Rita Mae Brown: Elizabeth is mentioned several times in this book about Dolley’s life in the White House.
Podcasts
Here’s Where It Gets Interesting: Episode 174: Elizabeth Monroe’s Journey from Parisian Prison to White House
Presidential
FLOTUS
The White House 1600 Sessions: Episode 4: British Invasion to French Restoration and Episode 21 Back in the Blue Room: Restoring the Bellangé Suite
History Unplugged: Lessons from James Monroe, Who Defeated a Pandemic and Overcame Partisanship
TV Shows
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Websites
The Papers of James Monroe
White House Historical Association
Also where you can purchase the official White House Christmas ornament in honor of the Monroes
C-SPAN First Ladies: Influence and Image
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe is an enigma in history but is someone who still influences us today. Her elegant style and impeccable manners set the tone for American First Ladies that we still expect today. While reserved, she left a huge impact.
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https://www.monroewa.gov/662/About-Monroe
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Monroe, WA - Official Website
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https://www.monroewa.gov/images/favicon.ico
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https://www.monroewa.gov/images/favicon.ico
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Find information related to the City of Monroe including City holidays, municipal code, and weather information.
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Scenically set against the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, Monroe is located in southern Snohomish County, near where the Snoqualmie and Skykomish Rivers join to form the Snohomish. Home of Native American villages for thousands of years, white settlement began in 1860. Henry McClurg, one of the first settlers, claimed land along the river and in 1864 established the settlement of Park Place. The settlement remained nothing more than a few cabins, a school and a post office until the late 1880s when rumor of a railroad circulated. A building boom ensued, with construction of a store, hotel, saloon and community hall. The post office name was changed to Monroe in 1890 to honor President James Monroe, someone McClurg admired. When the Great Northern Railroad located a mile to the north, much of the town was relocated there, including the Monroe post office, from which the new town was given its name. About this time Snohomish County located a poor farm (now the Evergreen Fairgrounds) and hospital just west of town.
Monroe was incorporated in 1902 with a population of 325. In 1907, it was selected as the home of a condensed milk plant, the Carnation Condensery, and the state reformatory.
Monroe experienced rapid growth in the early 1900s due to nearby rich farmland and abundant timber, and its proximity to the railroad which provided a way to market for lumber and agricultural products grown in the valley. Since 1980 Monroe has experienced another boom, with population today almost 20,000. It is still home to the state reformatory, but it’s also the home of the Evergreen State Fair, the Evergreen Speedway track, a lovely historic downtown and is considered the gateway to the Cascade Mountains.
The City of Monroe today is a community of approximately 19,800 residents. Located at the confluence of three major highways (US-2, and State Routes 203 and 522), Monroe is uniquely situated as the economic hub of commerce for the more than 90,000 people residing in the Skykomish Valley, between the City of Snohomish and Stevens Pass.
Monroe is a non-charter code City, incorporated in 1903 and operating under the Mayor/Council form of government. Mayor Geoffrey Thomas and the seven-member City Council are elected at-large and serve staggered four-year terms.
Monroe is a diverse community, and our elected and appointed leaders value a community that is equitable and inclusive, and a place where everyone feels at home and that they belong. Nearly 20% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 26 different languages are spoken as a first or second language by students in the Monroe School District.
In 2021, the City developed an aspiration vision statement, entitled Imagine Monroe. In developing the Imagine Monroe vision statement, the City conducted a community survey which received more than 1,000 responses. Asked what makes Monroe special, respondents identified the following key attributes:
Small town feel (size, character, quiet, safety/security)
Caring, accepting, close knit, neighborly, supportive community
Family-friendly environment
Beautiful location/scenic
Access to nature (river, forests, parks, designated wilderness areas)
Rural living with urban conveniences
Diversity of people/anti-racism
Activities & amenities (retail, dining, fairgrounds, parks, recreation, community gathering spaces)
Affordability
History/family legacy
Opportunity for growth and change
Environmental stewardship, conservation, sustainable and green community
For more information on Imagine Monroe, please visit the Imagine Monroe Visioning Project.
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https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/italy/
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Italy
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Many aspects of Thomas Jefferson's home, work, and personal tastes were influenced by Italian people and culture. Some specific examples are provided below.
Agriculture
In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Rutledge that "Italy is a feild where the inhabitants of the Southern states may see much to copy in agriculture."[1] Long before, in 1773, Jefferson had given the newly-arrived Tuscan wine producer, Philip Mazzei, a 193-acre farm contiguous to Monticello.[2] There Mazzei established a small colony of Italian immigrants devoted to producing wine grapes, but the experiment was ultimately unsuccessful. Mazzei devoted more attention to political developments than to viticulture, and by 1779, his active involvement at Colle had come to an end. Jefferson, however, continued to employ some of the Italian vignerons: Giovanni da Prato worked as a gardener at Monticello in the 1780s, as did Anthony Giannini.[3] While Minister to France, Jefferson traveled to Italy to study its rice industry. He had a copy made of the machines the Italians used to clean their rice, and despite the threat of death for violating such a ban, he smuggled rice out of the country in the pockets of his coat.[4] Olive production also captured Jefferson's attention. He recommended their cultivation to friends from South Carolina.[5]
Architecture
Andrea Palladio's Four Books of Architecture became the "bible" Jefferson consulted in the early stages of building Monticello. As Palladio had done, Jefferson consciously emulated the architecture of ancient Rome. He observed that "Roman taste, genius, and magnificence excite ideas."[6]
Art
Jefferson had a great appreciation for Italian artistic accomplishments. In Paris, Jefferson bought copies of paintings by such notable Italian painters as Guido Reni, Carlo Murati, and Raphael. Guiseppe Ceracchi sculpted a marble bust of Jefferson in Roman costume. This bust stood in the Entrance Hall of Monticello from 1795 until after Jefferson's death. Ceracchi's Alexander Hamilton is there today. Peter Cardelli in 1819 sculpted busts of James Madison, James Monroe, and Jefferson, copies of which were on display at Monticello. Jefferson, moreover, employed Italian sculptors to work on various aspects of the construction of the University of Virginia.[7]
Language
Jefferson taught himself Italian while a student at the College of William and Mary and later made sure Italian was included among the languages studied at the University of Virginia. In 1764, Jefferson bought an Italian-English dictionary, two historical works in Italian, and the works of Niccolo Machiavelli. Philip Mazzei reported that when he met him in 1773, Jefferson knew the language, though he had never heard it spoken. Carlo Bellini, through Jefferson's intercession as governor of Virginia and member of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary, received in 1779 the first ever appointment at the college as a professor of modern languages. Later, in 1787, Jefferson warned his nephew Peter Carr that, though Italian was a "delightful language," learning it "will confound your French and Spanish."[8] Even so, the University of Virginia's faculty in 1824 included a professor of modern languages (George Blaetterman) whose duties included teaching Italian.
Music
Jefferson once described music as the "favorite passion of my soul."[9] The skills and achievements of a variety of Italian composers, musicians, and instrument makers enriched Jefferson's enjoyment of music. He acquired a violin thought to have been made by Amati and received instruction on that instrument from Francis Alberti while in Williamsburg. At the time, Jefferson was courting Martha Wayles Skelton, one of Alberti's piano students. Alberti visited the newlyweds at Monticello to continue their instruction. Among Jefferson's favorite composers were such Italians as Vivaldi, Corelli, Boccherini, and Antonio Campioni. He once observed to Giovanni Fabbroni (a friend of Philip Mazzei) that, in contrast to Italy, music in America was "in a state of deplorable barbarism."[10] During his time in Europe, Jefferson sought out and befriended two Italian musicians, the flautist Caravoglia and Niccolò Piccinni, a famous composer and pianist. Jefferson conferred with Piccinni before purchasing a harpsichord for his daughter.[11]
Food
In 1789, William Short wrote to Jefferson from Naples to report success in acquiring a machine for making macaroni. Short was confused as he sought a machine that made the "maccaroni" (flat noodles, apparently) he and Jefferson were accustomed to finding in Paris.[12]
Travel
In 1787, Jefferson spent three weeks touring the northern regions of Italy. He visited Turin, Vercelli, Milan, Casino, Genoa, and about forty other small towns and cities in Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria. In his travel diary, Jefferson observed details of Italian life: the arrangement for ferrying passengers across the Po, for instance, and the process of making Parmesan cheese.[13] He later loaned the maps he purchased of Turin and Milan to Pierre L'Enfant.[14] L'Enfant consulted those maps while designing Washington, D.C.
Wine
Jefferson's tenure as Minister of France gave him the opportunity to sample fine wines from all over Europe. His travels in Italy in 1787 brought him into contact with a large number of Piedmont varieties, and his daily journal is full of observations about different vintages. He developed a preference for the lighter French and Italian wines. Since his advice on wine matters was widely esteemed, Jefferson's tastes shaped the cellars stocked by George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, and James Monroe. Although his financial state worsened after 1809, Jefferson still continued to import French and Italian wines, but he did so from more modest vineyards. One of his perennial favorites was a Montepulciano.[15]
- Jay Boehm, 9/1997
Further Sources
Marchione, Margherita. Philip Mazzei, Jefferson's "Zealous Whig." New York: American Institute of Italian Studies, 1975.
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https://www.whitehousechristmascards.com/james-monroe-1817-1825/james-monroe/
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White House Christmas Cards & Messages of the Presidents of the United States
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Term: March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825 Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins Home State: Virginia Wife: Elizabeth Kortright Children: Eliza Kortright & Maria Hester Based on the fact that Christmas cards were not offered for sale in the United States until 1875 or that White House Christmas cards were not officially sent out until
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White House Christmas Cards & Messages of the Presidents of the United States - Informative Resource for Christmas Cards and Messages sent by United States Presidents and other Biographical Information
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https://www.whitehousechristmascards.com/james-monroe-1817-1825/james-monroe/
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Term: March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825
Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins
Home State: Virginia
Wife: Elizabeth Kortright
Children: Eliza Kortright & Maria Hester
Based on the fact that Christmas cards were not offered for sale in the United States until 1875 or that White House Christmas cards were not officially sent out until the Eisenhower administration almost 80 years later, it is highly unlikely that James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, even thought of practicing what we now do almost subconsciously – sending Christmas cards to friends and loved ones during the holiday season.
Monroe, a Virginian who is considered the last of the United States’ Founding Fathers, was, however, one of the participants in what may be the most famous Christmas in our nation’s history. It was on Christmas in 1776 that Monroe, a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, was wounded in the shoulder serving with General George Washington in the surprise attack against the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey. In fact, in the famous 1851 painting by German-American artist Emanuel Leutze, it is the young James Monroe who is shown holding the flag as Washington leads his men into battle as their boat crosses the Delaware River from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. Had the exchanging of Christmas cards been a custom back in Colonial times, certainly none would have been exchanged between the pro-British Hessians and the revolution-minded colonists!
James Monroe’s endeavors during the early history of our country compare favorably with other Founding Fathers like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. His intellect, courage, and common sense helped propel the new nation onto the world’s stage. Before he became president in 1817, Monroe served in the Continental Congress, as a Virginia Senator, as a minister to France under President Washington, as the Governor of Virginia, as a minister to Great Britain under President Jefferson, as the Secretary of War, and as Secretary of State.
Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Following the end of his military career and working as a lawyer in the mid-1780s, he met and married 17-year-old Elizabeth Kortright, a member of a prominent New York City family. His interest in politics and his ascension into public service eventually gave him the opportunity under President Jefferson in 1803 to be one of the negotiators in the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the size of the United States. A decade or so later, in August of 1814, while serving as Secretary of State under James Madison, Monroe exhibited the same bravery shown on that long-ago Christmas Eve in 1776 by leading a scouting party to verify an impending attack from British troops stationed near Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. This gave President Madison ample time to evacuate the government, and for Monroe to personally save two precious documents – the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution – before they could be destroyed by the invading British soldiers.
By November of that year, Secretary Monroe had situated five American peace commissioners in Ghent, Belgium, who were responsible for negotiating a treaty with British and Irish leaders to end the war. With the countries agreeing to revert back to the way things were prior to the outbreak of war, the Treaty of Ghent was signed on Christmas Eve. A letter to the future President Monroe from one of the commissioners, Albert Gallatin, was undoubtedly a most welcome “Christmas card.” It stated that the treaty of peace had been signed the day before.
With President Madison’s two terms over in 1816, Monroe ran as his successor, earning an easy victory. A strong, non-partisan leader, Monroe’s first term was known as “The Era of Good Feelings” since Americans were relieved that the War of 1812 was finally over. Despite an economic depression, dubbed the Panic of 1819, Monroe’s popularity remained high. His major accomplishment as president was the issuance of the Monroe Doctrine; delivered to Congress a few weeks before Christmas of 1823, Monroe warned European powers to give no thought to expanding into the Western Hemisphere and stated the United States’ intention to remain a neutral power regarding European conflicts. Any interference by a foreign power would be regarded as an unfriendly act against the U.S., a policy which became the standard for the remaining part of the 19th Century.
James and Elizabeth Monroe and their two daughters, Eliza and Maria, were modest people who enjoyed their privacy. Occasionally, Eliza took on the duties as the official White House hostess when the First Lady was ailing. In 1820, history was made when Maria married her second cousin; it was the first wedding ever performed in the White House. Christmas of 1824 was the last one the Monroe family spent in the White House. Since there is very little known about Monroe’s religious beliefs, it is unknown how the family may have celebrated the Christmas holiday.
In modern times, at the James Monroe Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, not only is there an annual exhibition showcasing what the Monroe home would have looked like at Christmastime, but other festivities include fireworks, a display of Christmas dishes such as candied fruits and plum pudding, and decorations which include mistletoe, ivy, and holly.
After the end of his presidency, Monroe and Elizabeth resided in Oak Hill, Virginia until her death in 1830. Then the former president moved to New York City to live with his daughter, Maria, and her husband. James Monroe died from tuberculosis and heart failure one year later on the 4th of July – the third president of the first five in our country’s history to pass away on the date of the birth of our nation. Originally buried in New York, Monroe’s body was re-interred in 1858 to the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, where he lays near our 10th president, John Tyler.
Tags: Christmas cards, James Monroe, President Monroe, White House Christmas Cards
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|||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 8 |
https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-after-the-presidency
|
en
|
James Monroe: Life After the Presidency
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https://millercenter.org/themes/custom/miller/favicon.ico
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https://millercenter.org/themes/custom/miller/favicon.ico
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[
""
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[
"Daniel Preston"
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2016-10-04T16:15:18-04:00
|
en
|
/themes/custom/miller/favicon.ico
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Miller Center
|
https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-after-the-presidency
|
Monroe decided to follow the precedent set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison and serve only two terms as President. His decision meant that an incumbent would not be running for the post in 1824. During the last few years of Monroe's tenure, some of his initiatives were defeated or delayed simply because of the maneuverings of those looking forward to the 1824 election. The main contenders during that campaign season were Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun, Secretary of Treasury William H. Crawford, Representative Henry Clay, and Senator Andrew Jackson. Monroe declared his intention to remain neutral during the election and did not endorse any candidate.
Following the inauguration of John Quincy Adams as President in 1825, Monroe remained in the White House for three weeks because his wife was too ill to travel. The couple then retired to their estate, Oak Hill, in Loudoun County, Virginia. Monroe was glad to be relieved of the exhausting duties of the presidency. At Oak Hill, he enjoyed spending time with his family and overseeing the activities of his farm.
During much of his later life, Monroe worked to resolve his financial difficulties. He had long served publicly in positions that paid mediocre salaries and demanded expenditures for entertaining and protocol. Consequently, Monroe was deeply in debt when he left the presidency. For the next several years, he spent much of his time pressing the federal government for tens of thousands of dollars due him from past services. Eventually the federal government repaid Monroe a portion of the funds he desired, allowing him to pay off his debts and leave his children a respectable inheritance.
In 1826, Monroe accepted appointment to the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia. He was deeply committed to the university—founded by his friend Thomas Jefferson—and served on the board until he became too ill to continue. In 1829, he became president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention.
After struggling to complete a book comparing the U.S. government to the governments of ancient and modern nations, he abandoned the project and started work on his autobiography. It became the major focus of his later years, but he never completed it. Following his wife's death in 1830, Monroe, age seventy-two, moved to New York City to live with his daughter and son-in-law.
In the early spring of 1831, Monroe's health steadily declined. He died that year on July 4, in New York City. Monroe was the third of the first five Presidents to die on the Fourth of July; John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had died on that day five years earlier. Thousands of mourners followed his hearse up Broadway in Manhattan to the Gouverneur family vault in Marble Cemetery, while church bells tolled and guns fired at Fort Columbus. Monroe's body was later moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
|
|||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 47 |
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-monroe-hollywood-cemetery-july-4-2024
|
en
|
How James Monroe's body ended up buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery
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2024-07-04T12:53:07-04:00
|
Tucked inside of the rolling hills and views of the James River lies a tomb that holds the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR
|
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/james-monroe-hollywood-cemetery-july-4-2024
|
RICHMOND, Va. -- When you think of a cemetery, the word "beautiful" might not be the first that comes to mind. But that's exactly what describes the Hollywood Cemetery.
And tucked inside of the rolling hills and views of the James River lies a tomb that holds the fifth President of the United States James Monroe.
But how he ended up in the heart of Richmond is a tale worthy of knowing.
Born in 1758 in Westmoreland County, James Monroe was one of the founding fathers of the United States as well as a two term Governor of the Commonwealth.
However, following his time at the White House, Monroe fell on hard times financially and would be forced to sell his Virginia home.
Then in 1830, Monroe's wife, Elizabeth, would die leaving the former president a widower.
Monroe would then move to his daughter's home in New York City prior to his death on July 4, 1831. (He is the third and final president to die on the fourth of July)
But his body would only remain in its New York resting place for 27 years.
In 1858, Virginia's General Assembly would approve $2,000 in appropriations to exhume Monroe's body and move it to a final resting place in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
Virginia's Governor at the time, Henry Alexander Wise, would launch the plan of "bring Monroe home."
Wise, who would lead Virginia through secession in 1861 was driven by Virginia pride to have bodies of Virginia presidents buried in Richmond.
Wise at the time had hoped to have Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all buried side by side in Hollywood Cemetery. But the Jefferson and Madison families would decline.
It was on July 2, 1858 that Monroe's body would be exhumed and put on viewing in front of an estimated crowd of ten thousand spectators.
His body would then be loaded onto a steamboat named 'Jamestown' and shipped to Richmond.
Once here in the River City, Monroe's body was once again buried this time surrounded by a cast iron tomb made in Philadelphia.
While Governor Wise's dream of Hollywood Cemetery recognizing Virginia's contributions to the nation may not have come to fruition his mark on its history remains.
In 1876, Governor Wise would die and be buried in Hollywood Cemetery about 100 yards away from Monroe's grave.
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
|
3
| 12 |
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-monroe
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en
|
James Monroe
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Considered the last “Founding Father” president, James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 into an affluent, slave-owning family in Westmoreland County, Virginia....
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WHHA (en-US)
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https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-monroe
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Considered the last “Founding Father” president, James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 into an affluent, slave-owning family in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Spence and Elizabeth Monroe, had aspirations for their eldest son, sending him to nearby Campbelltown Academy. James’ childhood changed dramatically when both of his parents passed away within two years of each other. Joseph Jones, who became a paternal surrogate for the Monroe children, encouraged James to continue his education by attending the College of William & Mary. Monroe enrolled but later left to enlist in the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment. After the war, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright in 1786; the couple had three children together.
In terms of military, political, administrative, and diplomatic experience, James Monroe was one of the most qualified individuals to ascend to the presidency during the nineteenth century. He fought in the American Revolution and was wounded at the Battle of Trenton; served in the legislative bodies of the Virginia General Assembly and the United States Senate, as well as Governor of Virginia; held diplomatic posts across Europe for different administrations; and served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War (briefly acting in both capacities) during the James Madison administration. He also studied law with Thomas Jefferson—in fact, because of his relationship with Jefferson, Monroe purchased land adjacent to Monticello in Albemarle County, calling it Highland. This plantation was one of several properties that Monroe owned during his lifetime—along with over 200 enslaved people who provided the labor to sustain the family, their guests, and the comforts they enjoyed. Some of these individuals accompanied the Monroes to Washington as well, and later the White House. Click here to learn more about the enslaved households of President James Monroe.
In 1803, President Jefferson entrusted Monroe and Robert Livingston to acquire territory from France and secure access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. The men exceeded all expectations, acquiring New Orleans and some 828,000 square miles west of the Mississippi for $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase opened up new opportunities for white settlers—often at the expense of Native Americans—and it also created a volatile mix of expansionism and slavery. As the country expanded westward, the issue of permitting slavery in new territories would continue to threaten a fragile Union. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, signed by President Monroe, temporarily defused the situation.
After the War of 1812, the United States experienced the “Era of Good Feelings”—relative political peace, economic growth, and nationalist fervor. President Monroe invigorated this spirit with goodwill tours throughout the country and ensuring that the public buildings at Washington—including the President’s House—were restored after they were destroyed by the British. Working with Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Monroe professed American sovereignty from European nations while asserting a national right of influence over the western hemisphere. This idea, later called the “Monroe Doctrine,” shaped the next century of international relations between the United States and the world, influencing American presidents and policymakers who sought to make the country a global power.
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https://hollywoodcemetery.org/visit/things-to-see/102-president-james-monroe-s-tomb
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en
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President James Monroe's Tomb
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Hollywood Cemetery is an outdoor museum that spans hundreds of acres in the capital of Virginia. As you plan your visit, there are a few must-see items to add to your list, including some famous gravesites and monuments as well as other spots that are not as well-known.
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/templates/ac/favicon.ico
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https://hollywoodcemetery.org/visit/things-to-see/102-president-james-monroe-s-tomb
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President James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, was laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in 1858, twenty-seven years after his death in New York City. His tomb, locally known as "The Birdcage", was designed by Albert Lybrock and erected in 1859.
The structure is made of a granite sarcophagus that is surrounded by an ornate Gothic-style cage made from cast iron. It was labeled a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1971 due to its unique architecture. In 2015, the tomb was repaired and restored to its original ivory color by the Department of General Services. The Birdcage is located in Presidents Circle overlooking the James River. Monroe's wife, daughter, and son-in-law are buried nearby.
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correct_death_00070
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3
| 45 |
https://www.britannica.com/place/Monroe-Michigan
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en
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Monroe | Great Lakes, River Raisin, Manufacturing
|
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1998-07-20T00:00:00+00:00
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Monroe, city, seat (1817) of Monroe county, southeastern Michigan, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the River Raisin, on Lake Erie, between Detroit (about 40 miles [60 km] northeast) and Toledo, Ohio (about 12 miles [20 km] southwest). French Canadians founded a community on the north bank of the
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/place/Monroe-Michigan
|
Monroe, city, seat (1817) of Monroe county, southeastern Michigan, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the River Raisin, on Lake Erie, between Detroit (about 40 miles [60 km] northeast) and Toledo, Ohio (about 12 miles [20 km] southwest). French Canadians founded a community on the north bank of the Raisin in the 1780s that came to be called Frenchtown; during the War of 1812, it was the scene of the River Raisin Massacre (January 22, 1813) of Gen. James Winchester’s U.S. troops by Indians allied with England. The village never recovered, and in 1817 American settlers laid out a community named for Pres. James Monroe on the river’s south bank; in 1835 it figured prominently in the Toledo War (a bloodless boundary dispute between Ohio and Michigan).
Economic activities include shipping and diversified manufactures, notably paper products and automobile parts. Monroe was once the home of U.S. military officer George Armstrong Custer, and his mementos are in the Monroe County Historical Museum. The Navarre-Anderson Trading Post (1789), Michigan’s oldest surviving wooden structure, is one of a number of pre-Civil War structures in the city; the River Raisin Battlefield Visitor Center displays artifacts from the massacre and early settlements in the area. Sterling State Park is on Lake Erie just north of Monroe. Monroe County Community College opened in 1964. Inc. village, 1827; city, 1837. Pop. (2000) 22,076; Monroe Metro Area, 145,945; (2010) 20,733; Monroe Metro Area, 152,021.
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| 3 |
https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx%3Fguid%3D77802cc8-f7b9-49a1-8be5-17ca0bb47178
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FactBench
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2
| 2 |
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
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en
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James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy
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[
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1999-07-28T00:00:00+00:00
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James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy: On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more
|
en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
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On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more money. Congress paid him another $30,000 in 1831, but he still did not feel satisfied. After his death Congress appropriated a small amount for the purchase of his papers from his heirs. Monroe died in 1831—like Jefferson and Adams before him on the Fourth of July—in New York City at the home of his daughter, Maria, with whom he was living after the death of his wife the year before. In 1858, the centennial year of his birth, his remains were reinterred with impressive ceremonies at Richmond, Virginia. After Liberia was created in 1821 as a haven for freed slaves, its capital city was named Monrovia in honour of the American president, who had supported the repatriation of blacks to Africa.
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, and many other prominent statesmen of Monroe’s time all spoke loudly in his praise, but he suffers by comparison with the greater men of his time. Possessing none of their brilliance, he had, nevertheless, to use the words of John Quincy Adams, “a mind…sound in its ultimate judgments, and firm in its final conclusions.” Some of Monroe’s popularity undoubtedly stemmed from the fact that he was the last of the Revolutionary War generation, and he reminded people of those heady times when the struggle for independence was in the balance. Tall and stately in appearance, he still wore the knee britches, silk stockings, and cocked hat of those days, and many of his admirers said that he resembled George Washington.
Samuel Flagg Bemis
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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0
| 11 |
https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
|
en
|
A Brief Biography of James Monroe
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2013-06-27T19:27:14+00:00
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres.
|
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Highland
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https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres. Initially educated at Parson Campbell’s school in Westmoreland, the future President studied at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1774 until 1776, when he enlisted in the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment.
As an 18-year-old Lieutenant, Monroe crossed the Delaware River during Gen. George Washington’s December 1776 campaign, and was wounded at the subsequent Battle of Trenton. During the winter of 1777-78, Monroe camped with the army at Valley Forge. The following June he participated in the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. After leaving the army in January 1779, he continued to serve in the Virginia Militia and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Monroe returned to Williamsburg and met Governor Thomas Jefferson, with whom he began to study the law in Richmond in the spring of 1780. Monroe and Jefferson became lifelong friends.
In February 1786 Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright of New York City. Soon after, the couple moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Monroe practiced law for three years before moving to Albemarle County, Virginia. (Today, the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is located on the property where Monroe’s law office once stood.)
The Monroes had three children—Eliza (born in late 1786), James Spence Monroe (born in May 1799, died in September 1800), and Maria Hester (born in the spring of 1802). For 24 years—from 1799 to 1823—the Monroe family home was Highland, Monroe’s Albemarle County property adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello.
Monroe’s fifty years of public service began in 1782 with his election to the Virginia General Assembly. Subsequently, Monroe served in the Confederation Congress and in the first United States Senate; was twice Minister to France, and later Minister to England and to Spain. He was elected to four one-year terms as Governor of Virginia, became Secretary of State for the remainder of President James Madison’s two terms, and also served as Secretary of War during the War of 1812. Monroe’s greatest achievement as a diplomat was his negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Elected President of the United States in 1816 and in 1820, James Monroe resolved long-standing grievances with the British, acquired Florida from Spain in 1819, and proclaimed the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823. Optimistically labeled the “Era of Good Feelings,” Monroe’s administration was hampered by the economic depression brought on by the “Panic of 1819,” and by the debates over the Missouri Compromise that same year. Nonetheless, the Missouri Compromise—along with its admission of two new states—was one of Monroe’s political accomplishments, achieved through behind-the-scenes negotiation and consensus-building. Monroe supported the American Colonization Society which established the west-Africa nation of Liberia for freed blacks. Its capital was named Monrovia in his honor. Monroe himself was torn between his belief that slavery was an evil institution, and his fear of the consequences of immediate abolition.
A nationalist in diplomacy and defense, James Monroe supported a limited executive branch of the federal government, distrusted a strong central government in domestic matters, extolled the advantages of industrious famers and craftspeople, and advocated republican virtue—the notion that the needs of the public should be paramount over personal greed and party ambition.
A tall, slender man, Monroe distinguished himself throughout his career with his careful deliberation and cautious action. Known as a solid and able leader, Monroe, as President, assembled a particularly strong and talented cabinet. He helped define the young United States in a world dominated by numerous European powers, and contributed in multiple ways to the nation’s successful western expansion. James Monroe achieved distinction as a successful diplomat and administrator, and furthered our country’s strong national identity.
James Monroe died in New York City—at the home of his daughter Maria Hester Gouverneur—on July 4, 1831, exactly five years after the simultaneous deaths of Jefferson and John Adams. In 1858 his body was reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
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| 13 |
https://www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/History268/monroe.html
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en
|
monroe
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JAMES MONROE
A JOURNEY TO VIRGINIA IN DECEMBER, 1859.
A THURSDAY LECTURE
IT must have been on, or very near, Saturday morning, December 7, I859--indeed I think it was that very morning--that an incident occurred in the parlor of my house, then on South Professor Street, which has taken its place in memory as one of the most pathetic experiences of my life. A father and mother, neighbors whom I knew, came to my door and asked for an interview. They were Mr. and Mrs. John Copeland--people, in part, of African blood, of respectable standing in the community, and of amiable and Christian deportment. A son of these parents is still favorably known among us as a business partner of Mr. Charles Glenn, the builder. As I received them, I saw that they were in deep distress. The mother especially, exhibited such intense suffering--suffering so affecting both body and mind--that it was a question whether she would not sink to the floor, in utter exhaustion, before the conference could be completed. Their story is soon told. A son of the family, John A. Copeland, a young man about twenty-six years of age, had gone, some months before, to Chatham, in Canada, to visit a married sister. While there he had met an agent of John Brown, who invited him to join in the Virginia raid. Enthusiastic for the deliverance of both the races with which he was identified from the curse of slavery, and an ardent admirer of Brown, he accepted the invitation. With the result of the raid we are all acquainted. Brown was executed December 2, 1859, at Charlestown, Virginia. On the sixteenth day of December, came the execution of Copeland, at the same place. I have in my possession a letter, written by him on that day to his parents, brothers, and sisters in Oberlin, within two hours probably of the time of his ascending the scaffold, which, in its exhibition of Christian peace, of a spirit of forgiveness, of domestic affection, and of profound calm, will not compare unfavorably with any of the last utterances of apostles and martyrs. You will see that the day of his execution was the one immediately preceding that of the visit of his parents to me. I have spoken of the extreme suffering of Mrs. Copeland. It was noticeable however, that the grief which tortured her did not spring mainly from the thought of her son's execution. That, comparatively, seemed a tolerable affliction. John Brown had been executed, and so had been many of the great and good. The gallows upon which her son perished seemed irradiated by the goodly fellowship in suffering of prophets and reformers. This could be borne. The intolerable agony was caused by a report, which had come over the wires, and which appeared to be well founded, that the body of her son had been, or soon would be, taken to the medical college at Winchester, Virginia, for the purposes of dissection, About this she seemed to have a feeling akin to superstition. She had lain awake all night, turning the painful subject over in every form that a morbid imagination could suggest, until the torture had become more than brain and heart could endure; and unless some diversion--some relief--could be furnished, both brain and heart, it seemed probable, must give way. Under these circumstances, the parents had come to me to ask that I would go promptly to Winchester, and endeavor to recover the body of their son. I did not covet the undertaking, and I thought it right to explain to them that it would be likely to result in failure. Great excitement still prevailed in Virginia. Soldiers were still marching and counter-marching, military reviews were being held, and that military spirit was being awakened which was maintained from that time until the close of the war. The very presence of a Northern abolitionist in Virginia, upon such an errand in such a state of public feeling, might be regarded as, in itself, a grave offense. It was true that the body of John Brown had been returned to his widow; but special influences had been brought to bear in that case; and besides, Brown had the important advantage that he did not belong to the despised race. I did not fail to present these points to Mrs. Copeland; but they made no impression. She still entreated me to go, and I could not refuse her. I suppose I never pitied any one so much in my whole life.
Having decided to undertake the journey, I at. once made such preparation as I could. From Hiram Griswold, a prominent lawyer of Cleveland who had acted as Brown's attorney during his trial, I obtained a letter of introduction to Judge Parker of Winchester--the Judge who had sentenced both Brown and Copeland. Mr. Copeland, the father, or some friend for him, had telegraphed to Henry A. Wise, then Governor of Virginia, asking permission to send some one into the State to obtain the body of his son. A telegram came in reply which read in substance:--"You may send a man, but he must be a white man." This telegram I took with me, together with a paper from Mr. Copeland authorizing me to act as his agent in receiving the body.
I was now fairly well equipped for my journey, except that I had no money for the payment of expenses; and my friend Copeland was almost as impecunious as I was. In this exigency, James M. Fitch, who was for many years a bookseller and publisher in Oberlin, and whose memory is still held in reverence for his many good works, brought me one hundred dollars which he had somehow obtained in the town. I fear he had secured it by solicitation from door to door among business men and other citizens--a method of raising money which even to this day is something more than a tradition among us.
You will say that I now took the first train for Winchester. But this will be because you are too young to have had any experience of those times. In 1859 a man who got together a hundred dollars to go East had perhaps performed the smaller part of the needed financial operation. That was the period of the state-bank system, or rather of the state-bank systems; for there were as many of them as there were States that chose to legislate upon the subject. The result was that there was an endless variety of paper money, of all degrees of soundness except the highest. In Ohio, besides our own money, we had many kinds of bank bills from Michigan, from Indiana, and from States farther west. Upon these, even when from banks called good, there was a discount of from ten to thirty per cent when exchanged for coin. On looking over the money which I had received, I discovered that it was rich in these varieties, and that it was necessary to ascertain how much its nominal values represented in those which were real; in other words, what was the purchasing power of my hundred dollars. Fortunately for me, we had at that time in Oberlin a business man who was an expert in the quality of paper money. He received the latest counterfeit detectors, and the latest journals giving the rates of discount, at the Eastern money centers, upon all Western bank notes He was our helpful adviser in our financial troubles. To him I took my money. He went over it with me carefully, and gave me all needed information. So far as it seemed probable that he could use my Western bills in the way of business, he gave me New York and other Eastern bills in exchange for them. He very much improved the quality of my money-not, I fear, without some loss to himself.
One incident of our interview I have always thought unique. Among the bank notes which Mr. Fitch had brought me, there was a considerable number of one-dollar bills. Of these perhaps twelve or fifteen were on the Northern Bank of Kentucky. My friend smiled when he saw them. "These," said he, "are all counterfeit. See how distressed the face of old Harry Clay looks on these notes. But although they are counterfeit, you will have no trouble with them. There is such a scarcity of small bills that business men, by common consent, receive them and pay them out."
In regard to the scarcity of small bills at that time, I might add, that it was, in part, due to the decided stand taken by one of the political parties in favor of the use of coin. To promote this, they discouraged, and sometimes prohibited, through the State legislatures, the issuing of small notes, their theory being that, as a vacuum would thus be produced, and as nature abhors a vacuum, gold and silver would flow in to fill it. But gold and silver did not flow in, for it turned out that the vacuum abhorred gold and silver worse than nature abhorred the vacuum. Then, as always, no way was discovered to induce men to use the dearest money that could be found to meet their obligations. The most patriotic Whig or Democrat would not go to a broker's and buy coin at a premium to pay small debts, when, by letting them run until they were larger, he could pay them in depreciated bills of higher denomination, or, perhaps, could pay them at once, by barter.
I was somewhat startled by my friend's liberal views and what he told me of the practice under them. It was an anomaly which only the general financial disorder could have produced. I have thought this the most remarkable case of fiat money of which I have any knowledge. Here there was no government behind these bills declaring them to be money. The only fiat that gave them currency was an understanding tacitly reached by business men, and based upon a supposed public convenience. Our Populist friends would, perhaps, find fresh confirmation for their views, in a case like this.
I left Oberlin for Winchester, Monday, December 19, going by way of Wheeling and Harper's Ferry over the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. Owing to the delay of my train, caused by heavy snows in the Alleghenies, I did not reach Harper's Ferry until afternoon on Wednesday. Then I took the Winchester, Potomac, and Strasburg road, which ran by Charlestown and Winchester. As I took my seat in the car, I discovered the first evidence of the excited condition of the country. When the conductor came to receive my ticket, he said, "Excuse me, sir, but it is made my duty to ask for the name of every stranger entering the State." I gave him my name and it appeared to be entirely satisfactory. In one part of the car there was a group of ladies and gentlemen talking about John Brown. I soon discovered that among them was Captain Avis, the jailer who had charge of Brown during his imprisonment. I heard him say that Brown had spoken of the kindness with which Captain Avis had treated him as a reason why he would not attempt to escape from jail.
It was near sunset when I reached Winchester. I went directly to the Taylor House, having been told that that was the best hotel in the town. As I entered the clerk's office, I was reminded that I must register my name and address. As several rough and rather spirituous looking persons were standing about, it occurred to me, that the word Oberlin written upon the page of the register, for the inspection of such people, might produce a degree of excitement unfavorable to my object in visiting the place. Calling to mind the name of the township in which Oberlin was situated, I went promptly to the clerk's desk, the men dividing to enable me to do so, and wrote in a good bold hand, "James Monroe, Russia." I withdrew, and the crowd went up to examine the record. I left them studying upon it. The landlord told me, the next day, that when they asked him who James Monroe of Russia was, he replied that all he knew about it was I was a Russian. I have already spoken of Judge Parker as residing in Winchester; and having ascertained his address, I went at once to his house. I found him, presented my letter of introduction from Mr. Griswold, and was most courteously received. I told him my story-somewhat as I have told it to you--and explained how entirely my errand was one of humanity--of compassion for an afflicted father and mother. Very sincerely, as I believe, he expressed his sympathy with my object, his readiness to help me in it, and his opinion that it could be accomplished. He invited me to take tea with himself and his family, and proposed that, after tea, we should, together, pay a visit to the President of the Medical College, Dr. McGuire, and if it met his approval, should then send for other members of the Faculty, and have a meeting for consultation in regard to the object of my mission. I of course staid to the evening meal, and the invitation to attend a Faculty Meeting seemed so natural that it made me feel quite at home. I found Mrs. Parker a very agreeable lady, and we had a pleasant social occasion around the family table. After tea, Judge Parker went with me to Dr. McGuire's. On the way I happened to remark that I had sometimes thought that John Brown was not entirely sane. He repudiated this opinion, saying that he had observed Brown closely during the trial, and was convinced that he had a great deal of intelligent malice. The Faculty Meeting was held, and was entirely satisfactory. So far as I could judge, the best feeling existed. It was unanimously agreed that the body of Copeland should be delivered to me to be returned to the home of his parents. The college undertaker was present. He promised that he would work a portion of the night, and that by nine o'clock on the following morning, my sorrowful freight should be decently prepared for delivery at the express office. I was cautioned by one of the professors not to speak of the object of my visit at the hotel. I could readily assure them that I would not, and, within myself, I thought it much more likely that the news would get out through some one of the families of those who were present than through me. Feeling, however, no concern about the matter, I returned to the public house, and went to bed happy. I thought I saw my way clear to take back the body of the young soldier of liberty to his sorrowing family to be buried in the soil of Oberlin. I might say here, that I had already mentioned, more than once, that I bore upon my person the permission of Governor Wise to visit Virginia for the purpose I had in view, and I had perhaps exhibited his telegram. But this permission could, in any event, have only a moral weight, and that proved to be but small in Winchester, as the Governor did not appear to be popular there. In the morning a colored servant entered my room and built a great pine-wood fire in the old-fashioned fireplace. I thought it remarkable that he at once began telling me of his trials and hardships as a slave. It was evident that he thought me a Northern man, or at least one in sympathy with persons in his condition. I took an early breakfast, and was impatiently waiting for the hour at which I was to meet the undertaker, when a message was brought that some gentlemen wished to see me. I received them in the parlor of the hotel. They were a committee of students from the college--half a dozen in number--who had come to give me their view of the situation. A tall, lean, red-haired young man from Georgia acted as their chairman. I had seen committees of students before, but this one seemed rather more excited than any which I had previously met. As the chairman addressed me standing, I also stood. I cannot give an accurate, verbatim report of his speech, but I remember the sentiment and the more remarkable turns of expression. He spoke in substance as follows:--"Sah," said he, " these gentlemen and I have been appointed a committee by the medical students to explain this matter to you. It is evident to us, sah, that you don't understand the facts in the case. Sah, this nigger that you are trying to get don't belong to the Faculty. He isn't theirs to give away. They had no right to promise him to you. He belongs to us students, sah. Me and my chums nearly had to fight to get him. The Richmond medical students came to Charlestown determined to have him. I stood over the grave with a revolver in my hand while my chums dug him up. Now, sah, after risking our lives in this way, for the Faculty to attempt to take him from us, is mo' 'an we can b'ar. You must see, sah, and the Faculty must see, that if you persist in trying to carry out the arrangement you have made, it will open the do' for all sorts of trouble. We have been told that Governor Wise gave you permission to come into this State and get this nigger. Governor Wise, sah, has nothing to do with the matter. He has no authority over the affairs of our college. We repudiate any interference on his part. Now, sah, that the facts are befo' you, we trust that we can go away with your assurance that you will abandon the enterprise on which you came to our town. Such an assurance is necessary to give quiet to our people."
I replied to the gentleman from Georgia that I was glad to hear from all sides of the question; that the view taken by the students was important, and deserved and should have respectful consideration; but that, as my arrangements had been made with the approval of the Faculty, and I had, as yet, no intimation from them that their view of the matter had, in any way, been changed, I thought the young men would agree with me that the courtesy due between gentlemen required that I should not abandon my undertaking without consultation with their teachers. I closed, however, by saying that I would cheerfully promise the committee that I would at once give up my plan when advised to do so by their professors. The chairman of the committee would have been glad to have me say, at once, that I would do nothing further; but I adhered to my purpose. The committee then left, without any discourtesy of language or manner, but as I thought with some suppressed feeling.
I went at once to see Professor Smith, who had shown me much sympathy in my object, and who was on the point of coming to me. He said, "The Faculty would still be willing to make an effort to carry out their contract with you, but they suppose it to be impracticable." He then told me what I had not heard before, that during the night the students had broken into the dissecting rooms of the college, had removed the body of Copeland, and hidden it, it was reported at some place in the country. He added that if, under these circumstances we were to persist in an effort to recover the body, the whole country about us would soon be in a state of excitement. He thought it the wiser course, therefore, that my object should be given up. I believed he was right, and decided to act accordingly. The result was a great disappointment to me; but it seemed to be inevitable.
In thus recording my decision to abandon further effort, it is a satisfaction to add that time has made it more and more evident that Copeland was abundantly worthy of all the interest which we took in his case. Recently the Virginia officials who were connected with his trial, conviction and execution, have been publishing the favorable impression he made upon them. Mr. Andrew Hunter, who was the State prosecutor at the trial, in communications given to the press a few years since, says: "Copeland was the cleverest of all the prisoners. He had been educated at Oberlin. He was the son of a free negro, and behaved better than any man among them. If I had had the power and could have concluded to pardon any, he was the man I would have picked out. * * * He behaved with as much firmness as any of them, and with far more dignity." Judge Parker, in an interview published in the St. Louis "Globe Democrat" in 1888, says: "Copeland was the prisoner who impressed me best. He was a free negro. He had been educated, and there was a dignity about him that I could not help liking. He was always manly."
I was now ready to set my face towards home; but there was no train from Winchester back to Harper's Ferry until the following morning. By taking a carriage, however, in the afternoon, across the country to Martinsburg, I could catch the evening train on the Baltimore and Ohio road for Wheeling. My arrangements were made, therefore, to do this. Professor Smith advised me not to go to a hotel when I should reach Martinsburg. A general military review of all the soldiers who were present at John Brown's execution, and others also, was in progress that day in Martinsburg, and there would be many violent and half-drunken men about the public houses, whom it would be well for me to avoid. He offered to give me a letter of introduction to 'Squire Conrad, a friend of his, a lawyer of high character and standing in that town, and told me to drive directly to his house, and remain there until the hour for the train. This letter I thankfully accepted. As I had still two or three hours to wait for dinner, a young member of the Faculty--I think an associate professor--took me to the college and showed me its various apartments and appliances for instruction. We visited the dissecting rooms. The body of Copeland was not there, but I was startled to find the body of another Oberlin neighbor whom I had often met upon our streets, a colored man named Shields Greene. I had indeed known that he also had been executed at Charlestown, as one of John Brown's associates, but my warm interest in another object had banished the thought of him from my mind. It was a sad sight. I was sorry I had come to the building; and yet who was I, that I should be spared a view of what my fellow-creatures had to suffer? A fine, athletic figure, he was lying on his back--the unclosed, wistful eyes staring wildly upward, as if seeking, in a better world, for some solution of the dark problems of horror and oppression so hard to be explained in this.
After dinner and after the payment of bills, including one of considerable amount from the undertaker, who had made progress, to a certain extent, with his preparations, I was furnished by my landlord with a comfortable carriage and a colored driver, to take me to Martinsburg. The drive of perhaps twenty miles was spirited and enjoyable. It was a fine, clear December day. The sunshine was golden; there was no snow upon the ground, and the temperature was mild. The country, agreeably undulating, diversified with hill and valley, woodland and meadow, and watered by spring-fed ,streams, well deserved the epithet of "beautiful," bestowed upon it by John Brown when on his way to the scaffold on a like golden day of the same December. This region was a part of that beautiful valley of the Shenandoah--the valley of Virginia we called it during the war--which so fearfully expiated its share in the crime of slavery, by the desolation which the constant march of successive armies, Union and Confederate, left upon its fields. The soldiers of Sheridan, Banks, and Milroy, on the one side, and those of Joseph E. Johnston, Stonewall Jackson, and Early, on the other, advanced or retreated over these lands. An intelligent observer once said to me, "There wasn't a fence rail left in the valley of Virginia after the war." General Sheridan, having laid it waste, as a military necessity, wrote to Washington that '"a crow could not find rations" where he had been. Judge Parker, in a paper already quoted, says:-"I have no doubt it is true that Winchester changed hands, as is claimed, more than eighty times, during the war. These were real occupations, not merely the entrance and exit of scouting parties." Along the same road over which I was now passing, General Banks, two or three years later, marched from Winchester to Martinsburg with a portion of the fifth corps of the army of the Potomac. It was for a decision reached by him during this march, that he was charged with violating the Constitution of the United States. It was early in the war, and many people in the North were still sensitive about fine constitutional points. A slave woman came from one of the farms along his route, and climbed upon one of his gun carriages, intending to ride out of the country with "Massa Linkum's army." What was the offense which General Banks committed? He let her ride. Until a few week since, I had been in doubt as to what became of the Winchester Medical College during the war. Recently, I wrote to the postmaster of that town, making inquiry upon the subject. In reply, I received a letter from Dr. Conrad, a gentleman of high standing in Winchester, which I here quote, and which will explain itself:--
WINCHESTER, VA., Sept. 7, 1894.
JAMES MONROE,
DEAR SIR :--The postmaster asked me, as the oldest living graduate of the old Winchester Medical College, to answer your note. The college was burnt by General Banks' army in May, 1862. He himself regretted it, but his New England doctors and chaplains did it--applied the torch with their own hands. They proclaimed that theirs was a Campaign of education. In this manner did that thorough old school of medicine become obliterated. The ground, belonging to the State, was sold, and is now built upon. Only one of the professors now lives--Dr. Hunter McGuire, of Richmond.
I am, sir, respectfully yours, D. B. CONRAD.
I should have been glad to have had a further account of this matter from our own soldiers; but General Banks had just died when I received this note, and I knew not to whom else to write. I think it probable that the building had been used by both sides for military purposes, and this would have justified either the Union or Confederate forces in destroying it. Towards sunset, as I approached Martinsburg, I began to meet successive squads of soldiers--some on horseback, and some in wagons--returning to their homes from the review. As he saw them coming, my colored driver would turn well out upon the side of the road, and stop his horses until they had passed. They were full of Virginia patriotism, and some of them of something else. I put my head out of the carriage, and gazed at them with all the innocent curiosity I could express. They inspected me narrowly. It would have been very natural, in such a time of suspicion and scrutiny, if they had asked my name and residence, and business in the State. This might have been embarrassing, and I was thankful when I had run the gauntlet unquestioned. Having entered Martinsburg, I went, as advised, to the house of 'Squire Conrad, where the letter of Professor Smith procured me a friendly reception. Mr. Conrad introduced me to his daughter--an amiable and intelligent young lady--and to Captain Conrad, his son--a genial, ingenuous, and manly fellow--who had commanded a company at Brown's execution. I was happy, on invitation, to take my evening meal of tea and toast in this kindly social atmosphere. There was, I think, no other member of the family living, except a son who was pursuing a course of study at the Episcopal Theological Seminary at Alexandria. 'Squire Conrad, though a slave-holder, was a decided Union man; but when Virginia voted in favor of secession, the whole family, regretfully, but almost unavoidably, were drawn into the movement. I explained to him the object of my visit to the State, of which he appeared to approve; and he cordially offered me the hospitality of his house until I should wish to take a train for the North. During our conversation, he spoke of the mild character of slavery in his neighborhood, saying, that he had never known but one master who had neglected to provide for his slaves when old, and he had lost standing with his class. During the contest at Harper's Ferry, Colonel Washington, a descendant of a brother of George Washington, and several other citizens, had been held as prisoners for a time, by John Brown, in the arsenal. Referring to some question which had been raised as to whether Colonel Washington had behaved with proper courage, Mr. Conrad said he did not think the Courage of any man bearing the name of Washington could be questioned, but he did wonder how Colonel Washington could have continued to exist thirty hours without whiskey. After tea he excused himself to attend some meeting of his Church, saying, he would leave me in Charge of his son and daughter; and very pleasant young people they were to be left in charge of, as I can certify. I shall never forget the kindness of this family, which, shown to me under these peculiar circumstances, was doubly grateful. We learned that the train would not arrive until ten o'clock, and I suggested to Captain Conrad that as he might have other engagements, and as I could find my way to the train without difficulty, alone, it was not necessary that he should give me the whole evening. He replied that his time was quite at my service; and there was so much excitement among their people, that he thought it better I should not be without the presence of some gentleman who could vouch for me. We had a long talk that evening about John Brown, Governor Wise, and the growing discord between North and South. He thought it unnecessary and impolitic that the authorities should have made such a military display at the time of the execution, and laughed at the stories of abolitionists coming over the mountains to rescue Brown. He paid a striking tribute to their courage of the great fighter for freedom. The incident is a painful one, but it is instructive. An acquaintance of his who stood behind Brown on the scaffold, and who, in the discharge of official duty, had had much of that sad kind of experience, told him that, generally, however firm a condemned man might, in the main, appear, yet as his hands lay bound, one upon the other, behind his back, there was certain to be some nervous movement of the fingers, as the fatal moment drew near; but that, in the case of Brown, the fingers lay as quiet as those of a sleeping child. As the hour of ten approached, Captain Conrad accompanied me to the station, and when the train arrived, to guard against the possible effects of a hostile telegram which might be sent to some town up the road by an evil-disposed person, he went on board the sleeper with me, introduced me to the conductor as a man entitled to courteous treatment, and commended me to his protection. He then bade me good-by. That I was protected I am certain, for, after a good night's sleep, I awoke, safe and sound, the next morning, in the city of Wheeling.
This is perhaps a suitable point to add whatever I have been able to learn of the subsequent history of the Conrad family. When the war broke out both of the sons entered the Confederate army. It must have been before the close of the year 1861, that, in some paper, I accidentally came upon a paragraph, which I suppose had been copied originally from the Virginia press, to the effect that two sons of 'Squire Conrad, of Winchester, officers in the Confederate service, had both been killed in the first Battle of Bull Run; that their bodies had been recovered, had been brought home to Winchester, and buried by moonlight.
Having crossed the Ohio River at Wheeling, and experienced the satisfaction of once more setting my feet upon free soil, I took the cars for Wellsville. Being compelled to wait there an hour or two for a train to Cleveland, I sent two telegrams to Oberlin--one to my family and another to the mayor of the town. I had lost a knowledge of both of these dispatches until Mr. Copeland kindly furnished me with an old copy of the Cleveland "Leader" of December 28, 1859, which contains the telegram to the mayor. It reads as follows:--
WELLSVILLE, OHIO Dec. 23, 1859.
To MAYOR BEECHER:
Obtained consent of the Faculty of Winchester Medical College to take the body. Arrangements nearly completed. Was prevented by the students.
J. MONROE.
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http://www.virginiaplaces.org/places/monroe.html
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James Monroe: Virginia Places Associated With Him
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James Monroe: Virginia Places Associated With Him, material
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John Vanderlyn painted this portrait in 1816 when James Monroe was elected to his first term as president
Source: National Portrait Gallery, Born and Died on the Fourth of July
James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County in 1758, and lived there until he left to attend the College of William and Mary at the age of 16. He inherited ownership of the site, including the 20-by-58-foot house, when he was orphaned. Monroe sold the home and its surrounding 500 acres on Monroe Creek in 1783.
The College of William and Mary excavated the archaeological site of Monroe's first home in 1976. In 2005, the James Monroe Memorial Foundation negotiated a 99-year lease of the property from Westmoreland County, and built a replica home that was dedicated in 2021.1
James Monroe was born five miles from George Washington's birthplace, also in Westmoreland County
Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online
a replica of James Monroe's birthplace was dedicated in 2021
Source: Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 096-0046 James Monroe Birthplace (by Calder Loth, 2021)
James Monroe purchased a 1,000 plantation named Highland south of Monticello in 1793, and he lived there at various times between 1799-1823. He expanded it to 3,500 acres, acquiring farmland on the eastern side to Buck Island Creek and on the western side to extend over the crest of Carters Mountain.
He was forced to sell land (and enslaved people working it) to pay debts. In 1826, when he sold the remainder of his plantation at Highland, it consisted of 907 acres. In 1837 another buyer renamed it Ash Lawn. Today the historic site includes 536 acres.2
The mansion house burned in the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Later owners built a new house and renamed the site Ash Lawn. In 1974, the historic site was donated to the College of William and Mary, which Monroe had attended.
For years, tourists visiting the site toured a house described as Monroe's home, though the structure did not match historical descriptions. In 2016, after archeological investigations identified the foundations of the actual home, the interpretation was changed and the site renamed Highland.3
Interpretation after 2016 expanded to include the stories of the enslaved people at Highland, as well as the story of James Monroe. A Council of Descendants was created to help guide the interpretation. One member commented on why she chose to participate:4
I stay involved to help give a voice to the voiceless. The enslaved there had no voice, they had no hope of ever getting their story out or ever being recognized, they were pretty much invisible. This brings them to the forefront, and gives them a say.
After emancipation many of those enslaved at Highland used the name Monroe and lived in Monroeville. In 2017 a guide at Highland visited a church in Monroeville, seeking information about a group of enslaved people that James Monroe had sold to a plantation in Florida. When the guide started asking questions in the church parking lot, she discovered the descendants who were living just 10 miles away from Highland. One commented that day:5
You have come to the right place... We are all Monroes!
The executive director of the African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund articulated goals for the interpretation of the enslaved experience at Highland and other plantations:6
Most of the narrative about the black experience is about a painful past, but we have an opportunity today to uncover the hidden stories of activism and resistance and black agency rooted in slavery... This is about expanding beyond the typical stories of brutality and injustice to stories of black life and black love and how our community overcame the most difficult chapter in American history.
After the death of George Floyd and the energizing of the Black Lives Movement in 2020, a William and Mary student started a petition, "W&M: Stop Bankrolling a Plantation, Especially with Student Funds." Objections included the cost of supporting the facility (reported to be $400,000 annually from the auxiliary budget), and the appropriateness of hosting weddings and other celebrations at a site created by slave labor. Events, together with admission fees and donations, helped to offset the $1 million annual costs of operating and maintaining Hghlands.7
Some descendants of those enslaved at Highland spoke in favor of retaining James Monroe's name on a residence hall at the William and Mary campus in Williamsburg, as well as a statue of James Monroe there. One member of the Council of Descendant Advisors stated:8
He was a slave owner and we can't change that part of history. The work (the council) is doing is to be inclusive of everything in one's story and mindful of a story. We can't pretend he never existed. He owned slaves as horrible as it was, right or wrong, that is part of the history of one side of my family. That's where our story begins.
Emanuel Leutze imaginatively added James Monroe holding the flag, as Washington crossed the Delaware River
Source: New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington Crossing the Delaware
James Monroe is honored by a statue at William and Mary
a plaque explains the friezes underneath the James Monroe statue at William and Mary
President Monroe asserted as doctrine that European nations must consider the Western Hemisphere as the exclusive sphere of interest of the United States
Source: National Archives, Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Links
Google StreetView
Ash Lawn
Ash Lawn-Highland
Internet Public Library Biography
James Monroe Memorial Foundation
James Monroe Highland
Monroe Biography from Outline of American History
National Portrait Gallery
James Monroe Cleans Up: The Conservation of an Early American Engraving
James Monroe: "The Era of Good Feelings"
Oak Hill (purchased later by Lt. Colonel John Walter Fairfax)
Road to Revolution Heritage Trail
James Monroe Birthplace
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
096-0046 James Monroe Birthplace
The White House Biography<.li>
James Monroe
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe
Portrait of James Monroe
the initial capital of Liberia was named after James Monroe
Source: Library of Congress, Map of Liberia
President James Monroe in his first term
Source: Smithsonian Institution, James Monroe (by Goodman & Piggot, 1817)
References
1. "Replica of James Monroe's birthplace now complete," Free Lance-Star, October 4, 2021, https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/reconstruction-of-james-monroes-birthplace-now-complete/article_e2b916b8-ffae-5c84-87a7-1a4576c2efaf.html (last checked October 6, 2021)
2. Christopher Fennell, "An Account of James Monroe's Land Holdings - Ash Lawn-Highland, Albemarle County," http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/highland/ashlawn1.html ; Christopher Fennell, "An Account of James Monroe's Land Holdings - Map Images of Ash Lawn-Highland," http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/highland/ashlawn1a5.html (last checked November 2, 2020)
3. "Examining Highland's legacy: College's ownership of James Monroe's Highland sparks community discourse," The Flat Hat, October 12, 2020, http://flathatnews.com/2020/10/12/examining-highlands-legacy-colleges-ownership-of-james-monroes-highland-sparks-community-discourse/; "Discover Highland," James Monroe's Highland, https://highland.org/discover-highland/; "Monroe Timeline," James Monroe's Highland, https://highland.org/monroe-timeline/ (last checked October 13, 2020)
4. "Examining Highland's legacy: College's ownership of James Monroe's Highland sparks community discourse," The Flat Hat, October 12, 2020, http://flathatnews.com/2020/10/12/examining-highlands-legacy-colleges-ownership-of-james-monroes-highland-sparks-community-discourse/ (last checked October 13, 2020)
5. "James Monroe Enslaved Hundreds. Their Descendants Still Live Next Door," New York Times, July 7, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/us/politics/monroe-slavery-highland.html (last checked November 2, 2020)
6. "James Monroe Enslaved Hundreds. Their Descendants Still Live Next Door," New York Times, July 7, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/us/politics/monroe-slavery-highland.html (last checked November 2, 2020)
7. "Examining Highland's legacy: College's ownership of James Monroe's Highland sparks community discourse," The Flat Hat, October 12, 2020, http://flathatnews.com/2020/10/12/examining-highlands-legacy-colleges-ownership-of-james-monroes-highland-sparks-community-discourse/ (last checked October 13, 2020)
8. "President James Monroe owned slaves. Some of their descendants say they don't want his statue removed from William & Mary's campus," Virginia Gazette, October 15, 2020, https://www.dailypress.com/virginiagazette/va-vg-monroe-wm-1007-20201015-vsiokic2kzew3lzafouevb74vu-story.html (last checked October 15, 2020)
James Monroe, around 1828
Source: Smithsonian Institution, James Monroe (by Nicolas Eustache Maurin, c.1828)
James Monroe in 1829
Source: Smithsonian Institution, James Monroe (by Chester Harding, 1829)
Places Associated With Famous Virginians
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https://www.sethkaller.com/item/1581-24256-James-Monroe-Defends-his-Actions-in-Futile-Defense-of-Washington-in-War-of-1812
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James Monroe Defends his Actions in Futile Defense of Washington in War of 1812
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James Monroe Defends his Actions in Futile Defense of Washington in War of 1812
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“I stand responsible for my own acts only. [Secretary of War John Armstrong] claims credit for the measures which had been taken for defense of this place. Those measures were not proposed by him but the President....”
James Monroe, then Secretary of State, led a scouting expedition in August 1814 that revealed the British marching towards the nation’s capital. His warning allowed President James Madison to evacuate and save America’s founding documents. In the face of criticism, Monroe here discusses his role, trying to avoid blame for the crushing loss and destruction of the Capitol.
JAMES MONROE. Autograph Letter Signed as Secretary of State, to [Charles Everett], Washington, D.C., September 16, 1814. 2 pp., 7½ x 10 in.
Inventory #24256 Price: $10,000
Complete Transcript
Washington Sepr 16 1814
Dear Sir
I receivd yours of the 14 yesterday. It has been owing to the extent & purpose of my duties that I have not been able to answer your former sooner.
I will make a single remark on my conduct in the past. I advanc’d myself on the lines &c. because I not only thought I might be useful, but that there appeared to me to be a necessity for it. It was in that way that my little military experience, not simply by communicating intelligence, but by forming opinions on facts, might have some influence on our affairs on so important a crisis. For what occurr’d while Armstrong remained here, I had no responsibility. I stand responsible for my own acts only. He claims credit for the measures which had been taken for defense of this place. Those measures were not proposed by him but the President. This is communicated in confidence, solely for the purpose of putting in possession of facts.
My future course will not be marked by any <2> will of my own. I shall follow that of my friends in remaining where I am, or taking any other station.
Mr. Jenning has recd. of this dept every cent to which he is intitled. It was not known that he had borrowed any money on acct of the UStates. I mention this in confidence.
Major Wheatons bill for 5000 dolrs has been lately paid. He receives his supplies thro Swann at Norfolk.
Joseph was detain’d here by me till very recently. He has probably called on our sisters family in Caroline on his return.
your friend
Jas Monroe
Historical Background
Drawn into the conflict between the world’s superpowers Great Britain and France, the young nation was frustrated with the British practice of impressing sailors from neutral American ships. The United States declared war on Great Britain in June 1812. By the spring of 1814, with Napoleon Bonaparte defeated and in exile, Great Britain could devote more attention to North America. In July, President James Madison met with his cabinet to discuss the increased threat. Secretary of War John Armstrong was convinced the British would not attack Washington but would focus on the important commercial port of Baltimore.
On August 20, 1814, at Aquasco Mills, Maryland, Monroe observed the British landing their invasion force from 30 or 40 barges at Benedict, three miles away. On August 22, he wrote President Madison warning “you had better remove the records” of the government. On August 24, both President Madison and Secretary of State Monroe were present with American defenders at Bladensburg, Maryland. Monroe adjusted the deployment of the defending soldiers, marines and militiamen. Although outnumbering the British, the American forces were too inexperienced, too poorly led, and too widely dispersed to reinforce one another. The British quickly crossed the Potomac River bridge and engaged the American forces at Bladensburg in stages. Untrained defending militiamen soon broke and fled, leading to a general rout and an open road to the nation’s capital, eight miles away.
On August 24, 1814, the British burned most government buildings to the ground, including the Executive Mansion and the Capitol. One saving grace was that Madison had heeded the advice to move America’s government papers, which were sent to Rokeby Mansion outside of Leesburg, Virginia, thirty-five miles from the capital. Clerks at the State Department had stuffed the records of the Confederation and Continental Congresses, George Washington’s papers as Commander of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution into coarse linen sacks and carted them out of harm’s way.
After the British left, Monroe – who had remained with the army - returned, and Madison placed him in charge of defending the destroyed city. Impressed by Monroe’s performance, President Madison appointed him as Secretary of War on September 27, 1814, making Monroe the only person to hold the positions of Secretary of State and Secretary of War simultaneously. He remained Secretary of War until March 2, 1815, and Madison appointed William H. Crawford to the position in August 1815.
James Monroe (1758-1831), fifth President (1817-25). Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia Monroe served as an officer in Revolution, then U.S Senator (1790-94) and governor of Virginia (1799-1802). In 1803 he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase for President Jefferson. Monroe served as Madison’s Secretary of State (1811-17) and Secretary of War (1814-15). Elected President in 1816 and again in 1820, receiving 231 out of 232 electoral votes. His and his party’s ascendancy was heralded as the “Era of Good Feelings.” It is remembered for the recognition of the new Latin American republics and, of course, the Monroe Doctrine - written by his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. In Monroe’s Annual Message of 1823, he responded to European threats of encroachment on Latin American land by declaring 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 Power.” In reality, Monroe could do little to back up these statements, and it was not until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that this policy was given military muscle.
Charles Everett (1767-1848) was a physician in Albemarle County, Virginia. As early as 1804, he began practicing in Charlottesville, where he attended the Monroe and Jefferson families. In 1811, he purchased a nearby plantation and lived there for the rest of his life. Appointed a magistrate in 1807, he served in the House of Delegates from 1813 to 1818. He was a close friend of James Monroe and later served for a time as his private secretary (1822-1823). Everett never married and left his estate to his nephew, a Philadelphia physician. He emancipated his slaves in his will, and his nephew settled sixty-three former slaves in an experimental community called Pandenarium in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 1854.
James Madison (1751-1836), fourth President (1809-1817). Born in Port Conway, Virginia, he studied at Princeton University, entered politics in 1776 and played a major role in the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Later known as the “Father of the Constitution,” he authored the Federalist Papers along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Madison helped found Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican party in opposition to Hamilton’s financial proposals. Madison’s tenure as Jefferson’s Secretary of State (1801-1809), and Madison’s presidency, saw the culmination of Anglo-American tensions that resulted in the War of 1812, which officially began on June 18, 1812.
John Armstrong (1758-1843) was born in Pennsylvania and served in the Continental Army and rose to the rank of major. In 1789, he married into the powerful Livingston family of New York. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1800 to 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson appointed him as Minister to France, where he served until 1810. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Armstrong rejoined the military as a brigadier general. In 1813, President James Madison appointed him as Secretary of War. Frustrated by Armstrong’s failure to defend Washington, Madison forced Armstrong to resign on September 27, 1814, and replaced him with James Monroe, who was already Secretary of State. He was the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress.
Jonathan Jennings (1784-1834) studied law before immigrating to the Indiana territory in 1806. He worked in the federal land office in Vincennes and as clerk of the territorial legislature but quickly came into conflict with Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison. Jennings served as the territorial representative to Congress from 1809 to 1816. After serving as president of the Indiana constitutional convention in 1816, he won election as the new state’s first governor. He served as governor until 1822, and then represented Indiana in Congress from 1822 to 1831. As territorial delegate for Indiana during the War of 1812, Jennings pressed the claims of citizens who wanted protection from the Indian nations on the frontier.
Joseph Wheaton (1755-1828) was born in Rhode Island and served as a lieutenant in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was sergeant at arms of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1789 to 1809. During the War of 1812, he served as a deputy assistant quartermaster general in the army. In October 1814, President Madison nominated him as deputy quartermaster general in the Army, but the Senate rejected the nomination in January 1815.
Joseph J. Monroe (1764-1824) was an attorney and a younger brother of James Monroe. After studying at the University of Edinburgh from 1783 to 1789, he returned to Virginia and read law with his brother. Admitted to the bar in 1791, the younger Monroe practice law in Albemarle County. He served as his brother’s private secretary in Washington for two years before moving to Missouri in 1820.
Published in Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine 4 (April 1923): 410–11.
Provenance
The Estate of Nelson Doubleday Jr.
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History of Ouachita Parish.
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Ouachita Parish is located in north Louisiana. Monroe and Ouachita Valley have a long and impressive history which dates several centuries prior to the official founding of organized government in 1783: It was during a period when the vast territory west of the Mississippi was a pawn of the Spanish crown.
HISTORY
Ouachita Parish was established March 31, 1807. It is one of the 19 parishes, which were created by dividing the Territory of New Orleans. The original Ouachita Parish was subsequently divided into the parishes of Morehouse, Union, Caldwell, Franklin, Tensas, Madison, East and West Carroll with the present Ouachita Parish remaining.
The parish is named after the Ouachita Indians who held the area when it was first discovered and explored. There is disagreement as to the meaning of the word "Ouachita." Its Choctaw meaning is "Big Hunting Ground," but it also means, "silver water." Years before the "Louisiana Purchase" the present site of Monroe was a more or less established point of contact on the banks of the Ouachita River for the fur traders and Indians of the region. It was a half-defined gateway into the land of adventure and mystery that lay beyond the great lone wilderness.
The Ouachita River was first explored by Hernando de Soto in 1542, and later by the French. In March and April 1700 "Father of Louisiana", Jean Baptist LeMoyne, the Sieur de Bienville came on a fact finding tour for his brother Iberville. He visited a Ouachita Village where the present day town of Columbia is Located.
There were five huts and 70 men to record. A French trading post called: Prairie de Canots was established on the "Washita," but there were no permanent settlements until after the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, when Louisiana was ceded to Spain. This was near where the present day Monroe is located/Prairie de Canots (Prairie of the Canoes) was named this probably because it was a landing place for the Indians of the region who came to trade with the hunters and trappers.
Spain sent Don Juan Filhiol as commandant of the post, and he built the Post of Ouachita around 1780 to protect the settlers against the Indians. He later renamed it to Fort Miro. This fort was on the site of the present Monroe. He was commandant until 1800.
In 1805 the newly established town was plotted, recorded and by act of the territorial government, Fort Miro was designated as the seat of justice of "Ouachita County". The Filhiol plantation on the east bank of the river was divided into blocks each 300 feet square. The eastern boundary was the present Jackson Street, The original plantation of Joseph de la Baume, which had by this time been disposed of by the owner, and similarly divided, and from those two grants a major poition of the present cities of Monroe and West Monroe evolved. Fort Miro was built on the banks of the Ouachita River in what is now downtown Monroe and is where the parish courthouse now stands. Filhiol is considered the father of modern Monroe. In his day, he worked hard to establish a town on his land grant.
On September 5,1816,Filhiol signed the deed, which gave over the lots to the parish government. On that date, Monroe had its true birth.The town name was changed from Fort Miro to Monroe in 1819 in honor of the United States President James Monroe. Primitive as it was, it evolved into twin cities of industrial and commercial importance. West Monroe actually became a city in 1880. Combining the two former towns of Trenton and Cotton Port, each of which began at separate times and locations, formed the city of West Monroe. Monroe and West Monroe are often referred to as the twin cities.
THE LAND & RESOURCES
Ouachita Parish is located at the hub of Northeast Louisiana in Interstate 20, about 100 miles east of Shreveport and 65 miles west of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The parish is divided by the Ouachita River. The two major cities in Ouachita Parish are Monroe and West Monroe. The towns of Richwood and Sterlington complete the incorporated areas of Ouachita Parish.
About half the land in Northeast Louisiana is in pine timber production, which has a great deal to do with the location of the woods product industry in this area and its importance in the economic base. From Monroe to the east is the Mississippi River alluvial flood plain, an area almost totally utilized for agricultural production, with preference to cotton, soybeans, rice and sweet potatoes as principal crops Geographically, the eastern portion of the parish is located in the Bayou LaFotirche alluvial flood plain and is virtually flat. The Ouachita River is the primary drainage artery for the parish and is supplemented by a number of connecting bayous.
Ouachita Parish is a dynamic-part of the great paradise for outdoor sports. Straddling the nationally recognized and scenic Ouachita River, host to Bass Master and Lady-Bass Tournaments, Ouachita Parish has abundant wildlife.
Miles of oxbow lakes, serpentine bayous meandering southward emptying into this river; reservoirs and barrow pits offer anglers a choice of freshwater fishing, many only minutes from Monroe and West Monroe. Great hunting opportunities are found in the state-owned Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area located east of Monroe as well as along U.S. Highway 80 and 1-20, the Ouachita Wildlife Management.
Areas and the D'Arbonne Wildlife Refuge located on the Ouachita and Union Parish lines. Cheniere Lake, located in the southwest part of the parish and owned by the Parish Government, offers great canoeing and fishing opportunities. Bird watching abounds in the wildlife management areas along the banks of Cheniere Lake and other waterways. There bright Cardinals, Tit Mice, Pileated Woodpeckers and gold finch are often seen.
POPULATION
Ouachita Parish has a population of approximately 150,000. Its area encompasses 611 square miles.
THE GOVERNMENT
Before there was an established form of government for the state and parish, there existed a police jury to oversee the affairs of area residents. From 1806 to present day, the Ouachita Parish Police jury has significantly changed.
Established by Governor C.C. Claiborne, the 12-member jury was "charged with the duty of visiting in person and appraising the real estates in their said districts at what they regarded as real cash value." Today the jury takes care of roads, drainage, fire departments, parish libraries, health units, jails and correctional facilities.
Four State Senators represent Ouachita Parish;
District 32 (Southern)
District 33 (Northern)
District 34 (Eastern)
District 35 (Western)
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https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/James_Monroe
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James Monroe
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James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, the third of them to die on Independence Day, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican...
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Military Wiki
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https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/James_Monroe
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James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, the third of them to die on Independence Day, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation.[1] He was of French and Scottish descent. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe was of the planter class and fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was injured in the Battle of Trenton with a musket ball to his shoulder. After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. As an anti-federalist delegate to the Virginia convention that considered ratification of the United States Constitution, Monroe opposed ratification, claiming it gave too much power to the central government. He 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 gained experience as an executive as the Governor of Virginia and rose to national prominence as a diplomat in France, when he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. During the War of 1812, Monroe held the critical roles of Secretary of State and the Secretary of War under President James Madison.[2]
Facing little opposition from the fractured Federalist Party, Monroe was easily elected president in 1816, winning over 80 percent of the electoral vote and becoming the last president during the First Party System era of American politics. As president, he bought Florida from Spain and sought to ease partisan tensions, embarking on a tour of the country that was generally well received. With the ratification of the Treaty of 1818, under the successful diplomacy of his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, the United States extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, giving America harbor and fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest. The United States and Britain jointly occupied the Oregon Country. In addition to the acquisition of Florida, the landmark Treaty of 1819 secured the border of the United States along the 42nd Parallel to the Pacific Ocean and represented America's first determined attempt at creating an "American global empire".[3] As nationalism surged, partisan fury subsided and the "Era of Good Feelings" ensued until the Panic of 1819 struck and dispute over the admission of Missouri embroiled the country in 1820. Nonetheless, Monroe won near-unanimous reelection.
Monroe supported the founding of colonies in Africa for free African Americans that would eventually form the nation of Liberia, whose capital, Monrovia, is named in his honor. In 1823, he announced the United States' opposition to any European intervention in the recently independent countries of the Americas with the Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy. His presidency concluded the first period of American presidential history before the beginning of Jacksonian democracy and the Second Party System era. Following his retirement in 1825, Monroe was plagued by financial difficulties. He died in New York City on July 4, 1831.
Early life[]
James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in his parents' house located in a wooded area of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The site is marked and is one mile from the unincorporated community known today as Monroe Hall, Virginia. The James Monroe Family Home Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4] His father Spence Monroe (1727–1774) was a moderately prosperous planter who also practiced carpentry. His mother Elizabeth Jones (1730–1774) married Spence Monroe in 1752 and they had several children.[5]
His paternal great-grandfather Andrew Monroe emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century. In 1650 he patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700.[5]
Education[]
First tutored at home by his mother Elizabeth, between the ages of 11 and 16, the young Monroe studied at Campbelltown Academy, a school run by the Reverend Archibald Campbell of Washington Parish. There he excelled as a pupil and progressed through Latin and mathematics at a rate faster than that of most boys his age. John Marshall, later Chief Justice of the United States, was among his classmates.
Upon the death of his father in 1774, Monroe inherited his small plantation and slaves, officially joining the ruling class of the planter elite in what had become the slave society of Virginia.[6] Sixteen years old, he began forming a close relationship with his maternal uncle, the influential Judge Joseph Jones, who had been educated at the Inns of Court in London and was the executor of his father's estate. That same year, Monroe enrolled in the College of William and Mary. At the time, most students were charged with excitement over the prospect of rebellion against King George.
Military service[]
In the spring of 1775, Monroe dropped out of college and joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment in the Continental Army where, as a planter, he was commissioned as an officer. He never returned to earn a degree.[7] In June 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Monroe joined 24 older men in raiding the arsenal at the Governor's Palace. They used the loot of 200 muskets and 300 swords to arm the Williamsburg militia.
Although Andrew Jackson served as a courier in a militia unit at age thirteen, Monroe is regarded as the last U.S. President who was a Revolutionary War veteran, since he served as an officer of the Continental Army and took part in combat.[8] He served with distinction at the Battle of Trenton, where he was shot in his left shoulder. He spent three months recuperating from his wound. In John Trumbull's painting Capture of the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton, Monroe can be seen lying wounded at left center of the painting. In the famous painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, Monroe is depicted holding the flag.[9][10]
He left the war, and between 1780 and 1783, Monroe studied law as a legal apprentice under Thomas Jefferson.[11][12] Monroe was not particularly interested in legal theory or practice, but chose to take it up because he thought that it offered "the most immediate rewards" and could ease his path to wealth, social standing, and political influence.[12] After passing the bar, he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia.[9]
Marriage and family[]
James Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright Monroe (1768–1830),[13] daughter of Laurence Kortright and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright, on February 16, 1786, in New York City. He had met her while serving with the Continental Congress, which then met in New York, the temporary capital of the new nation. After a brief honeymoon on Long Island, New York, the Monroes returned to New York City to live with her father until Congress adjourned. The Monroes had the following children:
Eliza Monroe (1786–1835) – married George Hay in 1808 and substituted for her ailing mother as official White House hostess for her father's presidential events.
James Spence Monroe (1799–1801) – his grave reads "J.S. Monroe", so the proper names are speculative but typical of naming patterns of the time, which passed on family names.
Maria Hester Monroe (1803–1850) – married her cousin Samuel L. Gouverneur on March 8, 1820, in the first wedding of a president's child in the White House.[14][15]
Plantations and slavery[]
He sold his small inherited Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics. Monroe later fulfilled his youthful dream of becoming the owner of a large plantation and wielding great political power, but his plantation was never profitable. Although he owned much more land and slaves and speculated in property, he was rarely on-site to oversee the operations. Overseers treated the slaves harshly to force production, but the plantations barely broke even. Monroe incurred debts by his lavish lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off.[16]
Monroe was a wealthy Loudoun County plantation owner who owned numerous slave plantations including "Oak Hill".[17] Monroe was an absentee slaveholder in that he had his overseers run the plantations while he lived elsewhere.[17] Overseers moved or separated slave families from different Monroe plantations in accordance with production and maintenance needs of each satellite plantation.[17] One of Monroe's slaves was named Daniel, who often ran away from Monroe's plantation in Albermarle County, to visit other slaves or separated family members.[18] Monroe commonly referred to Daniel as a "scoundrel" and described the "worthlessness" of Daniel as a runaway slave.[18] Monroe's allowance of moving and separating slave families was common treatment of slaves in the South.[18]
Early political career[]
Virginia politics[]
Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782. After serving for the Continental legislature, he was elected to the Fourth Continental Congress in November 1783. He was also elected to and served in the Fifth and Sixth Congresses, serving for a total of three years where he finally retired from that office by the rule of rotation.[19] In those years, the government was meeting in the temporary capital of New York City.
In Virginia, the struggle in 1788 over the ratification of the proposed new Constitution involved more than a simple clash between federalists and anti-federalists. Virginians held a full spectrum of opinions about the merits of the proposed change in national government. George Washington and James Madison were leading supporters; Patrick Henry and George Mason were leading opponents. Those who held the middle ground in the ideological struggle became the central figures. Led by Monroe and Edmund Pendleton, these "federalists who are for amendments," criticized the absence of a bill of rights and worried about surrendering taxation powers to the central government. Virginia ratified the Constitution in June 1788, largely because Monroe, Pendleton and followers suspended their reservations and vowed to press for changes after the new government had been established.[20]
Virginia narrowly ratified the Constitution. Monroe ran for a House seat in the First Congress but was defeated by Madison. In 1790 he was elected by the Virginia legislature as United States Senator. He soon joined the "Democratic-Republican" faction led by Jefferson and Madison, and by 1791 was the party leader in the Senate.[21]
Ambassador to France[]
Monroe resigned his Senate seat after being appointed Minister to France in 1794.[22] As ambassador, Monroe secured the release of Thomas Paine in revolutionary France after his arrest for opposition to the execution of Louis XVI. The government insisted that Paine be deported to the United States.[23]
Monroe arranged to free all the Americans held in French prisons. He also gained the freedom of Madame Adrienne Lafayette and issued her and her family American passports (they had been granted citizenship by the US government for contributions during the Revolution.) She used that for travel to her husband, imprisoned in Olmutz.[24]
A strong friend of the French Revolution, Monroe tried to assure France that Washington's policy of strict neutrality did not favor Britain. But American policy had come to favor Britain, and Monroe was stunned by the United States' signing of the Jay Treaty in London. With France and Britain at war, the Jay Treaty alarmed and angered the French. Washington had differences with Monroe and discharged him as Minister to France, claiming his "inefficiency, disruptive maneuvers, and failure to safeguard the interests of his country."[25]
Monroe had long been concerned about foreign influence on the presidency. He was alarmed by the Spanish diplomat Don Diego de Gardoqui, who in 1785 tried to convince Congress to allow Spain to close the Mississippi River to American traffic for 30 years. Spain controlled much of the Mississippi since taking over former French territory, including the important port of New Orleans. Monroe thought that Spain could have endangered the US retention of its Southwest and caused the dominance of the Northeast.[26] Monroe believed in both a strong presidency and the system of checks and balances.
In the 1790s he fretted over an aging George Washington being too much influenced by close advisers such as Alexander Hamilton, whom Monroe thought too close to Britain. He was humiliated by Washington's criticism for his support of revolutionary France as minister to the nation.[27]
Governor of Virginia and Diplomat[]
Out of office, Monroe returned to practicing law in Virginia until elected governor there as a Republican, his first term serving from 1799 to 1802. He was reelected Virginia's governor four times.[28] He called out the state militia to suppress Gabriel's Rebellion. Gabriel and 26 other enslaved people who participated were all hanged for treason. Monroe thought that foreign and Federalist elements had created the Quasi War of 1798–1800 and were behind efforts to prevent the election of Thomas Jefferson as president in 1800. As governor he considered using the Virginia militia to force the outcome in favor of Jefferson.[29] Federalists were likewise suspicious of Monroe, some seeing him as at best a French dupe and at worst a traitor.[30]
President Jefferson sent Monroe to France to assist Robert R. Livingston in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase. Monroe was then appointed Minister to the Court of St. James's in London from 1803 to 1807. In 1806 he negotiated a treaty with Great Britain, known as the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty. It would have extended the Jay Treaty of 1794 which had expired after ten years. Jefferson had fought the Jay Treaty intensely in 1794–95 because he felt it would allow the British to subvert American republicanism. The treaty had produced ten years of peace and highly lucrative trade for American merchants, but Jefferson was still hostile. When Monroe and the British signed a renewal in December 1806, Jefferson decided not to even submit it to the Senate for ratification. Although the new treaty called for ten more years of trade between the United States and the British Empire and gave American merchants guarantees that would have been good for business, Jefferson refused to give up the potential weapon of commercial warfare against Britain and was unhappy that it did not end the hated British practice of impressment of American sailors. Jefferson did not attempt to obtain another treaty, and as a result, the two nations drifted from peace toward the War of 1812.[31]
1808 election and the Quids[]
The Republican Party was increasingly factionalized, with "Old Republicans" or "Quids" denouncing the Jefferson administration for abandoning true republican principles. The Quids, seeing that Monroe's foreign policy had been rejected by Jefferson, tried to enlist Monroe in their cause. The plan was to run Monroe for president in the 1808 election in cooperation with the Federalist Party, which had a strong base in New England. John Randolph of Roanoke led the Quid effort to stop Jefferson's choice of James Madison. However, the regular Republicans overcame the Quids in the Republican nominating caucus, kept control of the party in Virginia, and protected Madison's base. Monroe was not a candidate for president, and Madison was elected.[32]
Secretary of State and Secretary of War[]
Monroe returned to the Virginia House of Delegates and was elected to another term as governor in 1811, but only served four months. He became Secretary of State in April of that year. He had little to do with the War of 1812, as President Madison and the War Hawks in Congress were dominant. The war went very badly, and when the British burned the U.S. Capitol and the White House on August 24, 1814, Madison removed John Armstrong as Secretary of War and turned to Monroe for help, appointing him Secretary of War on September 27.[33] Monroe resigned as Secretary of State on October 1, but no successor was ever appointed and thus from October 1, 1814 to February 28, 1815, Monroe effectively held both Cabinet posts. Monroe formulated plans for an offensive invasion of Canada to win the war, but a peace treaty was ratified in February 1815, before any armies moved north. Monroe therefore resigned as Secretary of War on March 15, 1815 and was formally reappointed Secretary of State. Monroe stayed on at State until March 4, 1817, when he began his term as the new President of the United States.[2]
Presidential elections of 1816 and 1820[]
Main articles: United States presidential election, 1816 and United States presidential election, 1820
The congressional nominating caucus experienced little opposition during the administrations of Jefferson and Madison, but this situation changed in the election year of 1816. An indeterminate number of anti-Virginia Republicans, led by the New York delegation, objected to the caucus system along with the Federalists. Disorganization and failure to agree on William H. Crawford, Daniel Tompkins, Henry Clay or another possible contender weakened opposition to Monroe. The boycott by Virginia delegates of the March 12 caucus removed the chances of Monroe's opponents, and he received the caucus nomination four days later.[34] With the Federalist Party in disarray due to the unpopularity of their opposition to the War of 1812, Monroe easily won election.[35] The Federalists did not even name a candidate, though Rufus King of New York did run in opposition to Monroe under the Federalist banner.[35] King carried only Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts and won only 34 of 217 electoral votes cast.[35] The collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed,[35] the only president other than 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.[35]
Presidency[]
Domestic politics[]
Republican Party dominance[]
Monroe largely ignored old party lines in making appointments to lower posts, which reduced political tensions and enabled the "Era of Good Feelings", which lasted through his administration. He made two long national tours in 1817 to build national trust. Frequent stops on these tours allowed innumerable ceremonies of welcome and expressions of good will. The Federalist Party continued to fade away during his administration; it maintained its vitality and organizational integrity in Delaware and a few localities, but was no longer a national factor. Lacking serious opposition, the Republican party's Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and for practical purposes the Republican Party stopped operating.[36]
Domestic troubles[]
Monroe's popularity was undiminished even when following difficult nationalist policies as the country's commitment to nationalism was starting to show serious fractures. The Panic of 1819 caused a painful economic depression. The application for statehood in 1819 by the Missouri Territory as a slave state failed. An amended bill for gradually eliminating slavery in Missouri precipitated two years of bitter debate in Congress. The Missouri Compromise bill resolved the struggle, pairing Missouri as a slave state with Maine, a free state, and barring slavery north of latitude 36/30' N forever. The Missouri Compromise lasted until 1857, when it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court as part of the Dred Scott decision.
Cumberland Road[]
Congress demanded high subsidies for internal improvements, such as for the improvement of the Cumberland Road, during Monroe's presidency.[37] Monroe vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill, which provided for yearly improvements to the road, because he believed it to be unconstitutional for the government to have such a large hand in what was essentially a civics bill deserving of attention on a state by state basis. This defiance underlined Monroe's populist ideals and added credit to the local offices that he was so fond of visiting on his speech tours.[38]
Indigenous American Policies[]
Main article: Seminole Wars
Monroe sparked a constitutional controversy when, in 1817, he sent General Andrew Jackson to move against Spanish Florida to pursue hostile Seminole Indians and punish the Spanish for aiding them. News of Jackson's exploits ignited a congressional investigation of the 1st Seminole War. Dominated by Democratic-Republicans, the 15th Congress was generally expansionist and more likely to support the popular Jackson. Ulterior political agendas of many congressmen dismantled partisan and sectional coalitions, so that Jackson's opponents argued weakly and became easily discredited. After much debate, the House of Representatives voted down all resolutions that condemned Jackson in any way, thus implicitly endorsing Monroe's actions and leaving the issue surrounding the role of the executive with respect to war powers unanswered.[39]
Monroe believed that the Indians must progress from the hunting stage to become an agricultural people, noting in 1817, "A hunter or savage state requires a greater extent of territory to sustain it than is compatible with progress and just claims of civilised life."[40] His proposals to speed up the assimilation process were ignored by Congress.[41]
Foreign policy[]
Spanish Florida[]
Relations with Spain over the purchase of Spanish Florida proved to be troublesome, especially after Andrew Jackson invaded that territory on what he believed to be the president's authorization, which Monroe later denied giving. But largely through the skillful work of John Quincy Adams, a treaty was signed with Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the United States in return for the assumption of $5,000,000 in claims and the relinquishment of any claims to Texas.[42] Florida was ceded to the U.S. in 1821.
Monroe Doctrine[]
Main article: Monroe Doctrine
After the Napoleonic wars (which ended in 1815), almost all of Spain's and Portugal's colonies in Latin America revolted and declared independence. Americans welcomed this development as a validation of the spirit of Republicanism. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams suggested delaying formal recognition until Florida was secured. The problem of imperial invasion was intensified by a Russian claim to the Pacific coast down to the fifty-first parallel and simultaneous European pressure to have all of Latin America returned to its colonial status.[citation needed]
Monroe informed Congress in March 1822 that permanent stable governments had been established in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (the core of present-day Argentina), Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Adams, under Monroe's supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers (ambassadors) to these new countries. They declared that the policy of the United States was to uphold republican institutions and to seek treaties of commerce on a most-favored-nation basis. The United States would support inter-American congresses dedicated to the development of economic and political institutions fundamentally differing from those prevailing in Europe. The articulation of an "American system" distinct from that of Europe was a basic tenet of Monroe's policy toward Latin America. 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".[citation needed]
Monroe formally announced in his message to Congress on December 2, 1823, what was later called the Monroe Doctrine. He proclaimed that the Americas should be free from future European colonization and free from European interference in sovereign countries' affairs. It further stated the United States' intention to stay neutral in European wars and wars between European powers and their colonies, but to consider new colonies or interference with independent countries in the Americas as hostile acts toward the United States.[citation needed]
Although it is Monroe's most famous contribution to history, the speech was written by Adams, who designed the doctrine in cooperation with Britain.[43] Monroe and Adams realized that American recognition would not protect the new countries against military intervention to restore Spain's power. In October 1823, Richard Rush, the American minister in London, advised that Foreign Secretary George Canning was proposing that the U.S. and Britain jointly declare their opposition to European intervention. Britain, with its powerful navy, also opposed re-conquest of Latin America and suggested that the United States join in proclaiming a "hands off" policy. Galvanized by the British initiative, Monroe consulted with American leaders and then formulated a plan with Adams. Ex-Presidents Jefferson and Madison counseled Monroe to accept the offer, but Adams advised, "It would be more candid ... to avow our principles explicitly to Russia and France, than to come in as a cock-boat in the wake of the British man-of-war." Monroe accepted Adams' advice. Not only must Latin America be left alone, he warned, but also Russia must not encroach southward on the Pacific coast. "...the American continents," he stated, "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 Power."[citation needed]
The Monroe Doctrine at the time of its adoption thus pertained more to the Russians in North America than to the former Spanish colonies. The result was a system of American isolationism under the sponsorship of the British navy. The Monroe Doctrine held that the United States considered the Western Hemisphere as no longer a place for European colonization; that any future effort to gain further political control in the hemisphere or to violate the independence of existing states would be treated as an act of hostility; and finally that there existed two different and incompatible political systems in the world. The United States, therefore, promised to refrain from intervention in European affairs and demanded Europe to abstain from interfering with American matters. There were few serious European attempts at intervention.[43]
Administration and Cabinet[]
Monroe made balanced Cabinet choices, naming a southerner, John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, and a northerner, John Quincy Adams, as Secretary of State. Both proved outstanding, as Adams was a master diplomat[44] and Calhoun completely reorganized the War Department to overcome the serious deficiencies that had hobbled it during the war of 1812.[45] Monroe decided on political grounds not to offer Henry Clay the State Department, and Clay turned down the War Department and remained Speaker of the House, so Monroe lacked an outstanding westerner in his cabinet.
Judicial appointments[]
Main article: List of federal judges appointed by James Monroe
Monroe appointed one Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, Smith Thompson. He appointed 21 other federal judges, all to United States district courts, as no vacancies occurred on the one circuit court existing at the time.
States admitted to the Union[]
Mississippi – December 10, 1817
Illinois – December 13, 1818
Alabama – December 14, 1819
Maine – March 15, 1820
Missouri – August 10, 1821
Post-presidency[]
When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, James Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is now included in the grounds of the University of Virginia. He had operated the family farm from 1788 to 1817, but sold it in the first year of his presidency to the new college. He served on the college's Board of Visitors under Jefferson and under the second rector James Madison, both former presidents, almost until his death.
Monroe had racked up many debts during his years of public life. He sold off his Highland Plantation (now called Ash Lawn-Highland). It is now owned by his alma mater, the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public as an historic site. Throughout his life, he was not financially solvent, and his wife's poor health made matters worse.[46]
He and his wife lived in Oak Hill, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death on September 23, 1830. In August 1825, the Monroes had received the Marquis de Lafayette and President John Quincy Adams as guests there.[47]
Death[]
Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur in the White House. Monroe's health began to slowly fail by the end of the 1820s and John Quincy Adams visited him there in April 1831.[48] Adams found him alert and eager to discuss the situation in Europe, but in ill health. Adams cut the visit short when he thought he was tiring Monroe.
Monroe died there from heart failure and tuberculosis on July 4, 1831, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day, July 4. His death came 55 years after the U.S. Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and 5 years after the death of two other Founding Fathers who became Presidents: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. Twenty-seven years later in 1858 the body was re-interred to the President's Circle at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Religious beliefs[]
"When it comes to Monroe's thoughts on religion," Bliss Isely notes, "less is known than that of any other President." No letters survive in which he discussed his religious beliefs. Nor did his friends, family or associates comment on his beliefs. Letters that do survive, such as ones written after the death of his son, contain no discussion of religion.[49]
Monroe was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of England when it was the state church in Virginia before the Revolution. As an adult, he frequently attended Episcopal churches, though there is no record he ever took communion.[citation needed] Some historians see "deistic tendencies" in his few references to an impersonal God.[50] Unlike Jefferson, Monroe was rarely attacked as an atheist or infidel. In 1832 James Renwick Willson, a Reformed Presbyterian minister in Albany, New York, criticized Monroe for having "lived and died like a second-rate Athenian philosopher."[51]
As Secretary of State, Monroe dismissed Mordecai Manuel Noah in 1815 from his post as consul to Tunis because he was Jewish.[52] Noah protested and gained letters from Adams, Jefferson, and Madison supporting church-state separation and tolerance for Jews.[53]
Monroe may have believed in an interactive God for he said:
"If we persevere...we can not fail, under the favor of a gracious Providence...My fervent prayers to the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor."[1]
Slavery[]
Monroe owned dozens of slaves. According to William Seale, he took several slaves with him to Washington to serve at the White House from 1817 to 1825. This was typical of other slaveholders, as Congress did not provide for domestic staff of the presidents at that time.[54]
On October 15, 1799, as some slave traders tried to transport a group of slaves from Southampton to Georgia, the slaves revolted and killed the traders.[55] According to Scheer's article on the subject, a nearby slave patrol responded and killed ten slaves on the spot in extrajudicial killings without the benefit of trial. Of the initial group, the patrol took five slaves alive. They were tried in an oyer and terminer court without the benefit of a jury,[56] and four were convicted. (The fifth pleaded benefit of clergy and was flogged and branded). Governor Monroe postponed the slaves' executions to check their identities; he granted a pardon to one, and allowed two to hang. The fourth died in jail from exposure to the cold. Scheer says that Monroe "help[ed] secure a modicum of civil protection for slaves sentenced to death for capital crimes."[57]
When Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, hundreds of slaves from Virginia planned to kidnap him, take Richmond, and negotiate for their freedom. Due to a storm on August 30, they were unable to attack. What became known as Gabriel's slave conspiracy became public.[58]
In response, Governor Monroe called out the militia; the slave patrols soon captured some slaves accused of involvement. Sidbury says some trials had a few measures to prevent abuses, such as an appointed attorney, but they were "hardly 'fair'". Slave codes prevented slaves from being treated like whites, and they were given quick trials without a jury.[59] Monroe influenced the Executive Council to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.[60] Historians say the Virginia courts executed between 26 and 35 slaves. None of the executed slaves had killed any whites because the uprising had been foiled before it began.[55]
As president of Virginia's constitutional convention in the fall of 1829, Monroe reiterated his belief that slavery was a blight which, even as a British colony, Virginia had attempted to eradicate. "What was the origin of our slave population?" he rhetorically asked. "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." To the dismay of states' rights proponents, he was willing to accept the federal government's financial assistance to emancipate and transport freed slaves to other countries. 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."[61]
Monroe was part of the American Colonization Society formed in 1816, which members included Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson. They found common ground with some abolitionists in supporting colonization. They helped send several thousand freed slaves to the new colony of Liberia in Africa from 1820 to 1840. Slave owners like Monroe and Jackson wanted to prevent free blacks from encouraging slaves in the South to rebel. With about $100,000 in Federal grant money, the organization also bought land for the freedmen in what is today Liberia.[62] The capital of Liberia was named Monrovia after President Monroe.[63]
Legacy and memory[]
Since its 1824 renaming in his honor, the capital city of the West African country of Liberia has been named Monrovia. It is the only non-American capital city named after a U.S. President.
On December 12, 1954, the United States Postal Service released a 5¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Monroe.
There are academic buildings named after him at the University of Mary Washington, College of William and Mary, George Mason University, and George Washington University.
The City of Monroe, Michigan is also named for him.
Monroe County, Pennsylvania, created in 1836, is named for him.
The City of Monroe, Georgia, incorporated in 1821, is named for him.
The Township of Monroe, in central New Jersey, founded in 1838, bears his name as well.
Monroe was the last U.S. President to wear a powdered wig tied in a queue, a tricorne and knee breeches according to the old-fashioned style of the 18th century.[64][65] That gained him the nickname "The Last Cocked Hat".[66]
Monroe is the last president who had never been photographed and whose portraits are preserved today only on paintings.[67]
Monroe was the third consecutive President elected to two consecutive terms, which would not occur again until 2012.
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See also[]
Adams-Onís Treaty
List of Presidents of the United States
List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines
Monrovia
US Presidents on US postage stamps
Bibliography[]
Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. (1971, 2nd ed. 1990). 706 pp. standard scholarly biography excerpt and text search
Ammon, Harry. "James Monroe" in Henry F. Graff ed., The Presidents: A Reference History (1997)
Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy (1949), the standard history of Monroe's foreign policy.
Cresson, William P. James Monroe (1946). 577 pp. good scholarly biography
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. 1996. 246 pp. standard scholarly survey
Dangerfield, George. Era of Good Feelings (1953) excerpt and text search
Dangerfield, George. The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815–1828 (1965) standard scholarly survey excerpt and text search
Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism (1995). most advanced analysis of the politics of the 1790s. online edition
Heidler, David S. "The Politics of National Aggression: Congress and the First Seminole War," Journal of the Early Republic 1993 13(4): 501–530. in JSTOR
Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829 (2005), 1600 pp.
Gilman, Daniel Coit. James Monroe (1911) 312 pages; old barely adequate biography. online edition
Hart, Gary. James Monroe (2005) superficial, short, popular biography
Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 (2007), Pulitzer Prize; a sweeping interpretation of the entire era
Holmes, David L. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, May 2006, online version
Kranish, Michael. "At Capitol, slavery's story turns full circle", The Boston GLobe, Boston, December 28, 2008.
May, Ernest R. The Making of the Monroe Doctrine (1975), argues it was issued to influence the outcome of the presidential election of 1824.
Morgan, George. The Life of James Monroe (1921) 484 pages; old and barely adequate biography. online edition
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823 (1964)
Perkins, Dexter. The Monroe Doctrine, 1823–1826 (1927), the standard monograph about the origins of the doctrine.
Powell, Walter & Steinberg, Richard. The nonprofit sector: a research handbook, Yale, 2006, pg 40.
Renehan Edward J., Jr. The Monroe Doctrine: The Cornerstone of American Foreign Policy (2007)
Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe and John Adams: An Unlikely 'Friendship'". The Historian 67#3 (2005) pp 405+. online edition
Skeen, Carl Edward. 1816: America Rising (1993) popular history
Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe on the Presidency and 'Foreign Influence;: from the Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788) to Jefferson's Election (1801)." Mid-America 2002 84(1–3): 145–206. ISSN 0026-2927.
Scherr, Arthur. "Governor James Monroe and the Southampton Slave Resistance of 1799." Historian 1999 61(3): 557–578. ISSN 0018-2370 Fulltext online in SwetsWise and Ebsco.
Styron, Arthur. The Last of the Cocked Hats: James Monroe and the Virginia Dynasty (1945). 480 pp. thorough, scholarly treatment of the man and his times.
Unger, Harlow G.. "The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness" (2009), a new biography.
White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801–1829 (1951), explains the operation and organization of federal administration
Whitaker, Arthur P. The United States and the Independence of Latin America (1941)
Wilmerding, Jr., Lucius, James Monroe: Public Claimant (1960) A study regarding Monroe's attempts to get reimbursement for personal expenses and losses from his years in public service after his Presidency ended.
Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty: A history of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)
Notes[]
References[]
Monroe, James. The Political Writings of James Monroe. ed. by James P. Lucier, (2002). 863 pp.
Writings of James Monroe, edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed., 7 vols. (1898–1903) online edition at books.google.com
[]
|
||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 0 |
http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lost-james-monroe-house-prince-and.html
|
en
|
Daytonian in Manhattan: The Lost James Monroe House
|
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[
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[
"Tom Miller",
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63 Prince Street as it appeared in the 1820s. Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, June 1877 (copyright expired) In 1820 Maria Heste...
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http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/favicon.ico
|
http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-lost-james-monroe-house-prince-and.html
| |||||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 93 |
https://www.facebook.com/prageru/videos/james-monroe-the-last-founding-father/2894748950670426/
|
en
|
America’s fifth president James Monroe, the last of America’s Founding Fathers, is also the least well known. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a giant...
|
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[] |
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[
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America’s fifth president James Monroe, the last of America’s Founding Fathers, is also the least well known. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a giant...
|
de
|
https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yT/r/aGT3gskzWBf.ico
|
https://www.facebook.com/prageru/videos/james-monroe-the-last-founding-father/2894748950670426/
| ||||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
2
| 65 |
https://savingplaces.org/stories/founders-farm-james
|
en
|
Founder's Farm: James Monroe's Historic Oak Hill Estate
|
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James Monroe's country estate flourishes as an inviting and beloved family home.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
https://savingplaces.org/stories/founders-farm-james
|
Stretching out across 1,200 fertile acres, Oak Hill today is one of the only privately owned early presidential residences in the country. As such, current owners Tom and Gayle DeLashmutt have not only worked to honor the Monroe history, but also to create a hospitable and cherished family home.
The property, which was an original British land grant to Thomas, Lord Fairfax and has been a working farm since 1724, was purchased by Tom’s family in 1948. Since then, three generations of DeLashmutts have dedicated themselves to caring for the place.
Monroe purchased the land with his maternal uncle Judge Joseph Jones in 1794. Jones resided there in an early 1790s timber-frame house until his death in 1808, when Monroe assumed ownership and moved in with his wife Elizabeth, and two daughters, Eliza and Maria. After the British burning of the capital in 1814, they set about designing a grand country house, which became a fitting place for the fifth president of the United States to unwind, entertain, and contemplate, and eventually to draft the Monroe Doctrine, which he delivered to Congress in 1823.
To design and construct his country manor, Monroe solicited craftsmen who were working in Washington, including architect James Hoban and famed planner Benjamin Latrobe. Dublin-trained Hoban, who had won the competition for the design of the White House, became Oak Hill’s principal builder.
But Oak Hill’s neoclassical interior also bears the unmistakable touches of Monroe’s friend Thomas Jefferson, who designed much of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. A surviving letter dated July of 1820 explains the plan Jefferson submitted for consideration: “Instead of the unintelligible sketch I gave you the other day, I send it drawn more at large. Mrs. Monroe and yourself may take some hints from it for a better plan of your own. This supposes [10 feet] in front, and [eight feet] in flank added to your sills, a flat of [12 feet] square is formed at the top, to make your present rafters answer, and to lighten the appearance of the roof.”
The early 19th-century building, with its symmetrical wings, simple portico, ground-floor arcade, and airy front door fanlight, attests to Jefferson’s influence, as does the absence of grand staircases, which he famously avoided because they were “expensive and occupy a space which make a good room in every story.”
Construction of the house was completed in 1823, and after two terms in office, Monroe returned there in 1825 to farm, write his autobiography, and enjoy country life. “But,” cautions Gayle DeLashmutt, “there is so much emphasis on the Monroe history, it is easy to overlook the other 183 years of ownership. The house has been very fortunate that none of the five families who lived here had done any harm.”
Only once was Oak Hill in any potential danger. During the Civil War, the property was occupied by both Union and Confederate troops, and the DeLashmutts' Oak Hill archives indicate that the Fairfaxes, then owners of the property, were hosts to Union General George G. Meade while he moved his army towards Gettysburg. The general forbade desecration of Oak Hill because it had been a president’s house. However, a decorative section of one of the marble mantels was nonetheless knocked off by a recalcitrant soldier, and its absence is a constant reminder of the conflict.
In 1920, the estate was purchased by Frank C. Littleton, a stockbroker from Leesburg, Va., who expanded the wings and planned extensive 19th-century-style formal gardens. Years later, Gayle tried to maintain the classical symmetry of Littleton’s landscape, but after repeated attempts, she declared her ambitions “the hardest thing in the world to do” and opted for a more naturalistic scheme. “You can achieve symmetry with bricks and mortar, but it’s too difficult with plants that have minds of their own. Consequently, now,” she says, “what thrives, thrives.”
Tom DeLashmutt, who was 7 years old when his family moved in, says that living at Oak Hill has been “an incredible experience. My parents instituted many careful changes and upgrades that included new wiring and heating systems, as well as the removal of the 1920s staircase from the library and the installation of a wet bar and bathroom in its place.” Today, the elaborate woodwork and imported wallpaper they added make it one of the most inviting rooms in the house.
When Gayle, Tom, and their two young daughters, 11-year-old Abigail and India, 9, moved into the house after Tom’s mother died, Oak Hill needed additional updates to function as a family home. “There was a lot of beautiful stuff here,” says Gayle, “but it was frayed and dated and needed so much work. Everything needed attention. We did a lot of compromising on how and what to do, and consequently we learned to compromise very well.”
Those compromises started with modernizing systems such as the air-conditioning and the electric. Then they tackled the business of living in the enormous historic home with 14 working fireplaces. At ground level on the garden side of the house, the DeLashmutts installed a family kitchen, dining room, sitting room, and an office in place of the servants’ kitchen. Up a flight of stairs, dual drawing rooms, a dining room, and the comfortable library where they entertain frequently whisper of the past, while the long portico is their preferred venue for outdoor dining.
Throughout the house, antiques from the Monroe era seem right at home alongside newer furnishings. The twin marble Adamesque fireplace mantels in the drawing rooms were a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited in 1824, in gratitude for saving Madame de Lafayette from the guillotine in 1795 when Monroe was U.S. Minister to France.
Outside, more than 20 historic and useful structures populate the sprawling estate. In addition to Judge Jones’ house, there is a water tower and nearby ice-house, a blacksmith shop, a farm office turned library, a stable/carriage house and smokehouse, 10 tenant houses, grain barns, sheds, and other farm buildings. A greenhouse facilitates flower and vegetable propagation, while cold frames allow the production of lettuces and green vegetables in winter.
Surrounding the house are plantings lush enough to be mistaken for public gardens. This two-acre landscape tumbles away from the house over five terraced levels that suggest a 19th-century formality -- symmetry and balance of structure and color guide the garden’s design. Each terrace rewards the eye with delightful seasonal surprises such as the bobbing, round, lavender and white alliums Tom loves; luscious tree peonies and tumbling roses; as well as shade-loving columbines and bleeding hearts. Within the golden vicary privet that encircles the tall birdbath at the garden’s center, an intersecting Morris midget boxwood knot garden adds an extra touch of interest.
Beyond the soaring oaks and tulip poplars planted by the former president, a serene black pool nestles in ornamental grasses on the other side of a 100-year-old stone garden wall, and 30 acres of lawn and non-grazing land segue into sod production and corn and soybean fields.
If vistas appear choreographed, they didn’t happen overnight. “I had done some gardening,” says Gayle, “but nothing on this scale. The 100-year-old American boxwoods create a wonderful outline, but they had overwhelmed the garden, walls, terraces, and stairs. As we tackled the job, our first positive move was the ‘chainsaw massacre’ approach. We removed several of these culprits as well as a stand of very old arborvitae that totally obscured views. Suddenly we could see the different shades and textures, especially the Ward’s yews, robusta green junipers, and spiraeas that give the garden its depth from a distance, as well as the Sargent’s crabapples at the [farthest] end of the garden.”
Through it all, Gayle acknowledges challenges. “As I look back, I realize when I took on the gardens, I didn’t know what I was doing. Add the fact that I had two small children, a demanding husband, and a women’s clothing business in Middleburg—I honestly don’t know how it all came together. Ultimately it was the Yankee in me that took over, and with relentless effort and assistance from perennial expert Karen Rexrode, who is here three days a week, we are able to prevail.”
Still, Gayle admits to aiming for perfection when the house and gardens are open to visiting groups, such as garden clubs—she was active in the Loudoun and Fauquier garden clubs—as well as conservation and historic associations in which she and Tom have personal interest. The Mosby Heritage Area Association, of which she is a past president, has a school program that brings students here; The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, on whose board she served for three years, also brings teachers for visits. “We are enthusiastic about sharing the garden and history of the house with interested groups but generally confine prearranged dates to the spring so we’re not tied down or fluffing the cushions all year.”
But getting the house and grounds ready for just a few visits a year can make the myriad tasks seem endless, she says, and confesses it took two years for her to realize “the work would never be done. As soon as you accept that, it’s easier when something goes wrong because you are expecting it. We have the triage approach now; what needs our attention most, gets it.”
That approach fosters a sense of stewardship. “One of the most important things,” says Gayle, “was the realization that although we owned Oak Hill, it never actually belonged to us. As a result, I feel both a sense of gratitude and a great responsibility, and hope we can pass it on in good order to the next generation. I think the thing that makes me most gratified is that I feel if Elizabeth and James Monroe walked in the front door and crossed the drawing room to stand on the portico they would pretty much recognize the view and know where they were. Actually, we could have them to tea, and I know they would feel right at home.”
|
|||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 67 |
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/elizabeth-kortright-monroe/
|
en
|
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe
|
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2021-01-12T03:40:44+00:00
|
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe served as First Lady of the United States from 1817 to 1825 as the wife of the fifth President, James Monroe. Romance glints
|
en
|
/favicon.ico
|
The White House
|
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/elizabeth-kortright-monroe/
|
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe served as First Lady of the United States from 1817 to 1825 as the wife of the fifth President, James Monroe.
Romance glints from the little that is known about Elizabeth Kortright’s early life. She was born in New York City in 1768, daughter of an old New York family. Her father, Lawrence, had served the Crown by privateering during the French and Indian War and made a fortune. He took no active part in the War of Independence; and James Monroe wrote to his friend Thomas Jefferson in Paris in 1786 that he had married the daughter of a gentleman, “injured in his fortunes” by the Revolution.
Strange choice, perhaps, for a patriot veteran with political ambitions and little money of his own; but Elizabeth was beautiful, and love was decisive. They were married in February 1786, when the bride was not yet 18.
The young couple planned to live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Monroe began his practice of law. His political career, however, kept them on the move as the family increased by two daughters and a son who died in infancy.
In 1794, Elizabeth Monroe accompanied her husband to France when President Washington appointed him United States Minister. Arriving in Paris in the midst of the French Revolution, she took a dramatic part in saving Lafayette’s wife, imprisoned and expecting death on the guillotine. With only her servants in her carriage, the American Minister’s wife went to the prison and asked to see Madame Lafayette. Soon after this hint of American interest, the prisoner was set free. The Monroes became very popular in France, where the diplomat’s lady received the affectionate name of la belle Americaine.
For 17 years Monroe, his wife at his side, alternated between foreign missions and service as governor or legislator of Virginia. They made the plantation of Oak Hill their home after he inherited it from an uncle, and appeared on the Washington scene in 1811 when he became Madison’s Secretary of State.
Elizabeth Monroe was an accomplished hostess when her husband took the Presidential oath in 1817. Through much of the administration, however, she was in poor health and curtailed her activities. Wives of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries took it amiss when she decided to pay no calls–an arduous social duty in a city of widely scattered dwellings and unpaved streets.
Moreover, she and her daughter Eliza changed White House customs to create the formal atmosphere of European courts. Even the White House wedding of her daughter Maria was private, in “the New York style” rather than the expansive Virginia social style made popular by Dolley Madison. A guest at the Monroes’ last levee, on New Year’s Day in 1825, described the First Lady as “regal-looking” and noted details of interest: “Her dress was superb black velvet; neck and arms bare and beautifully formed; her hair in puffs and dressed high on the head and ornamented with white ostrich plumes; around her neck an elegant pearl necklace. Though no longer young, she is still a very handsome woman.”
In retirement at Oak Hill, Elizabeth Monroe died on September 23, 1830; and family tradition says that her husband burned the letters of their life together.
The biographies of the First Ladies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The First Ladies of the United States of America,” by Allida Black. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association.
|
||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
2
| 32 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe,_New_York
|
en
|
Monroe, New York
|
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2003-07-03T02:05:02+00:00
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe,_New_York
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Town in Orange County, New York, US
Not to be confused with Monroe County, New York or Monroe (village), New York.
Town in New York, United States
Monroe is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 21,387 at the 2020 census,[3] compared to 39,912 at the 2010 census; the significant fall in census population was due to the secession of the town of Palm Tree in 2019. The town is named after President James Monroe.
The first settlers to this land were American Indians from the Leni-Lenape Indian nation. The Leni-Lenape nation consisted of three tribes: the Unulactus, the turkey tribe; Minsis, the wolf tribe; and the Unamis, the turtle tribe. As white settlers started to move north, the Leni-Lenape were forced to move west, out of New York and New Jersey into Pennsylvania and later into central North America, under the treaty of Easton, a colonial agreement signed in October 1758. The British colonial government of the province of Pennsylvania and the Native American tribes in the Ohio country signed this document stating they would be allies in the French and Indian War.
In the early 1700s the lower Hudson Valley region was being mapped out to be divided up under the crown. On March 25, 1707, the "Chessecocks Patent was granted by Queen Anne".[4] The patent confirmed deeds that had been previously acquired by purchase directly from the Leni-Lenape nation. The patent was given to seven people, six men and one woman. Cheesecocks as a precinct included all of present-day Monroe, Palm Tree, Woodbury, Tuxedo, and Stony Point. Many of the patentees never saw the land they bought or were given.[4] Many of the new settlers to come with the Cheesecocks patent were Dutch and English. Both groups of settlers came from Long Island for the rich natural resources.
The original name for the area on the Ramapo River, surveyed by General Washington's geographer and surveyor Robert Erskine, was Smith's Mill, described by Erskine as being "on a sudden bend of the Ramapo." This site still contains the ruins of the grist mill built in 1741 by David Smith, the first settler (Map of Orange and Rockland Counties Area laid down by R. Erskine 1778–1779). The Clove Road, which led from Haverstraw, home of Sir William Smith, up through Tuxedo and the rocky defile known by the Dutch word "kloof", for Clove, was vital to the American cause during the Revolutionary War. It was unknown to the British patrolling the Hudson and gave Washington his escape route from New York to his New Windsor headquarters. The area was called Southfields prior to April 6, 1808, when it took its present name of Monroe (Belcher, pp. 68–9).
Quoting from Gen George Washington's daily journal:
July 15, [1777]. To Sovereign (Suffern's or Suffren's) Tavern, near the entrance to Smith's Clove. On Sunday, July 20, 1777, Washington has moved on northward into the Ramapo Valley and to the place then known as Galloway's, which is now the village of Southfields (Belcher, p. 81).
David Smith, a prosperous miller of Smithtown, Long Island, bought land from one of the original patentees, Philip Livingston. Smith "purchased lot 43, consisting of 276 acres. He built the first home." Smith built a dam and a grist mill on the Ramapo River, which created the Mill Pond of today, as well as homes for himself and his four sons.
In 1889, a further division of the town resulted in a loss of territory to the towns of Woodbury and Tuxedo. In 1894, the community of Monroe set itself apart from the town by incorporating as a village.
The explosive growth of the Hasidic Jewish village of Kiryas Joel from its establishment in the 1970s, which led to a majority of the town's population being in the village by 2017, resulting in political conflicts, mostly over zoning. Negotiations led to an agreement that Kiryas Joel would split from Monroe and become its own town, subject to voter approval in a November 2017 referendum. With the initiative receiving overwhelming approval, Kiryas Joel became the new town of Palm Tree. The new town was originally set to be created in 2020,[5] but a bill was passed by the New York state legislature and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo that officially established Palm Tree on January 1, 2019.[6]
About 600 Hasidic landowners and residents left outside Palm Tree's boundaries by the compromise accepted in the 2017 referendum proposed the following year to create another village, Seven Springs, on 2 square miles (5.2 km2) in the town between Palm Tree and the village of Monroe. Other residents were opposed to the plan, as well as the government of Palm Tree, which filed its own annexation petition for some of the same land along Route 17. The Seven Springs incorporation petition was also rejected by the town. A county Supreme Court judge ruled in 2019 that the Seven Springs petition had preceded the Palm Tree one; a year later she further held that Monroe had improperly rejected it. Both decisions were upheld in 2023.[7]
At the end of 2023 Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill written by state senator James Skoufis, formerly a town councilman in neighboring Woodbury, who had been active in that town's incorporation as a village to prevent any annexations by Kiryas Joel. The new law tripled the state's requirements for incorporating villages from 500 potential residents to 1,500, and required a study to be done on the financial and governmental impacts of creating a village on the surrounding town, provisions that were seen as fatal to Seven Springs. The attorney for the residents seeking to create the village said he would challenge the new law in court as a violation of the federal and state constitutions.[7]
The town is the birthplace of Velveeta and Liederkranz cheese. Each year, a cheese festival is held to honor the former and the noble history (and unfortunate death) of the latter.[8] It also was the original home of the Orange and Rockland Electric Company, founded by Roscoe W. Smith, a descendant of David Smith.
On the night of March 17, 1895, the village of Monroe had one of the most disastrous fires in its history, in which the center of the village was nearly wiped out. "The total losses of real estate were three large business places, three barns, a storehouse, several sheds and smaller buildings valued altogether at $25,000. Personal property, goods-in stock and furniture destroyed were valued at $15,000".[9] It was said that people from all over took the Erie Railroad to come see the remains of the "Big Fire". A short time after the fire the Village decided to install a water works system which would be owned by the Village. "On July 24, 1895 the Mombasha Fire Company was organized. The Hook and Ladder Company was organized on October 4, 1895. In 1898 the two Companies consolidated as the Mombasha Fire Company".[9]
In the early 1900s the Monroe Race Track was established to "increase the towns popularity as both local residents and visitors flocked to the track to watch the horse races and place bets on the trotters". The first race was held on August 8, 1908, there was 22,000 people estimated at the race.[10] The track became a part of the Orange County Harness Racing Circuit which included Endicott, Middletown, Goshen, and Monroe. "The first grandstand was located on the long side of the track, while the second grandstand wasn't completed until 1910. It was seventy-five feet long and could hold one thousand people."[10] The track was in operation 19 years. "On August 13, 1913 the race track record was set with a time of 2:04¼ minutes for the mile pace on a half mile track. At this time this was also a world record for a pacer."[10] In 1927 Monroe was dropped by the circuit and was replaced by one in Elmira, New York, where construction of a new 5,000 seat grandstand had been completed.[10] The last purse offered at Monroe Track in 1927 was for $31,000. In 1964 the grandstands of the track were torn down.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.3 square miles (55 km2), of which 20.1 square miles (52 km2) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2) (5.55%) is water.
The town is located in the southern region of the county, bordered on the northwest by the town of Chester, on the north by the town of Blooming Grove, on the northeast by the town of Palm Tree, on the east by the town of Woodbury, on the south by the town of Tuxedo, and on the southwest by the town of Warwick.
NY-17 (future I-86), combined with U.S. Highway 6 NY-17M, passes through Monroe village.
Lakes
Mombasha Lake – a lake by the southern town line.
Round Lake – a lake in the western part of Monroe, southwest of Monroe village.
Walton Lake – a lake in the western part of Monroe, south of Round Lake.
Communities
Communities within the town of Monroe:
Harriman – the village of Harriman is partly in the town.
Marycrest – community bordering the southern part of Monroe village.
Monroe – the village of Monroe is located south of NY-17 on highway NY-17M.
Mountain House – a location by the northern town line.
Newburgh Junction – a hamlet south of Harriman on NY-17.
Walton Park – part of the hamlet of Walton Park.
Historical population CensusPop.Note%± 18202,969—18303,67123.6%18403,9146.6%18504,2809.4%18603,975−7.1%18704,66617.4%18805,0969.2%18901,694−66.8%19001,7845.3%19102,28528.1%19202,63015.1%19303,00014.1%19403,30210.1%19503,71412.5%19605,96560.6%19709,16953.7%198014,94863.0%199023,03554.1%200031,41136.4%201039,91227.1%202021,387−46.4%
As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 31,407 people, 8,228 households, and 6,878 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,563.5 people per square mile (603.7 people/km2). There were 8,517 housing units at an average density of 424.0 per square mile (163.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.91% white, 1.22% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 1.15% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.91% of the population. 12.6% were of Italian, 12.4% Irish, 9.2% Hungarian, 6.0% American and 5.6% German ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 8,228 households, out of which 53.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.72 and the average family size was 4.14.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 41.5% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $50,889, and the median income for a family was $54,315. Males had a median income of $51,125 versus $34,547 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,569. About 22.3% of families and 29.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
David Bernsley (born 1969), American-Israeli basketball player
Malcolm Bricklin (born 1939), American businessman[14]
Chloe Chambers (born 2004), Chinese-born racing driver
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https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/how-did-michigan-cities-get-their-names
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How Did Michigan Cities Get Their Names?
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Have you ever wondered about the meaning of Detroit? Lansing? Each city in Michigan has a unique history and tradition. Here’s how Michigan cities got their names.
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Pure Michigan | Official Travel & Tourism Website for Michigan
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https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/how-did-michigan-cities-get-their-names
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Upper Peninsula
1. Mackinac Island
Like many historic places in the Great Lakes region, Mackinac Island's name derives from a Native American language. It’s been said that Native Americans thought the shape of the island resembled a turtle, so they named it "Mitchimakinak" meaning "big turtle." Then, the French used their own version of the original pronunciation and named it Michilimackinac. However, the English shortened it to the present name: "Mackinac."
2. Saint Ignace
St. Ignace’s name is derived from the Roman Catholic missionaries who settled the area during the time of the French and British explorers and fur traders. The Jesuit missionaries christened the community in honor of the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius Loyola, and named the city in his honor. Among these Jesuits priests were Fathers Marquette, Charlevoix, and Allouez, whose names may sound of other familiar Michigan cities.
3. Sault Sainte Marie
The origin of the name of the oldest city in Michigan goes back to the 1600s, when French missionaries and fur traders went into the area, calling it Sault du Gastogne. In 1668, Fr. Jacques Marquette, who you may remember from the story of Ludington’s history in part one, renamed the settlement Sault Ste. Marie, in honor of the Virgin Mary—the first "city" in the Great Lakes region. Fun fact: Native Americans gathered here more than 2,000 years ago for the wealth of fish and fur and called the area “Bahweting,” or “The Gathering Place.” In February, check out the Annual International I-500 Snowmobile Race, also nicknamed “NASCAR on Ice.”
4. Munising
Munising is a Native American name meaning "Place of the Great Island." In 1820 the Chippewa village was located at the mouth of the Anna River, but they later moved camp to Sand Point. Munising was actually officially founded in 1850, but the first civilization was built in Au Train. The town consisted of thirty homes, one blacksmith shop, the bay furnace, a sawmill and a government lighthouse.
5. Christmas
The story of Christmas, Michigan’s name is a bit more merry. A Munising man began a roadside factory in 1938 so that he could create holiday gift items. Unfortunately, the factory burned down shortly thereafter, but the name and the factory’s roadside Santa Claus stuck around to this day.
6. Marquette
The city of Marquette was founded with a different name. It was first called Worcester by a group of miners from a city by that name in Massachusetts. In 1850, the city was renamed to honor French Jesuit missionary Jaques Marquette, who famously explored the region.
7. Escanaba
As is the case with several cities in Michigan, Escanaba’s name comes from Native American language. Escanaba is actually an Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian word meaning “flat rock.” The name stuck when European settlers arrived and began lumber operations there in the 1830s. The community was officially incorporated in 1863, when the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company built the first iron-ore dock on Lake Michigan.
8. Menominee
Menominee gets its name from a regional Native American tribe known as the Menominee, which roughly translates into "Wild Rice." The area was originally the home of the Menominee Indian Tribe. They now have a reservation along the Wolf River in North Central Wisconsin. Menominee gained prominence as a lumber town. In its heyday Menominee produced more lumber than any other city in America.
Northwest Michigan
9. Petoskey Area
Surrounded in mystery and legend, Petoskey is said to be named after the son of a French fur trader and Ottawa princess. He was named Petosegay. The translation of the name is "rising sun," "rays of dawn," or "sunbeams of promise" due to the bright light that shone on his face near the Kalamazoo river when he was born. He was a successful merchant and trader, who also married an Ottawa princess. It’s said a small settlement was started on his land just a north of Bear Creek and was named Petoskey (an English translation) after him. Petoskey is known for its bike trails, including Little Traverse Wheelway, a 26-mile stretch that follows the shoreline from Charlevoix north to Harbor Springs.
10. Harbor Springs
In 1847, L'Arbre Croche had the largest concentration of Native Americans in the states. At that time, Harbor Springs was called L'Arbre Croche, which means Crooked Tree. Later, French traders renamed the area Petit Traverse, or Little Traverse, when they arrived in the area. The village was eventually incorporated as Harbor Springs in 1880.
11. Traverse City
Traverse City’s name is almost self-explanatory – it is named after the Grand Traverse Bay. Indian hunters and French traders were the first people to spend time here, and it was they who gave the region its name – La Grand Traverse, because of the “long crossing” they had to make by canoe across the mouth of the bay. But even the native Ottawa and Chippewa people didn’t settle here permanently until the early 18th century.
12. Ludington
Ludington wasn’t always known as Ludington, but was originally named Pere Marquette Village, which was named after French missionary and explorer Father Jacques Marquette. After it was settled in 1847, a number of lumbering camps sprung up in the area, and a lumber baron named James Ludington built and settled into what are now impressive historic homes. Residents later renamed the city after him. It’s a place where simple, timeless joys are Pure Michigan.
13. Cadillac
The name Cadillac comes from Native American language as “Kautawabet” meaning “Broken Tooth,” after a Potawatamie chief who signed the Great Peace Treaty of 1825. The city was first organized in 1872 and called Clam Lake Village, but a dispute with the village of Sherman ensued over which city would hold the county seat. A group of politicians thought to change the name to Cadillac, after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, an early Michigan explorer and founder of Detroit. Changing the name tricked the legislators, and Cadillac became the “new” county seat.
14. Frankfort
In 1855 a fellow by the name of Frank Martin built a home on the northern shores of the swamp delta of the Betsie River. But then big snowdrifts surrounded the house; so Frank built a wooden stockade around it to keep the snowdrifts away. His neighbors thought it looked like a fort, so when the neighbors referred to Martin’s home they called it “Franks Fort”. As time went on, you guessed it, it was shortened to Frankfort and the town had a name.
15. Reed City
Before its establishment, Reed City was first known as Tunshla and then Todd’s Slashing. It was plotted in 1870 by Charles Higbe, Ozias Slosson, and Fredrick Todd who re-named the village Reed City, after J.M. Reed. While the land was named after Reed, the streets and avenues were named after the village’s other incorporators.
West Central Michigan
16. Grand Rapids
Before it was named Grand Rapids, the area was settled by Ottawa Indians near the Grand River Valley. One French trader named Louis Campau established a trading post in the area in 1826 and in 1831, he bought 72 acres of land from the federal government for $90 and named his land “Grand Rapids.” This land is now the entire downtown business district of the city.
17. Muskegon
Like many other cities in Michigan, Native American tribes inhabited what's known as Muskegon during historic times. The word "Muskegon" is derived the Ottawa Native American term "Masquigon," meaning "marshy river or swamp." The "Masquigon" river was identifed on French maps dating back to the late 17th century, suggesting that French explorers had reached Michigan's western coast by that time. Today, people enjoy the water and sand dunes in Muskegon every summer.
18. Holland
As you might have guessed, Holland was settled by Dutch immigrants. They were looking to escape social, cultural and economic troubles in Europe in the 1840’s. The settlement established by them was known as the “Holland Kolonie.” It was formally founded in 1847.
19. Albion
The city of Albion was almost named “Peabodyville,” after Tenney Peabody, the first European-American settler to arrive in the area in 1833. The area remained nameless until 1835, when a man named Jesse Crowell formed a residence and land development company called the Albion Company. Peabody’s wife was then asked to name the settlement and while she considered using her husband’s name, she ultimately selected “Albion.” The name was appropriate, since “Albion” is an old and poetic name for England, and many of the early settlers were of English decent.
20. Rockford
The first important settler of what would become the city of Rockford was Smith Lapham. Lapham built his own sawmill on his side of the river, which was completed by 1844. Other settlers soon followed. By the fall of 1845, the settlement had about 5 houses. Since the settlement existed largely on land owned or sold by Smith Lapham, it became known as Laphamville. By 1865 the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company had begun a railroad extending northward through the village. The railroad had been advising the residents to adopt a shorter name, and when a newly arrived resident from Rockford, Illinois proposed the name of his former town, the new name was narrowly approved. It was replatted under the name Rockford in 1865 and incorporated as the Village of Rockford in June 1866 with 315 inhabitants.
21. Sparta
The Sparta area was first settled in 1844, with the township formally organized in 1846. The first settler in what is now the village was Jonathan Nash in 1846. Calling the place Nashville, he built a sawmill on Lick Creek. Subsequently, he changed the name of the creek to Nash Creek. Seeing as there was already a Nashville in Michigan, the state legislature suggested Sparta. The village was platted in 1867 and incorporated in 1883.
22. Lake Odessa
Lake Odessa was developed by Humphrey R. Wager in 1887. Before it came to be “Lake Odessa”, the biggest settlement in the area was Bonanza. When the railway system was established farther south, the established Bonanza community moved to be closer to the railroad tracks. Abandoned Bonanza became cornfields and the new settlement near the railroad became Lake Odessa. Lake Odessa’s name was derived from two lakes, Tupper Lake and Jordan Lake, which are located in Odessa Township. In 1846, the Township was named by a committee in honor of one of Russia's cities.
23. Grand Haven
Grand Haven was first named Gabagouache by the Pottawattamie Indians. Once French settlers inhabited the area and made it a fur-outpost, they continued to call the location Gabagouache. In 1835, Gabagouache was renamed Grand Haven due to its close proximity to the mouth of the Grand River and to honor the beautiful setting the river provided. In 1837, the Grand Haven community grew to become a city.
Southwest Michigan
24. Charlotte
The area that would become Charlotte was owned by the U.S. Government until 1832, when George Barnes purchased the land. Barnes in turn sold the land to Edmond B. Bostwick, a land speculator from New York City three years later in 1835. Bostwick then sold a portion of the land to H.I. Lawrence, Townsend Harris and Francis Cochran. These four men can be credited for developing the village which they named after Bostwick's wife, Charlotte. Charlotte was incorporated as a village on October 10, 1863 and as a city on March 29, 1871. It was designated as the county seat when Eaton County was organized in 1837; however, due to a lack of population and buildings, county functions were conducted at Bellevue until 1840.
25. Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, the largest city in Southwest Michigan, was originally known as “Bronson,” after founder Titus Bronson. In the 1830s, the name was changed to the Native American word “Kalamazoo,” but there are several theories to its exact origin. Some say it means “the mirage of reflecting river,” while others say it means bubbling or boiling water. Another legend is that the image of “boiling water” referred to fog on the river as seen from the hills above the current downtown.
26. Battle Creek
You might already be thinking, “Battle Creek must have been the site of some epic battle!” The reality of it though is a bit less epic. In 1825 a group of government surveyors were working near a stream near the present day site of the city when two Pottawatomi Native Americans appeared at their camp asking for food. A discussion turned angry and, during a brief skirmish, one of the surveyors took the Native Americans captive when he produced a rifle. The surveyors reported the skirmish to the Governor and later surveyors at the site recalled it as “Battle Creek.”
27. Benton Harbor
Benton Harbor was founded on a swampy area bordered by the Paw Paw River, through which a canal was built, creating a harbor. It was originally called Brunson Harbor after Sterne Brunson, one of the city’s founders. However, in 1865 the name was changed to Benton Harbor to honor Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri Senator who helped Michigan achieve statehood. In 1869, Benton Harbor was organized as a village and in 1891 was incorporated as a city.
28. St. Joseph
In 1669, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was the first European to settle in what is present-day St. Joseph. La Salle and his crew named the river that was located in the area "River Miami" and built a fort, Fort Miami, on its shores. In 1679 the fort was destroyed, and it wasn’t until 1780 that the area became established again. In 1829, Calvin Britain created a plat map for the settlement, which was then called Newburyport, and the village thrived. In 1834, the village was renamed St. Joseph after the river, which had been renamed prior.
Northeast Michigan
29. Alpena
Alpena County was first named “An-a-ma-kee,” or “Thunder,” in honor of an old Chippewa chief of the Thunder Bay band who had signed a treaty negotiated with Henry Schoolcraft in 1826. After studying the Indian legends around the word “An-a-ma-kee” (or Animikee), Henry Schoolcraft concluded that the name was not completely appropriate. Then he manufactured the name Alpena from “Al,” an Indian syllable meaning the, and either “pinai,” an Arabic word meaning “partridge,” or “peanaisse,” an old French word meaning “bird.”
30. Gaylord
Gaylord’s namesake comes from Augustine Smith Gaylord. It was established in 1872 and named Barnes, but it was changed a year later to honor Gaylord, who was an attorney for the Jackson, Lansing, Saginaw railroad. Still, if you were to ask someone why the name was changed just a year later to Gaylord, no one could tell you as the reason for doing so has been lost!
31. Omer
The city was originally called “Homer” by its founders by George Gorie and George Carscallen, who set up a sawmill along the Rifle River in the mid-1860s. The town was first named Rifle River Mills, but Carscallen wanted to rename the town as Homer. However, he found a post office in another town with that name, so he simply dropped the leading H, producing the final name. Omer was incorporated as a city following the lumber boom of 1903.
East Central Michigan
32. Bad Axe
While surveying Huron County in 1861, Rudolph Papst and George Willis Pack made camp and found a badly damaged axe at the site. The camp became known as Bad Axe Camp after a sign Papst placed at the camp and near a trail. When he returned from the Civil War in 1870, he founded a small city in the place of the camp. It was called Bad Axe.
33. Pigeon
Started as a railroad town in 1883, Pigeon was originally called Berne Junction. However, the new community began calling it Pigeon due to the nearby Pigeon River. The river was named for the huge flocks of passenger pigeons that lived near the river. It’s said the flocks were so thick that, when flying, they blacked out the sky. Despite this though, the passenger pigeon was named extinct by 1914.
34. Frankenmuth
Frankenmuth, often referred to as “Michigan’s Little Bavaria,” was settled and named in 1845 by immigrants from Franconia (now part of Bavaria) in Germany. The German word “franken” represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the German word “mut” means courage, which makes the city name of Frankenmuth stand for “courage of the Franconians.” Families flock to Frankenmuth to enjoy Christmas celebrations yearlong, at Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, in addition to a number of other activities.
35. Flint
Flint’s recorded history also dates back to 1819 when a trading post opened. It was originally called “Grand Traverse,” however over the course of 17 years it had other names as well like “Todd’s Crossing”, “Sidney” and “Flint River” after the local Indian name “Pawanunking,” which referred to the nearby river’s rocky bed. It was later shortened to Flint in 1836 before being incorporated as a city in 1855.
36. Flushing
The original Flushing was located in the borough of Queens, New York, and named after the city of Vlissingen, Holland – also known as Flushing, Netherlands. Flushing sprang up in Michigan as a railroad town long ago and Charles Seymour, formerly of the city in New York, is credited with naming the Michigan community in the 1830s.
37. Saginaw
The Sauk Indians originally lived in the Saginaw area before being driven out by the Ojibwe, or Chippewa Indians. The name, however, stuck. Saginaw is believed to mean “where the Sauk were.” The first permanent settlement by those other than the Native Americans began in 1815 on the banks of the Saginaw River.
38. Bay City
Bay City was first known as the village of Lower Saginaw in 1838. Its name was changed to Bay City when Bay County was organized in 1857. By 1860, Lower Saginaw was becoming a bustling community of about 2,000 with several mills, and many small businesses in operation. In 1865, the village of Bay City was incorporated as a city. It was a time of rapid growth with lumbering and shipbuilding, creating many jobs.
Southeast Michigan
39. Jackson
On July 3, 1829, Horace Blackman, accompanied by Alexander Laverty, a land surveyor, and an Indian guide passed through what is today known as Jackson. Blackman returned in August with his brother Russell, and claimed 160 acres of land in the area. In 1830, the area settlement agreed on the name of 'Jacksonburgh' in honor or President Andrew Jackson, and in 1838 the name was changed to Jackson.
40. Lansing
How the name of Michigan’s capital city came to be is a fun story. In the 1830s, two brothers from New York tried to scam their fellow statesman by going to Lansing, New York, and trying to sell plots of land in an area of Michigan that was underwater most of the year. When men who bought plots of land realized they had been scammed, they settled in the area that is now metropolitan Lansing and renamed the area “Lansing Township” as an homage to their home village in New York. In 1847, the state constitution required that the capital of Michigan be moved out of Detroit. Lansing Township was chosen out of frustration with the process. In 1848, the area was eventually given the name of Lansing. Every November, check out the Lansing Film Festival, which features foreign films, documentaries and student productions from around the world.
41. Detroit
Let’s start with Detroit, the city with the most Michiganders and one of the oldest cities in the Midwest. The city is named after the Detroit River, which links Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The word “detroit” is French for “strait,” and the French called the river “le détroit du Lac Érié," meaning “the strait of Lake Erie.” On July 24, 1701, a French explorer and nobleman by the name of Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac founded Detroit. Check out the Detroit Fall Beer Festival in October at Eastern Market, which will feature more than 40 Michigan craft breweries offering more than 200 different beers for sampling throughout the day.
42. Ann Arbor
There are a couple theories about the origin of Ann Arbor, but the most agreed-upon theory revolves around two men named John Allen and Elisha Ramsey, two pioneers who were part of a group of settlers who set up a community by the Huron River in 1824. Both Rumsey and Allen's wives were named Ann, and the word "arbor" means "a leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches, shrubs, etc.," which perfectly describes the landscape of the area in 1824. Explore this city that does things a little bit differently.
43. Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, sometimes called “the Pointes,” refers to a comprised area of five individual communities outside of Metro Detroit. The name "Grosse Pointe" derives from the size of the area and its projection into Lake St. Clair.
44. Royal Oak
The city of Royal Oak is named after a legendary oak tree. In 1819 Michigan Governor Lewis Cass set out to explore Michigan and prove surveyors’ claims that the area wasn’t completely swampy and uninhabitable. At first, swampy land was all they were finding until the group came across a massive oak tree, much larger than any other in the area. It reminded Gov. Cass about an oak tree King Charles II of England is said to have taken refuge under during an enemy attack in 1660. Recalling that story, Cass and his companions named the tree and the surrounding area “Royal Oak."
45. Hell
There are a few theories on the origin of the name for Hell, Michigan. The most popular involves a man in the 1840’s named George Reeves who, when asked by officials what he wanted to name the settlement he helped start, replied, “Call it Hell for I care!” Another story of the town’s name comes from the frontiersmen who traveled the low-lying wetlands at the height of mosquito season. After traveling through such wet and infested terrain they referred to it as “Hell.”
46. Livonia
The area that is now Livonia was known for its rich soil and abundant harvests, attracting pioneers from New England. It’s believed they named the area after cities of similar names in New York state, Pennsylvania and, possibly, after a region near the Baltic sea comprising present day Estonia and Latvia.
47. Temperance
Originally named Bedford Center in 1859, “Temperance” was suggested by one of the founding land father’s wives, who was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. A petition was sent around, and the name was changed to Temperance. As you might imagine, the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited for some time.
48. Rochester
The city of Rochester was settled in 1817 and drew pioneers because of its location between the Clinton River, Paint Creek and Stoney Creek – all of which powered mills to cut timber, grind grain, card wool, and press apples into cider. The city was named for Rochester, New York, as many early settlers to the area were formerly from the state of New York.
49. Birmingham
Birmingham was founded in 1818, when four enterprising men purchased land in the area. The founders quickly established a manufacturer based local economy that brought foundries, tanneries, blacksmith shops, broom and brick making factories to the area. The name Birmingham was chosen after Birmingham, England, in hopes that the Michigan city’s manufacturing capabilities would take after England’s biggest industrial center.
50. Ypsilanti
Like Pigeon, Ypsilanti wasn’t always known by the name is has today. The city was originally a trading post set up in 1809 and called Woodruff’s Grove after Major Thomas Woodruff. The name was later changed to Ypsilanti in 1829 in honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti. Ypsilanti was a hero in the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire.
51. Hamtramck
Hamtramck’s name has been a subject of confusion for several years, but it was actually named for Colonel John Francis Hamtramck. Col. Hamtramck was a French-Canadian soldier who fought for the Americans during the American War for Independence. He was at the surrender of Detroit from the British in 1796 and shortly afterwards built a home near the present entrance to the Belle Isle Bridge. When Wayne County was organized in the early 1900’s the area was formally named.
52. Fenton
There aren’t many cities in Michigan that can claim their names were the result of a night of cards like Fenton can. The city was originally called Dibbleville in honor of Clark Dibble, who first settled the area. However, in 1837 William M. Fenton (a lawyer and land speculator) and Robert LeRoy (a land speculator) played a game of cards in which LeRoy lost, with Fenton getting to change the name. The consolation prize of the game, given to Robert LeRoy, was putting his name to LeRoy Street, the main route through the city. The game didn’t stop at one hand. The men continued on naming other streets, choosing names (like Adelaide and Elizabeth) in turn, according to the fall of the cards.
53. Pontiac
The first settlers arrived in what is now the City of Pontiac in 1818. Two years later there were enough people there to form a village named after the famous Indian Chief (Chief Pontiac) who had made his headquarters in the area only a few years prior. The village was officially recognized by the state legislature in 1837 and it incorporated as a city in 1861.
54. Marysville
Edward P. Vickery settled at the present day foot of Huron Boulevard in Marysville. He named the operation Vickery's Landing and the settlement surrounding it eventually became known as Vicksburg. However, there was already another Vicksburg, Michigan, so in 1859 the name was changed to Marysville, after Nelson Mill's (an entrepreneur in the area) wife Mary.
55. Clarkston
Linux Jacox from New York built the first house in Clarkston in 1830. He sold his claim to Butler Holcomb in 1831. In 1832, Holcomb built the second house and a sawmill on sections 20 and 21. The town was named for the Clark brothers, from New York. Jeremiah Clark, from Onondaga County, New York, came to Detroit in 1831, and in the autumn of 1832 located on section 7 in Independence Township where he built a log cabin. Among his three children were three boys, Edwin, Milton and Newton. Nelson W. Clark arrived in 1836 and became a prominent citizen in the township. In 1838, Holcomb sold his interests to the Clark brothers, who then built a grist mill. In 1842, the Clark brothers platted a tract of land on section 20 for a village and gave it the name Clarkston.
56. Mount Clemens
In 1795, the area that is present day Mount Clemens was surveyed by Christian Clemens. Four years later, Clemens settled the area. During that time, Clements and a friend, John Brooks, built a distillery and platted the land, which started the expansion of the settlement. The town was named after Clemens in 1818, and was incorporated into a town in 1851. In 1879, the town was incorporated into a city. Christian Clemens lived in Mount Clemens the rest of his life, and upon his death was buried in Clemens Park, located north of downtown.
57. Imlay City
Eastern capitalist William H. Imlay moved to the area that is present day Imlay City in 1828. On April 1, 1850, the township came into existence and was named after Imlay. During this time, Charles Palmer, the chief engineer of the railroad, selected Imlay as a potential produce market and purchased a tract of two hundred and forty acres of land, in which he surveyed and platted. Because the area had already been named Imlay, Palmer decided to call his location Imlay City. It wasn’t until 1870 that the village began to take off due to the construction of the Port Huron and Lake Michigan Railway.
58. Hillsdale
The village of Hillsdale was incorporated in 1847 and became a city in 1869. The geographical make-up of the Hillsdale area, which consists of hills and dales, influenced the name “Hillsdale”. Though Hillsdale does not have any mountain to create dales, or valleys, it has heights that reach up to 1,250 feet above sea level, allowing dales to exist.
59. Fowlerville
Handy Township, the township in which Fowlerville is located, was surveyed by Sylvestor Sibley in 1825. Calvin Handy and his family were the first settlers to arrive in Handy Township on June 16, 1836. Later that year, Ralph Fowler from Livingston County, New York, moved to the northeast portion of Handy Township. Considered to be the first permanent resident of this area of Handy Township, the area was named Fowlerville. The village incorporated in 1871.
60. Monroe
Monroe was first named Frenchtown in 1784. It was the third European settlement in the state of Michigan. In 1817, President James Monroe visited Frenchtown, causing the location to be renamed after the president in his honor. The newly named Monroe was then re-incorporated as a city in 1837.
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View of “Then Will the Union Be Knit Indissolubly Together”—The Tomb for President James Monroe
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The American president buried in—and then exhumed from— an East Village cemetery
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President James Monroe's life was centered in Virginia. The Continental Army veteran, born and educated in the state, assumed the roles of Virginia senator and governor before becoming the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. With his roots firmly in Virginia, how did this esteemed statesman known for the Monroe Doctrine…
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Ephemeral New York
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https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2024/07/01/the-american-president-buried-in-and-then-exhumed-from-an-east-village-cemetery/
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President James Monroe’s life was centered in Virginia. The Continental Army veteran, born and educated in the state, assumed the roles of Virginia senator and governor before becoming the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825.
With his roots firmly in Virginia, how did this esteemed statesman known for the Monroe Doctrine and the Missouri Compromise end up buried in a cemetery that still exists in the East Village?
It has to do with the passing of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, who died in 1830 (below, with her husband) at the couple’s Loudon County estate. The Kortrights were a wealthy New York City merchant family. One of their daughters, Maria, had married into the equally posh Gouverneur clan, also part of Gotham’s old money elite.
Maria and her husband, postmaster general of New York City Samuel Gouverneur, lived in a lovely Federal-style home at 63 Prince Street on the corner of what was then called Lafayette Place. After becoming a widower and in failing health, 72-year-old Monroe decided to move to New York City to live with his daughter and son-in-law.
Monroe’s time in Manhattan was short. On July 4, 1831, he passed away from heart failure (some sources say tuberculosis as well) inside the Prince Street home (below, in 1877).
In response to the ex-President’s death, grieving New York officials held an elaborate funeral procession. With businesses closed for the day, his casket traveled to City Hall (below). There, thousands of New Yorkers paid their respects before the procession continued to St. Paul’s Church.
After leaving St. Paul’s, a hearse pulled by four black horses traveled two miles up Broadway to the New York City Marble Cemetery on Second Street, where the Gouverneurs chose to inter Monroe in their family vault. He was one of the first to be interred in this new burial ground, states the cemetery website.
The Marble Cemetery, not to be confused with the other Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue, still exists on Second Street between First and Second Avenues. In 1831, however, its borders were beyond city limits and was “well into the suburbs,” according to George Morgan in his 1921 book The Life of James Monroe.
“Monroe was the third of the first five Presidents to die on the Fourth of July; John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had died on that day five years earlier,” wrote historian Daniel Preston on the website of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “Thousands of mourners followed his hearse up Broadway in Manhattan to the Gouverneur family vault in Marble Cemetery, while church bells tolled and guns fired at Fort Columbus [on Governors Island].”
For almost three decades, Monroe’s remains lay in the Gouverneur vault at the New York City Marble Cemetery, which was soon surrounded by buildings in the booming city. In 1857, a group of Virginians living in Gotham decided to erect a monument over the vault, per the cemetery website.
A year later, the state of Virginia decided Monroe should be brought home.
“In 1858, the 100th anniversary of [Monroe’s] birth, municipal officials and representatives of the State of Virginia decided that the remains should be returned to his home State for reburial,” wrote the National Park Service (NPS). “The Virginia legislature appropriated funds for this purpose.”
New York City officials relented, exhuming Monroe’s body from the Marble Cemetery (above, today) and sending it by steamboat to Richmond. On July 5 of that year, Monroe’s remains were interred “on a high bluff overlooking the James River, in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery,” stated the NPS.
That leaves just one ex-President laid to rest in New York City: Ulysses S. Grant, whose body was sealed inside the tomb named in his honor in Riverside Park in 1897.
[Second image: Whitehousehistory.org; third image: Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, 1877; fourth image: getarchive.com]
Tags: James Monroe Buried in NYC Marble Cemetery, James Monroe Gouverneur Family New York City, James Monroe Marble Cemetery New York City, James Monroe Prince Street NYC, Marble Cemetery Second Street East Village, Presidents Buried in New York City
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James Monroe facts for kids
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"Senator Monroe" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Monroe (disambiguation).
James Monroe ( MƏN-roh; April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was the last Founding Father to serve as president as well as the last president of the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation. His presidency coincided with the Era of Good Feelings, concluding the First Party System era of American politics. He is best known for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, a policy of limiting European colonialism in the Americas. Previously he served as governor of Virginia, a member of the United States Senate, U.S. ambassador to France and Britain, the seventh secretary of state, and the eighth secretary of war.
Historians have generally ranked him as an above-average president.
Early life
James Monroe was born April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The James Monroe Family Home Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. His father Spence Monroe (1727–1774) was a moderately prosperous planter and slave owner who also practiced carpentry. His mother Elizabeth Jones (1730–1772) married Spence Monroe in 1752 and they had five children: Elizabeth, James, Spence, Andrew, and Joseph Jones.
His paternal great-great-grandfather Patrick Andrew Monroe emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century, and was part of an ancient Scottish clan known as Clan Munro. In 1650 he patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Monroe's mother was the daughter of James Jones, who immigrated from Wales and settled in nearby King George County, Virginia. Jones was a wealthy architect. Also among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700.
At age 11, Monroe was enrolled in Campbelltown Academy, the lone school in the county. He attended this school only 11 weeks a year, as his labor was needed on the farm. During this time, Monroe formed a lifelong friendship with an older classmate, John Marshall. Monroe's mother died in 1772, and his father two years later. Though he inherited property, including slaves, from both of his parents, the 16-year-old Monroe was forced to withdraw from school to support his younger brothers. His childless maternal uncle, Joseph Jones, became a surrogate father to Monroe and his siblings. A member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, Jones took Monroe to the capital of Williamsburg, Virginia, and enrolled him in the College of William and Mary. Jones also introduced Monroe to important Virginians such as Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. In 1774, opposition to the British government grew in the Thirteen Colonies in reaction to the "Intolerable Acts", and Virginia sent a delegation to the First Continental Congress. Monroe became involved in the opposition to Lord Dunmore, the colonial governor of Virginia, and took part in the storming of the Governor's Palace.
Revolutionary War service
In early 1776, about a year and a half after his enrollment, Monroe dropped out of college and joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment in the Continental Army. In late December, Monroe took part in a surprise attack on a Hessian encampment at the Battle of Trenton. Though the attack was successful, Monroe suffered a severed artery in the battle and nearly died. In the aftermath, Washington cited Monroe and William Washington for their bravery, and promoted Monroe to captain. After his wounds healed, Monroe returned to Virginia to recruit his own company of soldiers. His participation in the battle was memorialized in John Trumbull's painting The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776 as well as Emanuel Leutze's 1851 Washington Crossing the Delaware.
With letters of recommendation from Washington, Stirling, and Alexander Hamilton, Monroe received a commission as a lieutenant colonel and was expected to lead one of the regiments, but recruitment proved to be a problem. Monroe returned to Williamsburg to study law, becoming a protege of Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson.
With the British increasingly focusing their operations in the Southern colonies, the Virginians moved the capital to the more defensible city of Richmond, and Monroe accompanied Jefferson to the new capital. As governor of Virginia, Jefferson held command over its militia, and made Monroe a colonel. Monroe established a messenger network to coordinate with the Continental Army and other state militias. Still unable to raise an army due to a lack of interested recruits, Monroe traveled to his home in King George County, and thus was not present for the British raid of Richmond. As both the Continental Army and the Virginia militia had an abundance of officers, Monroe did not serve during the Yorktown campaign, and, much to his frustration, did not take part in the Siege of Yorktown. Although Andrew Jackson served as a courier in a militia unit at age 13, Monroe is regarded as the last U.S. president who was a Revolutionary War veteran, since he served as an officer of the Continental Army and took part in combat. As a result of his service, Monroe became a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.
Monroe resumed studying law under Jefferson and continued until 1783. He 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. Monroe was admitted to the Virginia bar and practiced in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Political career
Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782. After serving on Virginia's Executive Council, he was elected to the Congress of the Confederation in November 1783 and served in Annapolis until Congress convened in Trenton, New Jersey in June 1784. He had served a total of three years when he finally retired from that office by the rule of rotation. By that time, the government was meeting in the temporary capital of New York City. In 1784, Monroe undertook an extensive trip through Western New York and Pennsylvania to inspect the conditions in the Northwest. The tour convinced him that the United States had to pressure Britain to abandon its posts in the region and assert control of the Northwest. While serving in Congress, Monroe became an advocate for western expansion, and played a key role in the writing and passage of the Northwest Ordinance. The ordinance created the Northwest Territory, providing for federal administration of the territories West of Pennsylvania and North of the Ohio River. During this period, Jefferson continued to serve as a mentor to Monroe, and, at Jefferson's prompting, he befriended another prominent Virginian, James Madison.
Monroe resigned from Congress in 1786 to focus on his legal career. In 1788, Monroe became a delegate to the Virginia Ratifying Convention. He opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution.
In 1790, he won election to the Senate where he became a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. He left the Senate in 1794 to serve as President George Washington's ambassador to France. There he experienced several early diplomatic successes, including the protection of U.S. trade from French attacks. Months after Monroe arrived in France, the U.S. and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty, outraging both the French and Monroe—not fully informed about the treaty prior to its publication. Despite the undesirable effects of the Jay Treaty on Franco-American relations, Monroe won French support for U.S. navigational rights on the Mississippi River—the mouth of which was controlled by Spain—and in 1795 the U.S. and Spain signed Pinckney's Treaty. The treaty granted the U.S. limited rights to use the port of New Orleans. Washington decided to recall Monroe in November 1796.
Monroe won the election as Governor of Virginia in 1799 and strongly supported Jefferson's candidacy in the 1800 presidential election.
As President Jefferson's special envoy, Monroe helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, through which the United States nearly doubled in size. Monroe fell out with his longtime friend James Madison after Madison rejected the Monroe–Pinkney Treaty that Monroe negotiated with Britain. He 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. During the later stages of the War of 1812, Monroe simultaneously served as Madison's Secretary of State and Secretary of War. Monroe's wartime leadership established him as Madison's heir apparent, and he easily defeated Federalist candidate Rufus King in the 1816 presidential election.
Presidency (1817–1825)
Main article: Presidency of James Monroe
As president, Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and banned slavery from territories north of the 36°30′ parallel. Though Monroe remained firmly opposed to any compromise that restricted slavery anywhere, he reluctantly signed the Compromise into law (March 6, 1820) only because he believed it was the least bad alternative for southern slaveholders.
Two years into his presidency, Monroe faced an economic crisis known as the Panic of 1819, the first major depression to hit the country since the ratification of the Constitution in 1788. The panic stemmed from declining imports and exports, and sagging agricultural prices as global markets readjusted to peacetime production and commerce in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars. The severity of the economic downturn in the U.S. was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands, fueled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns. 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.
Before the onset of the Panic of 1819, some business leaders had called on Congress to increase tariff rates to address the negative balance of trade and help struggling industries. As the panic spread, Monroe declined to call a special session of Congress to address the economy. When Congress finally reconvened in December 1819, Monroe requested an increase in the tariff but declined to recommend specific rates. Congress would not raise tariff rates until the passage of the Tariff of 1824. The panic resulted in high unemployment and an increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures, and provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprises.
In foreign affairs, Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams favored a policy of conciliation with Britain and a policy of expansionism against the Spanish Empire. In 1817, the United States and Britain signed the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which regulated naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain and demilitarized the border between the U.S. and British North America. The Treaty of 1818, also with Great Britain, was concluded October 20, 1818, and fixed the present Canada–United States border from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains at the 49th parallel. The accords also established a joint U.S.–British occupation of Oregon Country for the next ten years. Though they did not solve every outstanding issue between the U.S. and Britain, the treaties allowed for greater trade between the United States and the British Empire and helped avoid an expensive naval arms race in the Great Lakes. Late in Monroe's second term, the U.S. concluded the Russo-American Treaty of 1824 with the Russian Empire, setting the southern limit of Russian sovereignty on the Pacific coast of North America at the 54°40′ parallel (the present southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle).
In the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty with Spain, the United States secured Florida and established its western border with New Spain.
Monroe was deeply sympathetic to the Latin American revolutionary movements against Spain. He 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. He 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. Monroe initially refused to recognize the Latin American governments due to ongoing negotiations with Spain over Florida.
In March 1822, Monroe officially recognized the countries of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico, all of which had won independence from Spain. Secretary of State Adams, under Monroe's supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers to these new countries. They declared that the policy of the United States was to uphold republican institutions and to seek treaties of commerce on a most-favored-nation basis.
In 1823, Monroe announced the United States' opposition to any European intervention in the recently independent countries of the Americas with the Monroe Doctrine, which became a landmark in American foreign policy. 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.
States admitted to the Union
Five new states were admitted to the Union while Monroe was in office:
Mississippi – December 10, 1817
Illinois – December 3, 1818
Alabama – December 14, 1819
Maine – March 15, 1820
Missouri – August 10, 1821
Post-presidency (1825–1831)
When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, James Monroe resided at Monroe Hill, what is now included in the grounds of the University of Virginia. He served on the university's Board of Visitors under Jefferson and under the second rector James Madison, both former presidents, almost until his death. He and his wife lived at Oak Hill in Aldie, Virginia, until Elizabeth's death at age 62 on September 23, 1830.
Upon Elizabeth's death in 1830, Monroe moved to 63 Prince Street at Lafayette Place in New York City to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur, who had married Samuel L. Gouverneur. Monroe's health began to slowly fail by the end of the 1820s. On July 4, 1831, Monroe died at age 73 from heart failure and tuberculosis, thus becoming the third president to have died on Independence Day. His 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. Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery. 27 years later, in 1858, his body was re-interred at the President's Circle in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The James Monroe Tomb is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Marriage and family
On February 16, 1786, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright (1768–1830) in New York City. She was the daughter of Hannah Aspinwall Kortright and Laurence Kortright, a wealthy trader and former British officer. Monroe met her while serving in the Continental Congress.
After a brief honeymoon on Long Island, New York, the Monroes returned to New York City to live with her father until Congress adjourned. They then moved to Virginia, settling in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1789. They bought an estate in Charlottesville known as Ash Lawn–Highland, settling on the property in 1799. The Monroes had three children.
Eliza Monroe Hay was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1786, and was educated in Paris at the school of Madame Campan during the time her father was the United States Ambassador to France. In 1808 she married George Hay, a prominent Virginia attorney who had served as prosecutor in the trial of Aaron Burr and later as a U.S. District Judge. She died in 1840.
James Spence Monroe was born in 1799 and died sixteen months later in 1800.
Maria Hester Monroe (1802–1850) married her cousin Samuel L. Gouverneur on March 8, 1820, in the White House, the first president's child to marry there.
Plantations and slavery
Monroe sold his small Virginia plantation in 1783 to enter law and politics. Although he owned multiple properties over the course of his lifetime, his plantations were never profitable. Although he owned much more land and many more slaves, and speculated in property, he was rarely on site to oversee the operations. Overseers treated the slaves harshly to force production, but the plantations barely broke even. Monroe incurred debts by his lavish and expensive lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off. The labor of Monroe's many slaves were also used to support his daughter and son-in-law, along with a ne'er-do-well brother, Andrew, and his son, James.
During the course of his presidency, Monroe remained convinced that slavery was wrong and supported private manumission, but at the same time he insisted that any attempt to promote emancipation would cause more problems. Monroe believed that slavery had become a permanent part of southern life, and that it could only be removed on providential terms. Like so many other Upper South slaveholders, Monroe believed that a central purpose of government was to ensure "domestic tranquility" for all. Yet he also believed that the central purpose of government was to empower planters like himself.
Legacy
Historical reputation
Polls of historians and political scientists tend to rank Monroe as an above average president. Monroe presided over a period in which the United States began to turn away from European affairs and towards domestic issues. His presidency saw the United States settle many of its longstanding boundary issues through an accommodation with Britain and the acquisition of Florida. Monroe also 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 Monroe was a more effective executive than some of his better-known predecessors, including Madison and John Adams.
Memorials
See also: List of memorials to James Monroe
The capital of Liberia is named Monrovia after Monroe; it is the only national capital other than Washington, D.C., named after a U.S. president. Monroe is the namesake of seventeen Monroe counties. Monroe, Maine, Monroe, Michigan, Monroe, Georgia, Monroe, Connecticut, both Monroe Townships in New Jersey, and Fort Monroe are all named for him. Monroe has been depicted on U.S. currency and stamps, including a 1954 United States Postal Service 5¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp.
Monroe was the last U.S. 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. That earned him the nickname "The Last Cocked Hat". He was also the last president who was not photographed.
See also
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| 48 |
https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2021/02/15/adams-truman-fdr-quincy-lives-up-its-city-presidents-name/4480801001/
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'City of Presidents' has lived up to its name: Quincy is pilgrimage site for leaders
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"Fred Hanson"
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2021-02-15T00:00:00
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'City of Presidents': The Adamses were born here, but 5 other presidents came to Quincy in search of votes: Coolidge, Truman, FDR, Monroe and Taft.
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en
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The Patriot Ledger
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https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2021/02/15/adams-truman-fdr-quincy-lives-up-its-city-presidents-name/4480801001/
|
QUINCY – Some presidents were born here. Others dropped by for a visit.
The nation's second and sixth presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, were born in houses on Franklin Street, back when the city was part of Braintree.
The nation's 41st president, George H.W. Bush, was born in a house at 173 Adams St. in Milton and lived there for a few months before his family moved to Connecticut. He returned in 1997 to dedicate a marker that still stands outside the house.
At least five other presidents have visited the city while in office, most of them paying tribute to their predecessors.
The first presidential visitor was James Monroe, the fifth president, in 1817. He came to pay a call on John Adams at his Peacefield home on Adams Street. A reception was held, with many Quincy residents in attendance.
John Quincy Adams was Monroe's secretary of state.
President Calvin Coolidge spent the summer of 1925 vacationing in the North Shore town of Swampscott. On July 15, 1925, the president and first lady Grace Coolidge cruised aboard the 275-foot presidential yacht Mayflower to Quincy, docking at the Fore River shipyard.
Coolidge, who was the 30th U.S. president and a former Massachusetts governor, and his wife toured the Adams birthplaces,
"The president visited every room in both houses, shook hands with everybody," the Ledger reported.
Grace Coolidge said it was the first time she and her husband had visited the birthplaces "even though when we lived in Boston we we passed by here very often."
They then went to First Parish Church in Quincy Square to visit the crypt where the Adamses are buried with their wives before returning to the yacht for the trip back to Swampscott. Length of visit: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
During their vacation, the Coolidges also took a cruise to Plymouth and stopped in Cohasset to visit Clarence Barron, the president of Dow Jones & Co.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the city twice, stopping at the Adams birthplaces both times.
His first visit, on June 17, 1933, took place on his 105th day as president as the nation was in the depths of the Great Depression. His speech gave a boost to two of the city's major industries at the time: granite and shipbuilding.
Roosevelt, who had been assistant Navy secretary during World War I, told a crowd estimated at 10,000 people that he had been to the city before, visiting the shipyard to watch ships being built.
"I look forward to seeing more ships being built in the next few months," he said.
Roosevelt was given a granite vase by the Quincy Granite Manufacturers Association, whose members were hoping to persuade the president to use more granite in public works programs.
Roosevelt returned to the city on a campaign swing in 1936, again making a speech at the Adams houses and stopping in front of city hall, where Claire Burgin, the 5-year-old daughter of Mayor Thomas Burgin, gave first lady Eleanor Roosevelt a bouquet of flowers.
Thousands lined the motorcade route hoping to get a glimpse of the president as he went past.
The reception wasn't totally friendly.
"Numerous Landon-Knox banners floated over the Braintree street (Washington Street) over which Roosevelt passed," the Ledger reported.
Landon-Knox was the Republican presidential ticket of Kansas Gov. Alf Landon and Frank Knox, a newspaper publisher.
And while Landon was defeated nationally in a landslide, he carried Quincy, Braintree and nearby towns.
President Harry S. Truman stopped in Quincy during a whirlwind day of campaigning on Oct. 28, 1948. Truman spoke to an early-morning crowd from the steps of First Parish Church before taking a quick tour of the presidential crypt below.
"I have known about Quincy all my life," Truman told the crowd of about 10,000 people in the square. "I've known it as the home of two great men," referring to the Adamses.
After Truman finished speaking, a member of the presidential party introduced himself to the city's mayor.
"Charlie Ross, meet Charlie Ross," said the presidential press secretary to the mayor who shared the same name.
When Truman left to visit Brockton, people lined the motorcade route through Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth and Abington. He also made campaign stops in Taunton, Fall River and Warren, Rhode Island, before boarding a train in Providence to take him to a major campaign event in New York that night.
President William Howard Taft visited Quincy in 1912 when he was campaigning for reelection.
Perhaps the most spectacular presidential visit to the area took place Aug. 1,1921, when President Warren G. Harding attended the closing of Plymouth's 300th birthday celebration.
Harding arrived on the presidential yacht Mayflower, and rode in a long parade to Plymouth Rock, where he gave a speech. He later attended a performance of "The Pilgrim Spirit," an outdoor historical drama that featured a cast of 1,000.
An estimated 100,000 people crammed into the town for the event.
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https://highland.org/monroe-timeline/
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Monroe Timeline
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2013-07-08T19:31:53+00:00
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James Monroe had an extraordinary career in public service that spanned almost fifty years.
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en
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Highland
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https://highland.org/monroe-timeline/
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1758 – April 28, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the Northern Neck
1774-76 – Attended William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia
1776 – Joined the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment
1776 – December 26, wounded at the Battle of Trenton
1778 – December, wintered at Valley Forge,
1778 – June 28, fought at the Battle of Monmouth
1779 – January, resigned from the Continental Army; received appointment to lieutenant colonel by Virginia legislature
1780 – Studied law under Governor Thomas Jefferson in Richmond
1782 – Member of Virginia House of Delegates
1783-86 – Delegate to Confederation Congress
1786 – February 16, married Elizabeth Kortright; practiced law in Fredericksburg; November or December, birth of Eliza
1787-89 – Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
1788 – Member of Virginia Convention to ratify the U. S. Constitution; purchased farmland in Albemarle, Virginia
1790-94 – Served as United States Senator from Virginia
1793 – Purchased “Highland” property adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello
1794-96 – Minister to France for President George Washington
1799 – May, birth of James Spence; November 23, family moved to Highland
1799-1802 – Served as Governor of Virginia for three consecutive one-year terms
1800 – September 28, death of James Spence; Gabriel’s Rebellion
1802 – Birth of Maria Hester
1803 – Envoy to France to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase
1803-07 – Minister to England and Spain for President Jefferson
1804 – December, arrived in Spain to negotiate the purchase of Florida
1808 – September, marriage of Eliza to George Hay at Highland
1810-11 – Served as a member of Virginia House of Delegates
1811 – January to April, served as Governor of Virginia
1811-17 – Beginning in April 1811, served as Secretary of State for President James Madison
1814-15 – September 1814 to March 1815, served as Secretary of War for President Madison
1817 – October 17, laid cornerstone of Pavilion VII, the University of Virginia’s first structure
1817-25 – Served as President of the United States; his presidency became known as the “Era of Good Feelings”
1820 – March 9, marriage of Maria Hester in the White House
1823 – December 2, delivered speech known as the “Monroe Doctrine” in his address to Congress, declared as the first U.S. foreign policy
1826-31 – Served as a member of Board of Visitors, University of Virginia
1828 – Sold Highland to the Bank of the United States
1829 – President of the Virginia Constitutional Convention
1830 – September 23, death of Elizabeth Kortright Monroe
1831 – July 4, death of James Monroe in New York City
1858 – James Monroe’s body re-interred at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
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https://www.britannica.com/video/172700/overview-James-Monroe
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en
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U.S. Pres. James Monroe's life and career examined
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An overview of James Monroe.
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en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/video/172700/overview-James-Monroe
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Transcript
NARRATOR: James Monroe—the fifth president of the United States—helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase and establish the Monroe Doctrine, an influential foreign policy.
Monroe became involved in the independence movement as a teenager in Williamsburg, Virginia. He helped raid British arsenals to gain supplies for the local militia while enrolled at the College of William and Mary. He left school in 1776, at the age of 18, to fight in the American Revolution.
In December of that year, the Continental Army crossed the icy Delaware River before the Battle of Trenton. A famous painting of the crossing shows a young Monroe sitting behind George Washington, holding the American flag. Monroe did participate in the crossing, but he was probably not in the same boat as Washington. During the battle, he suffered a near-fatal shoulder wound. Monroe recovered and continued to fight through 1777 and 1778, spending the winter in between at Washington's Valley Forge camp.
At the end of 1778 he resigned from the army and returned to Williamsburg. There he studied law under Thomas Jefferson and became involved in building the new American nation.
In 1803 Jefferson—then president—sent Monroe to France to help negotiate the purchase of the port city of New Orleans. France instead offered the entire Louisiana Territory for only about three cents an acre. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.
In 1811 President James Madison named Monroe secretary of state. During the last months of the War of 1812, he also served as secretary of war.
Monroe ran for the presidency in 1816 and won over 80 percent of the electoral vote. He was reelected four years later with no one running against him. Monroe's presidency has been described as the "Era of Good Feeling" because of the lack of political conflict and the growing sense of national unity.
During his second term, Monroe introduced a policy that has become known as the Monroe Doctrine. He announced that European nations should stay out of the affairs of North and South America. If a European nation tried to form a new colony or used armed force on the Americas, it would be considered a hostile act against the United States. The Monroe Doctrine influenced the foreign policy of many presidents who followed, Theodore Roosevelt in particular.
Monroe's legacy also can be found on the African continent. The capital city of Liberia was named Monrovia in honor of the president's work with the American Colonization Society. The society helped settle Liberia as a home for freed American slaves.
The name that Monroe seemed to value most, however, was Colonel. Even as president, he preferred to be called Colonel Monroe in honor of his service in the American Revolution.
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https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/presidents/site62.htm
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en
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The Presidents (Monroe Tomb)
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Monroe Tomb
Virginia
Monroe Tomb
Hollywood Cemetery, 412 South Cherry Street, Richmond.
This tomb, a small-scale architectural masterpiece, contains the remains of President James Monroe. Upon his death in New York City on July 4, 1831, his body was interred in that city's Marble (Second Street) Cemetery. In 1858, the 100th anniversary of his birth, municipal officials and representatives of the State of Virginia decided that the remains should be returned to his home State for reburial. The Virginia legislature appropriated funds for this purpose. On July 5 the body, accompanied by the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard, arrived in Richmond on the steamboat Jamestown. That same day, an impressive burial ceremony, highlighted by a speech delivered by Gov. Henry A. Wise of Virginia, was held at the gravesite, on a high bluff overlooking the James River, in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
Monroe Tomb (National Park Service, Edward F. Heite, 1969.)
The tomb is an ornate Gothic Revival structure. Designed by Alsatian architect Albert Lybrock, it was erected in 1859. The innovative and imaginative use of cast iron, obtained from the Philadelphia firm of Wood and Perot, provided the opportunity for a delicacy and intricacy of design that was not possible on the same scale in stone.
The exhumed body of President Monroe, who had died in 1831, lies in state in New York City's City Hall in 1858, before being returned to his home state, Virginia, for reburial. (Engraving, in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, July 17, 1858, Library of Congress.)
The tomb is in the form of a rectangular "cage" surrounding Monroe's simple granite sarcophagus. Each facade is decorated with a lancet arch in the style of a cathedral window. At the top of each of these arches is a rose window tracery; below each tracery are three round arches. On the two longer sides of the rectangle, two subordinate lancet arches flank the main ones. At each of the four corners, a colonette supports a small tabernacle that rises above the top of the facades. The "cage" sits on a solid but elaborately decorated base and is surmounted by an ogive canopy featuring delicate tracery. A low stone wall encircles the tomb.
Hollywood Cemetery, on a rolling ridge overlooking the James River, also contains the graves of President John Tyler, near that of Monroe; Jefferson Davis; Gen. J. E. B. Stuart; and thousands of other Confederate soldiers.
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https://www.health.ny.gov/
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en
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New York State Department of Health
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Home page for the New York State Department of Health
|
en
| null |
Local Health Departments
Local health departments (LHD) are leading the community response to COVID-19. They provide vaccinations, boosters, testing, and guidance on quarantine and isolation. They can tell you how to best care for yourself and your family if you test positive for COVID-19.
LHDs promote healthy behaviors and protect the public from health problems and hazards.
Do you:
Need a rabies vaccine for your pet?
Feel sick after eating at a restaurant?
Need to report a potential health violation?
Have questions about health or sanitary regulations?
Want to attend a clinic to learn about child safety seats, Lyme disease, radon, or other health topics?
Contact your local health department for more information.
Visit your LHD's website:
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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1
| 10 |
https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
|
en
|
A Brief Biography of James Monroe
|
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres.
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Highland
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https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres. Initially educated at Parson Campbell’s school in Westmoreland, the future President studied at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1774 until 1776, when he enlisted in the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment.
As an 18-year-old Lieutenant, Monroe crossed the Delaware River during Gen. George Washington’s December 1776 campaign, and was wounded at the subsequent Battle of Trenton. During the winter of 1777-78, Monroe camped with the army at Valley Forge. The following June he participated in the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. After leaving the army in January 1779, he continued to serve in the Virginia Militia and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Monroe returned to Williamsburg and met Governor Thomas Jefferson, with whom he began to study the law in Richmond in the spring of 1780. Monroe and Jefferson became lifelong friends.
In February 1786 Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright of New York City. Soon after, the couple moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Monroe practiced law for three years before moving to Albemarle County, Virginia. (Today, the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is located on the property where Monroe’s law office once stood.)
The Monroes had three children—Eliza (born in late 1786), James Spence Monroe (born in May 1799, died in September 1800), and Maria Hester (born in the spring of 1802). For 24 years—from 1799 to 1823—the Monroe family home was Highland, Monroe’s Albemarle County property adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello.
Monroe’s fifty years of public service began in 1782 with his election to the Virginia General Assembly. Subsequently, Monroe served in the Confederation Congress and in the first United States Senate; was twice Minister to France, and later Minister to England and to Spain. He was elected to four one-year terms as Governor of Virginia, became Secretary of State for the remainder of President James Madison’s two terms, and also served as Secretary of War during the War of 1812. Monroe’s greatest achievement as a diplomat was his negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Elected President of the United States in 1816 and in 1820, James Monroe resolved long-standing grievances with the British, acquired Florida from Spain in 1819, and proclaimed the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823. Optimistically labeled the “Era of Good Feelings,” Monroe’s administration was hampered by the economic depression brought on by the “Panic of 1819,” and by the debates over the Missouri Compromise that same year. Nonetheless, the Missouri Compromise—along with its admission of two new states—was one of Monroe’s political accomplishments, achieved through behind-the-scenes negotiation and consensus-building. Monroe supported the American Colonization Society which established the west-Africa nation of Liberia for freed blacks. Its capital was named Monrovia in his honor. Monroe himself was torn between his belief that slavery was an evil institution, and his fear of the consequences of immediate abolition.
A nationalist in diplomacy and defense, James Monroe supported a limited executive branch of the federal government, distrusted a strong central government in domestic matters, extolled the advantages of industrious famers and craftspeople, and advocated republican virtue—the notion that the needs of the public should be paramount over personal greed and party ambition.
A tall, slender man, Monroe distinguished himself throughout his career with his careful deliberation and cautious action. Known as a solid and able leader, Monroe, as President, assembled a particularly strong and talented cabinet. He helped define the young United States in a world dominated by numerous European powers, and contributed in multiple ways to the nation’s successful western expansion. James Monroe achieved distinction as a successful diplomat and administrator, and furthered our country’s strong national identity.
James Monroe died in New York City—at the home of his daughter Maria Hester Gouverneur—on July 4, 1831, exactly five years after the simultaneous deaths of Jefferson and John Adams. In 1858 his body was reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
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https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-monroe
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James Monroe
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James Monroe, the last of the “Founding Father presidents,” was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Born to Spence Monroe and...
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/themes/client/abt/favicon.ico
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American Battlefield Trust
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https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-monroe
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James Monroe, the last of the “Founding Father presidents,” was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Born to Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, his family was made up of patriots. His father joined the Northern Neck Farmers in 1766 in protest of the Stamp Act, his uncle Joseph Jones was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and was close friends with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. Monroe looked up to his uncle a great deal and would later base his political identity on that of his uncle.
Monroe first attended school at the age of eleven. It was at Westmoreland County’s only school that he met his lifelong friend, and future chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall. By the age of sixteen, Monroe lost both of his parents, and Joseph Jones became his adopted father. Jones took an active role in his nephew’s life. In 1774, Jones took Monroe to Williamsburg and enrolled him in the College of William and Mary. A year and a half after his enrollment, the War for Independence erupted between colonial and British forces. The future president dropped out of college and joined the Continental Army. As Monroe was literate, healthy, and a good shot, he was made a lieutenant.
The lieutenant first saw action in the New York and New Jersey campaign. Along with several hundred Virginians, Monroe went to support Washington’s army in its nearly disastrous retreat from New York City. Monroe took part in the famous December 1776 crossing of the Delaware River and the surprise attack on the Hessians in Trenton. Monroe suffered a severe injury during the skirmish when a musket ball hit him in the shoulder. Monroe would have died, had it not been for a doctor, who tied his severed artery immediately after the wounding. For his bravery in the campaign, Washington made Monroe a captain. After the New York and New Jersey campaigns, Monroe returned home to recruit.
The 18-year-old captain returned to the continental army in August 1777 as an aide to Lord Stirling (William Alexander). He saw action at Brandywine Creek, where he tended to a wounded Marquis de Lafayette. Monroe was once again promoted to major and Stirling’s aide-de-camp. Monroe was present during the harsh winter at Valley Forge, where he shared a hut with his childhood friend John Marshall. Monroe was present at the Battle of Monmouth. He continued to serve under Washington through the summer and fall of 1778, but likely due to self-financing his service, he was forced to return home and resign. However, in the spring of 1779, after letters of recommendations from Washington and Alexander Hamilton, Monroe received a commission as a lieutenant colonel. With his position, the Virginia Assembly promised to provide troops for him to lead; however, the Assembly could not raise a militia resulting from inadequate resources. Instead, he received a position as an aide to then Governor of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, in charge of Virginia’s militia, promoted Monroe to the rank of colonel. Jefferson ordered him to establish communications between the southern army and the government of Virginia. Monroe continued to seek a command, but there was an abundance of commanders and Virginia had no excess of money, and as a result, Monroe could not participate in the Yorktown campaign.
After the war concluded, Monroe continued to study law under Jefferson. Monroe was not particularly interested in law; however, the young veteran knew law offered the most possibility for power and wealth within the budding nation. In 1782 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and in 1783 was elected to the Congress of the Confederation. Even during his early political career, Monroe advocated for western expansion and protection, the policy positions which would dominate his presidency. While a member of the congress Monroe toured the western American territories and used his experience to amend and enact the Northwest Ordinance, organizing the region of the United States. Monroe was opposed to the Constitution, as it gave the national government taxation power, and he voted against the final document. Despite Monroe’s opposition, the Virginia ratifying committee ratified the Constitution.
During the elections for the First Congress, Monroe ran for a senate seat against his close friend, James Madison. Madison and Monroe did not let political animosity destroy their friendship, and often traveled with each other. Madison prevailed, and Monroe lost the election, but after the death of Senator William Grayson, less than a year after the establishment of Congress, Monroe was elected to serve the remainder of Grayson’s term.
In 1792 Monroe came into conflict with Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. During an investigation into the misuse of federal funds, Monroe found evidence that a co-conspirator in the plot, James Reynolds, received payments from Hamilton. Monroe, believed that Hamilton had been involved in the plot and prepared a comprehensive report of the crime; however, before publishing the story, he brought the evidence to Hamilton. Hamilton then confessed to what became the “Reynolds Affair.” Hamilton had not been stealing money from the government but instead had been having an affair with Reynold’s wife, Maria. Monroe believed Hamilton and promised to keep the scandal under wraps. However, a secretary working for Monroe sent the investigation to a scandal writer, making the issue public. This publication nearly brought Monroe and Hamilton to a duel; however, the senator’s second, Aaron Burr, negotiated a truce. Burr called the dispute, “childish.”
As political tensions between Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and Hamiltonian Federalists exploded, Monroe stood with his friend and fellow Virginian, Jefferson. As the Democratic-Republicans had vigorously supported the French Revolution, in 1794 Washington, hoping to capitalize on Monroe’s French allegiance, sent Monroe to be the ambassador to France. As an ambassador, Monroe protected American trade, released Thomas Paine, whom French revolutionaries arrested during their own revolution because of French leadership’s unwillingness to acknowledge his American citizenship, and secured US navigation rights on the Mississippi River.
Monroe’s time as ambassador came quickly to an end after the US negotiated the Jay Treaty. No one in the Federal government provided Monroe with the details of the deal, and when it was published, the specifics outraged the French and Monroe. The ambassador was also angered by the fact that George Washington withheld the details from him; this division between old friends destroyed their relationship. In 1796, frustrated with Monroe’s opposition, Washington removed him from the position of ambassador for “incompetence.” Monroe later wrote a lengthy defense of his time in France and criticized the Washington government for growing closer with the British.
In 1799 Monroe was elected governor of Virginia. As governor Monroe increased state involvement in education and transportation, he also invested in the state militia. He supported the candidacy of Thomas Jefferson in 1800, by appointing election officials favorable to Jefferson to ensure his presidential victory. Jefferson capitalized on this support and Monroe’s ambassadorial past, by sending him to France to assist in the Louisiana Purchase. While negotiating, Jefferson made Monroe the ambassador to Britain. Jefferson gave orders to purchase only West Florida and New Orleans for at most nine million dollars, Monroe disobeyed Jefferson and bought all of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars. Monroe’s actions did not anger Jefferson; rather he was very pleased with the purchase, the president even offered Monroe the position of the first governor of the new territory, he declined and remained in Europe to continue as ambassador to the British. In 1806 Monroe negotiated the Monroe-Pickney treaty, which would extend the Jay Treaty, which ironically Monroe had opposed a decade earlier, Jefferson who strongly opposed the Jay Treaty also opposed the Monroe-Pickney deal, and it was as a result never ratified. This failure allowed tensions to grow over the following six years, leading to the War of 1812.
Though some members of the Democratic-Republican party wanted to run Monroe for president in 1808, Jefferson and Madison pressured Monroe to put his presidential aspirations on hold. This coercion deeply disappointed Monroe, and though he quickly reconciled with Jefferson, Monroe and Madison would not even speak, again, until 1810. In 1811 Monroe was once again elected the governor of Virginia, however, in April of that year, Madison appointed him Secretary of State forcing him to leave the gubernatorial position. By selecting Monroe, Madison sought to quell instability within the party, along with reconciling with his former friend. As Secretary of State Monroe worked diligently to prevent the practice of impressment, he found progress with the French, however; the British would not negotiate and in 1812 Monroe joined Henry Clay and the “War Hawks” and called for war. Madison followed Monroe’s advice, and the War of 1812 began.
The War of 1812 cemented Monroe into the public eye as a leader. Monroe served as Secretary of State, where he sent John Quincy Adams to negotiations in Ghent. In 1814 Madison made Monroe Secretary of War, and Monroe resigned from his position as Secretary of State, but Madison never appointed a new Secretary of State, and as a result, for a brief time, Monroe served a joint role as both Secretary of State and Secretary of War.
After the war concluded in 1815, Monroe decided to run for president in 1816. Monroe had become a hero through his leadership in the war. Monroe won the presidency with an electoral vote of 183 to 34.
Monroe, as president broke with tradition and built his cabinet, not through hard party lines but instead based on whom he believed would execute each role successfully. Which partly resulted in the Federalist Party falling into obscurity while Democratic-Republicans did not act in lockstep. The adjournment of national political identities created what is often known as “the era of good feelings.” Many “good feelings” did characterize Monroe’s presidency, especially regarding land acquisition, the president acquired Florida through the Adams-Onis Treaty, along with settling border disputes in the north and the Oregon territory. However, it was not all good feelings in the era of Monroe; in 1819, America had its first economic crisis, “The Panic of 1819.” Monroe used infrastructure projects to bolster the economy while also remaining within the structure of the Constitution.
Along with economic panic, Monroe’s presidency saw the beginnings of sectional divisions over the expansion of slavery as the new lands acquired in the years since the signing of the Constitution were formed into territories, which were now eligible for statehood. When Missouri sought statehood as a slave state, many believed the balance of power between free and slave states would shift in favor of slave states. The solution to the issue was the Missouri Compromise. The compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to continue the balance of power, while also dividing unorganized territories between north and south.
Monroe’s most lasting legacy is his “Monroe Doctrine.” Monroe and his secretary of state John Quincy Adams had grown increasingly frustrated with European intervention in Latin America as many former colonies in Latin America became independent states, Monroe and Adams prepared a speech for the State of Union espousing a new ideology for America, the “Monroe Doctrine” as it came to be known by the 1850s. The Doctrine decreed that if European powers sought colonization within the American continents, that it would be perceived and not only an attack on the free independent peoples of that state, but on America as well. This Doctrine had little to no effect on the world during Monroe’s time. America did not yield much political or war powers and as a result, it extensively ignored by European powers and minorly appreciated by Latin American states. However, Monroe’s Doctrine would be repeated by US president long into the future. President James K. Polk used the Doctrine to justify Manifest Destiny, and the proliferation of a war with Mexico. Ulysses S. Grant used the Doctrine to replace European influence in Latin America, under President James Garfield, the Monroe Doctrine introduced the US as a “big brother” to Latin American countries. President Teddy Roosevelt added his “Roosevelt Corollary” to the Doctrine, to justify US imperialism into Latin America. Even President John F. Kennedy cited the Doctrine during the Cuban Revolution. The Monroe doctrine was not just Monroe’s personal foreign policy but became the prevailing American ideology regarding Latin America.
Monroe was the last president to serve in the War for American independence, and his presidency saw America truly becoming its own country. America began to consolidate its expansion, fight against future colonization, and even grapple with its issue of slavery. Monroe would be remembered three times fighting for independence—in the revolution, in the War for 1812, and in the Monroe Doctrine.
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https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-james-monroe/3767612.html
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James Monroe: Likeable
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2023-03-25T21:58:10+00:00
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James Monroe easily won election in 1816. He had a relaxed, likeable personality and was popular with voters. In addition, many saw him as a last connection to the country’s founding generation.
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Voice of America
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https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-james-monroe/3767612.html
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VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.
James Monroe easily won election in 1816. He had a relaxed, likeable personality and was popular with voters. In addition, many saw him as a last connection to the country’s founding generation.
Monroe had fought in George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War against British rule.
He was a diplomat during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency and helped complete the Louisiana Purchase.
Monroe served as James Madison’s secretary of state — and briefly as his secretary of war, as well – during the War of 1812.
Voters’ positive feelings carried Monroe into office and defined his presidency.
Era of Good Feelings
When Monroe became president, the United States had just declared victory against British forces in the War of 1812. The American economy also was doing well, at least at first. And the government was mostly united under a single party.
But Monroe did have one immediate problem: He and his wife, Elizabeth, could not move into the president’s house right away. The British had burned it badly in an attack on Washington, D.C. Workers were busy making repairs.
So, Monroe decided to go on a trip. He spent the first weeks of his presidency traveling.
He went north into New England, visiting important places from the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Everywhere he went he reminded Americans of their shared, proud history. He even wore clothes in the old colonial style. One of Monroe’s nicknames is “the last of the cocked hats.”
Then President Monroe turned west, toward lands that white migrants were increasingly settling. They were able to move west in part because American soldiers had defeated a powerful alliance of Native American tribes.
What had been a victory for the U.S. government was a crushing loss for Native Americans. Many tribes moved farther west. Others began to lose their languages and their customs as white settlers took control.
For Monroe, however, the visit west was a positive sign of the country’s expansion.
By the time he returned to Washington, Monroe had met many Americans. He had learned for himself the geography of the country. And he had demonstrated that all parts of the U.S. could be connected by patriotism and a common federal government.
One newspaper called Monroe’s presidency the beginning of an “Era of Good Feelings.”
Four years later, Monroe won a second term even more easily than his first.
The Missouri Compromise
Yet James Monroe’s presidency had several crises.
One was the country’s first economic depression in more than 30 years.
Another was over slavery. The country had been divided over the issue since its founding. By the end of 1819, eleven states, all in the South, permitted slavery. Eleven states, all in the North, did not.
The question became: Would the new states in the West permit it?
Monroe had to face the question when settlers asked Congress permission for Missouri Territory to become a state. Many enslaved people already lived there. White settlers expected to bring more.
But a member of Congress from a Northern state proposed that Missouri could become a state only if it banned slavery. That proposal started a debate that lasted more than a year.
For the most part, the debate was not based on the moral problems with people owning other people. Instead, it involved economic and political concerns.
Northerners argued that slave-holding states had an unfair economic advantage. In addition, if Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, its lawmakers would move the balance of power toward the South.
The debate continued so long that another area asked to enter the Union. People in northern Massachusetts wanted to organize into an independent state called Maine.
After some time, lawmakers offered a compromise. They said Maine could be admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. But they also made a line across a map of the country. They said Congress would not admit another slave state north of that line.
James Monroe signed into law what became known as the Missouri Compromise. It settled the issue of slavery, at least officially, in the U.S. for more than 20 years. But everyone knew that the peace between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups was only temporary.
The Monroe Doctrine
In 1823, Monroe made one of the most important foreign policy decisions in American history. It became known as the Monroe Doctrine. It related to Spain’s colonies in Latin America.
Monroe had dealt with Spain before. In his first term, he and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, successfully negotiated with Spain to buy Florida for the United States.
By Monroe’s second term, Spain had also lost control of some of its former colonies in Latin America. The president became concerned that Spain’s European allies would try to help the country re-gain power. He did not want European powers interfering in areas so close to U.S. territory and so important to U.S. trade.
So Monroe gave a speech to Congress. He said the U.S. would stay out of Europe’s affairs. But he said Europe should also stay out of Latin America’s affairs.
And, Monroe declared that European powers would not be permitted to begin colonizing any area in the Western Hemisphere.
In other words, Monroe declared that the U.S. considered the entire Western Hemisphere its sphere of influence.
Historians note that Monroe did not aim for the declaration to be a major statement. But it became a base of American foreign policy and supported U.S. expansion throughout the 19th century.
Final years
James Monroe was the fourth and last president in the “Virginia Dynasty.” Except for John Adams, four of the first five American presidents were from Virginia.
Monroe and his wife returned to their home there after he left office. They had a close relationship with each other, as well as with their two surviving children, both daughters.
Unlike many politicians of his time, Monroe had brought his family with him on his travels. He also believed strongly in education for girls. When the Monroes lived in France, young Eliza Monroe attended the best school for girls in Paris.
This loving family spent as much time together as possible. So, when Elizabeth Monroe died, James Monroe was filled with sorrow. His health also began to fail.
He moved to the house of his younger daughter, Maria, in New York City. James Monroe died there one year later, at age 73.
Like two other former presidents, Monroe died on the 4th of July – America’s birthday.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
See how well you understand the story of the fifth president by taking this listening quiz. Play each video and then choose the best answer.
______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
relaxed - adj. informal and comfortable
positive - adj. hopeful and optimistic
remind - v. make someone think about something again
geography - n. the natural features of a place
advantage - n. a condition that helps to make something better or more likely to succeed than others
affair - n. a matter that concerns or involves someone
sphere of influence - n. an area of control or activity
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Melde dich bei Facebook an, um dich mit deinen Freunden, deiner Familie und Personen, die du kennst, zu verbinden und Inhalte zu teilen.
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https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-monroe-papers/articles-and-essays/provenance-of-the-james-monroe-papers/
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Provenance of the James Monroe Papers
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How did the James Monroe papers come to the Library of Congress? This essay by Dorothy S. Eaton, a former curator in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, tells the story. The essay is included in the Index to the James Monroe Papers (1963).
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The Library of Congress
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How did the James Monroe papers come to the Library of Congress? This essay by Dorothy S. Eaton, a former curator in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, tells the story. The essay is included in the Index to the James Monroe Papers (1963).
When James Monroe retired from the Presidency on March 4, 1825, he returned to Oak Hill, his estate in Loudoun County,Va.1 In the years that followed, his attempts to pay his debts and to better his financial condition must have required the steady use of a great many of the papers he had accumulated during his long years of public service, particularly those which could further the investigation of his accounts that he had asked Congress to make. Annotations on many of the papers give evidence that Monroe made some attempt to organize them; this was doubtless done during the years of his retirement.
To stimulate action by Congress he wrote a long paper on his "unsettled claims" in the summer of 1826 and sent it to Gales and Seaton in Washington for publication.2 The following year he undertook the preparation of two additional papers which he hoped would raise money through sales. The first of these was a comparison of the Government of the United States with other, older, republics;3 the second was his autobiography.4
Another means of raising money was suggested to him in correspondence with Nicholas P. Trist, who wrote him on January 27, 1828, from Monticello:
I suppose you have kept copies of all yr. letters to Mr. J[efferson] — There are among them numerous evid[en]ces of the pure disinterestedness of yr. course, & of the fact that in taking those steps wh. launched you irrevocably on the sea of public life, you were actuated solely by devotion to yr. country, to the well understood disparagemt. of yr. individual interests. That you may reap a reward somewhat commensurate with these sacrifices is with me more a wish than a hope. Will you permit me to ask however whether you cd. not at once avail yourself of the value of yr. papers, by pledging the proceeds of their future public[atio]n, in consid[eratio]n of a loan? If I mistake not, such a measure would be far from unexampled; wd. it be impracticable?
In Monroe's reply, on February 8, he wrote: "I have examined my papers, and find that I have, as I believe, all the letters, that were ever written to me by Mr. Jefferson. The first bears date in 1780, while I was reading the law under him. . . . I have copies, but I am satisfied, that I have not, of a fifth, of them I wrote him." He offered to send Jefferson's letters to Thomas Jefferson Randolph if he would be gratified to possess them, an offer that was apparently not accepted, and he added: "Your suggestion as to the sale of my papers, or pledge of them, merits attention."5
Monroe's study of republics and his autobiography were incomplete, and his claims before Congress were still unresolved, when Mrs. Monroe died in September 1830. Two months later financial difficulties and ill health forced him to leave Oak Hill and to make his home with his younger daughter, Maria, and her husband, Samuel L. Gouverneur, in New York City. The latter was acting as Monroe's agent in dealing with the several committees of Congress investigating his claims, and for this purpose Monroe had supplied his son-in-law with selections from his papers from time to time, as shown in letters exchanged by the two men. In addition to papers that might already have been in New York, it is reasonable to suppose that Monroe took with him when he left Virginia such papers as he would need to continue work on his autobiography. Nevertheless, an undetermined number of his papers were at Oak Hill when Monroe died in New York City on July 4, 1831.6
In his will, Samuel L. Gouverneur was named "sole and exclusive executor" and was asked to care for Monroe's older daughter Elizabeth, whose husband, Judge George Hay, had died the previous autumn. The Monroe papers were mentioned somewhat obliquely in the following provision: "... with respect to the works in which I am engaged and leave behind, I commit the care and publication of them to my son in law Samuel L. Gouvernieur [sic], giving to him one third of the profits arising therefrom for his trouble in preparing them for publication, one third to my daughter Maria and one third to my daughter Elizabeth."7
In the first month of Gouverneur's proprietorship of the papers, he lent a small number to John Quincy Adams, who was to deliver a eulogy to Monroe in Boston at the invitation of the city government. On July 19, Gouverneur wrote: "As a means of affording you all the interesting details of Mr. Monroe's early life, in the most ample form, and with the greatest precision, I have taken the liberty to enclose you the first 60 or 70 sheets of a sketch prepared by himself, & which together with all his other interesting papers, he entrusted to my special charge. . . . With the history of his life for the later years, you are well acquainted. He has left copious notes & a most extensive correspondence but he was prevented by death, from completing that portion of his career, even in the shape, which the present has assumed." Apparently he sent additional papers a week later, because Adams, in a letter of August 30, wrote that he was returning "the papers transmitted to me with your letter of the 26th. ulto." and added that "The manuscript of Mr. Monroe shall be returned in the course of a few days — By a private hand if an opportunity should present itself. Before the end of the week I hope to forward a printed Copy of the Eulogy."
Early the following year Richard Rush, writing from York, Pa., asked Gouverneur to return the personal letters he had written to Monroe while he was minister to England: "I wrote often to him, and with a freedom that would not have been justifiable in my public despatches. . . . It is on this account that I should be glad to have them in my possession, lest by any chances hereafter any portion of them should come to be mixed up with his manuscripts . . . and in that way run the risk of publicity." The nature of Gouverneur's reply is suggested by the next letter he received from Rush: "Its obliging sentiments . . . leave me no anxiety on the score of the private and confidential letters alluded to. . . . if any parts of them can, in the judgement of others, be made subsidiary to the better understanding of any of Mr. Monroe's services, there is no scruple even that I would not forego on my part; so much did I honor him as a statesman, revere him as a patriot, and love him as a man. At the same time the promise you are so good as to give that no use will be made of any paper from me without my approbation . . . is a relief."
Gouverneur was again reminded of his responsibilities as custodian of the Monroe papers three years later, when he received an anonymous letter written by "A Virginian" in "Alexandria, District of Columbia," on June 11, 1835: ". . . the character of your illustrious kinsman is already marked a victim for the sacrifice.
Let me implore you as you revere his name and reverence his memory — let me intreat you as patriot and an honorable man — let me caution you as you value your own reputation hold on to every scrap of writing that may be in your possession in any manner connected with his private or public life — preserve every paper that concerns him, for as you life [sic], if you respect his memory you will have use for them.
Apparently Gouverneur did some work toward preparing the papers for publication during the 1830's and a manuscript relating to Monroe, which he started to, write, is said to have survived.8 He was busy with other pursuits, however — he was Postmaster of New York City from 1828 to 1836 and part owner of the Bowery Theatre there — and he seems not to have found work on the Monroe papers a congenial occupation. Nevertheless there is no evidence that he was ready to accept the offer of help he received from Barnabus Bates of New York City, who, in a letter of February 13, 1839, agreed to prepare and publish a memoir on Monroe "upon terms which shall be mutually advantageous and satisfactory." Bates had heard through Commodore Charles Goodwin Ridgely, then in charge of the Navy Yard at New York, that Gouverneur possessed "a very interesting correspondence between Presdts. Jefferson and Monroe in relation to the Gun Boat system recommended by the former," and he suggested that Gouverneur "procure while in Virginia any papers necessary to accomplish the object."
In contrast Gouverneur took positive action in regard to the papers during the following decade.
Elizabeth Kortright Hay, Monroe's older daughter, died in 1840 and in the same year Samuel and Maria Gouverneur moved from New York City to Washington, where they lived in the De Menou buildings on H Street.9 They also spent periods of each year at Oak Hill. Gouverneur worked in the Consular Bureau of the Department of State from 1844 to 1849, when he resigned because of the "afflicted state" of his family and because a promised advancement had not materialized.10
It must have been about the time he entered Government service that Gouverneur became acquainted with Henry O'Reilly (or O'Rielly, as he later spelled his name), a vigorous young man who had been editor of the Rochester Daily Advertiser in Rochester, N.Y., and who was active in many causes. According to a long, rather rambling memorandum O'Reilly wrote many years later, Gouverneur first tried to persuade him to occupy the farm at Oak Hill and to assist in disposing of the property, and later Gouverneur sought his help in connection with the Monroe papers: "In the course of our acquaintance Mr. Gouverneur suggested to me, without any solicitation on my part, that he & others wished me to take charge & control of the Ex-President's records & other Papers with a view to the Publication of A Selection from those papers along with a memoir of Mr. Monroe &c in case it should be found that a sale of the whole mass could not be made to the Government. . . ."11
Gouverneur did indeed turn over to O'Reilly what appears to have been in the major part of the Monroe papers, probably in 1844 or 1845. In the latter year O'Reilly also entered into a contract with Samuel F. B. Morse and Amos Kendall to raise capital for telegraph lines from Eastern Pennsylvania to St. Louis and the Great Lakes, and his work in this connection must have left him little time to give to the Monroe papers. Even their exact location during the mid-1840's is uncertain although glancing references in some of his letters make it likely that O'Reilly deposited them somewhere in New York City while his work of erecting telegraph lines took him from place to place. Samuel L. Gouverneur himself seems not to have known where they were being stored. His concern is evident in a letter he wrote to O'Reilly on May 17, 1847, in which he also outlined terms for the treatment of the papers:
I should have written you before — but from the uncertainty where a letter would find you — I see by the papers (notices of arrivals, etc.) that you are in New York [actually this letter was forwarded to Philadelphia].
I propose in reply to yours that we should divide the proceeds — first deducting 1/8 to be allowed to the Estate of Mr. Monroe. This is on the supposition that the Heirs at law might expect something, & I should agree to fix the sum at that. I also wish it stipulated that the entire control of published matter in reference to Mr. Monroe should be vested in me — I mean that no papers should be published without my assent first had. This I consider just & right, especially as some matter might refer to questions of a personal or delicate nature. Let me have your reply to the above.
I hope you have the papers all in a place of perfect security as I value them very highly, & would be unwilling to run the risk of loss or accident to them when will you be this way — I should be glad to have a talk with you. . . .
Not having heard from O'Reilly, Gouverneur wrote again nearly five months later, on October 14, asking him to drop a line and Aassure me respecting which, I feel some anxiety, that all my papers, are safely deposited, where no accident can befall them." This letter apparently reached O'Reilly in Cincinnati, Ohio.12
The first and apparently only substantial use that was made of the Monroe Papers while they were in Gouverneur's custody occurred the following year. Gouverneur requested O'Reilly to make transcripts of a number of papers for Senator James D. Westcott, Jr., of Florida, and he himself lent the Senator a parcel of original manuscripts he had retained. The texts or references to these were incorporated in Westcott's speech of July 25, 1848, on the territorial government
of Oregon.13
The stalemate on making effective arrangements to publish or sell the Monroe papers seems finally to have been broken in 1848. Doubtless an important factor in this matter was the purchase made by the Government that year of papers of James Madison (a second segment), of Alexander Hamilton, and of Thomas Jefferson. On December 14, Richard Smith, the executor of Elizabeth K. Hay's estate, agreed to accept one-eighth of the proceeds of any publication or sale (rather than the one-third share specified in James Monroe's will) provided the estate was exonerated from any costs connected with the transactions.14 This was followed on December 28 by a formal agreement between Samuel L. Gouverneur and Henry O'Reilly, by which any profits resulting from publication of the papers would be divided so as to give three-eighths to O'Reilly, one-eighth to the estate of President Monroe, and four-eighths to Gouverneur. If, however, the papers were sold for not less than $20,000, O'Reilly was to get thirty percent of the proceeds and to pay one-third of this amount to Eliab Kingman and others assisting in the sale, while Gouverneur was to get the other seventy percent and to pay from this sum one-eighth of the entire proceeds to the estate of James Monroe.15
Upon completion of these arrangements Gouverneur addressed a petition to Congress on January 1, 1849, asking aid from the Government in publishing the manuscript papers of James Monroe.16 Presented by Senator John A. Dix of New York on January 3, the petition was ordered to be printed and referred to the Committee on the Library.17 Gouverneur apparently learned later that month that the Congress preferred to purchase the manuscripts rather than subscribe to their publication, and at this point O'Reilly, through an agent, formally relinquished his rights under the contract with Gouverneur so that the purchase could proceed without complication.18 On February 28 the Senate, by a vote of 28 to 20, approved the purchase of the Monroe papers for $20,000. On March 2 the House concurred in an amendment proposed by the Committee of Ways and Means that the purchase be limited to papers not of a private character;19 and on the following day it was enacted, as part of the act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of Government for the year ending June 30, 1850, that "the manuscript books and papers of the late James Monroe" be purchased for the above amount and be deposited in the Department of State.20 On March 13 Gouverneur signed an indenture of bargain and sale of "all the said Manuscript Books & Papers of the said James Monroe together with all copyright, title, interest, property, claim & demand whatsoever of, in, and to the same," and on the same day the transaction was completed when Secretary of State John M. Clayton signed a receipt for the material and First Auditor William Collins signed a certificate that the sum of $20,000 was payable to Samuel L. Gouverneur as executor of the estate of James Monroe.21
Historian James Schouler was perhaps the first person to use the Monroe papers for historical research while they were in the Department of State. In 1882 he described them as "a huge mass of interesting matter relative to our earlier national history, which lies unassorted in the Department of State and for whose editorial supervision and publication it is to be fervently hoped that Congress will some day make suitable provision."22
This situation was rectified when Congress, by acts approved March 2, 1889, and August 30, 1890, appropriated money for the repair, mounting, and binding of the papers.23 They were arranged in two chronological series (one comprising manuscripts by Monroe, the other manuscripts addressed or referred to him) and were bound in 22 volumes. A calendar of the papers, which reflected the two series but with entries arranged alphabetically by writer of each manuscript, was prepared and published by the Department of State in preliminary form in 1889 and in a corrected edition in 1893.24 Seven years later the Librarian of the Department of State prepared a seven-volume unofficial edition of the writings of Monroe.25
As a result of an Executive Order of March 9, 1903, the Monroe Papers were transferred to the Library of Congress. The 22 volumes were received in the Manuscript Division on November 5, 1903, and were associated with two letterbooks (now designated as Series 3 of the papers), which had been acquired by the Library from an undetermined source some time before 1898.26 Less than a year after their receipt, the Library published a chronological list of the papers which had been received by transfer (slightly more than 2,650 manuscripts), the items included in the letterbooks, and a few Monroe manuscripts located in other collections in the Library.27
At this point in the story it is necessary to consider the papers which were deemed to be of a "private character," and which were therefore retained by Samuel L. Gouverneur. Maria Monroe Gouverneur died on June 20, 1850, at Oak Hill. She was survived by her husband and three children, a daughter Elizabeth and two sons, Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., and James Monroe Gouverneur. In 1852 Oak Hill, the former Monroe estate, was sold28 and at some time during the following year Samuel L. Gouverneur married Mary Digges Lee, a granddaughter of Governor Thomas Sim Lee. The couple made their home at the Lee estate of Needwood, near Petersville, Md., and Gouverneur, who was presumably custodian of the remaining Monroe papers, died there on September 29, 1865.29 His will, filed among records of the Orphan's Court of Frederick County, Md., shows that he bequeathed his entire estate to the second Mrs. Gouverneur.
Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., brought an action of replevin against Mrs. Mary Digges Lee Gouverneur in the Circuit Court of Frederick County in 1866 to recover his mothers' patrimony. The record of this case, which was decided in his favor in October 1868, shows that he sought the return of furniture, paintings, and other household ornaments. The Monroe papers were not mentioned.30 One may assume, moreover, from the preface to his edition of Monroe's The People the Sovereigns (1867) that he had only this one manuscript from his grandfather's papers and that it had been in his possession for some years. Nevertheless, three years after his death in 1880, there appeared a published reference to an important segment of Monroe papers which were then in the possession of his widow, Mrs. Marian Campbell Gouverneur.31 This lends credence to the family tradition that several hundred Monroe papers were found in secret compartments of the desk on which the address that incorporated the Monroe Doctrine was signed.32
Some time before 1889 these papers were deposited in the Department of State, where a calendar of them was prepared.33 They had evidently been returned to Mrs. Gouverneur by 1892; Acting Secretary of State William F. Wharton referred to the "Gouverneur collection" as having been in her possession when he complied with a Senate request of February 3, 1892, for information about unpublished Monroe papers.34
Former President Rutherford B. Hayes called the attention of the Librarian of Congress to Mrs. Gouverneur's manuscripts in 188835 and on two occasions (in 1902 and from 1922 to 1927) the entire group was deposited in the Library with a view to purchase and for safekeeping.36 Purchase was not effected.37
Prior to the death of Mrs. Samuel L. Gouverneur, Jr., the "Gouverneur collection" of Monroe papers was given to her three daughters, Maud Campbell Gouverneur, Mrs. Rose Gouverneur Hoes, and Mrs. Ruth Monroe Johnson. It was kept as a unit until the death of Mrs. Hoes, after which a division was made. Mrs. Hoes' share was divided between her two sons, Gouverneur and Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, and the latter also was given' the share inherited by his aunt, Maud C. Gouverneur. Mrs. Johnson gave her share to her son, Monroe Johnson.38
That portion of the "Gouverneur collection" which came into the possession of Laurence G. Hoes is now in the James Monroe Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Va. He has generously allowed the Library to make photocopies of this group and these now comprise Series 2 of the Library's Monroe papers. The portion which had belonged to Major Gouverneur Hoes (205 manuscripts) was purchased by the Library from his widow, Mrs. Gourley Edwards Hoes, in 1950; these papers have been interfiled in the chronologically arranged Series 1, where they can be identified by the legend "Ac. 9405" on the lower left corner of the first page of each document. Of the one-third share of the original "Gouverneur collection" given to Monroe Johnson the Library purchased a total of 184 pieces from him in 1931 ("Ac. 4167A" appears on the first page of each of these manuscripts, filed in Series 1 ), and in 1932 Mr. Johnson deposited what was presumably the remainder of his holding of Monroe papers — 95 manuscripts — in the Library of the College of William and Mary.
The Monroe papers that remained at Needwood when Samuel L. Gouverneur, Sr., died in 1865 became the property of his widow, Mrs. Mary Digges Lee Gouverneur. It has not been possible to determine the exact number of manuscripts that composed this segment, although there is evidence that it was considerably larger than the segment that formed the "Governeur collection."
Three months after Mrs. Gouverneur died at Needwood on October 4, 189839 a part of the Monroe papers she owned was mentioned in correspondence between her nephew, John Lambert Cadwalader of New York, and the executor of her estate, Charles O'Donnell Lee of Baltimore,40 Mrs. Gouverneur's nephew. On January 11, 1899, the former wrote:
. . . When the papers to which I referred in a previous letter, were received by me, now two or three years ago, I intended to have them examined by an expert, and there was some sort of an understanding that something should be done with them in so far as they were of a public character. One or two documents were given away with Mrs. Gouverneur's consent, not of any particular value, and I had it in mind to suggest to her some distribution of the papers in one or two public places, leaving, as she expressed it to me, some considerable part for yourself.
However nothing was done, nor were the papers during her lifetime ever entirely examined by any experts. I have since had the papers examined, through Dr. Billings, the Director of the New York Public Library, and I enclose his memorandum [in which the papers were valued at $750]. . . .
Of course, these papers, although a part of the papers of my uncle, Mr. Gouverneur, and which he received from Mr. Monroe, are, nevertheless, a part of Mrs. Gouverneur's estate, and I do not know what disposition you propose to make of them. Should you desire on behalf of Mrs. Gouverneur's estate to sell all of the papers, I would be glad to take them, so that Mr. Monroe's papers would find a proper resting place. . . .
Lee decided that as executor he should first examine the papers "in their relation to many more I have here," and they were returned to him for that purpose. After going over them, however, he decided to accept Cadwalader's offer and wrote on January 24 that he was returning the package "contents exactly as rec'd!" The latter presented them that year to the New York Public Library, of which he was a trustee. The manuscripts in the gift were estimated to number about 1,200.41
The "many more" papers Charles O'Donnell Lee retained are reported to have been divided into five portions, one going to each of the five Lee children who survived their parents. Two of the portions have since been acquired by Laurence Gouverneur Hoes, and the originals, like the other Monroe papers that he received, are now in the James Monroe Memorial Library and reproductions are in Series 2 of the Monroe Papers in the Library of Congress.
A number of important manuscripts that once were part of the Monroe Papers have at some time or times been separated from the segment retained by the family. Among these are Monroe's diary notes dating from March 1804 to May 1805 and his letterbook for the period from November 1804 to May 1805, which are now in the New York Public Library.42 In addition to the two letterbooks mentioned above, the Library of Congress has acquired from various sources during this century, by purchase and gift, a volume containing Monroe's diary notes dating from June 1794 to July 1796 (with additional notes for 1801-2) and an account of his expenses from 1794 to 1802, as well as the recipients' copies of eighteen letters to Monroe and four brief memoranda in his hand.
The Library modified the arrangement of the Monroe Papers made by the Department of State by combining the two chronological series into one chronology (which included the segment acquired from Monroe Johnson in 1931) and the correspondence was rebound, in 37 volumes, in 1941.
As part of the Library's program to ensure safety of its most valuable manuscript holdings during World War II, the entire body of Monroe Papers was removed from Washington in December 1941 and stored in the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia until 1944, when the group was returned to Washington under the direction of Alvin W. Kremer, then Keeper of the Collections.43
During 1958-60 the arrangement of the manuscripts-which now number 3,821-was studied and perfected and a microfilm of the Monroe Papers in this arrangement was released in November 1960, so that greater accessibility of the material would be ensured.
Since the James Monroe papers were microfilmed and indexed additional material has been added to the collection. These items are classified as Series 4, Addenda. For a detailed description of the contents of Series 4 see the Scope and Contents section of the Finding Aid. Series 4 was not microfilmed or indexed, but the original items are being digitized and will be viewable on this website.
Written by Dorothy S. Eaton*
*Reprinted from the Index to the James Monroe Papers (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1963). Lightly edited by Julie Miller, 2014.
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James Monroe Fifth President of the United States Term of office March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1825 Preceded by James Madison Succeeded by John Quincy Adams Date of birth April 28, 1758 Place of birth Westmoreland County, Virginia Date of death July 4, 1831 Place of death New York City Spouse Elizabeth Kortright Monroe Political party Democratic-Republican
James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was a member of the U.S. Continental Congress, minister to France and Great Britain, governor of Virginia, U.S. senator, secretary of state, and fifth president of the United States. He was the last chief executive to personally fight for independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War.
Monroe was a popular president who ran unopposed for a second term in 1820. With the opposition Federalist Party effectively moribund, the eight years of Monroe's administration (1817-1825) were called the Era of Good Feeling. He was also the last American president of the “Virginia Dynasty”—of the first five U.S. presidents, four were born and lived in Virginia.
As president, Monroe consistently and successfully pursued a policy that served both to protect the United States from European interference and to foster unhampered growth of the nation and its economy. He was responsible for the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine, a major tenet of U.S. foreign policy asserting that the United States would not tolerate new colonies or interference by outside powers in the internal affairs of nations in the Western hemisphere. The 1820 Missouri Compromise addressed the contentious issue of slavery in newly admitted western states, but merely delayed the resolution of the issue of slavery until the U.S. Civil War in 1861-1865.
Monroe was a patriot of whom Jefferson reportedly said, "[He] was so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it."[1] Like his predecessors in the nation's highest office, Monroe also acknowledged the Creator with respect to America's rising fortunes: "When we view the great blessing with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we posses of handling them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly down to the source from whence they flow. Let us, then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for those blessing to the Divine Author of All Good."
Family and early years
Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe went to school at Campbelltown Academy and then the College of William and Mary, both in Virginia. Monroe's father, Spence Monroe, was a woodworker and tobacco farmer and mother Elizabeth Jones Monroe had significant land holdings, but little money. After graduating from William and Mary in 1776, Monroe fought in the Continental Army, serving with distinction at the Battle of Trenton, where he was shot in his left shoulder. Following his military service, he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright on February 16, 1786, at the Trinity Church in New York.
Political Career
Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and served in the Continental Congress (1783–1786). As a youthful politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794–1796, he displayed strong sympathies for the French Revolution; later, with Robert R. Livingston and under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.
Monroe served as governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802. He was minister to France again in 1803 and then minister to the Court of St. James from 1803 to 1807. He returned to the Virginia House of Delegates and was elected to another term as governor of Virginia in 1811, but he resigned a few months into the term. He then served as secretary of state from 1811 to 1814. When he was appointed to secretary of war on October 1, 1814, he stayed on as the interim secretary of state. On February 28, 1815, he was again commissioned as the permanent secretary of state, and left his position as secretary of war. Thus from October 1, 1814 to February 28, 1815, Monroe held the two cabinet posts. Monroe stayed on as secretary of state until the end of the James Madison presidency, and the following day Monroe began his term as the new president of the United States.
Presidency 1817-1825
Policies
Following the War of 1812, Monroe was elected president in the election of 1816, and re-elected in 1820. In both those elections Monroe ran nearly uncontested.
Attentive to detail, well prepared on most issues, non-partisan in spirit, and above all pragmatic, Monroe managed his presidential duties well. He made strong cabinet choices, naming a southerner, John C. Calhoun, as secretary of war, and a northerner, John Quincy Adams, as secretary of state. Only Henry Clay's refusal kept Monroe from adding an outstanding westerner. Most appointments went to deserving Republicans, but he did not try to use them to build the party's base. Indeed, he allowed the base to decay, which reduced tensions and led to the naming of his era as the "Era of Good Feeling."
To build goodwill, he made two long tours in 1817. Frequent stops allowed innumerable ceremonies of welcome and good will. The Federalist Party dwindled and eventually died out, starting with the Hartford Convention. Practically every politician belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party, but the party lost its vitality and organizational integrity. The party's Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and there were no national conventions.
Acquisition of Florida
Monroe's greatest achievements as president lay in foreign affairs. Ably supported by Adams, he made substantial territorial additions and gave American policy a distinctly national orientation. Monroe welcomed an opportunity to press Spain to cede Florida and define the boundaries of Louisiana. His chance came when General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida in 1818. In pursuit of hostile Indians, Jackson seized the posts of St. Marks and Pensacola, acts that many persons regarded as violations of congressional war powers. In the cabinet, Adams, an expansionist, urged Jackson's complete vindication, while Crawford and Calhoun demanded that he be reprimanded for exceeding his instructions.
Monroe chose a middle course—the posts were restored to Spain, but the administration accepted Jackson's explanation that his action had been justified by conditions in Florida. The incident led Spain to cede Florida and define, favorably to American claims, the boundary of the Louisiana Purchase in the Adams-Onís Treaty negotiated in 1819.
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise, also called the Compromise of 1820, was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery for all new states north of the 36°30' line, or the border of the Arkansas territory (excluding Missouri). Prior to the agreement, the House of Representatives had refused to accept this boundary and a conference committee was appointed. The United States Senate refused to concur in the amendment, and the whole measure was lost.
During the following session (1819-1820), the House passed a similar bill with an amendment introduced on January 26, 1820 by John W. Taylor of New York allowing Missouri into the union as a slave state. In the meantime, the question had been complicated by the admission in December of Alabama, a slave state (the number of slave and free states now becoming equal), and by the passage through the House (January 3, 1820) of a bill to admit Maine as a free state.
The Senate decided to connect the two measures, and passed a bill for the admission of Maine with an amendment enabling the people of Missouri to form a state constitution. Before the bill was returned to the House, a second amendment was adopted on the motion of Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois, excluding slavery from the Missouri Territory north of 36°30' (the southern boundary of Missouri), except within the limits of the proposed state of Missouri. The House of Representatives refused to accept this and a conference committee was appointed.
Monroe Doctrine
The 1823 Monroe Doctrine advance the U.S. position that European powers should no longer colonize the Americas or interfere with the affairs of sovereign nations located in the Americas, such as the United States, Mexico, and others. In return, the United States planned to stay neutral in wars between European powers and in wars between a European power and its colonies. However, if these latter type of wars were to occur in the Americas, the U.S. would view such action as hostile toward itself.
The doctrine was issued by Monroe during his seventh annual State of the Union address to Congress. It was met first with doubt, then with enthusiasm. This was a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States.
The Monroe Doctrine states three major ideas, with one more added by President Theodore Roosevelt. First, it conveys that European countries cannot colonize in any of the Americas: North, Central, or South. Second, it advances George Washington's foreign policy of noninterference in European affairs if America's interests are not involved. Third, the U.S. will consider any attempt at colonization a threat to its national security. Roosevelt added to the doctrine, and summed up his additions with the statement, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
Administration and Cabinet
OFFICE NAME TERM President James Monroe 1817–1825 Vice President Daniel Tompkins 1817–1825 Secretary of State John Quincy Adams 1817–1825 Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford 1817–1825 Secretary of War John C. Calhoun 1817–1825 Attorney General Richard Rush 1817 William Wirt 1817–1825 Postmaster General Return Meigs 1817–1823 John McLean 1823–1825 Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Crowninshield 1817–1818 John C. Calhoun 1818–1819 Smith Thompson 1819–1823 Samuel L. Southard 1823–1825
Supreme Court appointments
Monroe appointed the following Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Smith Thompson – 1823
States admitted to the Union
Mississippi – December 10, 1817
Illinois – December 3, 1818
Alabama – December 14, 1819
Maine – March 15, 1820
Missouri – August 10, 1821
Post-Presidency
Upon leaving the White House after his presidency, James Monroe moved to live at Monroe Hill on the grounds of the University of Virginia. This university's modern campus was originally Monroe's family farm from 1788 to 1817, but he had sold it to the new college in the first year of his presidency. He served on the Board of Visitors under Jefferson and then under the second rector and another former President James Madison, until his death.
Monroe had racked up debts during his years of public life. As a result, he was forced to sell off his Highland Plantation. Today, it is owned by the College of William and Mary, which has opened it to the public. He never recovered from his financial troubles, and his wife's poor health made matters worse. As a result, he and his wife lived in Oak Hill until Elizabeth's death on September 23, 1830.
Following his wife Elizabeth's death, Monroe moved to live with his daughter Maria Hester Monroe Gouverneur in New York City and died there from heart failure and tuberculosis on July 4, 1831, 55 years after the U.S. Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and five years after the death of presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. He was originally buried in New York, but he was re-interred in 1858 to the President's Circle at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Other facts
Apart from George Washington and Washington, D.C., James Monroe is the only U.S. President to have had a country's capital city named after him—that of Monrovia in Liberia which was founded by the American Colonization Society, in 1822, as a haven for freed slaves.
Monroe was the third president to die on July 4. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the sighing of the Declaration of Independence.
Monroe was the last president to have fought in the Revolutionary War, although Andrew Jackson served as a 13-year-old courier in the Continental Army and was taken as a prisoner of war by the British.
In the famous painting of Washington's Delaware Crossing, Monroe is standing behind George Washington and holds the American flag.
In the election of 1820, Monroe received every electoral vote except one. A New Hampshire delegate casted his vote on an unknown because he wanted Washington to be the only president to be elected unanimously.
Notes
References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. Charlottesville : University Press of Virginia, 1990. ISBN 0813912660
Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe (American Presidency Series). Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1996. ISBN 0700607285
Dangerfield, George. The Era of Good Feelings. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 1986.
Dangerfield, George. The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815 - 1828. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
Holmes, David L. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers. New York : Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780195300925
Holmes, David L. "The Religion of James Monroe." The Virginia Quarterly Review (Autumn 2003). Online version
All links retrieved March 19, 2018.
The Presidential Home of James Monroe (Ash Lawn-Highland)
Monroe Doctrine and related resources at the Library of Congress
James Monroe's Health and Medical History
James Monroe Birthplace Commission
InfoPlease- James Monroe
The Religion of James Monroe
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James Monroe's Highland
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In 1799, James Monroe and his family moved to Highland, their home in Albemarle County, neighboring Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Jefferson, Monroe's teacher and close friend, had previously urged him to move to the area to create a "society to our taste." New discoveries at James Monroe’s Highland have rewritten the history of the property. Recent archaeological excavations, tree ring dating, and architectural research have determined that the structure once thought to be a wing of Monroe’s original house was actually his Presidential Guest House, built in 1818. The same research has identified the archaeological remains of Monroe’s primary residence, lost to history sometime after he sold the property. The foundation of this residence, a freestanding and sizeable structure, was recently uncovered during excavations next to the guest house. Today, tours of the property are offered Thursday through Sunday, from 10am-4pm, and explore Monroe's contributions to the early American republic over 50 years of public service. Set on more than 500 acres, the house is nestled along a ridge with a landscape preserved much like Monroe would have known it. Across the service yard, the reconstructed enslaved persons' quarters stand alongside two original outbuildings.
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James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia . He attended the College of William and Mary before joining the Continental Army, where he was wounded at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.
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Early Life
James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia . He attended the College of William and Mary before joining the Continental Army, where he was wounded at the Battle of Trenton in 1776. It is Monroe who is depicted holding the flag in the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware . The image is also depicted on the back of the New Jersey state quarter. After the war, he practiced law in Fredericksburg and married Elizabeth Kortright in 1786.
Numerous Important Political Positions
Monroe's political career moved quickly in the new nation. He participated in the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786 and was elected as a Virginia Senator in 1790. From 1794-1796, he served as Minister to France during the French Revolution. From 1799-1802, he served as Virginia's Governor and he served as Minister of the Court of St. James (Ambassador to England) from 1803 to 1807 in Thomas Jefferson's administration. During the Madison administration, Monroe served at various times as Secretary of State and Secretary of War.
Monroe as Minister to France
President During the Era of Good Feeling
In 1816, James Monroe was elected America's fifth president. His presidency lasted two terms from 1817-1825 and was referred to as The Era of Good Feeling because of the relative lack of political bitterness between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republican Party. The "good feeling," however, was short-lived as a painful economic depression swept through the country as a result of the Panic of 1819. That same year, Congress became locked in a bitter debate over the admission of Missouri as a slave state that finally ended with the Missouri Compromise in 1820. As part of the compromise, Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
James Monroe Postage Stamp
The Monroe Doctrine
Monroe is probably best known for the Monroe Doctrine, a document largely written by John Quincy Adams. The document outlined America's foreign policy stance and proclaimed neutrality in European affairs. It also condemned European colonization and declared that such colonization in North and South America was a direct threat to the United States.
The Third of the First Five Presidents to die on July 4th
After his second term in office ended in 1825, Monroe lived at Monroe Hill on the campus of the University of Virginia. The current campus served as Monroe’s farm from 1788 to 1817, when he sold it to the university. Racked by debt, he lived a humble existence before moving to New York City after the death of his wife in 1830. He died on July 4, 1831, of tuberculosis and heart failure, becoming the third president to die on July 4. He was originally buried in New York City but now lies in Richmond, Virginia. In 1824, the capital city of the African nation of Liberia was renamed Monrovia in his honor. It is the only foreign capital named after a US president.
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The fifth president of the United States of America, James Monroe, was the last of the revolutionaries to take office and the man responsible for establishing the United States' independence from European policy and influence. Monroe was born on April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents, Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, lived comfortably on a 600-acre plantation with their four children. Spence Monroe, an active patriot, refused the use of English goods until the repeal of the Stamp Act. At the age of sixteen and after the death of his father, Monroe attended the College of William and Mary, where his revolutionary feelings dominated his time at school. With a group of 24 men, he stole 200 muskets and 300 swords from the arsenal at the British Governor's Palace and delivered them to the militia in the Virginia colonial capital of Williamsburg. Frustrated with the monotony of college life and charged with patriotism, he left William and Mary after two years to join the Third Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army.
Like George Washington, Monroe was a military man before becoming a politician. Monroe fought as a soldier in battles in New York, before getting seriously wounded at the Battle of Trenton in 1777. He was promoted later that year to Major and then became an aide for a year to William Alexander, or Lord Stirling, an American with rights to Scottish earldom that had been denied him by the House of Lords. Washington applauded Monroe's service in a letter to an associate in Virginia: "I take occasion to express to you the high opinion I have of his worth. He has, in every instance, maintained the reputation of a brave, active, and sensible office." Because of his experience and such lofty praise, Monroe was appointed lieutenant-colonel. He rarely received field orders after 1778 and so by 1782 Monroe's military career was over.
After leaving the Army, Monroe moved back to Virginia where he studied law with Thomas Jefferson, a lifelong friend and mentor. Monroe's political career began almost immediately with his election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and his membership in the Confederation Congress under the Articles of Confederation until 1786. Also in 1786, Monroe married Elizabeth Kortwright. She was a wealthy merchant's daughter and ten years younger than Monroe. The two were very close and rarely spent more than a few weeks apart. After marriage, Monroe began practicing law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Three years later, the couple moved to Albemarle County to be near Jefferson's estate, Monticello. Monroe's two daughters, Eliza and Maria Hester, were born at the estate.
In 1790, Monroe ran for the Senate after narrowly missing an interim appointment available the year before. Senate members like Jefferson and George Mason encouraged Monroe to run and he won the seat easily. Once elected, he collaborated with James Madison to build the Republican Party (also known as the Democratic-Republican Party) to combat Federalist policies. George Washington appointed Monroe as minister of France in 1794 to please those who condemned the administration's neutral stance in regards to revolutionary France. But, many considered Monroe's work in France to be that of a Republican Party spokesman rather than a United States representative. He was recalled by Washington in 1796 despite his efforts to defend his work.
Monroe then returned to Virginia once more to practice law from 1799 to 1802 and was elected Governor of Virginia. As Governor, Monroe checked the threat posed by Gabriel's Rebellion, a slave uprising, and took an interest in colonizing the West with free blacks. His ideas later gave rise to the American Colonization Society. Once he was president, Monroe aided the American Colonization Society in purchasing land for the establishment of a colony in Liberia, West Africa. Emancipated slaves and captured Africans colonized the land until Liberia claimed independence in 1847. The Society named the settlement Monrovia in honor of his aid.
Under Jefferson's first administration, Monroe was sent to France with Robert R. Livingston to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. His success in this endeavor made him a national figure. Because of his achievement in foreign affairs, Monroe served as the minister to Great Britain from 1803 to 1807. In 1808, Monroe nearly became President, as many dissenters of the Federalist Party nominated him to run as the Republican candidate. The efforts were in vain because Monroe did not campaign and received very little support. Even though Monroe failed to secure the nomination, another Republican, James Madison, won the presidency. He appointed Monroe as Secretary of State in an effort to calm political hostility. In 1814, Monroe became the first person to hold two cabinet positions: Secretary of State and Secretary of War. William Eustis, the previous Secretary of War was removed for incompetence. Monroe held was the acting Secretary of War from October 1814 to February 1815 until Madison found a replacement. Monroe remained Secretary of State until the day he became president.
Monroe was no longer alone in his desire to change the dynamics between parties and he won the presidency in 1816 after Madison's second term. He was the last president of the Virginia Dynasty and his election year marked an important Republican victory over the Federalist Party. Monroe held the Presidency for two terms and was very well-liked and popular with the American people and political leaders alike. Thomas Jefferson said, "Monroe is so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it." In the election for his second term, he ran uncontested.
His presidency was marked as the "Era of Good Feelings," an expression coined by a Federalist newspaper, because he was the first president to enter the White House with the country in a time of peace. A victory in the War of 1812 and a booming economy allowed Monroe to use his presidency to focus on domestic issues. He was considered a president concerned with helping people of all stations in life, and he proved that through his national tour. In order to increase the "Good Feelings" felt in the United States, Monroe went on a tour of the country, emulating the route taken by George Washington during his presidency. Monroe's biographer, Harry Ammon, described Monroe's reception in cities around the United States: "Monroe had a rare ability of putting men at ease by his courtesy, his lack of condescension, his frankness...his essential goodness and kindness of heart." His tour of the country built support for his administration and almost completely closed political divides. There was very little Party conflict since Monroe's presidency marked the fall of the Federalists.
Despite the appearance of nationalism, the reality was that the United States had difficult times ahead. The "Era of Good Feelings" came to a halt in 1819. Unemployment skyrocketed, leading to foreclosures and bankruptcies from 1819 to 1821, a period known as the Panic of 1819. Monroe felt that the economy would naturally right itself, but many disagreed and criticized him for his laissez-faire approach. Also in 1819, Monroe faced the Missouri Crisis. Monroe clearly stated that Missouri could only become a state if it abolished slavery within its territory. Slave owners felt under attack by Monroe's order. Southern states were afraid that the admission of Missouri as a free state, disturbing the balance of free versus slave states, would threaten their slave-driven economy. Monroe's order was ineffective, so in order to preserve the union, he approved the Missouri Compromise in 1820; admitting Maine as a free-state and Missouri as a state with no restriction. Slavery was then banned in all states north and west of Missouri.
Monroe is known mostly for his success in foreign affairs. In negotiations with Spain he hoped to acquire the state of Florida and to outline the precise boundaries of Louisiana. With Madison's guidance, the Adams-Onis Treaty established good relations with Spain. The Adams-Onis Treaty ceded Florida to the United States while Spain defined the boundaries for Louisiana, and claimed all land west of it. But more significant was the Monroe Doctrine, as it was named twenty years after Monroe's death. Still used in foreign affairs today, Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, drafted a policy regarding any further development or colonization of the rest of the Americas, including Latin America. The document contained three main concepts: separate spheres of influence for the Americas and Europe, non-colonization, and non-intervention. Monroe stated in his seventh annual message to Congress in 1823, "And to the defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted." While Europe initially paid little attention to Monroe's words, the Monroe Doctrine became a tenet of American philosophy, permanently changing Europe's role in the Americas.
Following the precedent set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, Monroe chose to serve only two terms. John Quincy Adams, Monroe's Secretary of State, was inaugurated in 1825. Monroe was relieved to retire to his estate in Oak Hill, Virginia. His wife Elizabeth was very ill and he wanted to return to overseeing the farm, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately he also had a large financial debt to clear since political positions did not pay large salaries at the time. He spent the following years pressuring the government for reimbursements from the presidency, and his debts were eventually paid off.
Monroe avoided political positions during the initial years of his retirement before accepting a position on the Board of Regents at the University of Virginia, the university founded by Thomas Jefferson. Also, in 1829 he became the president of the Virginia Constitutional Convention where he fought the battle of freehold suffrage, which expanded suffrage to those with the future rights to land. The Virginia Constitutional Convention was considered the "last meeting of giants of the Revolutionary generation." He quit both positions once his health began to severely decline.
His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1830, causing Monroe to relocate to New York City to live with his daughter until his death on July 4, 1831. He was first laid to rest in New York City before being moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA in 1858.
Monroe has been immortalized in multiple ways, like in the naming of Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is unknown how it was suggested to name the county after Monroe, since he never even visited it. Monroe County, formed from parts of other counties in Pennsylvania, was nearly named Jackson, Fulton or Evergreen before Monroe was selected. The name was passed by the favor of a large majority in 1836, shortly after Monroe's death. It is clear that his dedication to public service and his popularity were factors that secured his place in Pennsylvanian and American history alike.
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Learn about cases of interest in Monroe County.
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Kenny Wayne McBride (then 45, of Temperance, Michigan) was charged with Homicide - Open Murder (which, by law, includes both first and second degree murder) and the offense of "Dead Bodies - Disinterment and Mutilation" for the murder of Cecilia Gibson on February 16, 2020, in Bedford Township, Monroe County, Michigan. McBride was charged as a "Habitual Offender - Fourth Offense" because of prior felony convictions. On June 10, 2021, after three days of testimony, a Monroe County jury found McBride guilty of the murder of Ms. Gibson (79, of Temperance, Michigan). The penalty for First Degree Murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cecilia Gibson had been residing with her son, the defendant's father, in his Temperance home. Kenny McBride was also staying at his father's home. Ms. Gibson was last seen alive on the afternoon of Sunday, February 16. When the defendant's father returned home from work at 3 am on the morning of February 17, he found a body and significant amounts of blood in his darkened living room. Not yet realizing the body was his mother, he called 911 for assistance. Kenny McBride was the only other person in the home, and he claimed no knowledge of the struggle or the body. When deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office arrived, they discovered the dismembered body of Cecilia Gibson and clear signs of a violent, bloody struggle.
It appears that an argument developed between Ms. Gibson and Kenny McBride regarding McBride's children - all but one of whom McBride had ignored for years. The evidence further showed that McBride became enraged and viciously beat Ms. Gibson to death. DNA, cellular telephone records, and fingerprint evidence helped link Kenny McBride to the crime. McBride had injuries to his hands and head that reflected a physical struggle. The jury rejected McBride's claim that he sustained the injuries while working on his car - in the driveway, in February, without gloves - perhaps because they knew that, earlier in that day, McBride had paid a local auto parts store to replace his car battery. It is difficult to imagine the hatred that must have driven the defendant to commit such a brutal and horrifying murder. The jury's verdict was just, and will result in McBride living out the rest of his life in prison.
Ryan Paul Miettinen (22, of Willis, Michigan) was convicted of two counts of Failure to Stop at the Scene of an Accident - When at Fault - Resulting in Death arising from the deaths of Melissa Williamson (25) and Coleen Huling (29) on June 26, 2020, in London Township, Monroe County. He was sentenced on April 29, 2021, by 38th Circuit Court Judge Michael A. Weipert to serve 9 years to 40 years in prison on each case - to be served consecutively, for a total minimum term of 18 years. He will become eligible for parole after serving 18 years in prison.
During the afternoon of June 26, 2020, Williamson and Huling were riding their bicycles on the eastbound shoulder of Milan Oakville Road near Gooding Road. At the same time, Miettinen - who later admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day - was driving a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer in a reckless manner. At approximately 60 mph (in a 45 mph zone), Miettinen passed an unknown vehicle in a 'no passing' zone and quickly swerved back into the eastbound lane of travel to avoid a head-on collision. He lost control of the vehicle, drove onto the shoulder of the roadway and struck the young women. Both died on scene as a result of the collision. Miettinen fled the scene without stopping, later claiming that he thought he had struck a mailbox. With the aid of witnesses, Miettinen was eventually identified, located, and taken into custody. Miettinen never led investigators to the vehicle, and it was never recovered.
The convictions were the result of a thorough investigation by the Michigan State Police. Prosecuting Attorney Michael Roehrig praised the result and the efforts of the team prosecuting the case. Roehrig added, "Given the horrifying loss of life, Miettinen's recklessness and his choice to flee the scene, and his extensive criminal history, 18 years to 80 years is rightfully among the longest sentences ever imposed for this type of offense."
David Nelson Richter (43, of Newport, Michigan) and Robert Steven Westfield (47, of Spring Lake, Michigan) were charged with Homicide - Open Murder (which, by law, includes both first and second degree murder) arising from the murder of Hunter Mitchell Guthrie in April, 2019, in Monroe Township, Monroe County, Michigan. In addition, both Richter and Westfield were charged as "Habitual Offenders" (fourth felony offense). On September 8, 2020, a Monroe County jury found Richter and Westfield guilty of the murder of Mr. Guthrie (24, of Monroe, Michigan). More specifically, after four days of testimony, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Richter and Westfield guilty of First Degree Murder. The penalty for First Degree Murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Richter and Westfield held Mr. Guthrie in the back of their rented car as they drove from Hudson, Michigan to Monroe. During the hour-long drive, Mr. Guthrie was stripped naked and severely beaten. His body was then hidden in the trunk of the car and transported to an abandoned house in Detroit. Three days later, Richter and Westfield returned to the abandoned house and set both the house and Mr. Guthrie's body on fire in an effort to conceal the cause of death. The body was discovered by Detroit City firefighters on April 18.
On March 12, 2020, a Monroe County jury found Marquis Terrell Evans (24, of Monroe, Michigan, photo courtesy The Monroe News) guilty in the shooting of Meagin Robison (35, of Monroe, Michigan) and the murder of Gregory James (39, of Monroe, Michigan) on January 22, 2019, in the City of Monroe, Michigan. More specifically, after more than two days of testimony, the jury deliberated for approximately four hours before finding Evans guilty of Second Degree Murder, Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm less than Murder (for shooting Ms. Robison), Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and three counts of Felony Firearm (using a firearm during the commission of a felony). Sentencing was conducted on May 21, 2020, before 38th Circuit Court Judge Michael A. Weipert, who presided over the trial. Evans was sentenced 720 months to 1,080 months (60 years to 90 years) on the 2nd Degree Murder charge with an additional, consecutive 24 months added for Felony Firearm.
During the trial, the defense called one witness: the defendant. The prosecution team called 22 witnesses, including several lay witnesses, the Monroe County Medical Examiner, and numerous police witnesses. According to evidence presented during the trial, Evans was selling drugs from his Kentucky Avenue residence. During the early evening hours of January 22, 2019, Robison purchased crack cocaine from Evans. A short time later, Robison and her boyfriend, Gregory James, determined that Evans had not provided the agreed upon amount of drugs. Robison and James went to the Evans' residence to complain. After an agitated exchange, Evans produced a handgun and fired five shots. One bullet struck and seriously injured Ms. Robison. Three bullets struck Mr. James - two caused superficial injuries, but a wound to the neck caused nearly instantaneous death. After the incident, Evans fled the scene and avoided capture for more than a week. He was apprehended by members of the Monroe City Police Department with the assistance of the United States Marshal Service. The convictions were the result of an investigation led by the Monroe City Police Department.
Ms. Robison described the incident during her moving testimony, and the jury heard the highly emotional 911 call she made immediately after the shooting. During his testimony, Marquis Evans claimed he only fired his weapon in self-defense, an assertion rejected by the jury. Evans also claimed he was merely a "businessman" who was annoyed by customer complaints. He compared his actions immediately prior to firing his weapon to someone trying to rid themselves of annoying raccoons.
On October 16, 2019, a Monroe County jury found Raymond Blanchong (40, of Maumee, Ohio), guilty in the death of James Wappner (45, of Toledo, Ohio) on December 2, 2018, in Erie Township. After three days of testimony, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Blanchong guilty of First-Degree Murder, Armed Robbery and Unlawful Imprisonment. During the Blanchong trial, prosecutors called 18 witnesses. The defense called no witnesses.
On September 19, 2019, a separate jury also found Blanchong's fiancé, co-defendant Jessica Morris (30, also of Maumee), guilty in the death of Mr. Wappner. After three days of testimony, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Morris guilty of First-Degree Murder, Armed Robbery and Unlawful Imprisonment. During the Morris trial, prosecutors called 18 witnesses. The defense called one witness. The penalty for First Degree Murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole. The convictions were the result of an investigation by the Michigan State Police First District Special Investigation Section. Numerous other law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation.
According to evidence presented during the trials, Raymond Blanchong and his then-fiancé Jessica Morris arranged to meet James Wappner at a hotel in Bedford, Michigan on December 2, 2018, with the intention of purchasing drugs. Security camera footage captured the victim entering Blanchong's pickup truck, shortly before the vehicle began to shake violently and then abruptly leave the parking lot with the victim still inside. On December 3, 2018, a 911 caller reported spotting a body lying face down in a field off Lipp Highway, in southeastern Lenawee County. The body was later identified as James Wappner, who had been stabbed more than 20 times. After robbing and killing Mr. Wappner, Blanchong and Morris fled across multiple states before being arrested in Aurora, Colorado on outstanding murder warrants.
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James Monroe
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Posts about James Monroe written by oldsaltbooks
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Deo Vindice
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https://sesquicentenary.wordpress.com/tag/james-monroe/
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Tag Archive | James Monroe
It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty… James Monroe
The last founding father : James Monroe and a nation’s call to greatness Harlow Giles Unger Cambridge, MA : Da Capo Press, 2009 Hardcover. 1st Da Capo Press ed. and printing. xii, 388 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 371-376) and index. Clean, tight and strong binding with clean dust jacket. […]
The People of Virginia declare and make known that the powers granted under the Constitution being derived from the People of the United States may be resumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or oppression
Dominion of memories: Jefferson, Madison, and the decline of Virginia New York: Basic Books, c 2007 Susan Dunn Virginia Politics and government 1775-1865 Book. ix, 310 p.; 25 cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Clean, tight and strong binding. No highlighting, underlining or marginalia in text. VG For decades, the Commonwealth of Virginia led the […]
There’s always been a mystery why the impartial Father of the human race should have permitted the transportation of so many millions of our fellow creatures to endure all of the miseries of slavery. Perhaps his design was that a knowledge of the gospel might be acquired by some of their descendants in order that they might become qualified to be messengers of it to the land of their fathers…Absalom Jones
An almost wholly inadequate history that attempts to prop up the currently politically correct view of its subject matter there are gaping holes where there were important invents and wholesale treatment of anecdotal history as established fact in weaving a tapestry of whole cloth on what should be a very important subject. Not recommended for […]
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George Washington and James Monroe
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The dominant figures in the painting are two gentlemen of Virginia who stand tall above the rest. One of them is Lieutenant James Monroe, holding a big American flag upright against the storm. The other is Washington…The artist invites each of these soldiers as an individual, but he also reminds us that they are all in the same boat, working desperately together against the wind and current. He has given them a common sense of mission, and in the stormy sky above he has painted a bright prophetic star, shining through a veil of cloud.[11]
My Dearest: I am now set down to write to you on a subject which fills me with inexpressible concern…It has been determined in Congress that the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the command of it…But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking is designed to answer some good purpose.
George Washington,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
18 June 1775,
Letter to Martha Washington[13]
I am called on a theatre to which I am a perfect stranger.
James Monroe,
Annapolis, Maryland,
16 June 1783
Letter to Richard Henry Lee[14]
Bunker Hill encouraged Washington to believe that as long as he maintained a similar tactical as well as strategic defensive, he might hope to resist successfully, the whole of any army the British were likely to mobilize against him, in spite of the obvious deficiencies of his troops in numbers, equipment, and training. Unfortunately, for Washington, even this modest optimism was to prove unfounded. The British had so badly bungled their opportunities at Bunker Hill , the battle gave the Americans excessive hopes of what they could accomplish in full-scale battle as long as they stood on the tactical defensive.[21]
Sir: I have stronger Reasons since I wrote to you last, to confirm me in my Opinion that the Army under General Howe is on its Departure. All their movements pronounce it…It is given out that they are bound to Halifax, but I am of the Opinion that New York is their Place of Destination. It is the Object worthy their Attention; and it is the Place that we must use every Endeavour to keep from them…I am, Sir, etc.[26]
The meeting debated Reed’s plan for crossing the Delaware and attacking one of the enemy’s posts in New Jersey. The council agreed very quickly, and a long discussion followed on how it might be done. Much of the conversation was about the weather, the river, and boats. Colonel John Glover, who had long experience of maritime affairs, was consulted about the feasibility of the crossing. Glover told Washington…‘that…his boys could manage it.’ The next day secret orders went out to senior officers in the army. The operation was on.[36]
Sir: That I should dwell upon the Subject of our distresses cannot be more disagreeable to Congress, than it is painful to my self. The alarming Situation to which our affairs are reduced impels me to the Measure…When I reflect upon these things, they fill me with much concern, knowing that General Howe has a Number of Troops cantoned in the Towns…near the Delaware, [with]…intentions to pass as soon as the ice is Sufficiently formed, to invade Pennsylvania, and to possess himself of [the City of] Philadelphia, if Possible. To guard against his designs, and the executions of them, shall employ my every exertion, but how is this to be done? As yet, but a few Militia have gone to Philadelphia…Had I entertained a doubt of General Howe’s intentions to pass the Delaware [up]on the dissolution of our Army and as soon as the ice is made, it would be now done away…P.S. If the public papers have been removed from Philadelphia, I hope those which I sent to Lieut. Colo. Reed before we left New York, have not been forgot[.] [37]
Their dress tells us that they are soldiers from many parts of America, and each of them has a story that is revealed by a few strokes of the artist’s brush. One man wears the short tarpaulin jacket of a New England seaman; we look again and discover that he is of African descent.[41] Another is a recent Scottish immigrant, still wearing his Balmoral bonnet. A third is an androgynous figure in a loose red shirt, maybe a woman in man’s clothing, pulling at an oar…At the bow and stern of the boat are hard faced western riflemen in hunting shirts and deerskin leggings. Huddled between the thwarts are farmers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in blanket coats and road-brimmed hats…[One] wears the blue coat and red facings of Haslet’s Delaware Regiment. Another figure wears a boat cloak and an oiled hat…his sleeve reveals the facing of Smallwood’s silk-stocking Maryland Regiment. Hidden behind him is a mysterious thirteenth man. Only his weapon is visible; one wonders who he might have been.[42]
George Washington rode up and down the column urging his men forward. Suddenly the general’s horse slipped and started to fall on a steep and icy slope. ‘While passing a Slanting Slippery bank,’ Lieutenant Bostwick remembered, ‘his excellency’s horse[‘s] hind feet both slip’d from under him.’ The animal began to go down. Elisha Bostwick watched in fascination as Washington locked his fingers in the animal’s mane and hauled up its heavy head by brute force. He shifted its balance backward just enough to allow the horse to regain its hind footing on the treacherous road…It was an extraordinary feat of strength, skill, and timing; and another reason why his soldiers stood in awe of this man.[45]
Lieutenant Monroe met a Jersey man who came out to see why his dogs were barking. Monroe remembered that the man thought ‘we were from the British army, and ordered us off…He was violent and determined in his manner, and very profane.’ Monroe told him to go back to his home or be taken prisoner. When the man realized that he was talking to American troops, his manner suddenly changed. He brought them food and offered to join them. ‘I’m a doctor,’ he explained, ‘and I may be of help to some poor fellow.’ The offer was accepted, and Doctor John Riker joined Monroe’s infantry as a surgeon-volunteer.’”[46]
‘Captain Washington rushed forward, attacked and put the troops around the cannon to flight and took possession of them.’ In the melee, William Washington went down, badly wounded in both hands. James Monroe took over ‘at the head of the corps’ and led it forward. He too was hit by a musket ball, which severed an artery. He was carried from the field, bleeding dangerously. His life was saved by Doctor Riker, who had joined Monroe’s company as a volunteer the night before. The New Jersey physician clamped Monroe’s artery just in time to keep him from bleeding to death.[51]
Sir—Upon not receiving any answer to my first information and observing the enemy inclining toward your right, I thought it advisable to hang as close on them as possible. I am at present within four hundred yrds. Of their right—I have only about 70 men who are fatigued much. I have taken three prisoners—If I had six horsemen…I sho’d in the course of the night procure good intelligence w’h I wo’d soon as possible convey you.
I am Sir your most ob’t Serv’t
Ja Monroe
Sir,---Some few days since I arrived here…I expected I should more effectually put in execution, your Excellency’s orders by coming immediately here, the source from which Governor Nash…or Baron de Kalb…get their Intelligence…We have it from authority we cannot doubt, that an embarkation has taken place at Charlestown and sailed some days since under the command of General Clinton consisting of about 6000 men. The remainder of their army supposed upwards of 4000, with their cavalry forming a corps of 600 under Col. Tarleton, are left behind under Lord Cornwallis…What plan General de Kalb may take to oppose them I cannot determine…At Gov’ Nash’s request I shall attend him tomorrow to where Baron de Kalb may be…in my next…shall…inform your Excellency of the plan Baron de Kalb may take for is future operations…I have the honor to be with the greatest respect and esteem yr. Excellencys.
Your Very humble Serv’
Ja, Monroe
Dear Sir:…I am glad to find that Congress [has] recommended to the States to appear in the Convention proposed to be [held] in Philadelphia in May…It is idle in my opinion to suppose that the Sovereign can be insensible to the inadequacy of the powers under which it acts…and…not recommend a revision of the [Federal] system, when it is considered by many as the only Constitutional mode by which the defects can be recommended…I am fully of opinion that those who lean to a Monarchial government, have…not consulted the public mind…I am also clear…that the period is not arrived for adopting the change without shaking the Peace of this Country to its foundation. That a thorough reform of the present system is indispensable, none…will deny, and with hand (and heart) I hope the business will be essayed in a full Convention.[66]
Dear Sir,--- I can scarcely venture an apology for my silence…Since I left N.Y…I was admitted to the Bar…In the course of the winter I mov’d my family to this town in [which] I have taken my residence with a view to my profession…But I consider my residence here as temporary merely to serve the purpose of the times…With the political world, I have had little to do since I left Congress…The affairs of the federal government are I believe in the utmost confusion. The convention is an expedient that will produce a decisive effect. It will either recover us from our ruin…But I trust that the presence of Gen’l Washington will have great weight in the body itself so as to overawe & keep under the demon of party & that the signature of his name…will secure its passage thro’ the union.[70]
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction…The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have perished…The valuable improvements made by the American constitutions on the popular models, both ancient and modern, they cannot be too much admired…It will be found, indeed,…that some of the distresses under which we labor…[are] a factious spirit [which] has tainted our public administrations.[72]
I like much the general idea of framing a government into Legislative, Judiciary and Executive…I am captivated by the compromise of the opposite claims of the great and little states…I am much pleased too with…the method of voting by persons, instead of…states…I will now add what I do not like. First the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies…Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no government should refuse…I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive…France with all its despotism and two or three hundred thousand men always in arms has had three insurrections in the three years I have been here…[I]t is my principle that the will of the Majority should always prevail. If they approve the proposed Convention in all its parts, I shall concur in it [cheerfully], in hopes that they will amend it whenever they shall find it [works] wrong.[74]
Mr. Chairman, whether the Constitution be good or bad, the present clause clearly discovers that it is a national government, and no longer a Confederation[.]…The very idea of converting what was formerly a confederation to a consolidated government is totally subversive of every principle which has hitherto governed us. This power is calculated to annihilate totally the state governments…I solemnly declare that no man is a greater friend to a firm union of the American States than I am; but, sir, if this great end can be obtained without hazarding the rights of the people, why should we recur to such dangerous principles?[75]
I rose yesterday to ask a question which arose in my own mind…The question turns, sir, on…the expression, We, the people, instead of the states, of America. I need not take…pains to show that the principles of this system are extremely…dangerous. Is this a monarchy like England—a compact between prince and people…to secure the liberty of the latter?...Here is a resolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. It is radical in this transition; our rights and principles are endangered…The Constitution is said to have beautiful features; but when I come to examine these features, sir, they appear to me horribly frightful…Your President may easily become king.[76]
Sir:…What is to be done in the case of the Little Sarah now at Chester? Is the Minister of the French Republic to set the Acts of this Government at defiance, with impunity? And then threaten the Executive with an appeal to the People. What must the world think of such conduct and the Government of the United States in submitting to it? These are serious questions. Circumstances press for decision and…I wish to know your opinion upon them, even before tomorrow for the vessel may be gone.[83]
Dear Sir:…[U]ntil a decision is had on the conduct of the Minister of the French Republic…[i]t is my wish, under these circumstances to enter upon the consideration of the Letters of that Minister tomorrow at Nine o’Clock. I therefore desire you will be here at that hour and bring with you all his letters, your answers, and all such papers as are connected therewith. As the consideration of this business may require some time, I should be glad if you and other gentlemen would take a family dinner with me at four o’Clock. No other company…will be invited. I am &c.[84]
As the present situation of…several nations of Europe…with which the U.S. have important relations,…I have thought it my duty to communicate to them certain correspondences which have taken place…It is with extreme concern I have to inform you that…the person whom [the French] have unfortunately appointed their Minister plenipotentiary, here, [has] breathed nothing of the friendly spirit of the nation which sent him; their tendency on the contrary has been to involve us in War abroad, and discord and anarchy at home. So far…his acts, or those of his agents, have threatened our immediate commitment in the war…In the meantime, I have respected and pursued the stipulations of our treaties according to what I have judged their true sense…The papers now communicated will…apprize you of these transactions.[86]
Dear Sir…I am now deliberating on the measure proper and necessary to be taken with respect to Mr. G…t and wish for aid in so doing. The critical State of Things [is] making me more than usually anxious to decide right in the present case. None but the heads of Departments are privy to these papers, which I pray may be returned this evening, or in the morning. With very sincere esteem &c.[87]
As the debate over the navy bill reached a climax,…the new secretary of state, Edmund Randolph…found several of the European belligerents—Britain, Spain, and Holland—reprehensible for seizing American merchantmen trafficking with French ports in the West Indies. He also enumerated complaints against France for interfering with the American merchant marine. But his most serious and extensive allegations fell upon the British, whose practice of maritime warfare violated all the rights of neutrals as the United States understood them.[90] Randolph’s report arrived in Congress on 5 March 1794.
I was presented yesterday by Mr. Randolph with the commission of Minister for the French Republic which you were pleased …to confer upon me…I have only now to request that you will consider me as ready to embark in the discharge of its duties as soon as…suitable passage can be secured for myself & my family to that country…Be assured however it will give me the highest gratification…to promote by mission the interest of my country & the honor & credit of your administration which I deem inseparably connected with it.[96]
Dear Sir:…Nothing important or new has been lately received from our Ministers…Nor does the fate of Robespierre seem to have been given more than a momentary stagnation to…[French] affairs. The Armies rejoice at it, and the people are congratulating one another on the occasion…Mr. Monroe is arrived in France and has had his reception in the midst of the Convention, at Paris, but no letter has been received from him.[99]
Gentlemen of the Senate: In pursuance of my nomination of John Jay, as Envoy Extraordinary to his Britannic majesty on the 16 day April 1794, and of the advice and consent of the Senate thereto on the 19th, a negotiation was opened in London. On the 7 of March 1795, the treaty resulting, therefore, was delivered to the Secrey. of State. I now transmit to the Senate that treaty, and other documents connected with it. They will therefore in their wisdom decide whether they will advise and consent that the said treaty be made between the United States and his Britannic majesty.[100]
Sir:…I have determined to recall the American Minister at Paris, and am taking measures to supply his place, but the more the latter is resolved, the greater the difficulties appear, to do it ably and unexceptionably. By this, I mean one who promote, not thwart the neutral policy of the Government, and at the same time will not be obnoxious to the people among whom he is sent…The transmitted copy of Mr. Monroe’s letter…must be erroneously dated ‘Paris, June 24, 1796…[101]
Dear Sir: Your private letter of the 21st instant has been received. Mr. Monroe in every letter he writes, relative to the discontents of the French government at the conduct of our own, always concludes without finishing his story, leaving great scope to the imagination to divine what the ulterior measures of it will be. There are some things in his correspondence…which I am unable to reconcile. In…[the] letter of the 25th of March…he related his demand of an audience of the French Directory, and his having had it, but that the conference which was promised him with the Minister of Foreign Affairs had not taken place[.]…If these recitals are founded in fact, they form an enigma which requires explanation.[102]
Sir: I have received and pray you to accept my thanks for Pinckney. It becomes necessary now to prepare instructions for him without delay, to bring him fully and perfectly acquainted with the conduct and policy of this government towards France &c. and the motives which have induced the [recall] of Mr. Monroe…It will be candid, proper and necessary to apprize Mr. Monroe…of his [recall]; and in proper terms, of the motives which have impelled it.[103]
My instructions enjoined it on me to…inspire the French government with perfect confidence in the solicitude, which the president felt for the success of the French revolution; of his own preference for France to all other nations as the friend and ally of the United States; of the greatest sense which we still retained for the important services that were rendered us by France in the course of our revolution[.] [111]
Dear Sir,--
I have received your favor of Sep. 7 from Paris, which gave us the only news we have had from you since your arrival there…Our comfort is that the public sense is coming right on the general principles of republicanism & that its success in France put it out of danger here. We are still uninformed what is Mr. Jay’s treaty; but we see that the British piracies have multiplied upon us lately more than ever.[122]
My dear Sir: I have…your letters of the 9th, accompanying your observations on the several articles of the Treaty with Great Britain…The most obnoxious article (the 12th) being suspended by the Senate, there is no occasion to express any sentiment thereon. I wish, however, it had appeared in a different form…I asked, or intended to ask in my letter of the 3rd, whether you conceived (admitting the suspension of the 12th Article should to by the B. Government) there would be a necessity for the treaty going before the Senate again for their advice and consent? This question takes its birth from a declaration of the minority of that body, to that effect. With much truth and sincerity &c.[123]
By June, 1796, it is not improbable that our situation, or that of Britain, may be changed; what security shall we then have for the performance of the treaty?... It is evident, before Mr. Jay left this country, that the British were so far from intending to evacuate the posts, that they had determined to extend their limits; this may not only be inferred from the encouragement they gave to the depredations of the Indians, but undeniably proved by Lord Dorchester’s speech…Surely, then the evacuation should have been insisted upon, while these circumstances operated with full force…Those who think with me, that decision of the part of our government, and firmness in our minister, could not have failed to effect an immediate restitution of our territory, will know of what account to charge this heavy loss of blood and treasure.[127]
Would to God, my fellow citizens, I could here find some source of consolation, some ray of light, to eradicate the sullen gloom!—But alas! Every step we take plunges us into thicker darkness…Even the coward advocates for peace…which this treaty imposes. And for what? Are we nearer peace…than when Mr. Jay left this country? And yet the advocates for the treaty are continually ringing in our ears, the blessings of peace, the horrors of war; and they have the effrontery to assure us, that we enjoy the first and have escaped the last, merely…through the instrumentality of the treaty…In a political view, the treaty is bad…and…like fawning spaniels, we can be beaten into love and submission.[131]
The British treaty has been formally laid before Congress. All America is a tip-toe to see what the H. of Representatives will decide on it…On the precedent now to be set will depend the future construction of our constitution and whether the powers of legislation shall be transferred from the…Senate & H. of R. to the…Senate & Piaringo or any other Indian, Algerine, or other chief. It is fortunate that the first decision is to be in case so palpably atrocious as to have been predetermined by all America…My friendly respects to Mrs. Monroe. Adieu. Affectionately.[132]
“Equally ungrateful and impolitic, the Congress hastens to encourage the English…in…their war of extermination against France…They sent to London a minister, Mr. Jay, known by his attachment to England, and his personal relations to Lord Grenville, and he concluded suddenly a treaty of Commerce which united them with Great Britain, more than a treaty of alliance…Such a treaty…is an act of hostility against France. The French government…has testified the resentment of the French nation, by breaking off communication with an ungrateful and faithless all…Justice and sound policy equally approve this measure of the French government. There is no doubt it will give rise in the United States, to discussions which may afford, a triumph to the party of good republicans, the friends of France. [135]
The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.[139]
My Lord: The sentiments which your Lordship has been pleased to express…[on] my public conduct, do me great honour; and I pray you to accept my grateful acknowledgements…for having performed duties, …I claim no merit; but no man can feel more sensibly the reward of approbation for such services than I do…[T]he thanks of one’s country, and the esteem of good men, is the highest gratification my mind is susceptible of…I am now placed in the shade of my Vine and fig tree, and at the age of Sixty-five, am recommencing my Agricultural and Rural pursuits, which were always more congenial to my temper…than the noise and bustle of public employment…I reciprocate with great cordiality the good wishes you have been pleased to bestow upon me; and pray devoutly…[for] the return of Peace; for a more bloody, expensive, and eventful War, is not recorded in modern, if it be found in modern history. I have the honor, etc.[147]
|
|||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 89 |
https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/History/presidents/Presidents_5_Monroe.htm
|
en
|
The Fifth US President
|
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Learn about the fifth US President James Monroe.
| null |
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States (1817 to 1825).
He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia and was the last of the so-called Virginia Dynasty (the first, third, fourth, and fifth Presidents were all born in Virginia). Unlike James Madison, James Monroe was adept at foreign policy. His career climaxed in the writing of the Monroe Doctrine.
Monroe attended the College of William and Mary for two years before fighting in the Revolutionary War as an officer under the command of George Washington. He distinguished himself in several battles and was praised by Washington for his brave actions and common sense. After the Revolution, at the urging of his guardian (a wealthy uncle), he studied law with Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and Monroe became friends and Jefferson helped Monroe pursue his political career. James Monroe was a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he opposed passage of the new Constitution, not agreeing to it until the Bill of Rights was added. He went on to become United States Senator from the State of Virginia and later to serve as it's Governor.
In 1803, Jefferson sent Monroe to France, where, with Robert Livingston, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. It was a matter of being at the right place in the right time. Napoleon, in need of money for his military, sold the Louisiana territories at a good price. Monroe then went to Spain in hopes of purchasing Florida from the Spanish, then on to London in an attempt to obtain a commercial treaty with the British, which did not meet America's objectives, and which Jefferson rejected. This created a rift between Jefferson and Monroe that lasted for a number of years.
In 1817, Monroe started his first of two terms as President. Because of the domestic and political tranquility of the times, Monroe's tenure was called the "era of good feeling." The country's growing wealth, rapid westward expansion, and the new interest in roads, canals, and bridges helped to promote enthusiasm and newfound wealth among many eager to see the country grow and expand. Monroe's presidencies are among the least partisan the country has ever seen.
Monroe's cabinet was one of the strongest in United States history and included such luminaries as John Quincy Adams and John Calhoun. It was natural that there were stringent disagreements. It was during the Monroe administration that the slavery issue began to heat up. The nation was evenly divided, with eleven slave-holding states and eleven free states. Missouri's desire to enter the Union as a slave state threatened that balance. Though himself a southerner and slaveholder, Monroe did not take sides. On March 6, 1820, James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Maine and Missouri simultaneously, thus maintaining that balance of power, and declared that slavery would not be allowed in the newly acquired Louisiana territories.
|
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correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
3
| 33 |
https://www.governing.com/now/James-Monroe-and-the-Pandemic-You-Dont-Know-About.html
|
en
|
James Monroe and the Pandemic You Don’t Know About
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[
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[
"Lindsay Chervinsky",
"www.governing.com",
"Lindsay-Chervinsky.html"
] |
2020-09-02T00:00:00
|
Before he was our fifth president, Monroe was Virginia’s governor at a time when yellow fever was deadly and hard to control. Setting aside ideology, he prevented a health crisis despite his disdain for strong government.
|
en
|
/apple-touch-icon.png
|
Governing
|
https://www.governing.com/now/James-Monroe-and-the-Pandemic-You-Dont-Know-About.html
|
In late July 1800, Gov. James Monroe learned of a yellow fever outbreak in Fredericksburg, Va. Local officials were able to trace the source of the virus to Norfolk, a major port town on the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Monroe’s actions over the next several months prevented a statewide outbreak of the fatal disease and serve as a helpful case study for the government’s role during a pandemic.
It offers an interesting example of how partisan ideology can coexist with government response to infectious disease. Monroe was an ardent Jeffersonian-Republican. He adored the French, abhorred the British, despised John Adams, grew to be frustrated with George Washington, admired James Madison and worshipped Thomas Jefferson. He had campaigned against the ratification of the Constitution, fought against the Federalists that championed executive power, and spoke out in favor of states’ rights. Few people were more opposed to strong central government.
And yet, when serving as governor of Virginia, he didn’t hesitate to take drastic steps to protect his state and limit the spread of the disease. Even Monroe, the most partisan of Republicans, distinguished between political ideology and public health emergency. It’s a compelling story.
On Aug. 8, Monroe left his home in Albemarle and traveled to the capital in Richmond. After meeting with his Council of State, Monroe issued a proclamation on Aug. 23, which required a quarantine for all vessels traveling to and from the city, whether they be tiny canoe or large ship. Monroe worked with the mayors of Richmond, Petersburg, Alexandria, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg to coordinate the efforts. The quarantine required major cities that regularly traded with Norfolk to create designated examination stations. Each city would also select land near the quarantine stations and build temporary housing. Monroe instructed the mayors to house and care for all symptomatic individuals at these designated locations.
Critically, this care would be provided at the state’s expense, regardless of the class or citizenship of the individual: “It is an object of great importance to humanity as well as the general interest of Society that Such unfortunate persons be accommodated in Such manner as to secure them all the aid that can be furnished for the restoration of their health, and that all intercourse between them and the people of the Neighbourhood be completely prevented.” Sailors arriving on foreign ships would receive the same care as locals to prevent the spread to nearby cities.
On Nov. 4, 1800, Monroe lifted the quarantine after the threat had subsided. His coordinated action with local mayors produced much better results than recent pandemics. Although Norfolk lost 250 people during the outbreak, roughly 3 percent of the city’s population, the numbers were far lower than other yellow fever outbreaks around the same time.
In 1793, roughly 10 percent of Philadelphia’s population died from yellow fever — 5,000 of the 50,000 residents. Up to 20,000 Philadelphians with money and somewhere to go fled, including most of the doctors in the city. While 18th-century Americans didn’t know the cause of the disease (mosquitoes) or how to treat it, they observed that nursing and hydration helped ameliorate the side effects and encourage recovery. Unfortunately, most residents that remained in Philadelphia didn’t have the funds to hire nurses or doctors to provide health care, which meant that the poorest neighborhoods in the city were particularly devastated by the outbreak.
Monroe’s coordinated action and provision of care likely produced the different outcome of 1793 and 1800 outbreaks. Rather than each city implementing its own haphazard quarantine, Monroe enforced unilateral action across the state and prevented the disease from hopping from port to port. Norfolk’s role as a critical hub for Virginia’s commerce made centralized action especially important. Ships arriving from across the Atlantic or other states stopped in Norfolk to purchase food and supplies before heading up the James River to Richmond, the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg, or the Potomac River to Alexandria or Washington, D.C. All of these cities were vulnerable to yellow fever outbreaks because mosquitoes thrived in the humid summer weather. Additionally, ships carrying goods produced in Virginia stopped in Norfolk before traveling onto their final destination up and down the coast, or across the Atlantic. Without statewide restrictions, the disease could have easily spread across the state and the country.
The provision of public health care also curtailed the effect of the pandemic. In 1793, some poor Philadelphians received care at local hospitals staffed by volunteer nurses, but most did not. In 1800, Monroe ensured that all individuals received care. While the numbers are difficult to quantify, state-sponsored health care likely reduced the mortality rate and spread of the disease.
Over the last few months, there have been countless news stories about the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia. We know about these stories because the disease spread and thousands of lives were lost. But the outbreak of 1800 is the example we should remember.
Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky is an expert in the cabinet, presidential history, and U.S. government institutions. She can be found on Twitter at @lmchervinsky.
|
||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 21 |
https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-in-brief
|
en
|
James Monroe: Life in Brief
|
https://millercenter.org/themes/custom/miller/favicon.ico
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https://millercenter.org/themes/custom/miller/favicon.ico
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[
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2016-10-04T16:15:18-04:00
|
en
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Miller Center
|
https://millercenter.org/president/monroe/life-in-brief
|
James Monroe was the last American President of the “Virginia Dynasty”—of the first five men who held that position, four hailed from Virginia. Monroe also had a long and distinguished public career as a soldier, diplomat, governor, senator, and cabinet official. His presidency, which began in 1817 and lasted until 1825, encompassed what came to be called the "Era of Good Feelings." One of his lasting achievements was the Monroe Doctrine, which became a major tenet of U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere.
Early Revolutionary
James Monroe was born in 1758 to prosperous Virginia planters. His parents died when he was a teenager, leaving him part of the family farm. He enrolled at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in 1774, and almost immediately began participating in revolutionary activities. With a group of classmates, he raided the arsenal at the British Governor's Palace, escaping with 200 muskets and 300 swords, which the students presented to the Virginia militia. He became an officer in the Continental Army in early 1776 and, shortly thereafter, joined General George Washington's army at New York. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Trenton.
Monroe was promoted to captain and then major, and was assigned to the staff of General William Alexander, where he served for more than a year. After resigning his commission in the Continental Army in 1779, he was appointed colonel in the Virginia service. In 1780, Governor Thomas Jefferson sent Monroe to North Carolina to report on the advance of the British.
After the war, Monroe studied law with Jefferson and was elected to the Continental Congress in 1783. While a delegate to the Congress, then meeting in New York, he met Elizabeth Kortright, the daughter of a New York City merchant. A year later they were married; he was twenty-seven and she was seventeen. The newlyweds moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Monroe practiced law.
High Political Office
In 1787, Monroe began serving in the Virginia assembly and was chosen the following year as a delegate to the Virginia convention considering ratification of the new U.S. Constitution. He voted against ratification, holding out for the direct election of presidents and senators, and for the inclusion of a bill of rights. Partly due to politicians, such as Monroe, who brought attention to the omission of such constitutional guarantees, the Bill of Rights became the first ten amendments of the Constitution upon ratification in 1791. Although Monroe narrowly lost a congressional election to James Madison in 1790, the Virginia state legislature appointed him to the U.S. Senate. As a member of that body, he allied himself with Madison and Thomas Jefferson, his close personal friends, against the Federalist faction led by Vice President John Adams and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In 1794, President Washington sent Monroe to Paris as U.S. minister to France. Monroe's actions as minister angered the Federalists, however, and Washington recalled him in 1797. In 1799, he was elected governor of Virginia, where he served three one-year terms. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent him back to France to help negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. Monroe continued to serve his government in Europe, representing the United States as U.S. minister to Britain from 1803 to 1807, with a brief stint as special envoy to Spain in 1805. After he returned home, dissident Republicans nominated him to oppose James Madison for the Democratic-Republican presidential nomination in 1808. Monroe, however, never considered the challenge serious, and Madison won the election easily. Monroe was once again elected governor of Virginia in January 1811, but headed back to Washington, D.C., that April, when President Madison named him secretary of state. Monroe served in that capacity, and also for a time as secretary of war, until 1817.
Easy Race to the White House
When President Madison announced his decision to continue the custom of serving only two terms, Monroe became the logical candidate for the Democratic-Republicans. After some maneuvering within the party, Monroe prevailed to win the nomination. He had little opposition during the general election campaign. The Federalists were so out of favor with the public that a majority had abandoned the party name altogether. They ultimately nominated New York's Rufus King, but the result was a foregone conclusion. In the Electoral College, Monroe carried sixteen states to King's three. Monroe began his presidency by embarking on a presidential tour, a practice initiated by George Washington. His trip through the northern states took fifteen weeks, by which time more Americans had seen him than they had any other sitting President. A newspaper in Boston described Monroe's reception there as the beginning of a new "Era of Good Feelings" for the nation. The President later made two similar tours, one of the Chesapeake Bay area in 1818 and one of the South and West in 1819.
Era of Good Feelings
At the beginning of Monroe's presidency, the nation had much to feel good about. It had declared victory in the War of 1812 and its economy was booming, allowing the administration to turn its attention toward domestic issues. The economy was booming. The organized opposition, in the form of the Federalists, had faded largely from sight, although the government had adopted many Federalist programs, including protective tariffs and a national bank. The President, moreover, was personable, extremely popular, and interested in reaching out to all the regions of the country. Monroe faced his first crisis as President with the Panic of 1819, which resulted in high unemployment as well as increased foreclosures and bankruptcies. Some critics derided Monroe for not responding more forcefully to the depression. Although he believed that such troubles were natural for a maturing economy and that the situation would soon turn around, he could do little to alleviate their short-term effects. Monroe's second crisis came the same year, when the entrance of Missouri to the Union as a slave state threatened to disrupt the legislative balance between North and South. Congress preserved that equilibrium, negotiating a compromise in which Massachusetts allowed its northernmost counties to apply for admission to the Union as the new free state of Maine. The Missouri Compromise also called for the prohibition of slavery in the western territories of the Louisiana Purchase above the 36/30' north latitude line. Monroe worked in support of the compromise and, after ascertaining that the provisions were constitutional, signed the bill. In trying to sustain the "Era of Good Feelings," Monroe had hoped to preside over the decline of political parties. However, his administration offered only a brief respite from divisive partisan politics. The rancor surrounding the 1824 presidential election was a reminder that strong feelings still animated American political life even without the existence of two distinct parties. In fact, the Monroe presidency stood at the forefront of a transition from the first party system of the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists to the second party system of the Democrats and the Whigs.
Spanish Florida and the Monroe Doctrine
In 1818, President Monroe sent General Andrew Jackson to Spanish Florida to subdue the Seminole Indians, who were raiding American settlements. Liberally interpreting his vague instructions, Jackson led his troops deep into areas of Florida under the control of Spain and captured two Spanish forts. In addition to securing greater protection for American settlements, the mission pointed out the vulnerability of Spanish rule in Florida. Monroe and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, used that vulnerability to pressure Spain into selling Florida to the United States. As Spain's dominion in the America's continued to disintegrate, revolutions throughout its colonies brought independence to Argentina, Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. When European powers threatened to form an alliance to help Spain regain its lost domains, Monroe, with the prodding of Secretary of State Adams, declared that America would resist European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Announced in the President's message to Congress on December 2, 1823, the Monroe Doctrine thus became a cornerstone of American foreign policy. Leaving Washington after a lifetime of public service, Monroe and his wife retired to their estate in Loudoun County, Virginia. Monroe returned to private life deeply in debt and spent many of his later years trying to resolve his financial problems. He petitioned the government to repay him for past services, with the government eventually providing a portion of the amount he sought. After his wife died in 1830, Monroe moved to New York City to live with his daughter. He died there on July 4, 1831.
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James Monroe: Living in the Shadow of Giants
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[
"Clay S. Jenkinson",
"www.governing.com",
"Clay-Jenkinson.html"
] |
2023-04-29T00:00:00
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The fifth president is best known for the doctrine named for him that helped keep European powers from further meddling in the New World. And given the political environment today, you would be excused for being envious of his Era of Good Feeling.
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en
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Governing
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https://www.governing.com/context/james-monroe-living-in-the-shadow-of-giants
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Listen to the article read by the author.
Editor’s Note: This is another in an occasional series of articles Governing is publishing this year by Clay Jenkinson on some of the less well-known presidents of the United States.
Poor James Monroe (1758-1831). His greatest challenge was living in the shadow of his two illustrious predecessors, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Most people know that Jefferson and his frenemy John Adams died on the same day, the Fourth of July 1826 — Adams 91, Jefferson 83, exactly 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. By the time of their near-simultaneous death, Jefferson and Adams had fully reconciled and exchanged the finest set of letters in presidential history. Monroe died on the Fourth of July five years later, in 1831, as if to connect himself to those giants of the American Revolution, but that coincidence has not secured him a place in the pantheon of the Revolutionary era’s worthiest men.
Which is unfair.
Unsung War Hero
Unlike the pacific Jefferson and the hypochondriac Madison, Monroe was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. In fact, he was something of a war hero. He was wounded severely at the Battle of Trenton. He was with the beleaguered and diseased continental troops at Valley Forge. During that time, a frustrated Washington asked, “Where is Jefferson?”
Monroe was with George Washington on Christmas night 1776 when the plucky American army crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack on Hessian (that is, German) mercenaries at Trenton.
There he is in Emanuel Leutze’s heroic 1851 painting, standing next to Washington in the crowded boat and holding up the American flag. We now know that Monroe was actually in another, earlier boat, that nobody was standing, and the flag depicted in the famous painting was not fashioned until 1777. But who’s counting?
Prodigious Politician
Monroe’s political career was illustrious. He was a member of the Confederation Congress (before the Constitution of 1787). He was a U.S. senator. He was the 12th and the 16th governor of Virginia. He was the American minister to England and the American minister to France. He served as the secretary of war. He served as the secretary of state. And he was the fifth president of the United States.
Central to the Virginia Dynasty
Jefferson served two terms (1801-1809). Then he hand-picked his successor James Madison, his closest friend and his secretary of state. Madison served two terms (1809-1817). Then Jefferson and Madison hand-picked Monroe, who served from 1817 until 1825. The three came to be known as “the Virginia Dynasty.” They presided over the United States for a quarter century. Monroe was one of the eight presidents from Virginia: Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.
Monroe’s vice presidential running mate in 1816 was a man named Daniel Tompkins, the governor of New York, now entirely swallowed up by historical oblivion. Monroe’s opponent was Massachusetts’ high Federalist Rufus King, whose running mate John E. Howard is another historical nonentity. Monroe won in a landslide: 183-34 in the Electoral College. That was the first term. Standing for re-election in 1820, he was essentially unopposed. A single electoral vote was cast for John Quincy Adams, merely to prevent Monroe from compromising George Washington’s status as the only unanimously elected president. The Federalist Party (the party of Hamilton and John Adams) had simply disappeared. Even in his lifetime, Monroe’s eight-year tenure was labeled the Era of Good Feeling.
Monroe was the first president to deliver his inaugural address outside the Capitol. Apparently, Speaker of the House Henry Clay of Kentucky refused to permit Monroe to speak inside the Capitol because he had been overlooked for the position of secretary of state. Thus, political pettiness created a new American norm that continues to this day, more than 200 years later. In his inaugural address, Monroe said it was “gratifying to witness the increased harmony of opinion which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong to our system.” What?!
A woman who attended President Monroe’s 1825 New Year’s reception at the White House wrote, “He is tall and well formed. His dress plain and in the old style … . His manner was quiet and dignified. From the frank, honest expression of his eye I think he well deserves the encomium passed upon him by the great Jefferson, who said, ‘Monroe was so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.’”
Monroe was the last president to wear breeches rather than trousers. He was also the last of the Founding Fathers to be president of the United States.
Momentous Transactions
Two momentous events occurred during Monroe’s presidency. In 1819 the United States finally obtained The Floridas (the current state of Florida and the gulf coast all the way to the Mississippi River). The Adams-Onís Treaty pieced out the eastern flank of the United States, gave us firm control of the Gulf of Mexico and increased American power over the Caribbean.
In 1820, after long and acrimonious debate, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, which brought Maine in as a free state and Missouri as a slave state at the same time, thus maintaining the fragile sectional balance in the Senate. It also banned slavery from any new states carved out of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the southern border of Missouri (parallel 36°30′ north). After that compromise broke down in 1854, the Civil War became essentially inevitable. When Jefferson learned of the Missouri Compromise in retirement at Monticello, he said it was “the death knell” of the republic—because it created two Americas, one slave, the other free, separated by an artificial line of latitude.
The Failed Diplomat
Monroe’s pre-presidency diplomatic labors in Europe were not particularly successful. President Washington sent him to Paris in 1796 to explain the controversial and pro-British Jay Treaty. Monroe was sufficiently enthusiastic about the French Revolution to compromise his diplomatic independence. Washington recalled him in disgrace.
At that point Monroe made a potentially career-ending mistake: He published a two-volume “defense” of his actions in which he offered criticism of the untouchable Washington. Somehow, he survived that crisis.
Monroe gets more credit for the 1803 Louisiana Purchase than he deserves. In the spring of 1803, President Jefferson persuaded him (somewhat high-handedly) to travel across the Atlantic to entreat with the Emperor Napoleon on “the Mississippi question,” as it was called. France and Spain were trading the Louisiana Territory back and forth. Jefferson’s goal was to secure permanent American rights to navigation on the Mississippi River. By the time Monroe arrived in Paris, America’s minister to France, Robert Livingston of New York, had already essentially concluded the famous land deal (in which a white man in France who had never visited the New World sold 530,000,000 acres to a white man in the United States who had never visited the American West, no natives consulted). Monroe took more credit than he deserved.
Then Jefferson sent Monroe to England to try to resolve several nagging issues, including British impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy. The Monroe-Pinkney Treaty of 1806 failed to accomplish that goal. President Jefferson and Secretary of State Madison were so disappointed that they decided not to submit the treaty to the U.S. Senate. This created a rift between Monroe and Madison that was never completely healed. But Jefferson, America’s first Teflon president, was able to maintain Monroe’s perpetual loyalty.
The Monroe Doctrine
Monroe’s presidency is best remembered for the Monroe Doctrine, issued in 1823. In essence, the doctrine declares the Western Hemisphere (especially Central and South America) off limits to European intervention or colonization. Jefferson (by now the Sage of Monticello) played an advisory role in the famous pronouncement, which has been surprisingly effective in discouraging European powers from meddling in Western Hemispheric affairs. An even greater role was played by John Quincy Adams, who was arguably the greatest secretary of state in American history.
And, of Course, Slavery
Monroe owned a total of 178 slaves in the course of his life. He freed only one, a man named Peter Marks. Eight of the first 12 presidents were slaveholders. Monroe, like Jefferson, was a paper or rhetorical emancipationist. In an 1829 letter he wrote that slavery was “one of the evils still remaining, incident to our Colonial system.” This was a bit of self-soothing metaphysics. What Monroe was pretending was that slavery had been imposed on the innocent American colonists by British slave traffickers assisted by the British government. Jefferson had attempted a similar fiction in a passage in the Declaration of Independence that the Continental Congress rejected.
Monroe supported gradual abolition, followed by repatriation in Africa. He said he had “always been friendly to an emancipation and transportation from the country,” because free Blacks in America would “become a publick burden.”
Monroe was the governor of Virginia in 1800 when a 24-year-old free Black man named Gabriel Prosser organized a slave insurrection. He intended to arm 1,000 slaves, march on Richmond, take control of the state armory and the Capitol, and hold Gov. Monroe hostage. Two “friendly” slaves revealed the conspiracy at the last minute. The white response was hysterical, swift, ruthless and gruesome. Scores of African Americans were arrested (some slaves, some free Blacks), many tortured and 25 were hanged. Vice President Jefferson was sickened by the excessive reprisals. “There is a strong sentiment that there has been hanging enough,” he wrote to his friend Monroe. “The other states and the world at large will forever condemn us if we indulge in a principle of revenge, or go one step beyond absolute necessity.” Clearly, the white establishment of Virginia had already gone far beyond “absolute necessity.” In the aftermath of the abortive insurrection, the Virginia Legislature passed a series of repressive laws designed to control the movement of African Americans in the state, particularly free Black men. The Assembly made it illegal for African Americans to own, pilot or navigate a boat. Another law made it illegal for Blacks to meet in groups after work or on Sundays. Finally, in 1808, the Legislature passed a law requiring free Blacks to leave the state of Virginia within 12 months.
Monroe’s standing as an American president and his place in American history would be greater if he had not had to share the stage with Jefferson and Madison. He may have been the least of the three in intellectual power and statesmanship, but he was in some limited ways more successful than either of them. At a time when we are hopelessly damaged by partisan wrangling, Monroe’s Era of Good Feeling seems like a distant but wonderful fairy tale.
Clay S. Jenkinson is a historian and humanities scholar based in North Dakota. He is founder of both the Theodore Roosevelt Center and Listening to America. He can be reached at ltamerica.org.
|
||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
3
| 80 |
https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/749/History-Corner
|
en
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Fredericksburg, VA - Official Website
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https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/images/favicon.ico
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https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/images/favicon.ico
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The Arts and Cultural Council of the Rappahannock
The Arts and Cultural Council of the Rappahannock (ACCR) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization serving the city of Fredericksburg, the town of Colonial Beach, and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland, Virginia.
Central Rappahannock Heritage Center
The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center archives and preserves historical documents and photographs pertaining to the history and people from the counties of Caroline, Stafford, King George, Spotsylvania and the City of Fredericksburg in Virginia.
Fredericksburg Area Museum
The Fredericksburg Area Museum, housed in historic Town Hall/ Market House (c. 1816), has been part of the fabric of community life throughout the Fredericksburg area for nearly three decades. It tells the stories of the Fredericksburg community and regions, from the Virginia Indians pre-contact to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Their goal is to connect people to our community’s history.
Fredericksburg City Cemetery
The Fredericksburg City Cemetery was established in 1844. Today, it continues to tell the story of Fredericksburg's history. The cemetery adjoins the Confederate Cemetery on Washington Avenue Visitors are welcome; the cemetery closes at dusk.
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park has four major Civil War Battlefields and four historic buildings. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania--this is America's battleground, where the Civil War roared to its bloody climax. No place more vividly reflects the War's tragic cost in all its forms. A town bombarded and looted. Farms large and small ruined. Refugees by the thousands forced into the countryside. More than 85,000 men wounded; 15,000 killed--most in graves unknown.
The George Washington Foundation
The mission of The George Washington Foundation is to enhance the public understanding and appreciation of the lives, values, and legacies of George Washington, Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis, and their families.
George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm
Historic Kenmore Plantation
Greater Fredericksburg Tourism Partnership
FXBG.com has a comprehensive list for tourists of area historic attractions within the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania and Stafford, Virginia.
Historic Court Records
The information presented by Historic Court Records are primarily extracts of "loose papers" - the paper trail behind Court Order Book entries. Fortunately, it appears that most "loose papers" survived the turmoil of the Civil War even though Fredericksburg changed hands a number of times and was decimated during the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.
Historic Fredericksburg Foundation
Boyhood home of George Washington and site of crucial Civil war battles, the Fredericksburg Virginia area boasts a storied past and a delightful old town center. The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation is devoted to preserving and revitalizing our historic environment through member events, research, grants, education, easements, building markers, and advocacy.
James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library, located in historic downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia, holds the country's largest collection of artifacts and documents related to the fifth president of the United States.
Washington Heritage Museums
Washington Heritage Museums is an organization with several hundred members. Besides having regular educational programs and social events, they maintain and staff four historic house museums in downtown Fredericksburg: the Mary Washington House, Rising Sun Tavern, Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop and St. James' House.
Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop Facebook Page
Mary Washington House Facebook Page
Rising Sun Tavern Facebook Page
St. James' House Facebook Page
|
||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 76 |
https://www.tenement.org/blog/a-walk-among-the-tombstones-in-the-historic-lower-east-side/
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en
|
A Walk Among the Tombstones... in the Historic Lower East Side
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2014-10-30T14:44:18+00:00
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With Halloween rapidly approaching in 24 hours it only seems appropriate for us to write about the New York City Marble Cemetery located in the historic
|
en
|
Tenement Museum
|
https://www.tenement.org/blog/a-walk-among-the-tombstones-in-the-historic-lower-east-side/
|
With Halloween rapidly approaching in 24 hours it only seems appropriate for us to write about the New York City Marble Cemetery located in the historic Lower East Side (aka the East Village). Now when you think of New York City you tend to associate it with skyscrapers, tenements, taxi cabs, hot dog vendors, and the films of Spike Lee or Woody Allen (no disrespect to you fans of Midnight In Paris and Vicky Cristina Barcelona). One thing you don’t associate with Manhattan is a cemetery.
Yet among the apartments and buildings on Second Avenue, you will very quietly come across the historic New York City Marble Cemetery, which is one of the few still active cemeteries in the city. Recently, we at the Tenement Museum were fortunate enough to get a rare tour of the cemetery – so rare in fact that rumor has it years ago they turned down The Rolling Stones who wanted to shoot a video there – to find out more about its fascinating history. The folks at the cemetery also allowed us to take some photographs which we will be posting in this blog.
Now let’s get one very confusing thing out of the way. There is The New York Marble Cemetery which is located one block away at 41 ½ Second Avenue that is not visible to the general public. We aren’t going to be discussing that cemetery. The cemetery we are going to discuss is called New York City Marble Cemetery and is located at 52-74 East 2nd Street between First and Second Avenues. It’s confusing because besides being similar in name and location, they also were founded one year apart with The New York Marble Cemetery opening in 1830 and New York City Marble Cemetery opening in 1831. Similarities aside, they are completely independent of one another.
When the New York City Marble Cemetery opened its gates – or should I say its tombs – in 1831, it was the second non-sectarian burial ground in New York City opened to the public after The New York Marble Cemetery. Similar to The New York Marble Cemetery, the cemetery buried its dead in specially constructed underground marble vaults, made specifically from Tuckahoe marble (yes, from Tuckahoe, NY). This was a result of the yellow fever outbreak in 1830 that caused many residents to fear burying their dead in the traditional way: casket a few feet below ground. To this day, the cemetery continues to bury its dead this way.
When the cemetery first opened, it was a highly sought after location to spend your eternal days. Monuments and markers were permitted to signify the location of specific family vaults. There are many well-known New Yorkers who are buried in New York City Marble Cemetery that include Stephen Allen, the one-time mayor of the City and governor of New York; James Lenox, who was one of the founders of The New York Public Library; and a well-known New York merchant in mercantile and shipping named Preserved Fish. Yes, his actual name was Preserved Fish… awesome, isn’t it?
But with all due respect to these men of great reputation and success, the biggest and most important name ever buried in the cemetery was that of former President of the United States, James Monroe. After the death of his wife, Monroe moved to New York to live with his son-in-law who happened to own a vault in the cemetery. When Monroe died in 1831, he became one of the first people buried in New York City Marble Cemetery, and because of the attention his death received, it raised the profile of the cemetery. However, even in death nothing is eternal, and in 1858 Monroe’s home state of Virginia passed a resolution to have the President’s remains returned to the state and reburied at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. The cemetery’s most famous internment had left the building…or should I say graveyard.
Today, besides being an active cemetery, the New York City Marble Cemetery does in fact give occasional tours and host special events. Yes, they even will host the occasional wedding. If you are DYING to visit the cemetery you can find out more at their website www.nycmc.org
– Post by Jon Pace
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correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
1
| 60 |
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
|
en
|
James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy
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1999-07-28T00:00:00+00:00
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James Monroe - 5th President, Louisiana Purchase, Foreign Policy: On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more
|
en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe/Later-years-and-assessment
|
On the expiration of his second term, Monroe retired to his home, an estate called Oak Hill in northern Virginia. In 1826 he became a regent of the University of Virginia and in 1829 was a member of the convention called to amend the state constitution. Having neglected his private affairs and incurred large expenditures during his missions to Europe and his presidency, he was deeply in debt and felt compelled to ask Congress to reimburse him. In 1826 Congress finally authorized the payment to him of $30,000. Almost immediately, adding additional claims, he went back to Congress seeking more money. Congress paid him another $30,000 in 1831, but he still did not feel satisfied. After his death Congress appropriated a small amount for the purchase of his papers from his heirs. Monroe died in 1831—like Jefferson and Adams before him on the Fourth of July—in New York City at the home of his daughter, Maria, with whom he was living after the death of his wife the year before. In 1858, the centennial year of his birth, his remains were reinterred with impressive ceremonies at Richmond, Virginia. After Liberia was created in 1821 as a haven for freed slaves, its capital city was named Monrovia in honour of the American president, who had supported the repatriation of blacks to Africa.
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, and many other prominent statesmen of Monroe’s time all spoke loudly in his praise, but he suffers by comparison with the greater men of his time. Possessing none of their brilliance, he had, nevertheless, to use the words of John Quincy Adams, “a mind…sound in its ultimate judgments, and firm in its final conclusions.” Some of Monroe’s popularity undoubtedly stemmed from the fact that he was the last of the Revolutionary War generation, and he reminded people of those heady times when the struggle for independence was in the balance. Tall and stately in appearance, he still wore the knee britches, silk stockings, and cocked hat of those days, and many of his admirers said that he resembled George Washington.
Samuel Flagg Bemis
|
||||
correct_death_00070
|
FactBench
|
0
| 7 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe_Tomb
|
en
|
James Monroe Tomb
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2008-04-14T05:33:30+00:00
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en
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Monroe_Tomb
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LocationHollywood Cemetery, 412 S. Cherry St., Richmond, Virginia, U.S.CoordinatesBuilt1859ArchitectAlbert LybrockArchitectural styleGothic RevivalPart ofHollywood Cemetery (ID69000350)NRHP reference No.71001044VLR No.127-0221-0080Significant datesAdded to NRHPNovember 11, 1971[2]Designated NHLNovember 11, 1971[3]Designated CPNovember 12, 1969Designated VLRMarch 19, 1997[1]
The James Monroe Tomb is the burial place of U.S. President James Monroe in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, United States. The principal feature of the tomb is an architecturally unusual cast iron cage, designed by Albert Lybrock and installed in 1859 after Monroe's body was moved from Marble Cemetery in New York City. The tomb was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971 for its unique architecture.[3][4] To Richmonders it is colloquially known as The Birdcage.
The James Monroe Tomb is located in the southern reaches of Hollywood Cemetery, in a prominent location surrounded by a circular drive and overlooking the James River. Monroe's body rests in a simple granite sarcophagus that is set on a granite plinth. Surrounding the sarcophagus is an elaborate Gothic Revival cast iron "cage", measuring about 9 by 13 feet (2.7 m × 4.0 m). Each face of the cage has a lancet-arched shape similar to that found in the tracery of larger Gothic stained glass windows, with a rose window pattern at the top of the arch. On the long sides, this main arch is flanked by narrow arches. The corners of the cage have colonettes surmounted by tabernacle-like structures. The top of the cage consists of ogee-curved elements meeting at a central spire.[4] The grave of another president, John Tyler, is located just a few yards away.
James Monroe died in New York City in 1831, and was interred in Marble Cemetery. In 1856, Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise sought to repatriate Monroe's remains to his native state. The state appropriated funds, and Monroe's remains were transported to Richmond aboard the steamship Jamestown. The tomb, erected in 1859, was designed by the German-born architect Albert Lybrock, and its cast iron elements were cast by Wood and Perot of Philadelphia. The tomb is considered architecturally significant first for the scale of its use of cast iron, a material not commonly used at that time for that purpose, and for delicacy and degree of flamboyancy achieved in its creation, which could not have been done in stone.[4]
In 2015, as a part of plans to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Monroe's election as America's fifth president, Monroe's tomb received a $900,000 makeover from the Department of General Services in the state of Virginia. Almost forty percent of the tomb's cast iron structure was repaired and returned to a color closer to its original state. The restoration took close to a year to complete and was finished in September 2016.[5]
List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places listings in Richmond, Virginia
Media related to James Monroe Tomb at Wikimedia Commons
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https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0f4ea7c0-e22f-0132-9001-58d385a7b928
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en
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James Monroe
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One of hundreds of thousands of free digital items from The New York Public Library.
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en
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NYPL Digital Collections
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https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0f4ea7c0-e22f-0132-9001-58d385a7b928
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MLA Format
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "James Monroe" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1781. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0f4ea7c0-e22f-0132-9001-58d385a7b928
Chicago/Turabian Format
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "James Monroe" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0f4ea7c0-e22f-0132-9001-58d385a7b928
APA Format
Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. (1781). James Monroe Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0f4ea7c0-e22f-0132-9001-58d385a7b928
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https://visitingthepresidents.com/tag/james-monroe/
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en
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james monroe – Visiting the Presidents
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Posts about james monroe written by visitingthepresidents
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Visiting the Presidents
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https://visitingthepresidents.com/tag/james-monroe/
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Tag Archives: james monroe
Season 3, Episode 5-James Monroe’s Tomb
Listen to This Episode! Where has James Monroe been?! Our fourth President to die and the first to be buried in another state, as well as our first exhumed and relocated President! Learn about James’ brief post-Presidency, his death, his reburial, and his distinctive gravesite! Make sure to listen to James Monroe’s “Visiting the Presidents”Continue reading “Season 3, Episode 5-James Monroe’s Tomb”
Season 2, Episode 47-My Top Fifteen Presidential Homes and Season 2 Recap!
Check out Season 1’s “Top Ten Presidential Birthplaces and Season Recap!” Handing out some Presidential Home Superlatives and Giving my Top FIFTEEN Favorite Homes! Share your own below or on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter and tag Visiting the Presidents! Top Ten Homes 2. Franklin Roosevelt’s Springwood 3. Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill 4. George Washington’s Mount Vernon 5. JohnContinue reading “Season 2, Episode 47-My Top Fifteen Presidential Homes and Season 2 Recap!”
Visiting New York City’s Presidents
Heading to the Big Apple, and want to Visit the Presidents?! Look no further! In this Episode, I tell you about the Presidents who were born, lived, died, and are buried here in New York City! In collaboration with Ryan Purcell and The Gotham Center for New York City History. Featured Visits! Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace:Continue reading “Visiting New York City’s Presidents”
Season 2, Episode 5-James Monroe and Highland
Listen to This Episode! James Monroe, Fifth President, is connected to several properties, most notably Highland, with Oak Hill and New York City also having a connection. Learn about Monroe’s properties, as well as his time as president and his wife, Elizabeth, as well as his homes! Be sure to listen to James Monroe’s “VisitingContinue reading “Season 2, Episode 5-James Monroe and Highland”
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https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
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A Brief Biography of James Monroe
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres.
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Highland
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https://highland.org/discover-monroe/
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Born on April 28, 1758—in Westmoreland County, Virginia—James Monroe was the second of five children of Spence and Elizabeth Jones Monroe, “small” planters who raised tobacco on their farm of approximately 500 acres. Initially educated at Parson Campbell’s school in Westmoreland, the future President studied at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1774 until 1776, when he enlisted in the Continental Army’s Third Virginia Infantry Regiment.
As an 18-year-old Lieutenant, Monroe crossed the Delaware River during Gen. George Washington’s December 1776 campaign, and was wounded at the subsequent Battle of Trenton. During the winter of 1777-78, Monroe camped with the army at Valley Forge. The following June he participated in the Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey. After leaving the army in January 1779, he continued to serve in the Virginia Militia and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
Monroe returned to Williamsburg and met Governor Thomas Jefferson, with whom he began to study the law in Richmond in the spring of 1780. Monroe and Jefferson became lifelong friends.
In February 1786 Monroe married Elizabeth Kortright of New York City. Soon after, the couple moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Monroe practiced law for three years before moving to Albemarle County, Virginia. (Today, the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is located on the property where Monroe’s law office once stood.)
The Monroes had three children—Eliza (born in late 1786), James Spence Monroe (born in May 1799, died in September 1800), and Maria Hester (born in the spring of 1802). For 24 years—from 1799 to 1823—the Monroe family home was Highland, Monroe’s Albemarle County property adjacent to Jefferson’s Monticello.
Monroe’s fifty years of public service began in 1782 with his election to the Virginia General Assembly. Subsequently, Monroe served in the Confederation Congress and in the first United States Senate; was twice Minister to France, and later Minister to England and to Spain. He was elected to four one-year terms as Governor of Virginia, became Secretary of State for the remainder of President James Madison’s two terms, and also served as Secretary of War during the War of 1812. Monroe’s greatest achievement as a diplomat was his negotiation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Elected President of the United States in 1816 and in 1820, James Monroe resolved long-standing grievances with the British, acquired Florida from Spain in 1819, and proclaimed the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823. Optimistically labeled the “Era of Good Feelings,” Monroe’s administration was hampered by the economic depression brought on by the “Panic of 1819,” and by the debates over the Missouri Compromise that same year. Nonetheless, the Missouri Compromise—along with its admission of two new states—was one of Monroe’s political accomplishments, achieved through behind-the-scenes negotiation and consensus-building. Monroe supported the American Colonization Society which established the west-Africa nation of Liberia for freed blacks. Its capital was named Monrovia in his honor. Monroe himself was torn between his belief that slavery was an evil institution, and his fear of the consequences of immediate abolition.
A nationalist in diplomacy and defense, James Monroe supported a limited executive branch of the federal government, distrusted a strong central government in domestic matters, extolled the advantages of industrious famers and craftspeople, and advocated republican virtue—the notion that the needs of the public should be paramount over personal greed and party ambition.
A tall, slender man, Monroe distinguished himself throughout his career with his careful deliberation and cautious action. Known as a solid and able leader, Monroe, as President, assembled a particularly strong and talented cabinet. He helped define the young United States in a world dominated by numerous European powers, and contributed in multiple ways to the nation’s successful western expansion. James Monroe achieved distinction as a successful diplomat and administrator, and furthered our country’s strong national identity.
James Monroe died in New York City—at the home of his daughter Maria Hester Gouverneur—on July 4, 1831, exactly five years after the simultaneous deaths of Jefferson and John Adams. In 1858 his body was reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
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The Monroe House, 63 Prince Street, New York City, where James Monroe died at the house of his son
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Download this stock image: The Monroe House, 63 Prince Street, New York City, where James Monroe died at the house of his son-in-law, Samuel Gouverneur. Circa 1910 - 2CABHGY from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.
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The Monroe House, 63 Prince Street, New York City, where James Monroe died at the house of his son-in-law, Samuel Gouverneur. Circa 1910
Captions are provided by our contributors.
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https://www.usconstitution.net/james-monroe-childhood/
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James Monroe Childhood – U.S. Constitution.net
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2024-04-23T10:55:55+00:00
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Family Background and Early Life James Monroe was born into a planter family in 18th-century Virginia. His father, Spence Monroe, was of Scottish descent, while his mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe, brought Welsh heritage to the family. Monroe was raised on a 600-acre property in Westmoreland County, where the family's economic and cultural practices relied heavily […]
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https://www.usconstitution.net/james-monroe-childhood/
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Family Background and Early Life
James Monroe was born into a planter family in 18th-century Virginia. His father, Spence Monroe, was of Scottish descent, while his mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe, brought Welsh heritage to the family. Monroe was raised on a 600-acre property in Westmoreland County, where the family's economic and cultural practices relied heavily on agriculture and slave labor.
Monroe's family was well-connected, providing him with unique educational opportunities. From the age of 11, he was tutored by Reverend Archibald Campbell. Tragedy struck early in Monroe's life, with the death of his father in 1774, followed by his mother's death. These events thrust him into early responsibility as he and his siblings entered into the guardianship of their uncle, Joseph Jones, who provided guidance and professional connections that assisted Monroe in his later political career.
Growing up on a plantation that relied on enslaved labor inevitably influenced James Monroe's perspectives and policies. His involvement in managing such a plantation provided him with firsthand insight into the intricacies of slave management and agriculture in colonial America, experiences that would shape his understanding of national and regional economic systems.1
Education and Influential Mentors
Monroe's intellectual development was furthered by his attendance at Campbelltown Academy under the tutelage of Reverend Archibald Campbell, who imparted a classical education and commitment to Enlightenment ideals. Monroe's studies were abruptly halted when, inspired by the spirit of independence sweeping through Virginia, he dropped out at the age of sixteen to enroll in the College of William and Mary.
At the College of William and Mary, Monroe was exposed to the rigors of higher education and the simmering political chaos of revolutionary America. He participated in a raid on the Royal Governor's Palace, securing weapons for the Virginia militia, an act of defiance that demonstrated his embrace of the revolutionary cause.
Monroe's introduction to Thomas Jefferson, then the Governor of Virginia, added further depth to his education. Under Jefferson's guidance, Monroe studied law, a discipline that widened his intellectual horizon and prepared him for the challenges of public service. Jefferson's philosophies, arguing for a country founded on principles of republicanism and democratic rights, deeply influenced Monroe's future policies and commitment to the values of liberty and governance.2
Early Adversities and Resilience
The untimely deaths of both parents propelled James Monroe from adolescence into adult responsibilities. He inherited family lands and responsibilities, requiring him to manage the estate and lead his siblings. These challenges demanded a substantial degree of maturity and cunning, qualities which Monroe displayed amply.
Monroe's decision to join the Revolutionary War was influenced by his political ideologies fostered by his uncle's guidance and academic engagements. The war provided a means to assert his beliefs in liberty and independence and an outlet for his leadership qualities and resilience.
Within the ranks of the Virginia infantry and later as an officer in George Washington's army, Monroe demonstrated remarkable resilience, from his bold action at Trenton to his steady endurance through the winter at Valley Forge. These adversities cemented his leadership skills, each ordeal serving as a testament to his character and as a building block in his developmental journey, equipping him for the challenges he would face in his later political career.3
Transition from Education to Military Service
Amidst the revolutionary zeal that gripped the American colonies, James Monroe's decision to leave his academic pursuits at the College of William and Mary for military service underscored a profound transition in his life—a transition marked by an unwavering commitment to the Patriot cause.
Governor Dunmore's escapade—fleeing Williamsburg and leaving behind a cache of weapons—marked a critical juncture. Monroe was among the students who seized the opportunity to raid the Governor's Palace, liberating weapons and munitions for the colonial militia's arsenal. This act was emblematic of the escalating commitment among the colonists to break free from British rule; for Monroe, it was a decisive plunge into the fray of revolutionary battle.
Influenced by the revolutionary sentiments pervading his milieu and inspired by peers and mentors who believed in the American cause, Monroe recognized a higher calling that resonated with his principles of liberty and justice. Thus, spurred by a patriotic zeal that would define much of his later life, he enlisted as a cadet in the Third Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army.
Monroe's enlistment was a commitment to the intellectual and existential battle for the soul of a new nation. The Colonial soldiers were fighting an external enemy and advocating a radical redefinition of governance and human rights. The social and political milieu of the time, characterized by bold ideas of governance free from monarchical rule and the stirring ardor for self-determination, proved catalytic in Monroe's choice.
This transition from scholarly pursuits to military engagement highlights a pivotal phase in Monroe's early years—a phase where education and mentoring intertwined with visceral experiences of frontline confrontations. Each canon blast and musket fire on the fields contested British tyranny and echoed the philosophical and ideological debates of the age. This synthesis of learning and martial engagement carved out Monroe into a statesman, whose convictions were as battle-tested on the combat fields as they were forged in the intellectual and political discourses of his time.4
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https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/201/Historic-District
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Fredericksburg, VA - Official Website
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Visit the historic district area of Fredericksburg.
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Rich History
Fredericksburg's identity and character are directly related to its rich history. Captain John Smith, while charting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, reached this area in 1608, his westernmost exploration in the New World. Before Fredericksburg was founded, Alexander Spotswood established an iron industry in the upstream wilderness.
Across the Rappahannock River from the newly established town, a boy named George Washington grew to manhood. Six months before Yorktown, the Marquis de Lafayette and a division of Continental soldiers hurried through these urban blocks and headed south, to confront Lord Cornwallis and his British Regulars coming up from the Carolinas.
First Governing Body
As the newly independent nation developed, a young James Monroe hung out an attorney's shingle and was elected to the local governing body. The river cascading out of the Piedmont powered local industries and brought prosperity. The Civil War brought destruction. The river's constant flow drove economic recovery in the war's aftermath. A railroad and roadways continue to link the city to the larger economy and new residents still find their way to this quiet, yet dynamic community.
Oldest Building
The oldest surviving building in downtown Fredericksburg dates to 1737. The newest one is still under construction. This built environment, which spans nearly three centuries, exerts a strong sense of continuity. There are grand residences on lower Caroline Street and remnants of industrial buildings on upper Caroline. William Street and the middle section of Caroline Street are still the focus of the business district. Princess Anne Street remains the government corridor. Warehouses adapted to new uses sit adjacent to a railway that cut through town in antebellum days.
Residential Areas
The many residential areas in downtown Fredericksburg are close-knit neighborhoods. Their distinctive architectural characteristics reflect their respective periods of development. The church steeples that defined the town's Civil War skyline still preside over sanctuaries of worship. The historic street grid adapts amazingly well to modern automobiles, effectively diffusing traffic, and confounding the vaunted computer models of modern road planners.
Word on the Street
People describe Fredericksburg as an attractive place to live and do business, using phrases like quality of life, small-town atmosphere, and sense of place. These seemingly vague concepts relate directly to a community's physical attributes. The historic sections of Fredericksburg include interconnected streets, shaded sidewalks, safe street crossings, and a mix of residential and commercial activities. These interrelated components provide opportunities for social encounter and exchange, as citizens attend to their daily activities. Fredericksburg's Historic District remains the community's social, political, and cultural core and continues to define its identity.
Preservation
Historic preservation is important to maintaining a community's character, but should not be viewed as a recreation of the past. Instead, the Historic District is a reference point for change. Fredericksburg's collection of historic buildings is a tangible link to the past, but accommodates a changing world. The city's history is evident in its architecture, but the community still functions and grows.
Historic buildings are routinely adapted and upgraded to remain economically viable, while keeping their character defining features intact. New buildings are integrated into their historic setting and will eventually become historic in their own right. Insignificant or unusable buildings are removed to allow continued urban growth.
New Development
Alterations, new construction, and demolition must always respect Fredericksburg's historic character. The challenge is to ensure that development and redevelopment reflects the community's values and the mechanisms for doing so are local preservation legislation, an appointed citizen review board, and public participation.
Historic District Handbook
A Historic District Handbook (PDF) is available, at no cost, to any city resident who wants one, whether or not they live in the Historic District. Compiled by the Fredericksburg Architectural Review Board and its staff, this publication includes an overview of the city's history, a section on how historic overlay zoning works, guidelines for renovations as well as new construction in a historic context, a review of Fredericksburg's architectural history, a glossary of architectural terms, and more.
Citizens can examine a copy online (PDF) or obtain their own copy through the Office of Planning and Community Development:
Executive Plaza
Suite 400
601 Caroline St.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Historic District Survey
Beginning in 2006, the City of Fredericksburg, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), sponsored a multi-phase survey (PDF) of all buildings within the current Fredericksburg Historic District and within a potential boundary expansion of the district.
Tax Credit
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correct_death_00070
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FactBench
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2
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe
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en
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James Monroe | Biography, Presidency, & Facts
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"Samuel Flagg Bemis"
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1999-07-28T00:00:00+00:00
|
James Monroe, fifth president of the United States (1817–25), who issued an important contribution to U.S. foreign policy in the Monroe Doctrine.
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en
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/favicon.png
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Monroe
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Early life and career
Monroe’s father, Spence Monroe, was of Scottish descent, and his mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe, of Welsh descent. The family were owners of a modest 600 acres (240 hectares) in Virginia. At age 16 Monroe entered the College of William and Mary but in 1776 left to fight in the American Revolution. As a lieutenant he crossed the Delaware with General George Washington for what became the Battle of Trenton. Suffering a near fatal wound in the shoulder, Monroe was carried from the field. Upon recovering, he was promoted to captain for heroism, and he took part in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Advanced to major, he became aide-de-camp to General William Alexander (Lord Stirling) and with him shared the suffering of the troops at Valley Forge in the cruel winter of 1777–78. Monroe was a scout for Washington at the Battle of Monmouth and served as Lord Stirling’s adjutant general.
In 1780, having resigned his commission in the army, he began the study of law under Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia, and between the two men there developed an intimacy and a sympathy that had a powerful influence upon Monroe’s later career. Jefferson also fostered a friendship between Monroe and James Madison.
Monroe was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782 and was chosen a member of the governor’s council. From 1783 to 1786 he served in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the new nation. During his term he vigorously insisted on the right of the United States to navigate the Mississippi River, then controlled by the Spanish, and attempted, in 1785, to secure for the weak Congress the power to regulate commerce, thereby removing one of the great defects in the existing central government. In 1786 Monroe, 27 years old, and Elizabeth Kortright of New York, 17 years old, were married. They had two daughters, Eliza Kortright and Maria Hester, and a son who died in infancy. Eliza often was at her father’s side as official hostess when he was president, substituting for her ailing mother. Maria’s marriage to a cousin, Samuel L. Gouverneur, in 1820 was the first wedding performed in the President’s House, as the White House was then called.
Britannica Quiz
U.S. Presidents and Their Years in Office Quiz
Retiring from Congress in 1786, Monroe began practicing law at Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was chosen a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1787 and in 1788 a member of the state convention at which Virginia ratified the new federal Constitution. In 1790 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he vigorously opposed President George Washington’s administration. Nevertheless, in 1794 Washington nominated him as minister to France.
Minister to France
It was the hope of the administration that Monroe’s well-known French sympathies would secure for him a favourable reception and that his appointment would also conciliate France’s friends in the United States. His warm welcome in France and his enthusiasm for the French Revolution, which he regarded as a natural successor to the American Revolution, displeased the Federalists (the party of Alexander Hamilton, which encouraged close ties not to France but to England) at home. Monroe did nothing, moreover, to reconcile the French to the Jay Treaty, which regulated commerce and navigation between the United States and Great Britain during the French Revolutionary wars.
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Without real justification, the French regarded the treaty as a violation of the French-American treaty of commerce and amity of 1778 and as a possible cause for war. Monroe led the French government to believe that the Jay Treaty would never be ratified by the United States, that the administration of George Washington would be overthrown as a result of the obnoxious treaty, and that better things might be expected after the election in 1796 of a new president, perhaps Thomas Jefferson. Washington, though he did not know of this intrigue, sensed that Monroe was unable to represent his government properly and, late in 1796, recalled him.
Monroe returned to America in the spring of 1797 and in the following December published a defense of his course in a pamphlet of 500 pages entitled A View of the Conduct of the Executive, in the Foreign Affairs of the United States. Washington seems never to have forgiven Monroe for this stratagem, though Monroe’s opinion of Washington and Jay underwent a change in his later years. In 1799 Monroe was chosen governor of Virginia and was twice reelected, serving until 1802.
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