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{{Infobox officeholder
|image            = James Monroe White House portrait 1819.gif
|office           = [[List of Presidents of the United States|5th]] [[President of the United States]]
|vicepresident    = [[Daniel D. Tompkins|Daniel Tompkins]]
|term_start       = March 4, 1817
|term_end         = March 4, 1825
|predecessor      = [[James Madison]]
|successor        = [[John Quincy Adams]]
|office2          = [[United States Secretary of War#List of Secretaries|8th]] [[United States Secretary of War]]
|president2       = [[James Madison]]
|term_start2      = September 27, 1814
|term_end2        = March 2, 1815
|predecessor2     = [[John Armstrong, Jr.]]
|successor2       = [[William H. Crawford|William Crawford]]
|office3          = [[List of Secretaries of State of the United States|7th]] [[United States Secretary of State]]
|president3       = [[James Madison]]
|term_start3      = April 2, 1811
|term_end3        = March 4, 1817
|predecessor3     = [[Robert Smith (Cabinet member)|Robert Smith]]
|successor3       = [[John Quincy Adams]]
|office4          = [[List of Governors of Virginia|12th and 16th]] [[Governor of Virginia]]
|term_start4      = December 28, 1799
|term_end4        = December 1, 1802
|predecessor4     = [[James Wood (governor)|James Wood]]
|successor4       = [[John Page (Virginia politician)|John Page]]
|term_start5      = January 16, 1811
|term_end5        = April 2, 1811
|predecessor5     = [[George William Smith (politician)|George William Smith]]
|successor5       = [[George William Smith (politician)|George William Smith]]
|minister_from6   = United States
|country6         = the United Kingdom
|nominator6       = [[Thomas Jefferson]]
|term_start6      = April 18, 1803
|term_end6        = February 26, 1808
|predecessor6     = [[Rufus King]]
|successor6       = [[William Pinkney]]
|minister_from7   = United States
|country7         = France
|nominator7       = [[George Washington]]
|term_start7      = May 28, 1794
|term_end7        = September 9, 1796
|predecessor7     = [[Gouverneur Morris]]
|successor7       = [[Charles C. Pinckney|Charles Pinckney]]
|jr/sr8           = United States Senator
|state8           = [[Virginia]]
|term_start8      = November 9, 1790
|term_end8        = March 29, 1794
|predecessor8     = [[John Walker (Virginia politician)|John Walker]]
|successor8       = [[Stevens Thomson Mason (Virginia)|Stevens Mason]]
|office9          = {{nowrap|Delegate to the [[Congress of the Confederation]]}} <br> from [[Virginia]]
|term_start9      = November 3, 1783
|term_end9        = November 7, 1786
|predecessor9     = ''New seat''
|successor9       = [[Henry Lee III|Henry Lee]]
|birth_date       = {{birth date|1758|4|28}}
|birth_place      = [[Monroe Hall, Virginia|Monroe Hall]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], [[British America]]
|death_date       = {{death date and age|1831|7|4|1758|4|28}}
|death_place      = [[New York City]], [[New York]], U.S.
|restingplace     = [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]]<br>[[Richmond, Virginia]]
|party            = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]]
|residence        = [[Ash Lawn–Highland|Ash Lawn]]
|spouse           = {{marriage|[[Elizabeth Monroe|Elizabeth Kortright]]|February 16, 1786|September 23, 1830|reason=her death}}
|alma_mater       = [[The College of William & Mary|College of William and Mary]]
|profession       = [[Lawyer]]<br>[[Plantations in the American South|Planter]]<br>[[Academic administration|College Administrator]]
|children         = 3
|religion         = [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]]
|signature        = James Monroe's sig.svg
|signature_alt    = Cursive signature in ink
|allegiance       = {{flag|United States|name=United States of America|1777|size=23px}}
|branch           = {{flagicon image|Gadsden flag.svg|size=23px}} [[Continental Army]]<br>{{Flagdeco|United States|1777|size=23px}} [[Virginia Army National Guard|Virginia Militia]]
|rank             = [[Major (rank)|Major]] (Army)<br>[[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] (militia)
|serviceyears     = 1775–1777 (Army)<br>1777–1780 (militia)
|battles          = [[American Revolutionary War]]<br>{{*}}[[Battle of Trenton]]
}}

'''James Monroe''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|n|ˈ|r|oʊ}}; April 28, 1758 &ndash; July 4, 1831) was the [[List of Presidents of the United States|fifth]] [[President of the United States]] (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father of the United States]] and the last president from the [[Virginia dynasty|Virginian dynasty]] and the [[List of Presidents of the United States by date of birth#Generation|Republican Generation]].<ref>Harlow Unger, ''James Monroe: The Last Founding Father'' (2009).</ref> Born in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia|Westmoreland County]], [[Virginia]], Monroe was of the planter class and fought in the [[American Revolutionary War]]. He was wounded 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 [[List of delegates to the Continental Congress|delegate]]  in the [[Continental Congress]]. As an [[Anti-Federalism|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 [[United States Senate|Senate]] of [[1st United States Congress|the first United States Congress]], where he joined the [[Democratic-Republican Party|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 [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] and the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] under President [[James Madison]].<ref name="Hart1"/>

Facing little opposition from the fractured [[Federalist Party]], Monroe was [[United States presidential election, 1816|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 [[Adams–Onís Treaty|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 Ocean|Atlantic]] to the [[Pacific Ocean|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 north|42nd Parallel]] to the Pacific Ocean and represented America's first determined attempt at creating an "American global empire".<ref name=Weeks_p1>{{cite book |last=Weeks |first=William Earl |title=John Quincy Adams and American Global Empire |year=1992 |publisher=University of Kentucky Press |page=1}}</ref>  As nationalism surged, partisan fury subsided and the "[[Era of Good Feelings]]" ensued until the [[Panic of 1819]] struck and [[Missouri Compromise|dispute over the admission of Missouri]] embroiled the country in 1820. Nonetheless, Monroe [[United States presidential election, 1820|won near-unanimous reelection]].

Monroe supported the founding of [[American Colonization Society|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 [[Spanish American wars of independence|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==
[[File:JamesMonroeHomesiteMarker.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Marker designating the site of James Monroe's birthplace in [[Monroe Hall, Virginia]]]]

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.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>  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.<ref name="Harry Ammon 1990 p. 577">Harry Ammon, ''James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity'' (1990), p. 577</ref>

His paternal great-grandfather Patrick 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.<ref name="Harry Ammon 1990 p. 577"/>

===Education===
First tutored at home by his mother Elizabeth, between the ages of 11 and 16, the young Monroe studied at Campbell town Academy, a school run by Reverend Archibald Campbell of Washington Parish. There he excelled as a pupil and progressed through Latin and mathematics faster than 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.<ref>Peter Kolchin, ''American Slavery, 1611–1877,'' New York: Hill and Wang, 1993, p. 28</ref> Sixteen years old, he began forming a close relationship with his maternal uncle, the influential [[Joseph Jones (Virginia)|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 [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]].

===Military service in the Revolutionary War and serious wounding===
[[File:Battle of Trenton by Charles McBarron.jpg|thumb|left|[[Battle of Trenton]] and Hessian guns seized by Virginians led by Captain [[William Washington]] and Lt. Monroe who were severely wounded]]
In early 1776, about a year and a half after his enrollment, Monroe dropped out of college and joined the 3rd Virginia Regiment (established December 28, 1775) in the [[Continental Army]] where his background as a college student and the son of a well-known planter enabled him to obtain an officer's commission. He never returned to earn a degree.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe'' pp 3–8</ref> In June 1775, after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Monroe, and some other William and Mary students joined 24 older men in raiding the arsenal at the [[Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)|Governor's Palace]] in Williamsburg. 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 [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] veteran, since he served as an officer of the Continental Army and took part in combat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vernonkids.com/cedarmountain/4thgradelinks/President%20Trivia/Presidential%20Trivia.htm |title=Presidential Trivia |publisher=Vernonkids.com |accessdate=2011-12-05}}</ref> With the rest of Washington's army, Monroe's regiment was chased off Long Island in the fall of 1776 and down the length of New Jersey crossing the Delaware River in December 1776. Down to mere days before their enlistments expired, the Army's commander, General [[George Washington|Washington]] decided that only a bold step could save the Army and the revolutionary cause from oblivion. Washington ordered his force, that had shrunk 90% since the [[Battle of Long Island|Battle of Brooklyn]] which is also known by the wider name, [[Battle of Long Island]], and down to under 3,000 effective soldiers, to cross the Delaware River on Christmas Day 1776 in the [[Battle of Trenton]]. Monroe and his regiment crossed over and marched through a [[Nor'easter]] snow storm north and then east towards Trenton. Along the way, the soldiers were spotted by a young patriot doctor, John Riker, whose dogs had been awakened in the pre-dawn early morning. Riker volunteered to lend his medical bag to the efforts saying that as many doctors as possible would be needed fearing severe casualties from a clash with the battle-tested German-speaking Hessian professional mercenary soldiers. Avoiding detection, the Americans approached the center of Trenton from north and south. When the Hessians sounded the alarm, they tried to get several of their artillery pieces in action to pour grapeshot into the Americans marching down towards the homes they had commandeered. Knowing that this would slow the assault, after a volley of artillery fire, Lieutenant Monroe and General Washington's cousin, Captain William Washington and their men rushed to seize the guns before they could fire. Both young officers were severely wounded. Captain Washington was badly wounded in both hands, and young Lieutenant James Monroe was carried from the field bleeding badly after he was struck in the left shoulder by a musket ball, which severed an artery. It would be the young volunteer doctor, John Riker who clamped the artery, keeping him from bleeding to death and saving the life of a man who would go on to achieve so much in politics both as a Virginian and on the national stage as a future President.<ref>Fisher, David Hackett. ''Washington's Crossing'', ISBN 0195170342, Oxford University Press, USA, 2004, p. 247</ref> The wounded soldier, Monroe was sent home to Virginia to nurse his injuries. The Battle of Trenton would be Monroe's only battle as he would spend the next three months recuperating from his wound. In [[John Trumbull]]'s painting ''Capture of the [[Hessian (soldiers)|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 American flag.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/virginia-homes-13.shtml |title=Homes Of Virginia – Jame's Monroe's Law Office |publisher=Oldandsold.com |accessdate=2010-04-20}}</ref>

After recuperating from his wound, he was appointed as a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia, and tasked to recruit and lead a regiment, but the regiment was never raised. He returned to Williamsburg in September of 1779 and studied law with [[George Wythe]], and then moved to Richmond to study law with Thomas Jefferson. In 1780 the British invaded Richmond, and as [[List of Governors of Virginia|Governor]], Jefferson commissioned Monroe as a colonel to command the militia raised in response and act as liaison to the Continental Army in North Carolina.<ref>{{cite book |last=Teitelbaum |first=Michael |date=2003 |title=Profile of the Presidents: James Monroe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcXsTG1oEUUC&pg=PA14&dq=%22james+monroe%22+virginia+militia+colonel+1780&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aasbUoX3L_PF4AOPsYGYDw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22james%20monroe%22%20virginia%20militia%20colonel%201780&f=false |publisher=Compass Point Books |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nolan, Cathal J. |first=Hodge, Carl Cavanagh |date=2007 |title=US Presidents and Foreign Policy from 1789 to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXeRALIwozgC&pg=PA45&dq=%22james+monroe%22+virginia+militia+lieutenant+colonel&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IqwbUufCGfG84APr4YCoDw&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22james%20monroe%22%20virginia%20militia%20lieutenant%20colonel&f=false |publisher=ABC-CLIO, Inc. |page=45}}</ref>

Monroe resumed studying law under [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]], and continued until 1783.<ref name="isbn0-19-530092-0">{{Cite book|author=Holmes, David R.|title=The faiths of the founding fathers|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford [Oxfordshire]|year=2006|page=104|isbn=0-19-530092-0}}</ref><ref name="log-cabin-76" /> 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.<ref name="log-cabin-76">{{cite book|author=Pessen, Edward|title=The Log Cabin Myth: The Social Backgrounds of the Presidents|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1984|isbn=0-300-03166-1|page=79}}</ref> After passing the bar, he practiced law in [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]].<ref name="Library">{{cite web|url=http://www.umw.edu/jamesmonroemuseum/default.php |title=James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library &#124; James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library Home Page |publisher=Umw.edu |accessdate=2010-04-20}}</ref>

==Marriage and family==
James Monroe married [[Elizabeth Kortright Monroe|Elizabeth Kortright]] (1768–1830),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=5 |title=First Lady Biography: Elizabeth Monroe |accessdate=23 September 2012}}</ref> 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 Kortright Monroe Hay (1786–1840): Eliza 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 (Virginia)|George Hay]], a prominent Virginia attorney who had served as prosecutor in the trial of [[Aaron Burr]] and later U.S. District Judge. Their daughter, Hortense, was named in honor of her childhood friend, [[Hortense de Beauharnais]], step-daughter of Napoleon. Eliza alienated most of Washington society for her refusal to call on wives of the diplomatic corps, as was the custom, and caused another social furor in closing her sister's wedding to all but family and friends. For all her apparent vanity, however, she demonstrated genuine compassion during the fever epidemic that swept Washington during her father's Presidency. She spent many sleepless nights selflessly caring for victims. Following the deaths of her husband and father, Eliza moved to Paris, France, where she died on January 27, 1840.<ref>February 3, 1840, ''The Observer'' (London, England), page 1: "BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS...DIED... [January] 27th, at her residence in the Champs Elysees, Paris, Mrs. Elizabeth K. M. Hay, relict of the late George Hay, Esq., of Virginia, and daughter of the late James Monroe, Esq., formerly President of the United States of America.",</ref>
* 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 (1804–1850) – married her cousin [[Samuel L. Gouverneur]] on March 8, 1820, in the first wedding of a president's child in the White House.<ref>{{cite web |title= How many wedding ceremonies have been held at the White House? |work= While House History web site |publisher= The White House Historical Association |url= http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_history/history_faqs-06.html |accessdate=2011-03-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Murder at the Wedding Maria Hester Monroe |author= [[Doug Wead]] |year= 2008 |url= http://www.whitehouseweddings.com/murder.htm |accessdate=2011-03-13 }} Excerpt from {{cite book |title= All The President's Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families |publisher= Simon and Schuster |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0-7434-4633-4 }}</ref>

==Plantations and slavery==
[[File:OakHillfront.jpg|thumb |right |<center>'''Oak Hill Mansion'''</center>]]
Monroe 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 and expensive lifestyle and often sold property (including slaves) to pay them off.<ref>Gerard W. Gawalt, "James Monroe, Presidential Planter," ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,'' 1993 101(2): 251–272</ref>

Monroe was a wealthy [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]] plantation owner who owned numerous slave plantations including [[Oak Hill (James Monroe House)|Oak Hill]] in [[Aldie, Virginia|Aldie]].<ref name=Stevenson_p159>{{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Brenda E. |title=Life in Black and White : Family and Community in the Slave South |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=159}}</ref> Monroe was an absentee slaveholder in that he had his overseers run the plantations while he lived elsewhere.<ref name=Stevenson_p159/> Overseers moved or separated slave families from different Monroe plantations in accordance with production and maintenance needs of each satellite plantation.<ref name=Stevenson_p159/> One of Monroe's slaves named Daniel often ran away from Monroe's plantation in [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albermarle County]], to visit other slaves or separated family members.<ref name=Stevenson_p160>{{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Brenda E. |title=Life in Black and White : Family and Community in the Slave South |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=160}}</ref> Monroe commonly referred to Daniel as a "scoundrel" and described the "worthlessness" of Daniel as a runaway slave.<ref name=Stevenson_p160/> Monroe's practice of moving and separating slave families was common treatment of slaves in the South.<ref name=Stevenson_p160/>

==Early political career==

===Virginia politics===
Monroe was elected to the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] in 1782. He was elected to Congress in November 1783 and served in Annapolis until Congress left for Trenton in June 1784. He had served a total of three years when he finally retired from that office by the rule of rotation.<ref>Morgan, George, ''The Life of James Monroe,' (1921) p. 94</ref> By that time, the government was meeting in the temporary capital of [[New York City]].

In Virginia, the struggle in 1788 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. [[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.<ref>Jon Kukla, "A Spectrum of Sentiments: Virginia's Federalists, Antifederalists, and 'Federalists Who Are for Amendments,' 1787–1788," ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,'' 1988 96(3): 276–296.</ref>

Virginia narrowly ratified the Constitution. Monroe ran for a House seat in the [[1st United States Congress|First Congress]] but was defeated by Madison. In 1790 he was elected by the Virginia legislature as [[United States Senate|United States Senator]]. He soon joined the [[Democratic-Republican Party|"Democratic-Republican" faction]] led by Jefferson and Madison, and by 1791 was the party leader in the Senate.<ref>Harry Ammon, ''James Monroe'' (1971) p. 89</ref>

===Ambassador to France===
[[File:James Monroe (1758-1831).jpg|thumb|right|The earliest preserved portrait of James Monroe as Minister Plenipotentiary to France in 1794.]]
Monroe resigned his Senate seat after being appointed [[United States Ambassador to France|Minister to France]] in 1794.<ref name="bio.congress">{{cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000858|title=MONROE, James&nbsp;– Biographical Information|publisher = United States Congress|accessdate=2009-07-24}}</ref> 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.<ref>Morgan, George (1921). ''The Life of James Monroe'', p. 75</ref>

Monroe arranged to free all the Americans held in French prisons. He also gained the freedom of [[Adrienne de La Fayette]] and issued her and her family American passports (they had been granted [[Honorary Citizen of the United States|citizenship]] by the U.S. government for contributions during the Revolution.) She used that for travel to her [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|husband]], imprisoned in [[Olmutz]].<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe'' pp 137–8</ref>

A strong friend of the [[French Revolution]], Monroe tried to assure France that [[George 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."<ref>Herbert E. Klingelhofer, "George Washington Discharges Monroe for Incompetence," ''Manuscripts'', 1965 17(1): 26–34</ref>

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 U.S. retention of its Southwest and caused the dominance of the Northeast.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe,'' pp. 55–56</ref> 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.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe'' p. 151</ref>

==Governor of Virginia and diplomat==
Out of office, Monroe returned to practicing law in [[Virginia]] until elected [[Governor of Virginia|governor]] there as a Democratic-Republican, his first term serving from 1799 to 1802. He was reelected Virginia's governor in 1811.<ref>Morgan, George, 'The life of James Monroe', p.xvi</ref> 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.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe'' p. 193</ref> Federalists were likewise suspicious of Monroe, some seeing him as at best a French dupe and at worst a traitor.<ref>Arthur Scherr, "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</ref>

President Jefferson sent Monroe to France to assist [[Robert Livingston (1746–1813)|Robert R. Livingston]] in negotiating the [[Louisiana Purchase]]. Monroe was then appointed [[United States Ambassador to Great Britain|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 [[Republicanism in the United States|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]].<ref>Alan Axelrod, ''Profiles in Folly: History's Worst Decisions and Why They Went Wrong'' (2008) p. 154</ref> After the failure of the treaty, Monroe returned to the United States in 1807. Monroe was deeply hurt by the administration's repudiation of the treaty, and Monroe fell out with Secretary of State James Madison.<ref name=leibiger>{{cite book|last1=Leibiger|first1=Stuart|title=A Companion to James Madison and James Monroe|date=31 July 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|pages=489-491|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSftIw3YSTQC&dq=james+monroe+1808+election&source=gbs_navlinks_s|accessdate=12 October 2015}}</ref>

===1808 election and the Quids===
The Democratic-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 Democratic-Republicans overcame the Quids in the 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.<ref>David A. Carson, "Quiddism and the Reluctant Candidacy of James Monroe in the Election of 1808," ''Mid-America'' 1988 70(2): 79–89</ref> After the election Monroe quickly reconciled with Jefferson, but did not speak with Madison, a former friend, until 1810.<ref name=leibiger/>

==Secretary of State and Secretary of War==
Monroe returned to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was elected to another term as governor in 1811, but only served four months. In April 1811, Madison appointed Monroe as Secretary of State in hopes of shoring up the support of the more radical factions of the Democratic-Republicans.<ref name=leibiger/> Monroe 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 [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] on September 27.<ref>Hart, Gary, 'James Monroe' (2005), p. 52</ref> 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.<ref name="Hart1">Hart, Gary, 'James Monroe' (2005), p. 68</ref>

==Presidential elections of 1816 and 1820==
{{Main | United States presidential election, 1816 | United States presidential election, 1820}}
The [[Congress of the United States|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.<ref>
William G. Morgan, "The Congressional Nominating Caucus of 1816: the Struggle Against the Virginia Dynasty," ''Virginia Magazine of History & Biography'' 1972 80(4): 461–475</ref> With the [[Federalist Party]] in disarray due to the unpopularity of their opposition to the [[War of 1812]], Monroe easily won election.<ref name="miller.monroe.elections">
{{cite web | url= http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/monroe/essays/biography/3 | title=America President: James Monroe: Campaigns and Elections|publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs|accessdate=2010-01-08}}</ref> The Federalists did not even name a candidate, though [[Rufus King]] of New York did run in opposition to Monroe under the Federalist banner.<ref name="miller.monroe.elections"/> King carried only Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts and won only 34 of 217 electoral votes cast.<ref name="miller.monroe.elections"/>

The collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed,<ref name="miller.monroe.elections"/> the only president other than [[George Washington|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]].<ref name="miller.monroe.elections"/>

==Presidency==
{{Css Image Crop
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|bSize = 300
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|Description = [[Bureau of Engraving and Printing|BEP]] engraved portrait of Monroe as President.}}

===Domestic politics===

====Democratic-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 [[United States Federalist Party|Federalist Party]] continued to fade away during his administration; it maintained its vitality and organizational integrity in Delaware and a few localities, but lacked influence in national politics. Lacking serious opposition, the [[Democratic-Republican Party]]'s Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and for practical purposes the Democratic-Republican Party stopped operating.<ref>Arthur Meier Schlesinger, Jr., ed. ''History of U.S. political parties: Volume 1'' (1973) pp. 24–25, 267</ref>

====Domestic troubles====
Monroe's popularity remained undiminished even when he followed difficult nationalist policies at a time when the country's commitment to nationalism started to show serious fractures.{{cn|date=August 2015}} 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 of 1820 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 1854, when Stephen A. Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed it. In 1857 Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney held that it had always been unconstitutional, as part of the ''[[Dred Scott v. Sandford|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.<ref>"The administration of James Monroe." {{cite web|last=Bancroft|first=Hubert H., ed.|title=The Great Republic by the Master Historians|url=http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Great_Republic_By_the_Master_Historians_Vol_III/jamesmonr_bd.html|year=1902}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Cumberland Road|url=http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Lalor/llCy338.html|encyclopedia=Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States by the Best American and European Writers|year=1899}}</ref>

====Indigenous American policies====
{{Main|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.<ref>David S. Heidler, "The Politics of National Aggression: Congress and the First Seminole War." ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 1993 13(4): 501–530.</ref>

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."<ref>Francis Paul Prucha, ''The great father: the United States government and the American Indians'' (1986) p. 65</ref> His proposals to speed up the assimilation process were ignored by Congress.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe,'' pp 536–40</ref>

===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 [[Adams-Onis treaty|treaty]] was signed with Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the United States in return for the assumption of $5,000,000 (about $92,592,593 in 2014 dollars) in claims and the relinquishment of any claims to Texas.<ref>Ammon, ''James Monroe,'' pp 409–48</ref> Florida was ceded to the U.S. in 1821.

====Monroe Doctrine====
{{Main|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|date=December 2011}}

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|date=December 2011}}

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|date=December 2011}}

Although it is Monroe's most famous contribution to history, the speech was written by Adams, who designed the doctrine in cooperation with Britain.<ref name="Ammon, James Monroe, pp 476–92">Ammon, ''James Monroe,'' pp 476–92</ref> 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|date=December 2011}}

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.<ref name="Ammon, James Monroe, pp 476–92"/>

===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<ref>Samuel Flagg Bemis, ''John Quincy Adams and the foundations of American foreign policy,'' (1944) pp. 244–61</ref> and Calhoun completely reorganized the War Department to overcome the serious deficiencies that had hobbled it during the War of 1812.<ref>Charles Maurice Wiltse, ''John C. Calhoun: Nationalist, 1782–1828'' (1944) pp. 142–53</ref> 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.

{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=none
|Name=Monroe
|President=James Monroe
|President start=1817
|President end=1825
|Vice President=[[Daniel D. Tompkins]]
|Vice President start=1817
|Vice President end=1825
|State=[[John Quincy Adams]]
|State start=1817
|State end=1825
|War=[[John C. Calhoun]]
|War start=1817
|War end=1825
|Treasury=[[William H. Crawford]]
|Treasury start=1817
|Treasury end=1825
|Justice=[[Richard Rush]]
|Justice date=1817
|Justice 2=[[William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]]
|Justice start 2=1817
|Justice end 2=1825
|Navy=[[Benjamin Williams Crowninshield|Benjamin Crowninshield]]
|Navy start=1817
|Navy end=1818
|Navy 2=[[Smith Thompson]]
|Navy start 2=1819
|Navy end 2=1823
|Navy 3=[[Samuel L. Southard]]
|Navy start 3=1823
|Navy end 3=1825
}}

===Judicial appointments===
{{Main|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 court]]s, as no vacancies occurred on the one circuit court existing at the time.

===States admitted to the Union===
* [[Mississippi]]{{spaced ndash}}December 10, 1817
* [[Illinois]]{{spaced ndash}}December 3, 1818
* [[Alabama]]{{spaced ndash}}December 14, 1819
* [[Maine]]{{spaced ndash}}March 15, 1820
* [[Missouri]]{{spaced ndash}}August 10, 1821

==Post-presidency==
[[File:James Monroe marker at Univ. of VA IMG 4248.JPG|upright|thumb|Monroe once owned a farm at the location of the [[University of Virginia]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]]]]

When his presidency ended on March 4, 1825, James Monroe resided at [[Brown College at Monroe Hill|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashlawnhighland.org |title=Ashlawn website |publisher=Ashlawnhighland.org |accessdate=2010-04-20}}</ref>

He and his wife lived in [[Oak Hill (James Monroe House)|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.<ref>{{Cite book| title=Lafayette in America| author=Auguste Levasseur| editor=Alan R. Hoffman| page=549 }}</ref>

==Death==
[[Image:James Monroe Grave.JPG|250px|thumb|Monroe's grave at Hollywood Cemetery. [[John Tyler]]'s grave is visible in the background.]]

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.<ref>{{Cite book| title=American Lion| author=Jon Meacham| page=181 }}</ref> 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 (United States)|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 (Richmond, Virginia)|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.<ref>Bliss Isely, ''The Presidents: Men of Faith'' (2006) pp. 99–107, quote on p. 105</ref>

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 Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] churches, though there is no record he ever took communion.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} Some historians see "deistic tendencies" in his few references to an impersonal God.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Holmes|first=David L.|title=The Religion of James Monroe|journal=[[Virginia Quarterly Review]]|date=Autumn 2003|volume=79|issue=4|pages=589–606|url=http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2003/autumn/holmes-religion-james-monroe/|accessdate=2011-10-27|authorlink=David L. Holmes}}</ref> Unlike Jefferson, Monroe was rarely attacked as an atheist or infidel. In 1832 [[James Renwick Willson]], a [[Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America|Reformed Presbyterian]] minister in Albany, New York, criticized Monroe for having "lived and died like a second-rate Athenian philosopher."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.covenanter.org/JRWillson/princemessiah.htm |title=Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over All Governments |publisher=Covenanter.org |accessdate=2010-04-20}}</ref>

As Secretary of State, Monroe dismissed [[Mordecai Manuel Noah]] in 1815 from his post as consul to [[Tunis]] because he was Jewish.<ref name="isbn0-7425-0181-7">{{Cite book| author = Bassett, Charles Walker; Maisel, Louis Sandy; Forman, Ira N.; Altschiller, Donald | title = Jews in American politics | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers | location = Lanham, Md | year = 2001 | page = 30 | isbn = 0-7425-0181-7 }}</ref> Noah protested and gained letters from Adams, Jefferson, and Madison supporting church-state separation and tolerance for Jews.<ref>Richard H. Popkin, "Thomas Jefferson's Letter to Mordecai Noah," ''American Book Collector'' 1987 8(6): 9–11</ref>

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."<ref>http://www.monroefoundation.org/education/43-education.html</ref>

==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.<ref>Kranish, Michael. [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/12/28/at_capitol_slaverys_story_turns_full_circle/?page=2 "At Capitol, slavery's story turns full circle"], ''The Boston GLobe'', Boston, December 28, 2008.</ref>

On October 15, 1799, as some [[slave traders]] tried to transport a group of slaves from Southampton to Georgia, the [[Slave revolt|slaves revolted]] and killed the traders.<ref name="aptheker">{{cite book|last=Aptheker|first=Herbert|title=American Negro Slave Revolts|year=1993|publisher=International Publishers|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7178-0605-8|edition=6th|authorlink=Herbert Aptheker|pages=219–25|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PkCwK3Uv71IC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA219#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> 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,<ref>Sidbury, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0WrqU3Va-BMC&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=%22though+juries+did+not+sit+on+slave+trials%22&source=bl&ots=YdnOd3ih1b&sig=0GZ_n50uGcbdqA7EhEqUpDdMbMo&hl=en&ei=M3nnTu-6G6ru0gGPsZmfCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22though%20juries%20did%20not%20sit%20on%20slave%20trials%22&f=false "Ploughshares into swords: race, rebellion, and identity in Gabriel's Virginia, 1730–1810."], Cambridge, 1997, p. 128.</ref> 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."<ref>Scheer, Arthur. [http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001286103 "Governor James Monroe and Southampton Slave Resistance of 1799"], ''The Historian'', Vol. 61, 1999, available on Questia</ref>

When Monroe was Governor of Virginia in 1800, hundreds of slaves from Virginia planned to kidnap him, take [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], and negotiate for their freedom. Due to a storm on August 30, they were unable to attack. What became known as [[Gabriel Prosser|Gabriel's slave conspiracy]] became public knowledge.<ref>Rodriguez, Junius. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4X44KbDBl9gC&pg=PR21&lpg=PR21&dq=%22Slavery+in+the+United+States:+a+social,+political,+and+historical+encyclopedia%22&source=bl&ots=ItZ5Tn-jY2&sig=3C-95EfqDew1D16G62SD8A6ua78&hl=en&ei=93WQTOOME4OCvgPsvdDaCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false "Slavery in the United States: A Social, Political, and Historical Encyclopedia"], Santa Barbara, 2007, p. 428.</ref>

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.<ref>Sidbury, James. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0WrqU3Va-BMC&dq=%22james+sidbury%22+%22ploughshares+into+swords%22&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=OE6QTJmnDoiucIPugIQI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=monroe&f=false ''Ploughshares into Swords: Race, Rebellion, and Identity in Gabriel's Virginia, 1730–1810''], Cambridge, 1997, pp. 127–28.</ref> Monroe influenced the Executive Council to pardon and sell some slaves instead of hanging them.<ref>Morris, Thomas. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VmPWCKh0hZAC&pg=PA558&lpg=PA558&dq=%22Gabriel's+Challenge:+Slaves+and+Crime+in+Late+Eighteenth-Century+Virginia%22&source=bl&ots=zw8W1yUEXx&sig=ULUWv2JFa1v3P7kaISji1i70spY&hl=en&ei=V9qOTKDbG4bUvQPf97C8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=17&ved=0CEoQ6AEwEA#v=onepage&q=for%20less%20than%20an%20hour&f=false " Southern Slavery and the Law, 1619–1860 "], 1996, p. 272.</ref> 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.<ref name="aptheker"/>

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 [[abolitionism in the United States|emancipate]] and deport its bondsmen with "the aid of the Union."<ref>Ammon, 1990, pp 563–66</ref>

Monroe was part of the [[American Colonization Society]] formed in 1816, the members of which 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.<ref>Powell & Steinberg . [https://books.google.com/books?id=ligvL-cLFIEC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=%22james+Monroe%22+slaveowner&source=bl&ots=A2mQ5YgxSx&sig=BpRC3-FALMpfIX-5B0UZX3PwF_4&hl=en&ei=rjKPTIK5AoPevQP99ZHBCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=14&ved=0CEAQ6AEwDTge#v=onepage&q&f=false "The nonprofit sector: a research handbook"], Yale, 2006, p. 40.</ref> The capital of [[Liberia]] was named [[Monrovia]] after President Monroe.<ref>Ammon, 1990, pp 522–23</ref>

==Honors and memberships==
Monroe was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in April 1818.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistm American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>

==Legacy and memory==
{{Prose|section|date=January 2014}}
* 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]]. In addition, a statue of Monroe was dedicated in front of Tucker Hall on the campus of William & Mary in 2015.<ref>https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2015/president-monroe-statue-to-be-dedicated-on-william--mary-campus.php</ref>
* The City of [[Monroe, Michigan]] is also named for him.
* [[Monroe County, Kentucky]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luoxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA36#v=onepage&q&f=false | title=The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1 | publisher=Kentucky State Historical Society | year=1903 | page=36}}</ref> established in 1820, was named for him, as was [[Monroe County, New York]], (1821) and [[Monroe County, Pennsylvania]] (1836) [[Monroe County, West Virginia]] (1799) <ref>http://www.monroecountywv.net/index.html</ref> and [[Monroe County, Indiana]]
* The City of [[Monroe, Georgia]], incorporated in 1821, is named for him.
* The [[Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey|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 [[wig|powdered wig tied in a queue]], a [[tricorne|tricorne hat]] and [[Culottes|knee-breeches]] according to the [[1775–1795 in fashion#Men's fashion|old-fashioned style of the 18th century]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Digital History, Steven Mintz |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=567 |title=Digital History |publisher=Digitalhistory.uh.edu |accessdate=2010-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=p1unoHtahSsC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=James+Monroe++in+wig&q=James%20Monroe%20%20in%20wig |title=Real Life at the White House: 200 ... – Google Knihy |publisher=Books.google.cz |date= May 3, 2002|accessdate=2010-04-20|isbn=978-0-415-93951-5}}</ref> That earned him the nickname "The Last Cocked Hat".<ref>http://listoy.com/Presidents/James-Monroe.htm</ref>
* Monroe is the last president neither to have been photographed nor to have had a photographed predecessor: his portraits are preserved today only on paintings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/jqadams.html |title=Presidents of the United States (POTUS) |publisher=Ipl.org |accessdate=2011-12-05}}</ref>
* Monroe was the third consecutive President elected to two consecutive terms, which would not occur again until [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012]].

{{Gallery
|title=
|width=160
|height=170
|lines=5
|align=center
|File:US-$100-SC-1891-Fr.344.jpg|$100 [[Silver certificate (United States)|silver certificate]] depicting Monroe
|File:James Monroe Presidential $1 Coin obverse.jpg|Presidential Dollar of James Monroe
|File:Monroe 1904 Issue-3c.jpg|First Monroe Postage stamp, Issue of 1904
|File:JamesMonroeStatue.jpg|Statue of Monroe at [[Ash Lawn-Highland]]
|File:Univ. VA Monroe Hall IMG_4268.JPG|Monroe Hall at the [[University of Virginia]]; Monroe once owned the land on which the university sits.
}}

==See also==
{{Wikipedia books|Presidents of the United States (1789–1860)}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[Adams–Onís Treaty]]
* [[List of Presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of Presidents of the United States, sortable by previous experience]]
* [[List of slave owners]]
* [[List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines]]
* [[Monrovia]]
* [[U.S. Presidents on U.S. postage stamps]]
* [[History of Virginia on stamps]]
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}

==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) [https://books.google.com/books?id=g-IoEnhfOYEC&dq=intitle:james+intitle:monroe&num=30&as_brr=1 online edition at books.google.com]

==Bibliography==
* Ammon, Harry. ''James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity.'' (1971, 2nd ed. 1990). 706 pp. standard scholarly biography [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0813912660 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) [http://www.amazon.com/dp/159740425X excerpt and text search]
* Dangerfield, George. ''The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815–1828'' (1965) standard scholarly survey [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0881338230 excerpt and text search]
* Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. ''The Age of Federalism'' (1995). most advanced analysis of the politics of the 1790s. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000304374 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. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3124558 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. [https://archive.org/details/jamesmonroe01jamegoog 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, [http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2003/autumn/holmes-religion-james-monroe/ 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. [https://archive.org/details/lifejamesmonroe00morggoog 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.
* {{it icon}} [[Nico Perrone]], ''Progetto di un impero. 1823. L'annuncio dell'egemonia americana infiamma la borsa'' (Project of an Empire. 1823. The Announcement of American Hegemony Inflames the Stock Exchange), Naples, La Città del Sole, 2013 ISBN 978-88-8292-310-5
* Powell, Walter & Steinberg, Richard. ''The nonprofit sector: a research handbook'', Yale, 2006, p. 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+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5019026982 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.
* [[Harlow Unger|Unger, Harlow G]].. "''[http://dacapopress.com/book/paperback/the-last-founding-father/9780306819186 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)

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=no |b=US History/Presidents |n=no |s=Author:James Monroe|v=The US Presidents/James Monroe|d=Q11815}}
* [http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/monroe/ James Monroe: A Resource Guide] at the [[Library of Congress]]
* {{CongBio|m000858|findagrave=724}}
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmonroe James Monroe] at the [[White House]]
* {{CathEncy|noicon=yes|wstitle=James Monroe}}
* [http://millercenter.org/president/monroe American President: James Monroe (1758–1831)] at the [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]], University of Virginia
* [http://umwhistory.org/projects/jmp/ James Monroe Papers] at the [[University of Mary Washington]]
* [http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=uva-sc/viu03476.xml;query=James_Monroe;brand=default#bioghist_1.1 A Guide to the Papers of James Monroe 1778–1831] at the [[University of Virginia Library]]
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/monroe.asp Monroe Doctrine; December 2, 1823] at the [[Avalon Project]]
* [http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/aas_portal/candidate-browse.xq?candidate-id=MJ1407 Elections for candidate Monroe, James] from "A New Nation Votes" at [[Tufts University]]
* [http://www.ashlawnhighland.org/ Ash Lawn-Highland], home of President James Monroe
* [http://www.monroefoundation.org/ The James Monroe Memorial Foundation]
** [http://www.monroefoundation.org/monroe-birthplace.html The James Monroe Birthplace]
* [http://jamesmonroemuseum.umw.edu/ James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library]
* [http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=5 James Monroe] at [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[American Presidents: Life Portraits]]''
* [http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g05.htm The Health and Medical History of President James Monroe] at DoctorZebra
* {{Gutenberg author |id=Monroe,+James+(1758-1831) | name=James Monroe}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=James Monroe}}
* {{Librivox author |id=2235}}

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