Monroe's Term Many Great Things example essay topic

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 his father Spencer Monroe died.

Monroe was left to be the man of the house. A family member suggested that James should continue his education at the William and Mary College. Monroe enrolled in the most difficult program that the College offered (Stefoff 11). Within a year of his attendance at William and Mary College, the shot heard around the world at Lexington occurred. War broke out with England, and Monroe wanted to do something about it. At age 18 he later joined the army enlisting in the Third Virginia Infantry (Stefoff 12).

Monroe was appointed lieutenant after a party of soldiers raided a British house taking guns and supplies. He later was acquainted with George Washington when the Third Virginia Infantry was joined with Washington's troops in New York (Stefoff 13). During the war he was wounded in the Battle of Trenton but not severely. Monroe assigned to desk work was asked if he would send a letter to the governor of Virginia asking for more soldiers. Monroe was waiting for a response from Washington but never heard from him, so in the mean time he studied law (Stefoff 15). Monroe became an aid under Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia also influenced his life.

Monroe and his good school friend worked on the governor's speeches and organized meetings. This prepared Monroe for what was to become of his life as President (Stefoff 21). Since the war was still going on, he had a mission from the military. Monroe was asked to go south and spy on British troops, because American troops feared that they were planning a surprise attack on them (Stefoff 21-22).

After Monroe's successful mission against British troops and the war's completion, Monroe's political career soared. Before 1781 Monroe finished studying law and passed the Virginia Bar exam. He wanted to buy land in Kentucky and open a law office in Richmond with the money he was saving. His first aspiration was not practicing law, but going to Europe and traveling the different countries. Monroe was unsure of himself and needed advice.

He turned to Jefferson, but Jefferson had other plans for Monroe. He wanted Monroe to run for Virginia State Legislature. Monroe accepted and was elected into the House of Delegates in April 1782 (Stefoff 23). After much preparation, Monroe became a member of the Congress of Confederation. This event influenced him greatly.

During 1786 Monroe found time to marry the love of his life. Her name was Elizabeth Kort right Monroe. Elizabeth was 17 and James was 27 years old when they were married. They had two daughters and one son (Kane 40).

After the marriage and the children, Monroe quickly got back to his political views and doings. He was bored of his law practice and wanted a challenge. James served on the 170 member Virginia Ratifying Convention that decided the fate of the Constitution (Stefoff 35). In the fall of 1788, Monroe ran for Congress, but his friend and foe, James Madison, defeated him. Monroe did not give up, although he was disappointed about the loss, he later ran for U.S. Senate against an old friend John Marshall in 1790 and came home with a victory (Stefoff 37). Monroe was divided by politics.

Now there were two political parties, the Federalist led by George Washington, and the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson (Stefoff 38). Monroe believed in both parties and was friends of both leaders, but his beliefs would point toward the Jeffersonian Party. Monroe did not believe that the central government should have as much power as the Federalist wanted it to have (Stefoff 38). Monroe decided not to partake in any party. He was an outsider trying to find a solution to bring the parties together with their ideas. All these decisions help made Monroe the experienced President that he became.

Monroe's wish finally came true. President Washington appointed Monroe as the United States minister to France. Monroe could now travel throughout Europe and still be involved in the political aspects of the United States. There were two reasons for President Washington's pick of Monroe. First, the French were tired of Morris (the current Minister) and his Federalist beliefs.

Washington decided to pick another member other than a Federalist to represent the U.S. with France (Stefoff 41). Secondly, Washington saw Monroe was eager to move his political position forward, and Washington wanted to help. Monroe and his family moved to Paris in 1794. Unfortunately, Washington's efforts to appease the French with a new minister would not be successful. They thought the U.S. was going to join them in defeating the British.

When Jay's Treaty was signed the French were furious and wanted an explanation (Stefoff 42). Monroe struggled for more than a year with France, and was caught in a difficult position. Monroe attempted in making a second trip to France in aid of Robert R. Livingston. He was to help with the Purchase of the Louisiana territory.

Jefferson picked Monroe because the French honored him and knew they would respect him in all aspects. Although Monroe and Livingston were not fond of each other, they were able to work things out. They made a deal with Napoleon to sell the Louisiana Purchase for 15 million dollars, which the senate approved shortly after (Stefoff 51). Monroe's people wanted him to run for president in 1808. They thought that Monroe was the best candidate.

Monroe did not run for president though because he wanted to keep his friendship with the other candidate, James Madison. Monroe expected to be appointed Secretary of State, but Madison appointed Robert Smith a pro-Jeffersonian. Monroe was appointed Secretary of State later during the war of 1812 (Stefoff 68-69). Although England and the U.S. had their differences and did not get along well, Monroe was the middleman and tried to improve the relationship between the two countries. England would impress our ships in the years preceding the War of 1812. This was a great challenge in Monroe's life.

When England and France were at war, they both turned to the U.S. for help. While this was going on, Monroe and Pinckney (Minister to Spain) were fighting a dilemma of there own. Spain would not agree that Florida was part of the Louisiana Purchase and would not give, or sell it. Jefferson, now in Presidency, denied the Monroe-Pinckney Treaty that the two had discussed. While Monroe and Pinckney were fixing the treaty, the start of the War of 1812 occurred (Stefoff 62).

The War Hawks led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun had their own ideas concerning the U.S. involvement in the war, which further complicated Monroe's efforts. Monroe was a great participant in the War of 1812 helping the U.S. come to a peaceful agreement with England and signing the Treaty of Ghent, clarifying that neither of the countries won the war and stated the need for a peaceful relationship with each other (Stefoff 64-70) After the war of 1812, there was an Era of Good Feeling. We had peaceful relationships with foreign countries, and we had our independence for the second time. There was a good feeling about our country and Monroe happened to come in at the right time.

The election of 1816 was nearing, and Monroe's party was likely to elect him to represent their party. In the 1816 election Monroe was the only respected candidate for president (Stefoff 77). He was elected President and sworn in on March 5, 1817. Monroe was the first President to be inaugurated on March 5, because March 4 was a Sunday (Kane 43). Monroe's wife Elizabeth was in poor condition.

She was feeling ill and showing the signs (Stefoff 79). His first presidential decision was to elect a Secretary of State. Henry Clay was hoping that he would become the next Secretary of State, but Monroe wanted someone from New England so people would not think that the south had too much power in the government (Stefoff 80). He asked John Quincy Adams to serve for him. Monroe took a nation wide trip to promote his presidency. He traveled almost everywhere but mostly the North where his popularity was less.

This helped him get his slogan and U.S. History term, The Era of Good Feeling (Stefoff 83). Monroe's first term wasn't as smooth as it sounded. He had problems with Spain and his own General Andrew Jackson. Monroe was afraid that having an opposing country at the southern border would be a threat to American lives. There were outlaws, run away slaves, and many criminals.

There were also Indians, and many of them would come into Georgia to raid local towns and create havoc. Monroe decided that he would send General Andrew Jackson to take care of the situations. He specifically told him not to attack Spanish posts but to clean it up. General Jackson wanted to seize Florida from Spanish control and wrote so to Monroe.

Monroe never wrote back, but he turned the letter over to a cabinet member. General Andrew Jackson was handed a letter by a man named John Rhea stating to proceed in the seizing of Florida. When asked, Monroe did not know who John Rhea was and remained mystery. There were other problems. John Calhoun, the Secretary of War, was preparing a treaty that would give us Florida peacefully. When Spain heard about this, they were furious.

They denied us of Florida and we would have to try again (Stefoff 84-86). During Monroe's term many great things happened. The first steamboat was invented, Erie Canal was underway, and the expansion of the west was occurring. Although many great events were hopping, things also took a turn for the worse. Monroe's term also saw the panic of 1819 bringing the U.S. economy down. Banks were going bankrupt, and people were losing their whole life savings.

Many people tried to change their paper money for gold (Stefoff 89). Monroe also lost money in the panic of 1819. By going on a goodwill tour mainly in the hardest hit the South, he tried to get the people's confidence back and help restore the economy. The nation's economy slowly corrected itself, which made people happy. Different regions got better. The North was in good shape, but the West and South were not as lucky.

This was the start of Sectionalism. New states were coming in at a rapid pace, but there was speculation to which states would be slave and which would be free. The new state, Missouri was added in and they didn't know what to declared it as. Monroe had an important decision to make. That's when the Missouri Compromise was set into place. Monroe's first term was coming to an end and was time for re-election.

Since there was no Federalist Party, Monroe's position was clearly optimistic. Out of the 235 votes he received 231. He had some even more spectacular accomplishments but none of them measured up to the Monroe Doctrine (Stefoff 95). The most recognized accomplishment Monroe achieved other than his Presidency was the Monroe Doctrine. This was the pinnacle of his life in many ways.

Monroe feared that Russia was planning to create colonies on the West Coast, and European powers were trying to get back control of Spanish colonies in the South. Monroe wrote this in defense (Donovan 4). The Monroe Doctrine stated four things: The United States would not interfere with European relations (Donovan 2). Any attempt to force any political ways on our nation would be disrespectful (Donovan 6). The United States was closed to new land and would not settle on any other land other than the North American Continent. Finally, the Western Hemisphere was different fundamentally and economically from European nations (Donovon 7).

After Monroe's message, which was not referred to as the Monroe Doctrine until 1853 (Donovon 4), he was getting ready to serve his final year in office. Although he had the choice of running for a third term (there was not a limit on the number of terms served), he was ready to retire with his wife Elizabeth at Oak Hill. Before Monroe's term ended he completed several projects that he cared about which needed to be addressed. One of them was setting aside land for Indians west of the Mississippi River. Monroe left Washington on March 3, 1825 and set out for Oak Hill with his family. Although he was very successful in life, after his retirement he fell into financial trouble.

The last six years of his life was very difficult. His debt had mounted and while waiting for money Congress owed him, on July 4, 1831, James Monroe died, bankrupt (Damon 95). James Monroe was an excellent president and loved by all people. His main focus to help our country succeed as a nation together, kept us unified and strong. Although there were bad times, his success made up for those. He made a great impact in our history as a nation.

He created the Monroe Doctrine, made it hard to own slaves, helped Indians find land, and helped our country unite as one. He fought for us in the War of 1812, which he was wounded. He loved our country and was true to the U.S. Monroe was the 'Era of Good Feeling' and will always be remember as James Monroe, who did bring to many people an era of good feelings..