Happy Birthday, James Monroe

The Story of James Monroe

2020 Edition By Corinne Waterstraut

Two hundred and 62 years ago today, the future 5th president of the United States of America was born in the Virginia Colonies when tensions between the British rulers and the colonists were mounting. 

Monroe’s parents owned a profitable tobacco farm, which enabled James to go to the best school in the whole colony. To know how privileged he was, look no further than his classmate and BFF, John Marshall who will go on to become a Supreme Court Justice. 

But Monroe’s parents both drop dead when he’s just a teenager. He’ll keep on keeping on with his education, heading off to college at William and Mary, but his college years are cut short when a little thing, called the Revolutionary War breaks out. 

That’s fine with 17 year old Monroe, he’d never been all that interested in school. He’s a tough and rugged guy. More suited for war than the classroom. His endurance and his strength were legendary. 

With the redcoats coming, Monroe gets together with a bunch of  classmates and raids the British Armory at the Governor’s Mansion in Williamsburg, down the street from his college. The college boys manage to get their hands on 200 muskets, 300 swords, and they snuck it all to the Virginia militia. 

One taste of war, and Monroe was hooked. He’d never go back to school. Instead, he’d join the Virginia militia, and by 18 he’s a major serving in George Washington’s army. 

The famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, James Monroe is the guy holding the flag. Now, did Monroe ACTUALLY cross the Delaware with Washington? No, he was eight miles up river working to cut off the British communications, and he’ll meet up with Washington later.  But, I mean, can we really pick apart a painting where Washington is STANDING in a row boat? Worth noting: the painting was completed in 1851 (by a German artist), so by then Monroe had also come and gone as president, so it made sense to throw him in there. 

Monroe is certainly at the Battle of Trenton, though. That’s the small but pivotal battle that happened the day after Washington crossed the Delaware (and the day after Christmas), where the Continental Army comes out the winner, inspiring re-enlistments and providing a much needed morale boost. 

British cannons were captured. George Washington adds another tally in his win column, and Junior officer Monroe becomes even more beloved by his men and well respected by Washington. 

Monroe doesn’t come out of the Battle of Trenton unscathed though, He took a musket ball to the shoulder, and will suffer bouts of fever for the rest of his life, as the bullet will never be removed. But he kept on fighting, capturing cannons, and being a badass. By the next winter, Monroe will be busy surviving the brutal conditions at Valley Forge. 

Monroe’s military career will see promotion after promotion until he finally lands himself a desk job. But a desk job is awfully unexciting to a guy used to stealing guns, taking bullets, and surviving extreme weather conditions. He instead tried to form his own militia. But the war is winding down now, and the militia never really gets off the ground. 

Monroe is going to have to figure out what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. Luckily, he’s got a pretty high profile guy looking out for him. Enter: Thomas Jefferson. Monroe joins TJ’s law practice, and becomes his apprentice. Because, after all, if you’re going to be president, a good place to start is being a lawyer. Monroe doesn’t have a love of law or anything. But, he’s smart enough being a lawyer gets you money and prestige. 

TJ is a fan of Monroe. He says he’s so honest, that “if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.” Monroe is highly regarded by his friends and his associates. 

He springboards that popularity and knowledge of the law into a career in politics. Monroe is a young 24, when he is elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. The Virginia House will send him as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where they’ll be ratifying the Constitution (Monroe takes the middle ground in the debate of the Constitution, eventually throwing his support behind it, but requesting a Bill of Rights later be added). 

By now, Monroe is ready to settle down. He finds his person in Elizabeth Kortright. Elizabeth’s father, Lawrence, was a wealthy New York merchant, and Elizabeth was raised with all the things that money can by. The result was a rather snobbish Elizabeth. 

 Elizabeth’s dad had been loyal to the British during the Revolution and served as a captain in the British army.  Elizabeth’s brother had also fought for the redcoats during the Revolution, so the family was not without their scandals. But more importantly, most of the family’s money was confiscated due to his pro-British actions and beliefs. 

Elizabeth is still a teenager when she meets Monroe. He’s drawn to the stunning dark-haired beauty, who can have her pick of suitors. Monroe has land (and slaves), but he is cash poor, and Elizabeth’s family and friends think he’s below her. But in 1786, Elizabeth and James Monroe get married anyway. 

The Newlyweds move to Virginia, after Monroe resigns his spot in Congress to practice on his law career (and making money!) The couple will have their first daughter: Eliza. 

But it isn’t long before politics draws Monroe back in, George Washington is President now, and James Monroe is about to and become a US Senator.  

Political parties are starting to form now. It’s TJ and his Democratic-Republicans facing off against the Federalists and Alexander Hamilton. Of course, Monroe is going to side with his buddy (and current Secretary of State), Jefferson. Monroe is going to be the Democratic-Republican’s leading guy in the Senate. 

Just a couple years in Monroe will be investing the Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton for misconduct. To clear his name, Alexander Hamilton has to reveal his affair with a lady in Philadelphia who’s husband was blackmailing him. 

The Committee led by Monroe, will clear Hamilton and they agree to keep records of the inquiry confidential. But eventually someone leaks all of the papers, Hamilton is forced to admit he has an affair publicly, and he’ll blame Monroe for all of his problems. 

In fact, the argument that ensues will very nearly result in a duel. Ironically enough, the guy who helps defuse the situation is Aaron Burr. Hamilton, and his wife (also named Elizabeth) will never forgive Monroe. Even when Monroe goes to see Elizabeth in her 90’s, she will accept nothing less than an apology, even then, Monroe will refuse to give it. 

Washington, still president, will now assign his former solider to another post: Minister to France. The Monroe’s love France, and will thoroughly embrace their culture. They’ll send Eliza off to the best French schools. And Elizabeth will especially take to the fancy, glamourous culture of the French. 

But it’s here that Elizabeth will also make her biggest mark in the history books. The French Revolution has taken place, and those who had supported the former king were facing serious punishment, including the wife of Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette was a Frenchman who had helped the American’s fight their own war for independence. He had even served in Washington’s army.

But now, Lafayette’s family were imprisoned for being aristocrats that supported the former king. His wife, Madame de Lafayette was imprisoned and set to be executed (beheaded even!). 

Monroe felt as an American diplomat, he couldn’t intervene. But, if Elizabeth were to intervene, he wouldn’t be one to stop her. So Elizabeth gets in her American diplomat carriage and goes to visit Madame Lafayette, and upon leaving, announces to the guards, that she’ll be back the following day (when Madame Lafayette was set to be executed). 

It’s simple enough, but it panics the guards, and is enough to scare off the French government from following through on the beheading, because they desperately want to avoid upsetting the US. Eventually, Elizabeth secures her release using her clout. It’s the one public act Elizabeth will chiefly be remembered for. 

Monroe is much like his buddy TJ in that he prefers France to Britain. But that is going to get him into a bit of trouble. He’s a little too friendly with the French for President Washington, who wants someone a little more neutral. (Remember, Washington wanted to stay out of the tiff between Britain and France) 

Washington wants his guy to “promote, not thwart the neutral policy of the government”, so he recalls Monroe. The Monroe’s were pretty beloved in France, and were a little sad to be coming home to the United States. In fact, Monroe will remain pretty salty about the fact Washington recalled him, and later in life Monroe will pass Mount Vernon, but won’t even swing by to visit the former president. 

By the time John Adams is president, Monroe will be back in Virginia, having been elected Governor. While serving as governor, the Monroe’s will have their second child, a boy named James. But toddler James will die of whooping cough, and Elizabeth’s health will start to fail as well. 

It’s likely she had epilepsy or arthritis, but it’s the late 1700’s, so it won’t get properly diagnosed, so everyone is just going to call it “falling sickness”. James will simply say Elizabeth is prone to ‘convulsions’. Whatever it is, it’ll be a source of embarrassment for the Monroe’s, especially when Elizabeth takes a tumble into the fireplace and suffers burns. Even with Elizabeth’s poor health, the couple will have one more kid, a daughter named Maria. 

By now, Thomas Jefferson is president, and he’s going to ask Monroe if he’s up for being Minister to England. So, the Monroe’s are headed back across the Atlantic with their two daughters in tow. 

England is fine, but it’s no France. The English are a bit frosty with him. The people of London aren’t fans of the U.S. and Monroe’s “start up” country. James counters “our country may be likened to a new house, we may lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all- liberty!’

 Elizabeth, meanwhile, finds the social climate less favorable than France. London lacks a certain sophistication she had come to enjoy in Paris. Luckily for the Monroe’s, Jefferson has a job for James, and it involves going to France! TJ is going to need Monroe (along with Robert Livingston) to go meet with Napoleon to negotiate a very important purchase: the Louisiana Purchase in fact! Monroe must be a good negotiator because he gets all that land at the rock bottom price of 3 cents an acre! 

After Four years in Europe, and the Monroe’s are headed back across the Atlantic yet again, where James Monroe will be elected Governor of Virginia yet again. 

By now, James Madison is president. He’s been at odds with his Secretary of State, Robert Smith, and has now asked for Smith’s resignation. Madison is now on the lookout for his new Secretary of State, and he’s going to enlist James Monroe for the job. 

But James Monroe can handle more than just Secretary of State, in fact, Madison will simultaneously name Monroe Secretary of War during the War of 1812. Monroe kicked British ass once before, surely he can do it again. Obviously, we come out victorious enough in 1812, and by 1816 we’re ready for an election! 

 The War of 1812 didn’t just kill the British hopes for sinking their claws back into America, it also killed a political party: the Federalists. 

In truth, a lot of what the Federalists had stood for had been adopted into the fabric of the country. But they lacked any sort of new ideas for a country that was rapid expanding and had different needs. The Federalists were not adapting their platform. They didn’t offer anything new for the growing country, and looked wildly out of touch.  That was a problem in and of itself. 

But the War of 1812 brought the party to it’s knees. They had called it “Mr. Madison’s War,” as though that was a negative thing. They had refused to support the war efforts with men, or money. Extremists even talked to succession! But as it turns out Mr. Madison’s War was the War to get the British off our backs once and for all. The Federalists were discredited, and the party of Alexander Hamilton who had always been close to Britain, had to face the fact this was the beginning of the end for them. 

By the Election of 1816, we are two years removed from the war, Madison is going the customary route of leaving after two terms, and the Federalist party is in a serious decline. The remaining party members are just a few guys in the New England states. 

The Federalists won’t even bother to make an official announcement or nomination for president. As a half-hearted gesture from the dying party, a small group of guys from a few northern states get together and decide to back Rufus King for president, for the sake of competition. 

Rufus King is the standard bearer for the Federalists. He was Alexander Hamilton’s number one fan. The 61 year old has had an illustrious political career, serving as a delegate from Massachusetts at the Constitutional Convention, a Senator from New York, and an Ambassador to Great Britain. 

But even Rufus King knows he’s not actually going to run for president, let alone BE president, saying “Federalists our age must be content with the past”. A fitting quote from the last man to ever be “nominated” for president by the Federalist Party. 

On the flip side, it was almost a forgone conclusion the Democratic-Republicans were going to go with Monroe. His name has been thrown out for president for years (It caused a temporary tiff with Madison when some suggest Monroe run for president in 1808). He is “ready at the throne”, it’s his turn. Monroe will be the last of the Revolutionary generation of Virginians (Washington, Jefferson, Madison), his nickname is “The last cocked hat”. 

He’s got the resume: Continental Congress, Us Senator, Minister to France and Great Britain, Secretary of State while simultaneously Secretary of War. 

Monroe is known as a hardworking, diligent, brilliant, honest guy. He’s good natured, warm and a total “policy wonk”. He’ll be the only president besides Washington to fight in the Revolution. He’s advanced through the political scene because people saw “some sort of spark in him”

He’s well groomed, but not at all fashionable. The guy still shows up in totally outdated Revolutionary garb, with his ancient knee britches, silk stockings, and a sword. (It’d be like if Joe Biden showed up sporting knee socks from the 70s). Monroe is the first to ditch the wig and wear his own hair in public. 

He is lacking in charisma and doesn’t arouse excitement. He’s lost a bit of that badass-ness he had in college. He’s kind of dull. In fact some call him “As dull as dishwater”. Rufus King says Monroe “has the zealous support of nobody, and is exempt from the hostility of everybody.” It’s an accurate statement, but beside the point. 

But, that’s ok, because we’re in a time before a popular vote, conventions or campaigns. And with an absence of fierce party rivalries, voters don’t really have an alternative to Monroe anyway. The 58 year old heir-apparent Monroe is a shoe in. 

Monroe will win 15 of the 18 states: 183, to 34. Rufus King will take Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware. The Democratic-Republicans will now be the only major party for the next 20 years. 

Monroe is inaugurated as the 5th president of the United States. His Vice President will be a “Farmer’s Boy of Westchester”, former New York Governor Daniel Tompkins (through both terms). 

Monroe will preside over a tranquil time in US history. In fact, during his inaugural address he will comment that it is gratifying “to witness the increased harmony of opinion which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong in our system.” (Monroe was never much a fan of political parties.) 

Monroe’s time in office will be so peaceful,  it’ll be deemed “the Era of Good Feelings”.  After the successful enough war of 1812 (Some said the Treaty of Ghent was more of a draw, but it meant peace so other’s considered it a win), the American economy was booming. Growing industries created a prosperous economy, and with the decline in partisan politics, there weren’t even political parties to argue with each other. 

So what better thing for Monroe to do than to set off on a goodwill tour of the United States. He’ll spend 15 weeks during the summer of 1917, traveling 2,000 miles, going from DC to Maine, to Detroit to DC (a few years later he’ll tour the South). He will visit prisons, hospitals, museums, colleges, and army bases. 

It’ll serve as a PR stunt to improve the relations between the federal government and local governments. Monroe be the first president to tour the US, so it will be a rare privilege for people for people living in the 19th century to so much as catch a glimpse of the president. 

Monroe will be warmly received, as people line the streets, climb rooftops, and run to their windows just to see him. Receptions will be held for him every other night. It’ll be a good thing Monroe has a love for wine, because those receptions will feature toast after toast to the US, the Declaration, and all the states (and there is 19 of them!) They’ll be 30 to 40 toasts a night. Monroe will build up quite the tolerance. 

Back in DC, Elizabeth Monroe has the daunting task of being first lady, and she’s not amped about it. First of all, she’s following up Dolley freaking Madison. So, that’s not going to be easy. It’s a tough ask for anyone, but Elizabeth processes none of Dolley’s charm and wit. Elizabeth is not the hostess with the mostest. 

She’s quiet, shy and reserved, unapproachable, and a mystery. She doesn’t send invites out, she wants people to come to her. Elizabeth doesn’t attend many events, to the disappointment of the DC elites. You see, if the First Lady isn’t going, it’s customary that everyone leaves their wives at home. Elizabeth was screwing up the social and political networks of DC. 

When Elizabeth does have parties, she leaves hosting duties to her oldest daughter, Eliza. And remember, Eliza spent a good amount of her childhood in France too. The Monroe’s prefer formal, albeit stuffy affairs. They great you not with a warm embrace, but a simple nod. Eliza will turn you away if you aren’t properly guests. Guards will turn guests away if they weren’t explicitly invited. When Maria becomes the first person married in the White House, only 30 guests are invited, upsetting many. 

DC elites began to boycott events at Monroe’s White House. Some say Elizabeth’s beauty and seemingly inability to age made women jealous. Other’s say her lack of invites insulted and offended many. The place wasn’t very inviting. The Executive Mansion had been rebuilt and repainted (White!) since the burning of Washington during the war of 1812, and Elizabeth was now designing it with European furnishings that made the place a little too aristocratic for some people. 

Some guests will still show up, and when they do, it’ll become obvious there wasn’t a whole lot of thought put into the seating chart. A French and British representative end up next to each other, and it ends up in a duel in the White House. James Monroe is forced to rush in with his sword, stop the duel, and send them both home. 

James Monroe can still channel his badass soldier side when he needs to. In fact, when Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, demands jobs for his buddies and won’t leave Monroe’s office, James Monroe grabs fireplace tongs and shouts “You will leave now, or you will be thrust out!”

Monroe doesn’t want anyone telling him who to appoint. He’ll make up his own mind. And speaking of which, Monroe needs a Secretary of State, and he’s going to go with the son of a former president. Enter: John Quincy Adams. 

Another future president will be working with Monroe, sort of. General Andrew Jackson is down in Florida terrorizing Native Americans, and invading the Spanish territory without actual consent from Monroe (Jackson wrote him to tell him he was going to invade, and Monroe didn’t respond. Jackson, being Jackson, took that as a green light). 

All the meanwhile JQA is trying to negotiate the Adams-Onis Treaty that will have Spain cede Florida to the United States. It’s a sticky situation. Jackson has now caused a bloody international incident. 

But Monroe and JQA will take that bloody international incident and turn it into a real estate opportunity. The US will take control of Florida and the entire eastern seaboard, after Spain is pressured into selling us Florida. But the situation is a bit awkward, and shows Jackson as a bit of a loose cannon. 

Monroe will also neutralize the northern boundary with Canada, which is still owned by the Brits, with the Rush-Bagot Treaty. 

The economy will take a downturn with the Panic of 1819. The country will be facing a recession. It’s the first financial crisis the United States will face. But it’s not just the US economy struggling, it’s a global issue. 

The only real contentious issue of Monroe’s time is how quickly the north is rapidly outstripping the south in terms of population, and therefore political clout. As more and more states were admitted into the union, the issue of whether or not those new states should be slave states or free states became troublesome. 

But Speaker of the House Henry Clay has a plan for that, and it’s called ‘The Missouri Compromise’. The legislation would admit Maine to the United States as a free state, simultaneously with Missouri as a slave state. 

This would maintain the balance of power between North and South in the United States Senate. As part of the compromise, the legislation prohibited slavery north of the 36°30′ parallel, excluding Missouri. The Missouri Compromise squashes the slavery debate for now. But, it’s just a band aid, not a solution. 

Henry Clay wasn’t the only man with a plan, Monroe has a plan to deal with the issue of slavery: How about we just “send it away”? Monroe was very enthusiastic about “Colonization”, where American could start a colony of former slaves in Africa in the newly formed country of Liberia. 

Colonization appealed to white northerners as a way to end slavery, and southerners thought it would stop the future of the possibility that blacks might overwhelm whites in sheer numbers. 

Monroe will be the first president of the American Colonization Society. When ACS set up a colony of Liberia in 1822 with 12,000 emancipated slaves, they named the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe (it’s the only capital city outside the US named for a US president). Life isn’t easy back in Africa either. Liberia has suffered multiple civil wars, coup detats, and the worst Ebola outbreak on record. 

Back in the United States, it’s 1820 and time for another Election. This election will see Monroe verses…. Monroe? We’re going to keep the Era of Good Feelings going. For the third, and last time in American history, a Presidential candidate will run unopposed. 

The Federalists won’t even try on this one. The US is now practically a one-party state. Which again, is just fine with Monroe. “Surely our government  may go on and prosper without the existence of parties… I have always considered their existence as the curse of the country.” 

Except for Washington’s non-election “elections” this will be the least riveting election in US history. The quiet election will capture little interest for the American public. Their apathy will turn into low voter turn out. There was so little to record for prosperity, my ‘Slinging Mud’ book doesn’t even start talking elections until 1824. 

231 electors will vote for James Madison. But it will not be unanimous, because one guy in New Hampshire believes George Washington should be the only president ever elected unanimously. So the guy casts his vote for Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. JQA is totally embarrassed by the vote. He had cast his vote for Monroe. 

The Election of 1820 will be the calm before the storm. The Era of Good Feelings can only last so long. It will fade away by the mid 20s, much like the Democratic-Republican Party. Factions will develop between states rights guys, and slavery. Remember, the next election is 1824 with the mess of candidates. 

In fact, we don’t even get out of 1820 without candidates announcing their intention to run for president the next go around, with John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson the first to announce. 

But for now, 62 year old James Monroe is going to keep the train going for another four years. 

His second term will be as quiet, if not quieter than the first. There is only one key term of consequence here: The Monroe Doctrine. 

The Monroe Doctrine will be a speech that President Monroe gives (his Annual Message to Congress is fact). It was a great big “get off my lawn” message to Europe. With his statement, Monroe is letting the predatory European powers know that their cut-throat colonization in the Western Hemisphere is over.

Monroe announces that the Western Hemisphere is closed to colonization, preventing foreign nations from settling in America. He warns Europe against expansion, and said any attempt to do so would be seen as an act of war. 

The speech is shaped and worded mostly by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, but it will forever be attached to Monroe’s name. Truth be told, the “Monroe Doctrine” won’t get it’s name for years. But once it does, it will find it’s way into the history books as his biggest accomplishment. 

Monroe was growing into the office just as it was time to leave. After a contentious election in 1824, John Quincy Adams will be elected president, by the House of Representatives, striking a ‘Corrupt Bargain’ with Henry Clay, according to Andrew Jackson. 

James and Elizabeth will be headed back to Virginia to live near the new University that’s been formed by Monroe’s buddies TJ and Madison (The University of Virginia). A year later, TJ and John Adams will die on the same day. 

Four years later, Elizabeth’s health will completely fail her. Monroe won’t be far behind. 

He’ll spend the next 10 months living with his daughter Maria in New York, before he dies of heart failure at the age of 73. The date is July 4, 1831. Exactly five years to the day after Jefferson and Adams. His final regret: “I should leave this world without beholding James Madison”. 

Polls usually rank Monroe as an above average president. But without turmoil to face, and adversity to rises above, it’s harder to stand out. Perhaps, this is why he isn’t remembered as well as the first four.  Some say it was an easy presidency. And easy doesn’t get you into the history books.