James Monroe

Adv. History

President Comparison

James Monroe was born on April twenty-eight, seventeen fifty-eight. He was born in Westmoreland County of Virginia. His father's name was Spence Monroe who came from a Scottish family that settled in the mid-1600. His mother was Elizabeth Jones who settled from Wales and lived in Virginia for several years. He was their first of four sons and they also had a daughter.

He was tutored at home until he was twelve then his father sent him to school. His father sent him to the School of Archibald Campbell. To get to school he was required to go through the forest. While on his trip through the woods he often carried a rifle and shot small game. At the age of sixteen he entered into the College of William and Mary. Two years later he had joined the army and was a lieutenant of the Continental Army. He saw action soon afterward in the fall of 1776 at Harlem Heights and the White Plains. Later on he fought at the Battle of Trenton and was wounded in the shoulder. His superior officers complimented for his courageous and brave efforts.

In the year 1778 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel with mission to raise troops in Virginia for the war effort. His efforts to accomplish his mission may have failed but little to his knowledge at the time it would greatly influence his life greatly. This is because on his mission to Virginia he met Thomas Jefferson who was currently the governor of the state. Soon after he became Thomas Jefferson's pupil and started to study law under him. Even though he was his teacher they became friends and Jefferson offered guidance to him.

In 1783 he won a seat on the Virginia assembly then the next year of 1783 he was elected to the congress of the confederation. Monroe was opposed to a highly centralized government but he supported moderate measures. He worked diligently to aid pioneers in getting the right to travel on the Mississippi river. Another thing he did was aid Jefferson in making and passing laws for the expansion into the west. After two trips westward Monroe decided that even though he was unimpressed with what he saw he still thought that the land would be important in the country's further growth. In 1786 he decided to stay and practice law in Fredericksburg Va.

This decision had little lasting effects for he was drawn to politics and he ran for the Virginia Assembly. He easily won the position and held it for four years. During these four years he served on the convention called to order by Virginia to ratify the constitution. He had little faith in a strong federal government so he opposed the constitution but he didn't make that much of a big deal out of it and accepted it's ratification.

He wed in 1786 to Elizabeth Kortright and had two daughters. In 1790 he ran against James Madison for the House of Representatives but lost to him. Later he was chosen by the Virginia legislature to fill a seat in the U.S. senate. As senator he positioned himself with Madison and Jefferson. A bit later in 1811 Madison chose him as his secretary of state and he accepted. During this time the Secretary of War was forced to resign after the War of 1812. This left a vacancy which Monroe filled so he held two cabinet positions under Madison.

In 1816 Monroe was elected president with 183 Electoral College votes. His running mate was Governor Daniel D. Tompkins of New York. House speaker Henry Clay proposed the American system which would strengthen nationalism. It would do so by making roads and canals to the west and putting a tariff on imported goods. Monroe opposed it and questioned the ability of the central government to do this. Another issue he faced was the Seminole Wars in which he sent Andrew Jackson to deal with. This protected the American homeland from invading Seminoles.

In 1820 he was reelected and unopposed during the running. In his second term as president he made the Monroe Doctrine which stated that the European countries would stay out of America and let it govern itself