James Monroe

Monroe, James

(1758–1831) fifth U.S. president; born in Westmoreland Country, Va. A combat veteran of the American Revolution, he studied law with Thomas Jefferson, who became a lifelong mentor. After serving in the Virginia legislature, Monroe began in 1783 a three-year term in the Confederation Congress; he chaired the committee (1785) that prepared the way for framing the Constitution, though in the end he did not participate in its making and objected to the power it gave the central government. As a U.S. senator (1790–94), he opposed George Washington and the Federalists, but was still appointed ambassador to France (1794–96) until an angry President Washington recalled him for opposing the Jay Treaty. He returned to Virginia as governor (1799–1802); then, as a delegate for President Jefferson in 1803, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. The next four years were spent in less successful diplomacy in Madrid and London. More offices followed: again governor of Virginia (1811), secretary of state under Madison (1811–17), and also secretary of war (1814–15). Monroe ascended to the presidency in 1817 and was almost unanimously voted a second term in 1820. A popular president in a peaceful time, his administration came to be called "the era of good feeling." Among the notable events of his presidency were gaining Florida from Spain in 1818; the settlement of fishing-rights disputes in Newfoundland and Labrador; and (in 1823) the "Monroe Doctrine," which proclaimed American hostility to any further European colonization or interference in the Americas. The activities of his later years included serving as regent of the University of Virginia (1826–30). His years of public service left him so poor that he had to spend the last months of his life with his daughter in New York City, where he died.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Monroe, James

 

Born Apr. 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Va.; died July 4, 1831, in New York. American statesman.

From 1790 to 1794, Monroe served as a senator, and from 1794 to 1796, as minister to France. He was governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802. From 1811 to 1817 he was secretary of state, and simultaneously, from 1814 to 1815, secretary of war. He was president of the USA from 1817 to 1825.

During his political career Monroe tried to reconcile the interests of the southern planters and the northern bourgeoisie. Under his administration eastern Florida was annexed (1819), the Missouri Compromise was concluded (1820), the independent states of Latin America were recognized (1822), and the Monroe Doctrine was proclaimed (1823).

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.