James Monroe (April 28,
1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of
the United States (1817–1825).
Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States and the last president from theVirginia dynasty and the Republican Generation. He
was of French and Scottish descent. Born in 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 delegate in
the Continental Congress. As an 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 theSenate of the first
United States Congress, where
he joined the 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 Secretary of
State and
the Secretary of
War under
President James Madison.
Facing little opposition from the fractured Federalist Party, Monroe was 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 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 to the Pacific, giving America harbor and fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest. The United States and Britain jointly occupied theOregon Country. In addition to the acquisition of Florida, the
landmark Treaty of 1819 secured the border of the United States along the 42nd Parallel to the Pacific Ocean and represented America's first
determined attempt at creating an "American global empire". As nationalism surged, partisan fury
subsided and the "Era of Good Feelings" ensued until the Panic of 1819 struck and dispute over the admission of
Missouri embroiled
the country in 1820. Nonetheless, Monroe won near-unanimous reelection.
Monroe supported the founding of 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 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.
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