Presidential Resources Online

James Monroe 1817 - 1825

Picture of James Monroe
    James Monroe was born in 1758 to a well-to-do planter family in Virginia.  As a young man he served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and was also member of the Virginia convention which ratified the constitution.  An anti-federalist, Monroe feared the power of a strong centralized state, and later became a Democratic-Republican and political ally of Thomas Jefferson.  He served as minister to France from 1794-96, and he also helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  Monroe also served in the U.S. Senate.  Monroe was elected President in 1816 and served two terms.  As President Monroe presided over the Missouri Compromise, which temporarily resolved the issue of slave expansion.  Monroe also established the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy resolution which declared North America off limits to further European expansion.  After his two terms Monroe retired from public life, and he died in 1831.








Online James Monroe Resources:

Ash Lawn-Highland - Website of the James Monroe's home in Albermarle County, Virginia.  Contains a wide variety of Monroe resources.

James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library - Contains tourist information and a small virtual tour.

The Monroe Doctrine - Online text of the historic document.


 

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