Presidency of James Monroe

Monroe (circa 1819)

The presidency of James Monroe began on March 4, 1817, when James Monroe was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1825. Monroe, the fifth United States president, took office after winning the 1816 presidential election by an overwhelming margin over Federalist Rufus King. This election was the last in which the Federalists fielded a presidential candidate, and Monroe was unopposed in the 1820 presidential election. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was succeeded by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.

As president, he sought to ease partisan tensions, embarking on a tour of the country that was generally well received. His presidency ushered in what was known as the "Era of Good Feelings." The U.S. had a new sense of confidence from its various victories during the War of 1812 and was growing quickly and offering new opportunities to its citizens. This swell of nationalism subsided some when the Panic of 1819 struck and a dispute over the admission of Missouri embroiled the country in 1820, though Monroe still won near-unanimous reelection in 1820. Monroe brought a pragmatic approach to politics and an unpretentious capacity for hard work to his presidency. He visited well over 100 communities, traveling from Maine to Georgia and well into the West. Monroe was seen by more Americans than any previous president, and his travels were reported on in detail in the local and national press.^[1]

With the ratification of the Treaty of 1818, under the successful diplomacy of Secretary of State Adams, the United States extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, giving the United States harbor and fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest. The United States and Britain jointly occupied the Oregon Country. In addition to the acquisition of Florida, the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty secured the border of the United States along the 42nd Parallel to the Pacific Ocean and represented the first determined attempt at creating an "American global empire".^[2] His administration supported the founding of colonies in Africa for freed slaves 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.

Monroe was the last president called a Founding Father of the United States, and also the last president of the "Virginia Dynasty", a term sometimes used to describe the fact that four of the nation's first five presidents were from Virginia. Polls of historians and political scientists have generally ranked Monroe as an above-average president.

Presidential elections and inaugurations

Election of 1816

1816 electoral vote results.

When James Madison announced his decision to continue the custom of serving only two terms as president, James Monroe stood in a commanding position for the Democratic-Republican nomination as Madison's heir apparent.^[3] He was not elected easily, however; he barely won the nomination in the Republican congressional caucus, as many Republicans objected to the succession of Virginia presidents.^[4] Disorganization and failure to agree on William H. Crawford, Daniel Tompkins, Henry Clay or another possible contender weakened opposition to Monroe. The boycott by Virginia Congressional delegates of the March 12 caucus removed the chances of Monroe's opponents, and he received the caucus nomination four days later.^[5]

In the general election, opposition to Monroe was in a shambles. The Hartford Convention of 1814 (growing out of opposition to the War of 1812) had discredited the Federalist Party outside their strongholds. To some extent, Republicans had siphoned off Federalist support with nationalist programs like the Second Bank of the United States.^[4] The Federalists did not even name a candidate, though Senator Rufus King did run in opposition to Monroe under the Federalist banner.^[3] As a result, King won only three states: Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts. The total Electoral College vote came in at 183 for Monroe and 34 for King.^[3]

First inauguration, 1817

Monroe's first presidential inauguration was held on Tuesday, March 4, 1817, in front of the Old Brick Capitol in Washington D.C. (held there due to on-going restoration work at the Capitol building following the War of 1812). The Chief Justice, John Marshall administered the oath of office. He was the first president to take the oath of office and deliver an inaugural address outdoors.^[6]

Election of 1820

1820 electoral vote results.

During James Monroe’s first term, the country had suffered an economic depression. In addition, the extension of slavery into the territories became a political issue when Missouri sought admission as a slave state. Also causing controversy were Supreme Court decisions in Dartmouth College v. Woodward and McCulloch v. Maryland, which expanded the power of Congress and of private corporations at the expense of the states. But despite these problems,^[4] the collapse of the Federalists left Monroe with no organized opposition at the end of his first term, and he ran for reelection unopposed,^[3] the only president other than George Washington to do so. A single elector from New Hampshire, William Plumer, cast a vote for John Quincy Adams, preventing a unanimous vote in the Electoral College.^[3] He did so because he thought Monroe was incompetent. Later in the century, the story arose that he had cast his dissenting vote so that only Washington would have the honor of unanimous election. Plumer never mentioned Washington in his speech explaining his vote to the other New Hampshire electors.^[4]

Plumer also refused to vote for Daniel Tompkins for Vice President, whom he considered "grossly intemperate", not having "that weight of character which his office requires," and "because he grossly neglected his duty" in his "only" official role as President of the Senate by being "absent nearly three-fourths of the time";^[7] Plumer instead voted for Richard Rush. His dissent was joined by several Federalist electors who, although pledged to vote for Tompkins, voted for someone else for vice president: eight for Richard Stockton, four for Daniel Rodney, and one for Robert Goodloe Harper.^[8]

Second inauguration, 1821

Monroe's second presidential inauguration was held on Monday, March 5, 1821, in House of Representatives Chamber, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (held inside due to a 2–day–long snowstorm). Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office. 1821 was the first time that inauguration day to fall on a Sunday. Monroe decided to hold the Inaugural ceremony on Monday, March 5, after consulting with Supreme Court justices.^[9]

Presidential appointments

Cabinet appointments

James Monroe, standing, presides over a cabinet meeting in 1823. Seated left to right are John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford, William Wirt, John C. Calhoun, Daniel D. Tompkins, and Smith Thompson.

Monroe made balanced Cabinet choices, naming a southerner, John C. Calhoun, as Secretary of War, and a northerner, John Quincy Adams, as Secretary of State. Both proved outstanding, as Adams was a master diplomat,^[10] and Calhoun completely reorganized the War Department to overcome the serious deficiencies that had hobbled it during the War of 1812.^[11] Monroe talked about ridding American politics of party affiliation,^[12] yet he decided on political grounds not to offer Henry Clay the State Department, and Clay turned down the War Department and remained Speaker of the House, so Monroe lacked an outstanding westerner in his cabinet.^[12]

Other executive branch appointments

Two persons served as Postmaster General in the Monroe administration: Return J. Meigs Jr. (1814–1823, a Madison administration holdover) and John McLean (1823–1829, who remained in office throughout the J. Q. Adams administration).

Judicial appointments

On September 1, 1823, Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson received a recess appointment from President Monroe to a seat on the Supreme Court vacated by Henry Brockholst Livingston. Officially nominated for the same seat on December 5, 1823, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 9.^[13] Madison also appointed 21 judges to United States district courts during his presidency.

Domestic Affairs

Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square (1819) by John Lewis Kimmel exemplifies the spirit of the "Era of Good Feelings"

Democratic-Republican Party dominance

Monroe sought to reduce political tensions and augment the sense of "oneness" that pervaded the nation at the time of his presidency. He made two long national tours to build national trust. At Boston, his 1817 visit was hailed as the beginning of an "Era of Good Feelings." Frequent stops on these tours allowed innumerable ceremonies of welcome and expressions of good will. The Federalist Party continued to fade away during his administration; it maintained its vitality and organizational integrity in Delaware and a few localities, but lacked influence in national politics. Lacking serious opposition, the Democratic-Republican Party's Congressional caucus stopped meeting, and for practical purposes the Democratic-Republican Party stopped operating.^[14]

Panic of 1819

Two years into his presidency, Monroe faced an economic crisis known as the Panic of 1819. It was the first major depression to hit the country since the 1780s. The panic stemmed from declining imports and exports, and sagging agricultural prices^[12] as global markets readjusted to peacetime production and commerce in the aftermath of the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars.^[15][16] The severity of the economic downturn in the U.S. was compounded by excessive speculation in public lands,^[17][18] fueled by the unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and business concerns.^[19][20] The Bank of the United States (B.U.S.), which might have put a break on inflation, was it second to none in the scramble for profits. Late in 1818 the directors of the B.U.S. took overdue steps to curtail credit. Branches were ordered to accept no bills but their own, to present all state bank notes for payment at once, and to renew no personal notes or mortgages.^[21]

The result was high unemployment and an increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures.^[12][22] The financial disaster and depression provoked popular resentment against banking and business enterprises.^[23][24] It also exacerbated tensions within the Democratic-Republican Party and aggravated sectional tensions as northerners pressed for higher tariffs while southerners abandoned their support of nationalistic economic programs. At this juncture came the Supreme Court's decision in McCulloch v. Maryland, forbidding states to tax Bank U.S. branches.^[21] One of several cases to come before the Court during the 1810s and 1820s pitting advocates of States' rights against those arguing for the supremacy of the federal government, the decision fed the popular disdain for the B.U.S., and aroused fears about the growing reach of federal power.

Missouri Compromise

In February 1819, a bill to enable the people of the Missouri Territory to draft a constitution and form a government preliminary to admission into the Union came before the House of Representatives for debate. During these proceedings, Congressman James Tallmadge, Jr. of New York "tossed a bombshell into the Era of Good Feelings"^[25] by offering amendments (known collectively as the Tallmadge Amendment) prohibiting the further introduction of slaves into Missouri, and requiring that all children subsequently therein of slave parents should be free at the age of twenty-five years.^[26] After three days of rancorous and sometimes bitter debate, the bill, with Tallmadge’s amendments, passed. The measure then went to the Senate, where both amendments were rejected.^[27] A House–Senate conference committee was unable to resolve the disagreements on the bill, and so the whole measure was lost.^[28]

The amendment instantly exposed the sectional polarization among Jeffersonian Republicans over the future of slavery in the nation.^[29][27] Northern Jeffersonian Republicans formed a coalition across factional lines with remnants of the Federalists. Southern Jeffersonians united in almost unanimous opposition. The ensuing debates pitted the northern "restrictionists" (antislavery legislators who wished to bar slavery from the Louisiana territories) and southern "anti-restrictionists" (proslavery legislators who rejected any interference by Congress inhibiting slavery expansion).^[30]

The United States in 1819. The Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery in the unorganized territory of the Great Plains (upper dark green) and permitted it in Missouri (yellow) and the Arkansas Territory (lower blue area).

During the following session (1819–1820), the House passed a similar bill with an amendment, introduced on January 26, 1820, by John W. Taylor of New York, allowing Missouri into the union as a slave state. The question had been complicated by the admission in December of Alabama, a slave state, making the number of slave and free states equal. In addition, there was a bill in passage through the House (January 3, 1820) to admit Maine as a free state.^[31] The Senate decided to connect the two measures. It passed a bill for the admission of Maine with an amendment enabling the people of Missouri to form a state constitution. Before the bill was returned to the House, a second amendment was adopted on the motion of Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois, excluding slavery from the Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north (the southern boundary of Missouri), except within the limits of the proposed state of Missouri.^[32] The House then approved the bill as amended by the Senate.^[32]

The two houses were at odds not only on the issue of the legality of slavery, but also on the parliamentary question of the inclusion of Maine and Missouri within the same bill. The committee recommended the enactment of two laws, one for the admission of Maine, the other an enabling act for Missouri. They recommended against having restrictions on slavery but for including the Thomas amendment. Both houses agreed, and the measures were passed on March 5, 1820, and were signed by the president on March 6.

The question of the final admission of Missouri came up during the session of 1820–1821. The struggle was revived over a clause in Missouri's new constitution (written in 1820) requiring the exclusion of "free negroes and mulattoes" from the state. Through the influence of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay "The Great Compromiser", an act of admission was finally passed, upon the condition that the exclusionary clause of the Missouri constitution should "never be construed to authorize the passage of any law" impairing the privileges and immunities of any U.S. citizen. This deliberately ambiguous provision is sometimes known as the Second Missouri Compromise.^[33] It was a bitter pill for many to swallow and the admission of new states as free or slave became a major issue until the abolition of slavery.^[34]

Internal improvements

As the United States continued to grow, many Americans advocated a system of internal improvements to help the country develop. Still, federal assistance for internal improvements evolved slowly and haphazardly—the product of contentious congressional factions and an executive branch generally concerned with avoiding unconstitutional federal intrusions into state affairs.^[35] Monroe believed that the young nation needed an improved infrastructure, including a transportation network to grow and thrive economically. However, he did not think that the Constitution said anything about the authority to build, maintain, and operate a national transportation system. He therefore urged Congress to introduce a constitutional amendment granting it such power. Congress never acted on his suggestion because many legislators thought they already had the implied authority to enact such measures.^[12]

In 1822, a bill to authorize the collection of tolls on the Cumberland Road (which provided for yearly improvements to the road) had been vetoed by the President. In an elaborate essay, Monroe set forth his views on the constitutional aspects of a policy of internal improvements. Congress might appropriate money, he admitted, but it might not undertake the actual construction of national works nor assume jurisdiction over them. For the moment, the drift toward a larger participation of the national government in internal improvements was stayed. Two years later, Congress authorized the President to institute surveys for such roads and canals as he believed to be needed for commerce and military defense. No one pleaded more eloquently for a larger conception of the functions of the national government than Henry Clay. He called the attention of his hearers to provisions made for coast surveys and lighthouses on the Atlantic seaboard and deplored the neglect of the interior of the country. Of the other presidential candidates, Jackson voted in the Senate for the general survey bill; and Adams left no doubt in the public mind that he did not reflect the narrow views of his section on this issue. Crawford felt the constitutional scruples which were everywhere being voiced in the South, and followed the old expedient of advocating a constitutional amendment to sanction national internal improvements.^[36]

In 1824, however, the Supreme Court ruled in Gibbons v. Ogden that federal authority covered interstate commerce including riverine navigation. Shortly thereafter, Congress passed two important laws that, together, marked the beginning of the federal government's continuous involvement in civil works. The General Survey Act authorized the president to have surveys made of routes for roads and canals "of national importance, in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for the transportation of public mail." The president assigned responsibility for the surveys to the Army Corps of Engineers. The second act, passed a month later, appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other obstacles. Subsequently, the act was amended to include other rivers such as the Missouri. This work, too, was given to the Corps of Engineers—the only formally trained body of engineers in the new republic and, as part of the nation's small army, available to serve the wishes of Congress and the executive branch.^[35]

Foreign Affairs

Treaties with Great Britain

Near the beginning of Monroe's first term, the administration negotiated two important accords with Great Britain that resolved border disputes held over from the War of 1812.^[37]

• The Rush-Bagot Treaty, signed April 20, 1817, regulated naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, demilitarizing the border between the U.S. and British North America.^[38]
• The Treaty of 1818, signed October 20, 1818, fixed the present Canada–United States border from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains at the 49th parallel.^[37] Britain ceded all of Rupert's Land south of the 49th parallel and east of the Continental Divide, including all of the Red River Colony south of that latitude, while the U.S. ceded the northernmost edge of the Missouri Territory above the 49th parallel. The accords also established a joint U.S.–British occupation of Oregon Country for the next ten years.^[37]

Although the accords did not completely settle border disputes and trade arrangements, the Rush-Bagot Treaty and the Treaty of 1818 marked an important turning point in Anglo–American and American–Canadian relations.^[39]

Spanish Florida

Spain had long rejected repeated American efforts to purchase Florida. But by 1818, Spain was facing a troubling colonial situation in which the cession of Florida made sense. Spain had been exhausted by the Peninsular War in Europe and needed to rebuild its credibility and presence in its colonies. Revolutionaries in Central America and South America were beginning to demand independence. Spain was unwilling to invest further in Florida, encroached on by American settlers, and it worried about the border between New Spain (a large area including today's Mexico, Central America, and much of the current US Western States) and the United States. With minor military presence in Florida, Spain was not able to restrain the Seminole warriors who routinely crossed the border and raided American villages and farms, as well as protected southern slave refugees from slave owners and traders of the southern United States.^[40]

To stop the Seminole Indians based in East Florida from raiding Georgia settlements and offering havens for runaway slaves, the U.S. Army led increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory. This included the 1817–1818 campaign led by General Andrew Jackson that became known as the First Seminole War. Jackson and a force of Tennessee Militia, under federal orders, captured a Spanish fort at St. Marks, took control of Pensacola, and deposed the Spanish governor. He also executed two British subjects whom he accused of having incited the Seminoles to raid American settlements.^[37][41] As a result, the U.S. effectively seized control of Northeastern Florida; albeit for purposes of lawful government and administration (in the state of Georgia); but not for the outright annexation.

Jackson returned to Tennessee, where he was acclaimed a hero.^[41] News of Jackson's exploits caused consternation in Washington and ignited a congressional investigation. Dominated by Democratic-Republicans, the 15th Congress was generally expansionist and more likely to support the popular Jackson. Ulterior political agendas of many congressmen dismantled partisan and sectional coalitions, so that Jackson's opponents argued weakly and became easily discredited. After much debate, the House of Representatives voted down all resolutions that condemned Jackson in any way, thus implicitly endorsing Monroe's action authorizing the military intervention and leaving the issue surrounding the role of the executive with respect to war powers unanswered.^[42]

Map showing the results of the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819.

Some in Monroe's cabinet, among them John Calhoun, wanted the aggressive general Court-martialed, or at least reprimanded. John Quincy Adams alone took the ground that Jackson's acts were justified by the incompetence of Spanish authority to police its own territory,^[41] allowing it to become "a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States, and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them."^[43] The outcome of Jackson's exploits might have been war with both Spain and Great Britain. Don Luis de Onís, the Spanish Minister at Washington, immediately suspended the negotiations then in progress regarding Florida, and made a spirited protest "against these acts of hostility and invasion."^[44] Spain asked for British intervention, but London declined to get involved. Rather then war, Jackson's success had given the U.S. a favorable diplomatic position from which to negotiate a favorable settlement to the border dispute with Spain.

Confronted by the revolt of all her American colonies, Spain could hardly resist the insistent pressure upon a province which she could neither govern nor nor defend.^[44] On February 22, 1819, Spain and the United States signed the Adams–Onís Treaty, which ceded the Floridas in return for the assumption by the United States of claims of American citizens against Spain to an amount not exceeding $5,000,000. The treaty also contained a definition of the boundary between Spanish and American possessions on the North American continent. Beginning at the mouth of the Sabine River the line ran along that river to the 32nd parallel, then due north to the Red River, which it followed to the 100th meridian, due north to the Arkansas River, and along that river to its source, then north to the 42nd parallel, which it followed to the Pacific Ocean. As the United States renounced all claims to the west and south of this boundary (Texas), so Spain surrendered whatever shadowy title she had to the Northwest (Oregon Country).^[44]

Monroe Doctrine

BEP engraved portrait of Monroe as President.

The most immediate problems demanding attention after his first inauguration were those arising from the revolutionary movements in Spain's Latin American colonies. Monroe, deeply sympathetic to the movements, was determined that the United States should never repeat the policies of the Washington administration during the French Revolution, when the nation had failed to demonstrate its sympathy for the aspirations of peoples seeking to establish republican governments. He did not envisage military involvement but only the provision of moral support. To go beyond this would do the colonies more harm than good, since it would invite European intervention to restore them to Spain. Monroe's policy was also shaped by his desire to obtain from Spain the long-sought cession of Florida and a definition of the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase.^[45]

In March 1822, Monroe officially recognized the countries of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico.^[37] Secretary of State Adams, under Monroe's supervision, wrote the instructions for the ministers (ambassadors) to these new countries. They declared that the policy of the United States was to uphold republican institutions and to seek treaties of commerce on a most-favored-nation basis. The United States would support inter-American congresses dedicated to the development of economic and political institutions fundamentally differing from those prevailing in Europe. Monroe took pride as the United States was the first nation to extend recognition and to set an example to the rest of the world for its support of the "cause of liberty and humanity".^[45]

For their part, the British also had a strong interest in ensuring the demise of Spanish colonialism, with all the trade restrictions mercantilism imposed. In October 1823, Richard Rush, the American minister in London, advised that Foreign Secretary George Canning was proposing that the U.S. and Britain issue a joint declaration to deter any other power from intervening in Central and South America. Adams, however, vigorously opposed cooperation with Great Britain, contending that a statement of bilateral nature could limit United States expansion in the future. He also argued that the British were not committed to recognizing the Latin American republics and must have had imperial motivations themselves.^[46]

Two months later, the bilateral statement proposed by the British became a unilateral declaration by the United States. On December 2, 1823, in his annual message to Congress, Monroe addressed the subject in three parts. He first reiterated the traditional U.S. policy of neutrality with regard to European wars and conflicts. He then declared that the United States would not accept the recolonization of any country by its former European master, though he also avowed non-interference with existing European colonies in the Americas. Finally, he stated that European countries should no longer consider the Western Hemisphere open to new colonization, a jab aimed primarily at Russia, which was attempting to expand its colony on the northern Pacific Coast.^[37][45]

Monroe's declaration contained tough words, but most countries knew that the Americans had little ability to back it up with force. Nevertheless, because Britain had also favored Monroe's policy, the United States was able to "free ride" on the back of the Royal Navy. In addition, London had extracted a promise from Paris that France would not assist Spain in the recovery of its colonies. Nonetheless, the Monroe Doctrine constituted the first significant policy statement by the United States on the future of the Western Hemisphere.^[37]

Other bilateral treaties

• Russo-American Treaty of 1824 with Russia, signed April 17, 1824: set the southern limit of Russian sovereignty on the Pacific coast of North America at the 54°40′ parallel (the present southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle).^[47]
• Anderson–Gual Treaty with Gran Colombia, signed October 3, 1824: this general convention of peace, amity, navigation, and commerce was the first bilateral treaty that the United States entered into with another country in the Americas.^[48][49]

States admitted to the Union

Five new states were admitted to the Union while Monroe was in office:

• Mississippi – December 10, 1817^[50]
• Illinois – December 3, 1818^[51]
• Alabama – December 14, 1819^[52]
• Maine – March 15, 1820^[53]
  Maine is one of 3 states that were set off from already existing states (Kentucky and West Virginia are the others). The Massachusetts General Court passed enabling legislation on June 19, 1819 separating the "District of Maine" from the rest of the State (an action approved by the voters in Maine on July 19, 1819 by 17,001 to 7,132); then, on February 25, 1820, passed a follow-up measure officially accepting the fact of Maine's imminent statehood.^[54]
• Missouri – August 10, 1821^[55]

Evaluations

Monroe, a charming man admired for his honesty, presided over two decisions that presaged the rest of 19th century American history: the Missouri Compromise and the Monroe Doctrine. The first represented the growing discord within the United States over the issue of slavery and the second asserted American influence in the Western hemisphere.^[34]

See also

• First Party System
• Bonus Bill of 1817

References

Bibliography

• Ammon, Harry. James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity. (1971, 2nd ed. 1990). 706 pp., standard scholarly biography excerpt and text search
• Ammon, Harry. "James Monroe and the Era of Good Feelings." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 66.4 (1958): 387-398. in JSTOR
• Ammon, Harry (2002). Graff, Henry F., ed. The Presidents: A Reference History (3rd ed.). Hinsdale, Illinois: Advameg, Inc. 
• Bemis, Samuel Flagg (1949). John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy. New York: Knopf. , the standard history of Monroe's foreign policy.
• Cresson, William P. James Monroe (1946). 577 pp. good scholarly biography
• Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Presidency of James Monroe. 1996. 246 pp., standard scholarly survey
• Dangerfield, George. Era of Good Feelings (1953) excerpt and text search
• Dangerfield, George (1965). The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815–1828. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-88133-823-0. , standard scholarly survey; excerpt and text search
• Heidler, David S. (1993). "The Politics of National Aggression: Congress and the First Seminole War". Journal of the Early Republic. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 13 (4): 501–530. JSTOR 3124558. 
• Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754–1829 (2005), 1600 pp.
• Hart, Gary. James Monroe (2005), superficial, short, popular biography
• Howe, Daniel Walker (2007). What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848. Oxford History of the United States. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507894-2. OCLC 122701433. , Pulitzer Prize; a sweeping interpretation of the entire era
• Leibiger, Stuart, ed. A Companion to James Madison and James Monroe (2012) excerpt; emphasis on historiography
  • Haworth, Peter Daniel. "James Madison and James Monroe Historiography: A Tale of Two Divergent Bodies of Scholarship." in A Companion to James Madison and James Monroe (2013): 521-539.
• Johnson, Allen (1915). Union and Democracy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 
• Mahon, John K. "The First Seminole War, November 21, 1817-May 24, 1818." Florida Historical Quarterly 77.1 (1998): 62-67. in JSTOR
• May, Ernest R. The Making of the Monroe Doctrine (1975), argues it was issued to influence the outcome of the presidential election of 1824.
• Morgan, William G. "The Congressional Nominating Caucus of 1816: The Struggle against the Virginia Dynasty." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 80.4 (1972): 461-475. in JSTOR
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1965). The Oxford History of the American People. New York: Oxford University Press. 
• Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823 (1964)
• Perkins, Dexter. The Monroe Doctrine, 1823–1826 (1927), the standard monograph about the origins of the doctrine.
• Renehan Edward J., Jr. The Monroe Doctrine: The Cornerstone of American Foreign Policy (2007)
• Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe and John Adams: An Unlikely 'Friendship'". The Historian 67#3 (2005) pp 405+. online edition
• Scherr, Arthur. "James Monroe on the Presidency and 'Foreign Influence;: from the Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788) to Jefferson's Election (1801)." Mid-America 2002 84(1–3): 145–206. ISSN 0026-2927.
• Skeen, Carl Edward. 1816: America Rising (1993) popular history
• Styron, Arthur. The Last of the Cocked Hats: James Monroe and the Virginia Dynasty (1945). 480 pp. thorough, scholarly treatment of the man and his times.
• Unger, Harlow G.. "The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness" (2009), a new biography.
• Weeks, William Earl (1992). John Quincy Adams and American Global Empire. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press. 
• Wilentz, Sean (September 2004). "Jeffersonian Democracy and the Origins of Political Antislavery in the United States: The Missouri Crisis Revisited". Journal of The Historical Society. 4 (3): 375–401. doi:10.1111/j.1529-921X.2004.00105.x. 
• Wilentz, Sean (2008). The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. New York: W. W. Horton and Company. 
• Whitaker, Arthur P. The United States and the Independence of Latin America (1941)
• White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History, 1801–1829 (1951), explains the operation and organization of federal administration.

Primary sources

• The Papers of James Monroe: Selected Correspondence and Papers. Volume 4: 1796–1802 ed. by Daniel Preston. (2011)
• The Papers of James Monroe: Selected Correspondence and Papers. Volume 5: 1802–1811 ed. by Daniel Preston (2014) online review
• Monroe, James. The Political Writings of James Monroe. ed. by James P. Lucier, (2002). 863 pp.
• Writings of James Monroe, edited by Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed., 7 vols. (1898–1903), online edition at Google Books The%20Papers%20of%20James%20Monroe%22&f=false online v 6.
• Richardson, James D. ed. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents vol 2 (1897), reprints his official messages and reports to Congress. online vol 2

External links

• James Monroe: A Resource Guide at the Library of Congress
• United States Congress. "Presidency of James Monroe (id: m000858)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• A Guide to the Papers of James Monroe 1778–1831 at the University of Virginia Library
• Monroe Doctrine; December 2, 1823 at the Avalon Project
• James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library
• "Life Portrait of James Monroe", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, April 12, 1999
• Works by James Monroe at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)