Facts about James Monroe
James Monroe Biography
James Monroe was president of the United States from 1817-1825 and is best known for establishing the aggressive foreign policy stand known as the Monroe Doctrine.
James Monroe served one term as governor of Virginia, then was sent to France by Thomas Jefferson to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. An officer during the American Revolution, Monroe was an all-around statesman whose career included stints as congressman, senator, foreign diplomat and cabinet member. In 1811 he was appointed Secretary of State under President James Madison, and in 1816 Monroe won the presidential election.
He was easily re-elected in 1820 (winning 231 of 232 electoral votes), and his administration was termed “The Era of Good Feelings”, a time when the United States focused on expansion and ignored the troubles of the European nations. He is famous for the Monroe Doctrine (1823), which proclaimed U.S. hostility toward any European intervention in the Americas.
Extra credit
Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is named after President James Monroe… James Monroe’s inauguration was the first held outdoors… He was married to Elizabeth Kortright Monroe in 1786. They died less than a year apart: she in 1830, he in 1831… James Monroe died on July 4, 1831, five years to the day after the same-day deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams… James Monroe was succeeded by John Quincy Adams.