Jeffersonian Project: James Monroe

 

Daniel Goodman

M/J United States History

Ms. Kooiker

6/13/23

Jeffersonian Project: James Monroe

            James Monroe is one of the three Jeffersonian presidents and is the last of them to be elected (“James Monroe - White House”). He was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on April 28th, 1758 (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”). His parents were Elizabeth and Spence Monroe, however they both passed away during Monroe’s childhood in a close time range between each other (“James Monroe - White House”). After getting his education, Monroe eventually started to study law with Thomas Jefferson after serving three years in the army (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”).

 

            Monroe’s role in politics would begin when he was elected to be a member of the Virginia General Assembly in 1782 (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”; “James Monroe - White House”). From there, he rose in the ranks, ranging from participating in the Confederation Congress to becoming a Secretary of State in Virginia (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”). However, Monroe would eventually attain presidency in 1816, after over thirty years of public service (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”; “James Monroe - White House”). He served two full terms and died on July 4th, 1831 (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”).

 

The accomplishments that Monroe achieved, however, are nothing short of revolutionary. The first one of these achievements would have to be that he expanded the United States, specifically by acquiring the state of Florida (Preston). He did this in 1819 through negotiating a deal of buying it for five million dollars, and the purchase was ultimately meant to solve conflicts within the state (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston). Additionally, another plus that came out of this deal was that relations with Spain became better as a result (“James Monroe – Presidency”).

 

A second great accomplishment Monroe had was the Missouri Compromise, which made slavery against the law in certain areas (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston). For example, the Missouri Compromise made the practice of slavery illegal upwards of the 36°30′ line within the Louisiana Territory (“James Monroe – Presidency”). The law also made it so that Maine could join the Union as a free state, while Missouri could join as a slave state (“Missouri Compromise”). This was also in a time when slavery was slowly becoming banned across the nation, representing the further decline of the practice in general (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston).

 

            One final accomplishment Monroe had would have to be the Monroe Doctrine, which he proclaimed in 1823 (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”). It came partially after a desire of wanting to demonstrate the escalating power that the United States had, and it was unsurprisingly effective (“James Monroe – Presidency”). The doctrine basically said that the Europeans would not be allowed to intervene in American continents, and vice versa (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston). Overall, Monroe’s accomplishments have helped further establish and develop the United States of America, whether it come to law or general expansion (“James Monroe – Presidency”).

 

            However, Monroe did not have that substantial of an impact on American democracy itself. There are only a few changes he has brought about to the government, and with some being miniscule (“James Monroe – Presidency”). Despite this, however, I believe that there are still some notable points about what his presidency has changed. For example, Monroe shifted democracy from being tied to European policy to being entirely independent (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston).

 

            This was due to, as aforementioned, Monroe dealing with foreign policy and pronouncing the Monroe Doctrine (“A Brief Biography of James Monroe”). Another thing that the Monroe Doctrine affected, and something else that Monroe impacted would have to be the power that the role of president had (Preston). Monroe practically made it stronger by making use of his own power for the Monroe Doctrine, and due to this, he ultimately gave more power to the role (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston). This is partially due to how effective the Monroe Doctrine was, and because of the way Monroe dealt with Foreign Policy (Preston).

 

            In conclusion, Monroe has brought about a few changes to American democracy through an array of means. For example, he made the power of the presidency stronger, and additionally helped the government and nation shift to being more independent (“James Monroe – Presidency”; Preston). Even though Monroe has not had that much of an impact in comparison to someone like Jefferson, he has still done some beneficial things for the nation. Without him, the nation would be a lot more dependent, and potentially have less power in the grand scheme of things (Preston).

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Works Cited


“A Brief Biography of James Monroe - Highland.” James Monroe Highland, 2023, highland.org/discover-monroe. Accessed 13 June 2023.

 

“James Monroe - White House Historical Association.” The White House Historical Association, 2023, www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/james-monroe. Accessed 13 June 2023.

 

“James Monroe - Presidency, Facts and Political Party.” History, 7 June 2019, www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/james-monroe. Accessed 13 June 2023.


“Missouri Compromise: Date, Definition and 1820 - HISTORY.” History, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/slavery/missouri-compromise. Accessed 13 June 2023.


Preston, Daniel. “James Monroe: Impact and Legacy | Miller Center.” Miller Center, 4 Oct. 2016, millercenter.org/president/monroe/impact-and-legacy. Accessed 13 June 2023.


Vanderlyn, John. “James Monroe.” National Portrait Gallery, 1816, npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.70.59.  Accessed 13 June 2023.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jeffersonian Project: Thomas Jefferson

Jeffersonian Project: James Madison