James Monroe

James Monroe was born in the quiet town of Westmoreland County, Virginia on April 28, 1758. His father, Spencer Monroe, was married to Elizabeth Jones in 1752. Spencer Monroe was a circuit judge and a farmer for the town (Kane 40). Monroe was the oldest of five. There were four other children; Andrew, Joseph, and Elizabeth. His third brother had died in his early childhood. He attended grammar school at a small academy for boys. This school had a reputation for serving the best of men, like George Washington and John Marshall (Kane 40), which is unique because he later followed George Washington as president. George Washington was a family friend of the Monroe’s. He admired Washington and was influenced by him at a young age. At age 16 his father Spencer Monroe died. Monroe was left to be the man of the house. A family member suggested that James should continue his education at the William and Mary College. Monroe enrolled in the most difficult program that the College offered (Stefoff 11). Within a year of his attendance at William and Mary College, the shot heard around the world at Lexington occurred. War broke out with England, and Monroe wanted to do something about it. At age 18 he later joined the army enlisting in the Third Virginia Infantry (Stefoff 12). Monroe was appointed lieutenant after a party of soldiers raided a British house taking guns and supplies. He later was acquainted with George Washington when the Third Virginia Infantry was joined with Washington’s troops in New York (Stefoff 13). During the war he was wounded in the Battle of Trenton but not severely. Monroe assigned to deskwork was asked if he would send a letter to the governor of Virginia asking for more soldiers. Monroe was waiting for a response from Washington but never heard from him, so in the mean time he studied law (Stefoff 15). Monroe became an aid under Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia also influenced his life. Monroe and his good school friend worked on the governor’s speeches and organized meetings. This prepared Monroe for what was to become of his life as President (Stefoff 21). Since the war was still going on, he had a mission from the military. Monroe was asked to go south and spy on British troops, because American troops feared that they were planning a surprise attack on them (Stefoff 21-22). After Monroe’s successful mission against British troops a...

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...eted several projects that he cared about which needed to be addressed. One of them was setting aside land for Indians west of the Mississippi River.

Monroe left Washington on March 3, 1825 and set out for Oak Hill with his family. Although he was very successful in life, after his retirement he fell into financial trouble. The last six years of his life was very difficult. His debt had mounted and while waiting for money Congress owed him, on July 4, 1831, James Monroe died, bankrupt (Damon 95).

James Monroe was an excellent president and loved by all people. His main focus to help our country succeed as a nation together, kept us unified and strong. Although there were bad times, his success made up for those. He made a great impact in our history as a nation. He created the Monroe Doctrine, made it hard to own slaves, helped Indians find land, and helped our country unite as one. He fought for us in the War of 1812, which he was wounded. He loved our country and was true to the U.S. Monroe was the ‘Era of Good Feeling’ and will always be remember as James Monroe, who did bring to many people an era of good feelings.