MONROE 



3896 



MONROE 



At the end of his third term in the Conti- 

 nental Congress Monroe determined to retire 

 from public life and settle down to practice 

 law. This he was not permitted to do. Instead 

 he was promptly elected again to the Virginia 

 assembly, in which he sat for four years. In 

 1788, in the convention called to consider the 

 Federal Constitution, Monroe allied himself 

 with Patrick Henry in opposition, and tried in 

 vain to prevent ratification. In 1790 the assem- 

 bly elected him to fill a vacancy in the United 

 States Senate, in which he generally sided with 

 the Anti-Federalists and earnestly opposed the 

 policies of the Washington administration. 



As a Diplomat. The second period of Mon- 

 roe's public career is the diplomatic phase. 

 During his term in the Senate Monroe was an 

 outspoken opponent of Washington's policies, 

 but the President nevertheless appointed him 

 in 1794 to succeed Gouverneur Morris as min- 

 ister to France. At the same time John Jay, 

 the Federalist, was sent to England. Thus 

 Washington wisely distributed the balance be- 

 tween the two political parties. Monroe did 

 not perform his duties to the entire satisfaction 

 of the President. He reached Paris just after 

 the fall of Robespierre, and was officially re- 

 ceived by the Convention on August 15, 1794. 

 Apparently overcome for the moment by his 

 enthusiasm, he addressed the Convention in 

 words none too tactful. Among other remarks 

 calculated to arouse resentment in England, 

 Monroe said that the Jay Treaty was "the most 

 shameful transaction I have ever known of the 

 kind." Although Monroe spoke thus openly, he 

 seems to have done nothing to convince France 

 that the Jay Treaty was not provocation for war 

 against the United States. Relations between 

 the United States on the one hand and France 

 and Great Britain on the other were already 

 strained, so that Washington finally recalled 

 Monroe in 1796. Monroe's recall caused ex- 

 treme party feeling for a brief time, and Mon- 

 roe himself felt called on to publish an elabo- 

 rate defense of his conduct and then retired to 

 private life. Washington, it is known, never 

 forgave Monroe for the latter's pamphlet, View 

 of the Conduct of the Executive. 



This retirement lasted only three years, for 

 in 1799 he was elected governor of Virginia, a 

 position he held until 1802. In the meantime 

 Thomas Jefferson, Monroe's intimate friend, 

 had become President, and in 1802 sent Monroe 

 to France as a commissioner to assist Robert 

 R. Livingston in negotiating for the purchase 

 of the mouth of the Mississippi. The commis- 

 sioners bought not only the land at the mouth 

 of the Mississippi, but the entire Louisiana Ter- 

 ritory (see LOUISIANA PURCHASE). Next Mon- 

 roe served as minister to Great Britain and 

 then as minister to Spain. The treaty which 

 he finally negotiated with Great Britain was un- 

 satisfactory to the President, because it did not 

 include the abandonment of the British claim 

 to a right to impress seamen. It was never of- 

 fered to the Senate for approval. At Madrid 

 Monroe tried in vain to arrange the transfer of 

 Florida to the United States. Thus Monroe as 

 a diplomat was not successful, if success means 

 reaching the goal for which one starts. On the 

 other hand, it is generally recognized that he 

 faced tremendous handicaps and did the best 

 he could. 



As an Executive. On his return to the United 

 States in 1807 Monroe felt it necessary, just as 

 he had in 1796, to make public defense of his 

 actions in Europe. The leaders of the nation 

 were divided in their opinions, but the public 

 was enthusiastic in its approval. He was again 

 elected to the Virginia assembly, and in 1811 

 was again elected governor of Virginia. Before 

 the end of the year, however, he resigned the 

 governorship to become Secretary of State un- 

 der President Madison. This office he held un- 

 til his own elevation to the Presidency in 1817, 

 and in 1814 and 1815 also acted temporarily as 

 Secretary of War. During the War of 1812, 

 therefore, he bore a double burden in a trying 

 situation, but he performed invaluable service 

 to the country and added greatly to his favor 

 with the public. He was especially active in 

 attempting to protect Washington, the capital, 

 from an enemy attack. In 1816, while still Sec- 

 retary of State, he was elected President of the 

 United States, receiving 183 electoral votes to 

 34 for Rufus King, the Federalist candidate. 



The Administrations of James Monroe, 1817-1825 



Era of Good Feeling. The eight years of 

 Monroe's Presidency are generally known as 

 the "era of good feeling." The War of 1812 

 resulted in a stronger sense of nationality and 

 confidence throughout the country than there 



had ever been before. From that time on the 

 United States had less the character of a tem- 

 porary experiment. The country had also won 

 respect abroad, and was recognized in the family 

 of nations as it had not been before. From 



