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James Monroeb. 17 [28] Apr 1758, Westmoreland County, Virginia |
| Title: | President of the United States of America |
| Term: | 4 Mar 1817 - 4 Mar 1821 |
| Chronology: | 31 Oct 1816 - 3 Dec 1816, electors appointed |
| 4 Dec 1816, elected by vote of the electors | |
| 4 Mar 1817, sworn in, in front of Old Brick Capitol, Washington, D.C. | |
| 4 Mar 1821, 1st term expired | |
| Term: | 4 Mar 1821 - 4 Mar 1825 |
| Chronology: | 2 Nov 1820 - 5 Dec 1820, electors appointed |
| 6 Dec 1820, elected by vote of the electors | |
| 5 Mar 1821, sworn in, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] | |
| 4 Mar 1825, 2nd term expired |
| Biography: | |||||||||||||||||
In 1776 James Monroe graduated from college and entered the Continental Army. He participated in numerous engagements in the Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1782 Monroe was elected a member of the State Assembly of Virginia and then a member of the Continental Congress (1783-1786). After studying law he was admitted to the bar. In 1790 Monroe became a US senator (9 Nov 1790 - 27 May 1794), but resigned his seat as he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1794-1796). Monroe served as Governor of the Commowealth of Virginia (Dec 1799 - 1 Dec 1802), and returned to diplomatic service as Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1803), and Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain (1803-1807). He returned home in 1808 to become a member of the State assembly of Virginia in 1810-1811. After briefly serving the second term as Governor of Virginia (19 Jan 1811 - 3 Apr 1811), he was appointed Secretary of State (6 Apr 1811 - 3 Mar 1817, acting secretary 1 Oct 1814 - 28 Feb 1815) and later Secretary of War (27 Sep 1814 - 2 Mar 1815) in the Cabinet of James Madison. Monroe was elected President of the United States in 1816. His entrance upon the duties of president marked the beginning of "era of good feeling" (1817-1825). In 1817 the US entered into the Seminole War. A dispute with Spain over the boundary in Florida was resolved by the Adams-Onís Treaty (1819), by which Spain ceded East Florida to the United States. The financial crisis of 1819 was followed by the first conflict over slavery settled by the Missouri Compromise in 1820, and Monroe was reelected for the second term. During his presidency the States of Mississippi (10 Dec 1817), Illinois (3 Dec 1818), Alabama (14 Dec 1819), Maine (15 Mar 1820), and Missouri (10 Aug 1821) were admitted to the Union. In his presidential message of 2 Dec 1823, he expressed the principles of a new foreign policy, which later became known as the Monroe Doctrine. The most important legislative acts of the Monroe's second administration included the laws on protective tariff and internal improvements (1824). Upon leaving the office of president, Monroe retired to his farm in Loudoun County, Virginia. He was a member and president of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1829. [2] |
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| Election results: | |||||||||||||||||
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| Sources and notes: | |||||||||||||||||
| [1] | Inauguration was postponed as 4 Mar 1821 fell on a Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||
| [2] | Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (web site). | ||||||||||||||||
| Image: Portrait of James Monroe by E.O. Sully. | |||||||||||||||||
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