The Era of Good Feelings President: #5 James Monroe

Interesting tidbit of information: if you accidentally highlight, blogger has no 'remove highlight' button. you can change the color, but not remove it. So, now the whole thing is highlighted. Enjoy! 

1. Born April 28, 1758. 
2. Married Elizabeth Kortright
3. Was the Minister to France 1794-1796
4. Minister to the UK: 1803-1808
5. Appointed to Secretary of state by James Madison. 
6. Secretary of War from 1814-1815
7. 5th President of the United States: 1817-1825
8. Attended the College of William and Mary. 
9. Left College to join the 3rd Virginia Regiment
10. Fought in the battle of Trenton and
11. took shrapnel in his shoulder that stayed the rest of his life. (he was 18 at the time)
12. Never went back to finish his studies. Instead, he completed his legal education/training under Thomas Jefferson. (I mean, if you're not going to proper school, There are few better to apprentice under). 
13. He helped to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
14. With the Treaty of 1818- the US expanded from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
1. The treaty gave the US fishing and Harbor rights in the Pacific. 
15. In 1820, he ran for his second turn unopposed. (Washington was the only other President to do so)
16. Despite fashion changing, he chose to continue to dress in the fashions of the Revolutionary War era as he felt it was important to remember that period. 
17. He was the last president to wear the powdered wig and the fancy knee-pants. 
18. Originally voted against the Constitution, stating (like Madison) that it needed a Bill of Rights. 
19. Attended Napoleon's coronation. (The families were friends as their daughters attended the same school). 
20. While in France, he was integral from getting Thomas Paine released from prison
21. In the same trip, Elizabeth learned Madame Lafayette (wife of Marquis de Lafayette) was threatened with death by guillotine and the Monroes were able to secure her release. 
22. President Monroe's daughter was the first to have a wedding at the White House. 
23. He has held more public offices than any president before him--and that record holds to today. He spent 50 years in service to his country. 
24. at the battle of Monmouth, Monroe was a scout for General Washington.
25. Monrovia, Liberia is the only foreign capital named for a US President. It was a settlement for freed slaves. 
26. Only person in US history to be the Secretary of State and the Secretary of War concurrently. 
27. Monroe Doctrine is still considered one of the most important foreign policy doctrines in US history. The doctrine stated the US would not tolerate and European colonization of any independent nation in North or South America and any attempt would be seen as a hostile act.
28. Monroe doctrine helped allow for Latin American Independence with the US in the role of Big Brother, helping them to set up their own stable governments. 
1. declared that it was the US' policy to uphold the republican institutions and create treaties of commerce. 
29. Overall, the Monroe doctrine led to American Isolationism. 
30. Missouri Compromise: Missouri and Maine were admitted into the Union with Missouri being a slave state; and Maine being a free state. Also, slavery would be illegal above the 36th parallel.
31. Monroe is featured in the art "Washington Crossing the Delaware. He's the one holding the flag.
32. Major supporter of states' rights. So much so  that he vetoed the Cumberland Road Bill which would have made funding available for annual improvements. He believed this was an issue for the states. 
33. In a contradiction to his view on states' rights, he was willing to accept a federal mandate for the emancipation of slaves and the movement of the slaves to other countries. Many other states' rights advocates were baffled by this view. 
34. He asserted that native peoples needed to more rapidly assimilate into western culture, but any proposal to Congress (from Monroe) was shot down. 
35. First Seminole War: Andrew Jackson went to the Floridas which Spain and Britain saw as threats. 
1. This led to the negotiations for Florida to fall apart at the time, though ultimately Spain would sell the land to the US.
36. Only President in the 19th Century to complete 2 Presidential terms with the same VP.
37. Total of 5 states acquired in his terms:Missouri, Maine, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi.
38. Very little is known on his religious views. The letters that have survived time do not discuss religion at all. 
39. As Secretary of State he fired a man from his consul post in Tunis because the man was Jewish. 
1. the man protested and received supporting letters from Madison, Jefferson and Adams that supported the separation of church and state and the inclusion of Jews. 
40. As Governor, there was a plot called Gabriels Slave Conspiracy. This was a plot by hundreds of slaves to kidnap Monroe and force him to negotiate their release. They were foiled by a storm and the suspicions of their owners. 
41. Monroe was the 3rd consecutive president to be elected to a second term. This didn't happen again until 2012 when President Obama was re-elected. 
42. Last President in the First-Party System: Basically the period of Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. 
43. Member of the American Antiquarian Society. It is the oldest Historical Society in the Country and was founded in 1812. 
44. Monroe died on July 4, 1831. He was one of 3 founding fathers that died on the anniversary of our independence. 

http://www.biography.com/news/james-monroe-biography-facts 

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/jamesmonroe/tp/Ten-Things-To-Know-About-James-Monroe.htm