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James Monroe Short Biography

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“Our country may be likened to a new house. We lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all - liberty!” - James Monroe. James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on April 28, 1758. His family came from a Scottish background and were farmers (biography.com). James was the oldest out of seven children. His life took an unexpected turn whenever his father died. Instead of taking over the estate, Monroe went to Virginia’s College of William and Mary. He only stayed for a few months before he dropped out to join the American Revolution (biography.com). He was wounded severely during the Battle of Trenton. He shot in the shoulder and the wound was almost fatal. Whenever he recovered, he was promoted to captain (britannica.com). …show more content…

The two became quite close during the war (biography.com). He soon joined the Continental Congress and met Elizabeth Kortright in New York. He courted her and married her in 1786. The young couple moved back to Virginia and Monroe became involved in an Anti-Federalist group (biography.com). In 1792, Monroe, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic-Republican party (history.com). For a short time, Washington appointed Monroe to Minister to France. Until, Some controversy stirred up over Jay’s treaty. Washington released James of his office and he went back to politics in Virginia (history.com). Later, he helped Jefferson with the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson appointed Monroe to minister of Great Britain. Sadly, the two men had a disagreement about a treaty. Monroe had a fallout with Jefferson and Madison. Still upset about the rough treatment, Monroe ran against Madison for President in 1808. He lost, but was asked to become secretary of state (history.com). All of the hard feelings were gone and the three men became colleagues again. During the War of 1812, Monroe assisted Madison and was promoted to secretary of war. The previous owner, John Armstrong, resigned because of the burning of Washington D.C. …show more content…

The U.S. economy was suffering. Monroe started to exert the foreign policy. Future president John Quincy Adams was Monroe’s secretary of state at the time. Adams helped him immensely with the Monroe Doctrine (history.com). It was published on December 2, 1823. The Monroe Doctrine stated that the Americas had to be free from any European colonization. Also, that any interference with independent countries in the Americas would be considered a hostile act towards the United States of America (biography.com). Monroe continued to expand the United States westward across the continent. Five states entered the Union while Monroe was president. The states were Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri (history.com). James was also president during the Missouri Compromise. This happened when they added both Maine and Missouri as a state. The government and people did not want to upset the balance between the free states and the slave states. So, while they added Missouri as a slave state, they also added Maine as a free state

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