James Monroe (1817-1825)

James Monroe

5th President of the United States
(March 4, 1817 to March 3, 1825)

Nicknames: "The Last Cocked Hat"; "Era-of-Good-Feeling President"

Born: April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia
Died: July 4, 1831, in New York, New York

Father: Spence Monroe
Mother: Elizabeth Jones Monroe
Married: Elizabeth "Eliza" Kortright (1768-1830), on February 16, 1786
Children: Eliza Kortright Monroe (1786-1835); James Spence Monroe (1799-1800); Maria Hester Monroe (1803-50)

Religion: Episcopalian
Education: Graduated from College of William and Mary (1776)
Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Democratic-Republican
Other Government Positions:

• Member of Continental Congress, 1783-86
• United States Senator, 1790-94
• Minister to France, 1794-96
• Governor of Virginia, 1799-1802
• Minister to France and England, 1803-07
• Secretary of State, 1811-17 (under Madison)
• Secretary of War, 1814-15 (under Madison)

Presidential Salary: $25,000/year

Vice President: Daniel D. Tompkins (1817-1825)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State

John Quincy Adams (1817-25)

Secretary of the Treasury

William H. Crawford (1817-25)

Secretary of War

John C. Calhoun (1817-25)

Attorney General

Richard Rush (1817)

William Wirt (1817-25)

Secretary of the Navy

Benjamin W. Crowninshield (1817-18)

Smith Thompson (1819-23)

Samuel L. Southard (1823-25)

Notable Events:

• 1818
  • Congress fixed the number of stripes on the U.S. flag at 13 to honor the original colonies, April 4.
    Anglo-American Conventionset the 49th parallel as the border with Canada.
• 1819
  • Florida ceded by Spain to the United States on February 22. In exchange the U.S. cancelled $5 million in Spanish debts.
• 1820
  • The Missouri Compromise, forbade slavery above 36 degrees 30 minutes latitude.
    Monroe reelected.
• 1823
  • On December 2, Monroe Doctrine delivered to Congress.

Points of Interest:

• Monroe was the first president to ride on a steamboat.
• At sixteen years old, Monroe attended the college of William and Mary.
• He was the first president to have been a U.S. senator.
• In the election of 1820 Monroe received every electoral vote except one. A New Hampshire delegate wanted Washington to be the only president elected unanimously.
• Monroe's inauguration in 1817 was the first to be held outdoors.
• The bride in the first White House wedding was Monroe's daughter.
• The U.S. Marine Band played at Monroe's 1821 inauguration and at every inauguration since.

 Biographies:

• Wikipedia